Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1897-05-19
9nteraatiunal gessol1s.
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON TX, SECOND QUARTER, IN
TERNATloNAL SERIES, MAY 80.

LESSON TX, SECOND QUARTER, IN
TERNATloNAL SERIES, MAY 80.
Text of the Lesson, Jas. ii, 14-23-Memory
Verses, 14-17- Golden Text, Jas. ii,
1s-Commentary by the Rev. D. NJ.
stearns.
IA. "What doth it profit, my brethren,
though man say he hath faith and have
not worksp Can faith save hiInp" The r.
V. says, "Can that faith save him| There
are no contradictions in the teaching OF
Scripture, and one of the plainest doctrines
In all the book, taught even in this lesson
by the Spirit, through James (verse 23)
Is that the only salvation revealed to us is
that which has been fully wrought out for
US by the Lord Jesus Christ without any
help Of ours, and which we must receive
by faith as free gift from God. See Rom.
iv, 8; Eph. Ii, 8; Titus iii, 5. 1t is most
Enthusiastically clear that we arc saved by
faith alone. But 1t is just as clearly taught
that the evidence Of that faith will be seen
In our daily lives by our walking in the
good works prepared for us. Sec Eph. II,
10; Titus iii, 8. A faith that does not pro-
duce good works and holy life is not
genuine, but is an empty name.
15, 16. eff brother or sister be naked
and destitute Of daily food, and one Of you
say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye
warned and filled, Notwithstanding ye give
them not those things which are needful
to the body. What doth it proflt9" Or as
John says, "My little children, let us not
love in word, neither in tongue, but in
deed and in truth" Il John ill, 1S). Jesus
Himself said, "My mother and My breth-
rem are these which hear the word Of God
and do it" (Lukc viii, 21). And again,
"Not every one that saith unto Me Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom Of heav-
en-; but he that doeth the will Of My Fa-
ther, which Is in heaven" (Math. vii, 21).
II. Gwen so faith, If 1t hath not works,
Is dead, being alone" or, as in the mar
gin, "by itself" Faith cometh by hear
Ing the word Of God (Rom. K, 7)-that Is,
by receiving the word Of God, and the
word of God is sincorruptible seed, which is
sure to grow. Faith receives Christ into
the heart, and Christ in us cannot be hid
house in the borders Of Tyre and Sidon
MARK vii, 24). You walk by field in
which not a green blade is to be seen, al
though it looks US if it had been sown, and
the farmer says that he sowcd it with good
seed three months ago. Either the seed
was no good or was destroyed after being
sown, or the farmer lied.
18. "Yea, man may say, Thou hast
faith and I have works. Show me thy
faith without thy works and I will show
thee my faith by my works" The R. V.
margin begins this verse, But some one
will say" We can talk faith, but we can
not show faith except by our deeds. 1t is
the same with love. God docs not need
our works to prove our faith, for He can
read the heart, but He tells us that belicv-
ers should be careful to maintain good
works because they arc good and profitable
unto men Titus iii, s.. Not only profit
able to those who do the works, for we are
to be rewarded according to our works
(Rev. xii, 12; Cor. iii, 8, 14), but profit
able to those who, seeing the good works,
may be led by them to Him who workcth
In us both to will and to do Of His good
pleasure (Phil. ii, 13).
10. "Thou belicvcst that there Is one
God. Thou doest we'll The devils also be-
lieve and trclnble" The R. V. says
"shuddcr" instead of tremble, and the X.
V. margin says "dcmons" instead OF dev-
lis. There is but one devil, though there
arc hosts of demons, his followers. One
has said that there arc no atheists or in
fldcls in hell. All who arc there believe In
the realities of hell and the devil, of God
and of heaven, but they cannot believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. Those
who die in their sins Gun never come where
Christ is John viii, 2D. Therefore it Is
written, because there Is wrath, beware
lest He take thee away with His stroke
Then great ransom cannot deliver thee
Job xxxvi, 18). 1t Is greatly to bc feared
that many protesting Christians are no
better, rs far as salvation Is concerned,
than the demons who believe and shudder.
They believe all about God and Christ and
have been received into church member
ship because Of this knowledge, backed up
by good moral character. But having
never truly received Christ (John /, 12),
they continue lost souls.
20. "But wilt thou know, o vain man,
that faith without works is dead?" The
knowledge of God and Of Christ that does
not lead one to receive the Lord Jesus
Christ into his heart will only prove a
greater condemnation. This class Of peo-
pie is described in Heb. vi, 4-6, rs enlight-
ened, tasted the gift, knew somewhat of
the Spirits teaching. But If the continu-
ance in grace and good works Is lacking,
then it is evident that they merely believed
about Christ, but never truly received
Him. In II Pet. ii, 20-22, we rcad again
of such as were to some extent benefited
by their knowledge, but were never truly
new creatures.
81. "Was not Abraham our father justi-
fed by works when he had offered Isaac
his son upon the altarp" This was the
outward and evident justification before
men, for we are justified freely by grace,
meritoriously by the blood Of Christ and
instrumcntally by faith Rom. Iii, "a; v,
8, y, and there is no conflict or contradic-
tion In these statements. Abraham rested
for 25 years on the bare promise OF God
Then Isaac was given. After he had
grown to be lad God tried his servant to
see if he was still resting on the promise
or upon the visible Isaac. Now, God knew
his servants heart and did not need to
prove him that God might know, but that
all generations might see that Abraham
rested not in the visible gift of God, but
in God Himself and His sure word.
%. "Seest thou how faith wrought with
his works, and by works was faith made
perfect" Faith, the germ, works the
manifestation 1t Is written in Heb. xi
1919, that Abraham, when he was tried
by faith offered up Isaac, in whom the
promises were to be fulfilled, believing
that God was able to raise him up even
from the dead, from whence also he re-
ceived him in figure. In Rom. iv, 1921,
1t is written concerning the birth Of Isaac
that Abraham did not consider himself
nor Sarah. But strong in faith, giving