Middletown transcript., 1899-12-23
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.
LESSON IIl-FlRST QUARTER, INTER
NATIONAL SERIES, JAN. Fl.

Text Of the Lesson, Luke Iii. 1-t7
Memory Verses, SO - Golden Text
Luke Ill, documentary Prepared
by the Rev. ID. M. Stearrs.
Copyright, 1899. by D. N. stearns.l
1, 2. '@The word Of God came unto
John the son Of Zacharias in the wilder
ness" The heavenly and the earthly
are ever In contrast in this wonderful
book; all things and people on earth are
dependent upon heaven and should wor
ship and adore and glorify the God Of
heaven and earth, who giveth life and
breath and all things (Acts xvii, 24, 25)
yet the general rule is forgetfulness OF
and rebellion against God. God is all
the while seeking to win His creatures to
Himself and came to earth in human
form that He might Himself become a
sacrifice for sin and in due time subdue
all things unto Himself for the good of
all and the glory of God. John the her
aid of Christ is now about 80 years Of
| age Compare verse % and chapter |, 26),
and the story Of those 80 years is briefly
summed up in chapter i, Is, so. The
civil and religious leaders Of Jews and
| gentiles are set before us in these open
ing verses Of our lesson, but the God who
| gives them being they know not John,
| apart from the world and the worlds
| ways, lives with and for God, and now
receives from God his commission to go
forth and make ready a people prepared
for the Lord Chapter i, III. Apart from
the world we hear God.
3-6. Where God sends him there he
| goes as the Lords messenger with the
| Lords message. He is only voice to be
heard and not seen Verse and John i,
| 23), and as such he fulflls Isa. xl, 3-5,
which Is here quoted. Had Jerusalem
received the herald Of her king and then
her king, she would have been truly COM
| forted and the kingdom would have
come, but as she rejected both herald
and king her comfort is delayed until
He shall come again in His glory preced
ed by Elijah (Math. xiii, 80; xvii, III,
and then all flesh shall see the salvation
of God.
10. Multitudes came to him from Jeru-
salem, and all Judaea, and all the region
round about Jordan, and were baptized Of
him in Jordan, confessing their sins
(hath. iii, 3, g., for one of the first works
heard and received is conviction of sin
John xvi 8, %. Until we know we are
sick we will not want the physician; un-
til we know we are blind we will not
want our eyes opened; and the strange
thing is that the multitudes are spiritual
ly sick, and blind, and lame, and poor,
and know it not (Rev. lii, 10: this is true
Of believers, for as to the unsaved they
are all dead and know it not Eph. ii, 4,
b, but as the word is preached the Spirit
causes even the dead to hear John v,
25). When John saw the multitudes be-
fore him he desired the work to be thor
ough and not superficial and so he search
ed them with the word in the power of
the Spirit. While salvation is the free gift
Of God, and we are saved wholly by faith
and not by works (Rom ill., "a; iv, 5;
Eph. ii, 8, 8; Tit. lii, 81, yet where Christ
is truly received, and there is really sal
vation, there must be, as result Of that
salvation, the works of God manifest in
the daily life Eph. ii, 10; Tit. Iii, 81.
10-14. As the people, the publicans, and
the soldiers, asked him what they were
to do now that they had been baptized,
he made it very plain that their new life
was to be manifest in deeds, not in words
They were to show their sincerity by
their love to others, by righteousness
and by mercy. 1t is all beautifully
and concisely summed up in Mic.
vi, 8, "Do justly, love mercy and
humble thyself to walk with God"
All manner of work, however good it
may seem, is simply nothing, of no ac-
count before God, until the love Of God
has been shed abroad in the heart q
Cor. xiii, 1-3. God having SO loved us as
to give Himself for us in the person of |
His Son, puts but. one thing before the |
sinner who cannot by any means save |
himself, and that Is the acceptance of |
His Son. Until this is done all else is |
vain and condemnation is written upon
all John lii, 18, 3G). All efforts of the |
natural man to please God are like the |
offering Of Cain which God could not ac- |
cept, but the sinner who like Abel con
fesses his sin and accepts Gods way of |
sacrifice is accepted.
10, 16. HE shall baptize you with the |
Holy Ghost and with fire." As the peo-
pie wondered whether John was the /
Christ or not, he told them of the One
mightier than he whose shoes he was not |
worthy to ,unloose. He said he was not
Elijah, nor that prophet, nor the Christ,
but just one to herald and point out the
Christ, and he loved to cry, Behold, the
Lamb Of Godr He rejoiced to be the
Bridegroom's friend and hear His voice
and to decrease that the Bridegroom
might increase John iii, 27-3O) and it
was here be said that "A man can receive
nothing except 1t be given him from heav-
en-" This truth received gives perfect
contentment under all circumstances, for
God alone is seen as the giver or with
holder, and when we are one with God
in giving honor to His Son that He
should be in all things pre-eminent nsa.
ii, IL, II; Col. l., 1S) we have a taste of
heaven upon earth. 1t was said Of John
by Gabriel, "He shall be great in the
sight Of the Lord" (chapter /, 15), and
the Lord Jesus said OF him, Among
them that are born Of women there hath
not risen a greater than John the Bap.
tist" (Math. xi, ~. To have only one
ambition, to please God, not needing
what men may think or say, seems to me
to be the height of the Christian life III
Tim. II, Is; Thess. ii, Al, and God has
made provision for our living this life
(Gal. ii, 20; Heb. xiii, 20, 21l. On our
part it requires willingness that Christ I
may be all, and we just vassals for His ;
pleasure, not seeking our own nor pleas
Ing self, but living only to exalt Him.
IL. The reference here to the harvest
which is the end of this age (Afath. xiii,
39) makes us think that the baptism with |
the Holy Ghost and with fire win have
its complete fulfillment at that time also.
1t shall all be fulfilled. Tha sshaff shall
ind the fire and the MheA us garner; !,
The kingdom shall come and Tie earth be
flled with the knowledge of the glory OF ,
he Lord; it shall be at His coming again
N glory. What are we now doing to
prepare the way of the Lord? Have we ,
he spirit Of John leading Us not to think
II self or self interest, but only to de-
ire above all things to make Him known
hat those who win may accept Him and