The Holmes County times., 1906-09-28
QUARTERLY
TEMPERANCE
LESSON
Sunday SchOOILess ssOniOrSept.3O. 1906
Specially Prepared for This Paper.
Specially Prepared for This Paper.

Memory verses, Z, >. -,
GOLDEN TEXT.-"Wlne is a mocker,
strong drink is raging PROV. 201.
EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS
Written by Paul the Apostle. The Gala-
tians were probably the Inhabitants OF the
wider Roman province of that name, ana
included I.ystra, Derbe, Iconium ana An
tioch.
The place in the history when these
churches were founded would therefore
be Acts IL and IA, A ID. 1850.
The date of the writing was early A. ~
5S according to Lightfoot. 1t was writ
ten at Corinth, the place in the history
being Acts 20:1-5. According to Ramsay
and McGiffert it was written at Antioch
just before the second missionary jour-
ney, A. d. 81; and the place in history Is
Acts 15:S0-41.
Comments and Suggestion Thought.
V. Is. Bite and devour." Terms de-
rived from the habits of wild animals,
which snap and bite when momentar-
lily angered, or again deVour with a
determined purpose to injure one an
other. Under influence of evil pas
sions, men treat one another in ways
which closely resemble these.
V. 16. Walk in the Spirit" Live
as the Spirit directs. Instead of tell
ing us to work hard to overcome that
within us which prompts such self
seeking and envy and hatred, the
apostle has something better to ad-
Vise-namely, that we let the Spirit OF
God have the right of way in our
hearts and lives. Shall not fulfill"
The strongest negative possible. "The
lusts of the flesh" You will not yield
to those evil impulses of the lower ma
ture, because you will not want to.
Lust" meaning simply desire, is used
here in the sense of evil passion.
V. II. "The flesh against
the Spirit, the Spirit against
the flesh" The lower nature, and the
higher nature with it's Ally, the Holy
Spirit, are at strife as to which shall
rule This is inevitable, since they are
contrary the one to the other" The
lower nature draws us downward to-
ward the level of the brutes that per.
ish, urging us to give attention to what
we shall eat, drink, wear, and how we
shall get on in material things, while
the Spirit seeks continually to fix our
hearts and thoughts on enduring and
heavenly things. "Ye cannot do the
things ye would" Cannot, unless you
let the Spirit rule and teach you to
love and follow those things which are
right. Contrast Rom. 7:1S-24 with
Rom. 81 A half-hearted Christian is
about the most miserable person on
earth; he cannot enjoy doing evil, and
has not practiced right-doing sufficient
ly to enjoy that.
V. 1S. IF led by the Spirit" If you
follow the guidance of the divine Help
Der. "Not under the law" You have
no need of law, hence never feel its
restraints. A person honest and hon.
orable at heart, does not feel bound
or restrained by the law. Thou shalt
not steal"
VS.. 1921. Works of the flesh" The
results of obeying it's evil impulses.
"Are manifest" Though sin may first
be In secret, full soon it shows itself
in the outward acts. The Apostle
enumerates II forms of sin by which
evil manifests itself. These have been
grouped as four sins Of sensuality,
three sins, of false religion, eight sins
against our fellow-men, two sins Of in
temperance. "All of those II abomina-
tions on the black list are the logical
results of the saloon and the drink
habit"
V. 22. "The fruit of the Spirit" The
fruit which the Holy Spirit produces
in the life of one who yields wholly to
his inspiration and guidance.
V. %. Temperance" or "self-con.
troll" Refers to the control of all the
appetites, including abstinence from
strong drink, but also self-control in
eating, pleasure-seeking and all other
allowable qualifications. AS use of al.
coholic drink opens the~way to every
one of the works of the ffesh," so
temperance brightens each fruit of the
Spirit, and without it not one of them
can retain its luster. against such
no law" Because those who
cherish these virtues violate no law of
God nor righteous laws of men.
WA. "They that are Christ's." (See
Revised Version rendering) They
who live in union with Christ, who
abide in him and he in them. (See
John 15:1-8.) Have crucified the
flesh" They have become dead to
sin. Affections" Better, passions" "
The proper desires of the flesh they
have learned to keep in subsection.
v. 7. "Be not deceived" Be on
guard against self-deception. God is
not mocked." God is not deceived, nor
can he alter his wise laws.
v. s. "Soweth to his flesh" He
who leads a life of self-indulgence,
seeking only to crafty the desires Of
the flesh. Reap corruption" Since
this body must return to the dust,
whence it came, all that he has lived
for will end at death. Moreover, a
course of self.indulgence corrupts the
moral nature, deadens the soul.
"soweth to the Spirit" Following
the Spirits guidance, lives for spirit
ual things. REAP life everlasting" +"
Having lived and labored for those
things which cannot die, he has laid
up treasures above.