The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1910-04-13
The
sundays School
INTERNATIONAL LESSON COM
MENTs FOR APRIL "a.
Subject: Warning and Invitations
Matt. 11:2O-30-Commft
Verses $3.50.

Matt. 11:20-30-Commft
Verses $3.50.
GOLDEN TEXT.-"Come unto Me-
all We that labor and are heavy laden,
and I will give you rest" Matt.
1928. .g 80
TIME.-Midsummer, A. D. 2S. ~
PLACE.-Capernaum.
EXPOSITION.|. Warnings OK
Unntterable Woe to the Impenitent.
1924. The works of God are a CALI
to repentance (cf. Ro. "a; Acts@11:t.
80, 81. The greater and more man.
ifest the works the louder the call 70
repentance. If we see great works ol9
God and do not repent, we bring
greater guilt and condemnation upon
ourselves. Chorazin and Bethsatda
had been witnesses to marvellous
workings of Gods grace and power IN
Jesus Christ. These should have
brought them to repentance and the
acceptance Of Jesus Christ as the Sa-.
viour and Lord. But they had not re-
pented. They had closed their eyes
and hardened their hearts and that
which was intended for their saliva
ton became their condemnation.s
Christ accepted brings salvation and
eternal life; Christ rejected brings
greater condemnation and more tntol-
cradle judgment and penalty (HebSf
1923, 29). Their impenitence was
utterly without excuse and Jesus up;
braided them Tor It. But we have
more light than Chorazin and Beth-
saida. How then must Jesus regard
those who do not REPENT among u.s.
Sodom was q very guilty city. It's
vileness has become the synonym or
all that is most indescribably loathss
some in vice, but the guilt OF New
York and Chicago, London and other
American and English cities Is greats
er than that of Sodom; for these ctt1s
les have rejected greater light. The
amount of light given and rejected ia
the measure of the guilt of the na-
ton and of the Individual. Caper-
naum thought 1t would surely be exa
'alted to heaven because Of the great
grace bestowed upon 1t, but Jesus
said Ehis would drag it,down to hades,
because that boosted grace was de-
spised and neglected. Our blessings
as a nation will drag us down to-
hades unless we repent. Jesus COM
templated ths~coming- Judgment Of
Chorazin and Bthsaida with unut-
terable sorrow tSf. Matt. 23:3D.
How great must bekthe sorrow with
which He contemplates the Judgment
soon to come on the men and nations
Of to-day who reject the W0ndrous
light given them. Jesus puts the re-
j~ectionJof Himself as the supreme sin
and the one meriting heaviest con-
demnation, another proof, of His
deity. Jesus Is the supreme NANTES
tation Of truth and God. The rejec-
ton of Him Is, therefore, the final
revelation Of q heart welded to dark
ness, error and sin; 1t is the supreme,
decisive damning sin Get. Jno. 3:1S,
19).
n. Promises Of Unspeaknble joy
to Those Who Come to Jesus, $3.50.
In v. rs we find one Of the most inn
portant principles upon which God
deals with men in the revelation OF
His truth. II we are to get Gods I'M
finite wisdom we must renouaee our
finite wisdom. The man who Is full.
of his own wisdom cannot have Gods
(cf. Is. 5:21n,1SGor.s1:18-27).aH we
are to be wise. with the true wisdom,
we must take our place as fools 70. be-
taught. by the All-wise q Cor. '3:18-a
20). Jesus Christ rejoiced in the
Spirit and thanked God that thisis so
(Luke 1921, R. W. The 9th verse
contains a tremendous statement OF,
the authority committed to Jesus. III
Is to be taken in the broadcast and
most absolute sense (Matt. 1913;
Jno. 1895; 1873; 17:2; Eph. 100;
90; Phil. 2:10, Ii; Heb. 2:8l10; Acts
1880. God has actually committed
the whole universe, celestial as well:
as terrestrial, into the hands OF Jesuy
Christ. We have O wonderful ana
mighty Saviour, He is also a wise
Saviour. He thoroughly knows God.
He alone does, and those to whom He
wills to reveal Him. How foolish
then are those who seek to know God
by a. study Of philosophy or theoso-
ply, or comparative religion. Out
side Of the revelation Jesus Christ
makes Of the Father, God is, indeed,
as the agnostic says, "the Unknow-
able" But there Is n who knows
God and who Is ready to give to any
one who will believe on Him an un-
derstanding that he also may know
God Il Jno. $500. The words Of v.
2S are among the most wonderful
that ever fell from the lips of Him
who spake as never man spake. Here
again His deity shines out bright and
clear. What presumption or lunacy
it would have been in Jesus to have
said this If He were mere man. But
that it is neither presumption mol lu-
macy is amply proven by the fact that
thousands upon thousands have put
these words to the test of actual ex-
pertinent and found them absolutely
true. Jesus does give rest. Note
four things in this wonderful invf-
tation: Cd Who invites-Jesus. (2)
Whom He invites-all that labor and
are heavy laden. Commentators have
sought to set various limitations upon
this, e. e., chose who labor under
burden of guilt" 1t includes those,
but is not limited to them. 1t means
just what it says. Cali that labor"
Christ invites every n that has a
Burden. 1t may be sin, remorse,
doubt, sorrow, sickness. No matter
what, overburdened man, Jesus says.
Come" 80 To what He invites
rest. That is what the human heart
Graves, that Is what Jesus gives. (4)
Tho condition "Comen That IL all