The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1913-01-31
SUNDAY SCHOOL
Lesson V.--First Quarter For
Feb. z, 1913.
THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES.

f4--GeIdsn Text, Rom. vi, 23-com-
msntary Prepared by Rev. o. IN.
stearns.
In the end Of chapter Nv we see the
descendants Of Cain getting on In the
world, building cities, inventng must
cal Instruments, working In brass and
iron and improving things generally,
but not with the blessing Of the Lord,
o any acknowledgment of Him. The
outcome Of such disobedience Is seen
IN chapter vi, 8, II, "Au flesh had cor.
rupted his way upon the earth" In
chapter v we see the line Of Abel Or
Seth, who took AbePs place as a pro-
genitor of the race, but there Is notha
ing written OF any Of them on the line
Of world improvement. 1t Is written
Of Rnoch, the seventh from Adam. and
Of Noah that they walked with God'
Gen. v, %, "a; vi, 81, but what It cost
them to do so and the woFldliness
which they condemned by their lives
hAA bhGA SG2GAAAAS NoJ 10 -
from Jude 14-16 and Heb. ri, Z.
So It went on, the cody few ana the
ungodly crowd, for about 1000 years
until the time OF u lesson, when God
saw that the wickedness Of man was
great In the earth and every tmagina-
ton Of the thoughts Of his heart was
only evil continually. He was there
fore compelled to change His method
with man, remove the ace from the
earth and begin anew with Noah and
his family. God repents in the
sense Of changing His mind about any
thing, for known unto God are ALI
His works from the beginning of tho
world" (Num. xxiti, 10; Acts Nv, 80.
We change our minds and then act
differently. God at certain times, be-
fore appointed, takes a different line
Of action, but always knew that He
would
These turnings in His mode Of pro-
ceduFe r spoken Of as Bis repent
ings Chapter vi, 81. Nothing has eve
taken place OF earth or ave will take
place that God has not foreseen from
all eternity and prepared for, and the
end he has In view he will surely
reach In His time and way in spite of
the devil and all his demons and his
hosts Of human followers. As it was
in these first centuries so it has been
ever since and viii be till the king
dom comes. The world lieth in the
wicked one, who Is the prince and god
Of this world. In matters political.
commercial and religious he is the
leader, and the crowds unconsciously
follow him.
Those who believe and follow Jesus
Christ are about like Noah and his
family compared with the multitudes.
This ark which Noah builded was to;
preserve all who were in II. Jochez
beds ark was b preserve the babe
she placed In it. The ark Of the cove
nRnt was to preserve the tables OF tes-
timony. These are the three arks OF
Scripture and all suggestive OF u
Lord Jesus Christ, in whom alone
there is safety. AS In the story OF
Gain and Abel, he who accepts Gods
way is accepted, but the reflector ia re-
jected. The people who helped Noah
to build the ark knew all about the
ark, but all persisted who were not I'M
the ark. 4 good knowledge OF the BIZ
BILE win not avail, nor a knowledge of
Gods plan Of salvation, nor q knowi-
edge about God and Christ. The sinner
must receive Christ or truly IONS TO
Him and take refuge in Him. God
Himself ana He alone was the archi-
tect Of Noah's ark and Of Moses taber-
nacIe and Of the temple Of Solomon.
They had only TO so by the plan. Sal
vation is Of the Lord from start to,
finish, and the n only thing we can
do and that Cod asks OF 10 Is accept
what He has provided without Ques-
tion. Notice the great invitation in
chapter VII, 1, "Come thou and all thy
house into ths ark" f:at
The Lord must therefore have been
the first in the ark, and then He called
Noah and his family to come to Him.
He said concerning Israel, az brought.
you unto Myself Ex. xix, A., and
His word to US is ever Come unto
Me" Matt. II, 90. Make a study OF
HiB comes" from here to Rev. xii,
II. In chapter vii, 16, note that .lths
Lord shut him in" How safe, how
restfui, shut In with Godl We cannot
but think Of the words "Your life Is
hid with Christ In God" Col. iii, 81,
More than a full year was he shut In
Compare chapters vii, IL; viii, Ii, ~,
but the Lord was with him, and that
is true prosperity Gen. xxxix, 2, 8.
1923.
The p~eFtshing of all people and Of
all living creatures on the earth Cvii,
1923 points us on to IL Thess. /, 8,
where we read of vengeance on them
that know not God and that obey not
the gospel Of our Lord Jesus Christ
> when He shall come to be
glotf1ed in His saints. He Himself
has told NJ that when He shall come
IN His glory az the Son OF Man the
condition Of things on earth shall be
as in the days OF Noah and of Lot
Nuke xvii, 26-3Ol. Not when He
comes to the air for His church,
though things will be bad enough
then. r even now, but when He
shall come in His glory, bringing His
church with Him, according to COL
Iii, 4. We are nowhere taught that
the world will be converted before He
comes again, but that He will come to-
q world I'm rebellion and angry be-
cause Of His coming Qsa. XVI, 15, 49,:
Rev. 1, z; xi, .lS).