The Brinkley argus., 1914-02-06
LESSON FOR FEBRUARY 8.
DARKNESS AND LIGHT.

pARkNEss AND LIGHT.
 LESSON TExTrLuke M n:H-S. ..ss,or. n.ss; whether the light that Is in thee De not darkness" Luke 11:8.
 I. The Accusation (vv. 14-16) The fact of demonology as revealed In me New Testament records is nere strongly emphasized. Their existence. their malignity. their evil powers. their relation to the devil. and yet their subjection to our Lord. Is all clearly set before us. The devil had 70 taken possession of this man that he could not speak. yet word rom Jesus, and the dumb spake. That ne should have such power caused the people to wonder" (v. 14). His mir acles were for one principal reason (John 5:36). Matthew tells us (12:z5) that in this case they asked the ques- ton: "Is this the Son of David" Q. g.. the promised Messiah? The record does not, however, indicate that they believed on him-were converted. They knew what had been prophesied about the Coming One (lsa. zS:lS. 32:3, 4). yet they hesitated to come out on his side. Into the midst or their controversy (v. 16. Matt. 12:24; Mark 3:22) the Scribes and Pharisees protected themselves They had come down from Jerusalem seeking. ''that they might accuse him" (John 19:35, 36). It is ever thus that the devil seeks to divert.
 Convincing Loslc.
 III. The Defense (vv. 17-2O). 'but he, knowing their thoughts" Evident ly they dared not openly to make their accusations. They would not accept the natural and true explanation. Jesus endured this contradition and these charges for us Qsa. 63:3. D. and must not his disciples expect Q like treatment? (Matt. 10:z6). With convincing logic Jesus reveals thefI motive (v. 16) and demonstrates the untenable position and concluston which resulted from their own charge. Satan is not fighting himself. A king never sends an army against his own soldiers, but against those of his en- emy. Therefore. out of their own ac- knowledgement that the devils were cast out. he proves that the Kingdom of God has come upon them. Such an accusation (v. 15) was to Jesus an ev- idence of the depravity of their hearts. There is keen sarcasm in the answer he demanded from them (v. 19). Evi- dently they, too, had had power over demons, and it Is easy to see the di- lemma into which he led them. This is not the only time that Jesus con victed men out of their own testi- mony (Matt. 21:25).
 III. The Application (vv. 21-26). With true teachers skill Jesus drives home the truth brought out in the preceding paragraph. Satan is 8 strong man," but he. Jesus, is strong CT. He has power to overcome and to take from the strong man his armor (defense). and his spoil. and to bind him fast (v. 22; Mark 3:27; Rev. 20:2). Those bound by chains of sin are the spoil of Satan. and Jesus is the only one powerful enough to-
 break the power of cancelled ain
 And set the prisoner free.
 cIeanse the Palace"
 With Christ there must be entire possession: there can be no neutrality (v. 23). We cannot belong to Christ and be slave to Satan. to mammon. to self, or even to others whom we may love. The persistence of evil is here indicated. Unclean spirits are ever seeking habitation. Therefore 1t is not enough for a man to be cleansed, his dwelling must be occu- pied. and If the Holy Spirit does not take possession. the evil one will. The parable that follows (vv. 24-26) teaches this truth negatively. In one case Satan Is dislodged by Christ. he finds the palace" (v. 22) (mRn) to be pre-occupied. In this case the pal ace is empty (Matt. 12:44). The ab- sence of a positive attachment. too, or possession by. Jesus Christ. involves hostility to him. This picture is that
 
 of the reformed man. not of the re generated man. This latter has his place pre0ccupied. and the returning spirit can find no place of abode. Un- less. however. such be the case. the latter end of that man Is far worse than his first state; witness the gold cured intemperate men who return to their cups @ Pet. 2:22); they return because they have no strong defender to drive oif the returning enemy. This application and principle here propounded may. and does, account for most of the back-aliding after many of the so-called conventions. vix.. that the germ of character has not been generated (John 3:D. It is by far the most difficult proposition in Christian work to reach one who is thus gospel hardened.
 w. The Illustration (vv. 3s-36). In his teaching. Jesus constantly used fa- mfliar ObjeCtn hg llluatrntiona. The