Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1914-11-11
SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON FOR NOV. Is
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Commentary Prepared In An Inter-
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Stearns

ol. 'IOu ana the ueNll race 10 lace, now
we have the same Lord Jesus i'm the
hands az His enemies and the strange
of His most favored disciples. All who
are not saved are lost. but He came
To seek and To save the lost. When
any lost one is convinced OF sin and
truly receives the Lord Jesus Christ
hey become saved ones. and all such
ire equally saved: no one is more saved
han another. for all have the same
Saviour and the same salvation But
he experience of such ms are saved is
very varied. and the rewards will he
according TO service
Some follow fully as did Caleb and
Joshua. while some follow afar off like
Peter in this lesson. Some utterly re-
nounce the world. the flesh and the
devil. while some are more or less con
formed 10 this present evil age.
Some have no confidence in self and
lean wholly upon the Lord. but others
are too often self confident as Peter
was when he said. Il will lay down my
life for Thy sake" John Kill. 30.
When the band of soldiers took Jesus
and led Him away Peter followed Him
afar off. even unto the palace OF the
high priest. and sat with the servants
and warmed himself at the fire oversees
13. 54D. The record in John xviii. IL.
10. is thatfeter and John both follow
ed Jesus, but John being known 10 the
high priest went into the palace. but
Peter stood ~ the door without until
John spoke unto her that kept the door
and brought In Peter.
There is growth in grace and in the
knowledge OF our Lord and Saviour
Iesus Christ. a blessed experience. OF
which Peter speaks in the last verse
# his second eplstle III Pet. i'll. 49,
There is also q possibility of growing
departure from the Lord. even in the
case Of saved person. and that the
saved one enter the kingdom saved as
by fire Il Ger. ill. IL; Y. ~. but accord
ing 10 the words OF the Lord Jesus Him
self II il impossible that saved one
should ever perish (John X. 2Sl
Peters downward steps as disciple
seem to have been his self confidence
and consequent laundering. his follow
ing afar instead of fully. his sitting in
the company of the servants and warm
ing himself at their fire. followed by
his profanity and base denial. Earlier
in the record we hear Peter advising
the Lord not To speak OF suffering but
IN ther To pity Himself: on which occa-
sion he was told that Il was Satan
speaking through him and that he sa-
vored OF men rather than of God Matt
xvi. o.. 23l On this occasion he was
again IN the hands OF Satan 60 he sift-
ed. but our Lord had prayed for him
I duke xxi. 1884,. Peter learned by
bitter experience something of the wiles
Of the devil and therefore could write
all the more forcefully BE sober. be
vigilant because your adversary, the
devil, as a roaring lion. walketh about
seeking whom he may devour whom
resist steadfast in the faith" q Pet v.
4 8, o.
The true Christian life is the Not l..
but Christ Not |. but the grace of
God" attitude No confidence In the
flesh, but rejoicing in Christ Jesus Gal
I ii, 20; Cor. XIV. 10; Phil. ill, -. The
company OF the ungodly is no place for
a child OF God, and il is not for us to
walk or stand or sit with them. We
do not need the warmth OF their fire.
J but by meditation on the word OF God
may have such fire in us as the dis
/ ciples had with whom the Lord walked
/ to Emmaus Cps. 1. l. 2; xxx, 3; Luke
/ xiv. 32l. Unbelievers have 4 great
many warming up places, such as the
theater. the dance. the card table. and
/ too often those who profess TO be
\ Christians, and perhaps are. may be
/ found in such company and yet do not
/ hesitate 10 sing, Thou, o Christ, art
! all I want. more than all in Thee /
Hnd."
We should be careful to sing the truth
as we'll as speak the truth, for only as
we do this is 1t real worship.
That Peter should be ashamed or
afraid TO confess Christ before these
servants seems pitiful indeed. l Judge
from his cursing and swearing that he
was probably given 10 profanity before
he began 20 follow Jesus. and this was
a sudden outbreak OF the old nature
which remains in us as long as we stay
in these mortal bodies and concerning
which we are said to he always deliv-
cred unto death III Cor. iv, 10, IL;
Rom. vi. H. What look OF love and
pity and sorrow il must have been that
Jesus gave To Peter and which sent him
out to weep bitterly, for he was evil
IDENTIFY where Jesus could see him duke
xii, 81. ca.
IL would be well for us II we would
always remember that those same eyes
are ever upon us. searching us through
and through. and live by the well OF
Him that lveth and seeth me Gil Cor.
xvi. o; Gen. XVI. Is. IA. margin). Con-
trast this same Peter. spirit filed, In
the presence OF the high priest and
the council. bold as lion acts Nv. 5-13,
10 20). and let us he so filed.