The Fargo forum and daily republican. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1894-1957, 1914-02-13
SUNDAY SCHOOL.
Lesson vII.--First Quarter, For
Feb. Is, 1914.
THE INTERNATIONAL SERIES.

TeEs Of the Lsssow, Luke ri, $3.50.
Memory Verse, 42-Goidsn Texs, Gal.
vi, documentary Prepared by Rev.
.. M. stsarns.
When we remember that our bless
ed Lord knew all men and knew what
was in man and every thought Of
mans heart (Jehn ii, a, %; Ezek. ri,
D. we wonder how He in His purity
and righteousness could live among
men as He did and not be utterly dis
couraged. But He came to save sin
ners, knowing that every imagination
Of the thoughts of mans heart 10 only
evil continually and that every man
at his best state Is altogether vanity
and that all rasa's righteousness La
only filthy rags Uen. vi, 5; Ps. xxxix).
AS to these Pharisees, il we note
what He says Of them in Matt. xiii
as well as in our lesson we wonder
that He could think Of entering one
Of their homes. II He was only a man,
however good, He could not tolerate
them, but being God In human form,
God manifest in the flesh, He was not
willing that even such should perish
and would save them If they would
let Him. But they, being ignorant OF
Gods Righteousness aud going about
to establish their own righteousness,
would not submit themselves unto the
righteousness OF God Rom. <, 81.
They rejected &ke counsel Of God
against themselves and derided Him.
Yet when they invited Him into
their homes He went, as In our lesson
and i'm Luke vii, SO, but he was al
ways 1.-The faithful witness (Rev. iii.
~ testifying to the love Of God and
the sinfulness Of man. The word
"Pharisee" means q separated one,
but their separation was not from sin
unto God, but from all who did not
think as they did and were to them
common and unclean, as when one OF
them said, God, / thank thee that ]
am not as other men . " " or even as
this publican" duke xviii, III.
wv NoJ ISNSAAS VIGIL dLAAhlHbEA
with them by considering our Lords
estimate Of them in the woes" Of our
lesson and Matt. xiii and lisa. v.
They knew not the love Of God, but
they did love the praise Of men. Their
religion was wholly outward. seeking
only human approval, utterly regard
less Of what God thought OF them or
knew them to be (Matt. xiii, 8, 2s).
Like their ancestors, they regarded
not the work Of the Lord, neither con
sidered the operation Of His hands.
They cast away the law OF the Lord
Of hosts and despised the word of the
Holy One OF Israel Elsa. Y, Il, "a.
They honered God with their lips, but
their hearts were far from Him, and
they made His word Of none effect by |
their traditions (Mark vii. 6, ID; Iss.
XIX, 10; Eek. xxxiii, 81. Their relt-
gion was from Cain, who was the hui
man founder Of all false religion and
who was evidently in the mind Of ou-
Lord In the great woe chapter wheh
He spoke of the blood Of righteous
Abel (Matt. xiii, 35.
The greatest hindrance to the gos-
pei is not the worldly world, which lieth
In the wicked one Il John v, 1917, but
the religious people whose religion is
all outward, who know not what 10 to
worship God In spirit and in truth,
and who think more Of what others
think Of them than Of the approval of
tina Lord Jesus and who Ara unorM
sensitive to a reproach against them
selves than to q reproach against the
name Of the Lord. These are the
wicked who plot against the Just, who
watchsth the righteous and seeketh to
slay him (Ps. xxxvii, IL, 32), even az
these men lay in wait for our Lord,
seeking to catch something out Of His
mouth that they might accuse Him.
The self righteousness Of such peo-
pie could not take them into the king
dom Of heaven CMatt. v, 20l, but would
doom them to the outer darkness.
where there shall DO weeping and
gnashing Of teeth (Matt. viii, ~.
Never did Lord turn away or say
a severe werd to a truly penitent SIN
ner or n honestly seeking the truth.
but to those who protested to be what
they were not and yet were righteous
in their own estimation He was Sc
we're. Yet even such. who thought
they had need Of nothing, He gcoun-
seled to buy Of Him gold tried I'm the
fire. and white raiment and, eye salve