The Madisonian. (Richmond, Ky.) 1913-1914, 1914-05-12

LESSON TExT-Luke 16:14-15; 1871.
GOLDEN TExT-"Whoso stoppeth his
ears at the cry of the poor, he shall
also cry. but shall not be heard" Prov.
bib
Verses IA and Is link this parable
with the teaching of Jesus about cove
tousness and stewardship. Verse Is
is a most heart-searching one. 1t de-
mands that we look well to the stan
dards by which we measure our. con-
duct, I Sam. 1871. That the teaching
of Jesus was effective is evidenced by
the statement of verse IA. These
Pharisees were naturally cool, cynical,
calculating and their scoffing shows
that Jesus had probed them deeply.
Their love of money-service of man.
mon-made them unfaithful In their
professed stewardship. In the inter
vening verses (16-1S) Jesus condemns
their attitude of seeking to justify
themselves in the sight of men, de-
claring such an attempt to be useless
in the sight of God The methods men
exalt are an abomination to him. No
jot or title of the law can fail. This
he emphasizes by an illustration about
the binding nature of the marriage re-
lationship. We get our suggested two
fold division of this lesson from Tim.
AS.
Why He Is Condemned.
!. The Life That Now Is, w. 1922.
The revised version for verse 10, now
there was certain rich man"-indi-
Gates even stronger than the King
James version that this is the story of
a historical incident. Jesus did not
mention the rich mans name, nor
does he enumerate his moral delin-
quencies. Even morality cannot save
man from punishment in the next
life Nor is this rich man condemned
because he is rich. He is condemned
because he sought to enjoy his pleas
ures in this life, squandering his time
and his money upon sensual pleas
ures, ignoring the need of those at his
door. Jesus had just told these Phari-
sees how to use money ". 81, see l
Tim 6:17-19. A wrong use of money
damns man. A few paltry charities
or even larger gifts given for ostenta-
tious display will not suffice. There
was, however, no real joy to the rich
man In his life as he sought sensual
satisfaction, Eccl 18. Lazarus lying
at the door was living rebuke TO his
self-indulgence. Here is another OF
those vivid pictures that not alone re.
l. I,,4 l. - III
BILE impression on the mind. 1t is bet
! ter, however, to be a beggar, sore and
! hungry in this life and go to heaven
hereafter, than to enjoy the pleasures
of sin for a season and be forever in
torment in the life to come. The name
Lazarus means "God his help" and is
an indication of his character. 1t die
not look as though God was mindful
of his own" but the sequel abundantly
corrects such an idea.
Positions Reversed.
II. The Life Which Is to Come, Wv
1881. Unconscious Of the need of 9th
| ers here the rich man is very much
! conscious of his own need in hades
when subject to torment and anguish
There is no need of trying to minimize
! or to explain" nor to deny these
words of Jesus. He'll is for the will
! fully disobedient, and was never pre-
pared for man Matt 25:41). Or
| earth he saw Lazarus Eat his gate,
now with Abraham, resting Gin his
bosom" Their positions are reversed
| the petitioner is now the rich mar
who begs for mercy" though in life
| he showed none at all. His plea was
| for his tongue; that organ had beer
| pampered in life but now it is in mis-
cry, because deprived of earthly salts
! faction. The solemnity CT this lessor
| is very great. As we have suggested
! Luke does not call this a parable 1
| is possible that Jesus auditors knew
the very people of whom he was speak
ing, some VIGOROUSLY wealthy citi
zen recently deceased, and some we'll
known alms-seeker. For a momen
our Lord withdraws the curtain t
let those about him read the story
catch, for an instant, a glimpse. h
shows Us that the attitudes of toda,
determine the destinies of tomorrow
The experience of life beyond death il
determined by the use of the life "tha
now is The gate of heaven is withou
our self-eentered life and often take
the form of a beggar. To wrongly EN-
ploy our wealth, to live within tn
gate of selfshnez;s will shut the gat
of heaven in our own faces. II w
pass without that gate of self1shnes
and minister, presently we find W
have made a friend in the life beyond
1t is not the crumbs we give the beg
gar, that which we do not miss,
must be self-emptying service.
This lesson raises the question, Ear
the ruling desires Of our lives such a
shall develop qualification and satil
faction in the life to Gomez" If no
we do well to heed this story, Col. 81.
2. Memory is also active in that fl
ture existence and it will be either
source Of gratifying joy or else of VI
speakable anguish. We are taugf
that education is largely developed OF
of memory and the Scripture tells L
!. that as man thinketh so is he, Pro
: 1877. Small wonder Paul should e,
o hort us to think on holy things, Phi
i 4:8. with such prospect in view fl
all