Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1914-05-15
LESSON FOR MAY II
THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS.

THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS.
LESSON TExT-Luke 1G:14-15 1881.
GOLDEN TEXT-"Whoso stoppeth his
ears at the cry of the poor, he shall
also cry, but shall not be heard" Prov.
21:13.
Verses IA and Is link this parable
with the teaching of Jesus about cove
tousness and stewardship. Verse Is
is most heart-searching one. 1t de-
mands that we look well to the stan
dards by which we measure our con-
duct, l Sam. 1877. 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 (16-18) 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 little 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.
4:3.
Why He Is Condemned.
!. The Life That Now Is, Wv. 1922.
The revised version for verse 10, now
there was a certain rich man"-indi-
Gates even stronger than the King
James version that tais is the story of
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
| Tim 6:17-19. A wrong use of money
| damns a 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 IL his life as he sought sensual
satisfaction. Eccl 1:S. Lazarus lying
at the door was living rebuke to his
| self-indulgence. Here is another of
those vivid pictures that not alone re-
veals the misery but makes an indeli-
Bile impression on the mind. 1t is bet
ter, however, to be beggar, sore and
hungry in this life and go to heaven
hereafter, than to enjoy the pleasures
| of sin for season and be forever in
torment In TIC life to come The name
Lazarus means God his help" and is
an indication of his character. 1t did
not look as though God was mindful
of bis own" but the sequel abundantly
| corrects such an idea. Poverty and
distress are not proof that God is dis
pleased with men, and we believe are
not due to any fault of God He prom.
ises to supply (Phil. 4:19) though we
may sometimes hunger Cor. Ali; II
Cor. 11:27; Phil. 4:12 The dogs were
better friends for Lazarus than the
rich mar though he must have known
who Lazarus was ". 24) as well as
having knowledge of his need ". 25)
Contrast the death of the two. It was
q privilege for the poor man to die
Phil. 1:21-23, not so for the rich man
going from this life he left all and
to draw upon for the future life, Matt
1921; Luke 12:20-21 The rich mar
had his funeral with leading citizens
as. pall-bearers, the poor man "was
buried" but angels were his compan
IONS
Positions Reversed.
H. The Life Which Is to Come, w
1881. Unconscious of the need of 9th
ers here the rich man is very mucf
conscious of his own need in .hade!
when subject to torment and anguish
There is no need of trying to minimize
or to 'iexplain" nor to deny these
words of Jesus. He'll is for the vii
fully disobedient, and was never pre-
pared for man fMatt. 25:41). Or
earth he saw Lazarus Eat his gate,
now with Abraham, resting ''in hi
BOSOM" Their positions are reversed
the petitioner is now the rich MAJ
who begs for mercy" though in lif,
fhe showed none at all. His plea wal
for his tongue; that organ had beel
pampered in life but now it is in mis-
cry, because deprived of earthly salts
faction. The solemnity of this lessor
is very great. AS we have suggeste'
Luke does not call this parable. /
is possible that Jesus auditors knew
the very people OF whom he was speak
ing, some notoriously wealthy cit
zen recently deceased, and some well
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 j
, determined by the use Of the life "tha
now is" The gate of heaven is withou
our self-centered life and often take
!. the form of beggar. To wrongly en-
, ploy our wealth, to live within IN
! gate of selfshness will shut the gat
, of heaven in our own faces. If W
) pass without that gate of selfshnes
and minister, presently we find W
have made friend in the life beyond
1t is not the crumbs we give the bes
gar, that which we do not miss,
), must be self-emptying service and hor
est efforts to serve and relieve need
] men. Men do not, of course, ente
I heaven by philanthropy, that is quit
evident for Lazarus did not have tn
means of philanthropic activity. TIL
rich man then makes request for hi
| brothers. This seems like covert e.
| of1Cp for bic Oxu,1 oOrd11at " 20h