Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1916-11-10
LESSON FOR NOVEMBER IL
WORLDS TEMPERANCE SUNDAY.
LESSON TExT-Romans 14:1s-15:a

GOLDEN TEXT-It is not good to eat
flesh, nor to drink wine, nor to do any
thing whereby thy brother stumbleth.-
Rom. 4:21
The early Christian church had two
outstanding problems, the question OF
the Sabbath days 1.-TWO of them) and
the question of eating meat offered to
| idols. This lesson suggests the solu-
ton of the latter. Our modern prob
lem of intoxicating liquors is vesy
much the same as this ancieht one of
the early Gentle Christians.
!. "Let us not therefore Judge one
another" (vv. 1879. There are GER
tain acts which are universally cOnced-
ed to be right and within the Christian
law of liberty There are also other
acts which are as plainly prohibited.
There are large number of acts which
4 lie in the region between these two,
and men ought to be careful how they
condemn one another for these latter
things Where good and true men diff
fer, their acts, on the matter of the
Sabbath (See Col. 2:1sl, or on temper
ance, must be determt6ee as being
unto the Lord, sincerely. conscientious-
ly. 1t is not for us te judge ". 13).
literally, to pronounce judgment They
have a right to their opinion and to
their liberty of thought and action, but
wv. IA, %. 23) IS for Paul or the
Christian, he must have clear con-
science. He must have faith and be
assured that he is right; otherwise he
is condemned by God and by his own
conscience, and is not a sincere Chris
tian disciple. The word therefore in
verse 13 points back to verse II. which
ought to be carefully pondered As we
have each to repder our accounts to
God, we should stop judging one an
other. Food is a very proper thing,
| and laws are also proper, yet love is
the ruling principle of the Christian
life.
. We ought to have our liberty cur
tailed rather than have our souls lost.
If we magnify our liberty to the sacri-
: fee of our brothers soul we walk no
longer in love-" The demands of
Christian love are more to the true
followers of Christ than the permis-
g sions of Christian liberty The priyi-
: lege of eating and drinking while 1t
t Injuries others, however harmless to
! yourself, is not to be tolerated.
: The word "stumbleth" here used
6 ". 21) implies movable trap or snare,
e literllly any impediment placed In the
+ way so as to cause another to fall We
it must never forget that even weak
d brother is "a brother for whom Christ
died"
e II. LET not your good be evil spoken
i Of" wv. 1929. The kingdom of God
l. Is not meat and drink, but it is life
ie of Righteousness, peace and Joy in the
,r Holy Ghost. Our liberty is to be so
b used that it shall not be evil spoken
n of. The real proof that we are in the
b kingdom of God and that the kingdom
d of God is in us is not found in our
a. scrupulousness or lack of it, in our eat
IL ing and drinking, but in the manifesta-
N tions of righteousness in our lives, and
j. of having peace in our hearts 15:13).
81 This peace must be manifested toward
ut our fellow men ". 49, Oh. 10 :18) and
Y, being filled with "joy in the Holy
q Ghost" The object of our pursuit is
to be the things which make for peace.
n- the things whereby we may fill one
ie another up, not the exploitation of
IL some pet hobby, for the kingdom of
n. God does not consist of riding hobbies.
le In this matter of temperance reform
u we all recognize that alcohol has many
Id uses besides that for drinking pur-
poses, and that there are various opin-
ions about drinking certain forms of
g it, and various ways of advancing the
- temperance cause, all of which are
toJ1 Nv
IN Christian patriotism demands that eY-
cry true-hearted man or woman. every
one who is loyal to his country, to hu-
manity and to his Cod should take
u Pauls position, ~ That he will not
III be stumbling block in the way of the
u weak and of the young. (2) That he
u will not do anything TO destroy his
re brother for whom Christ died. (3) That
he will deny himself anything for their
* sake. az That his attitude will be
IN that of love and not of selfishness,
al This places temperance on high moral
or plane but the world is also beginning
et- to recognize that the temperance ques-
re- ton is also an economic one The re-
at cent developments in Europe, since the
19 war began, are tremendously. signih-
L..
a recent advance upon the eastern front
ice is really an advance of an army led
IN by General Abstinence and not by
lth any particular military general. 1t is
not merely a question as to whether q
ed thing is wrong in itself or whether you
of will hurt yourself by it, but the real
ed question is, ''Will anyone be injured
ed made to stumble, by doing what am
et, doing?" This will settle the moderate
me drink question, the tobacco question
the dance question, card-playing ques
,u- ton, theater-going question, and 6
yas thousand and one other questions.
Eg It is well to have faith, but it II
ar. also well to have the love that does
m not injure others by the exercise o
in that faith. The question is, Are yol
al perfectly sure this thing is right ?
III. 1--WE then that are strong" us
~ 1-3). This section is in reality con
tinuation of Chapter IA. Paul is con
mo tinuing his thought that we are no
to please ourselves, but rather to liv
naS such lives as will edify or build up on
ene neighbor. Our strength is not give
ate to us that we may glory Sor lord j
are over our weaker brethren, but rathe
eeo that we may serve them.
re- To please my neighbor does not mea
ner that "when in Rome do as the Roman
ono do" but rather to live such life tbs
op- my action will be for the good and ed
not fication of my brother, thereby plea:
fter ing God (Gal. 1:10l.
The final argument here presentet
3. and the crowning emphasis, is tbs
alcn ssChrist pleased not himself"
ckei If the Master of men who came 1nt
'ead the world mot to be ministered unit
ety. hut to minister sets US such an e.
lure annie, how inexcusable it is for l
heets -, A.. ,,1oAso o,,rSolvaS