The Carlisle independent., 1917-03-15
INTERNATIONAL. SUNDNS0IOOL
 LESSON
LESSON FOR MARCH 18
JESUS SAVES FROM SIN.

deed--John S:36.
 Teachers should sketch rapidly in a chronological way the events in the life of our Lord, (See any good harmony and show that this lesson belongs to the period of the Galilean ministry of Jesus when he had gone up to Jerusa- lem to attend the feast of the taber- nacle (John 7:1-52). Let us be sure to load our guns with temperance am intuition, be familiar with facts, take careful aim, concentrate all we have to say upon one definite aim, and then pull the trigger Q. g. be sure to shoot a temperance charge and make a tenn perance application.
 |. The Slavery to Sin. Jesus preyi- ous references to water (Chs. and ? and to bread (ch. 8 were occasfoned by outward occurrences; so with this reference to light. In the treasury (v. 20) near to Jesus as he spake were two colossal, golden lamp stands around which when lighted the people gath cred with rejoicing. Amid the blaze of this illumination, Jesus exclaims: T clAA1 l1lC IAL OI lle AOlAu. Nf Hut lS more beneficent than light as it re- veals, cheers and brings life, health and happiness to mankind? Without light there is no vision. Without Jesus there is no spiritual wisdom. Without light we know not whither we are go- Ing. Without Jesus we grope in the darkness. Every ray of light, of truth. of holiness and love comes from him, for God is light, and in him is no dark ness at all q John :15). Some think that these words were occasioned by the onlookers, seeing what Jesus had written in the sand (vv. 1-1I. The first step in the slavery of sin is blind ness; the second is habit; and the third is that Of absolute slavery (Prov. 3 :22). Jesus was the incarnation of the light of God We cannot con. ceive of Jesus making such an asser. tion as this, and being merely a good man.
 II. The Possibility of Freedom (vv. 31-36.) These words were spoken to those which had believed on him." and as the result they were to know the truth, and the truth should make them free. Knowledge and liberty come from a continuance (abiding) in the word of God (John 14 IS; 16:12-13). Many men reject Jesus Christ because they claim they wish to have their liberty, and by so doing they lose their liberty. 4 dis ciple is learner; Jesus is the teacher; the entrance examinations to the school of Christ are the simple and necessary condition of believing or ac. cepting him as Lord and teacher. The scholars are all the disciples who con- tfnue under his instruction. The ob- ject of the schooling is to make per- feet men, unto the measure of the stature of the fitness of Christ" (Eph. 20; Col. :12). Christ's school is not only in the church and in the Sunday school and Young Peoples society, but it is everywhere, in the home, in the office, at work and play; wherever one Is trying truly to live according to Christ's will, he is in his school. and that school is open both day and night there are no vacations and no recesses. The text book is the Book of books. We need not argue as to the necessity of sin, but realize the fact that all are under sin (Rom, 5:12), but being un- der sin does not necessitate our abid- ing there, nor is sin necessary to our being. This freedom here is from sin and the love of sin and the curse and the penalty of sin and the bondage and corroding care of sin. It is also mental freedom, freedom for Christian ac. tivity. A knowledge of the English Bible is liberal education, and brings true liberty to those who are thus edu- cated. As entrusted to that we have the slavery of sin (vv. 34, 36). The drunkard is a slave because he is re- strained from doing what he knows he ought to do. He cannot even do wrong freely for his conscience constantly up- braids him. He is a slave because he is compelled to bear the consequences of sin against his will. The way of escape (v. 96) is through the son: If the son therefore shall make you free ye shall be free indeed"
 III. The Authority (vv. 56, 58). The  Jews took exception to the words of Jesus (33-55l. When did Abraham see Jesus? Read the 18th and 18th chapters of Genesis, and we find that one of the three who visited Abraham was differ. ent from the other two, and remained behind while two went on to Sodom. The one who remained was the Lord Jesus, Jehovah appearing in human form before his later incarnation as Jesus of Nazareth.
 q Am" Is the name of Jehovah. Jesus here takes that name to himself. There was time when Abraham came to be or was (v. 59), but there was no time when our Lord ever came to be for he is the eternal 'I Am" Being thus one with God, he has the power to set men free.
 We have In this chapter the picture which Jesus draws of the character of the devil as the enemy of mankind un- der two aspects: First, he is a mur. derer (v. Al.