Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1917-02-21
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON FOR FEB. Is
SECURED EXCLUSIVELY By THE
BANNER FOR ITS MANY
READERS
ACCORDING TO THE
INTERNATIONAL SERIES
Text of the Lesson, John v, LIS
Memory Verses, 8, 9-GOlden Text,
John tx, documentary Prepared
by Rev. ID. nj. Stearns.


by Rev. ID. M. Stearns.
While the lesson assigned to US to-
day covers only fifteen verses. we
must consider, as far as possible, the
whole OF this wonderful chapter con-
corning Him who Is the fountain OF
living waters and the only judge OF
all mankind. These feasts were all
originally "feasts Of the Lord" Uev.
xiii, 2, A, AZ. but they had degenerat-
ed into mere religious formalities as
feasts of the Jews. Jesus attended
them because there He found oppor-
tunities to teach and to heal, and 1t
was His custom to go everywhere
preaching the gospel Of the kingdom
and healing all sickness and disease
Matt. iv, 23). The scene Of the heal
ing Of our lesson was at pool In Jeru-
salem called Bethesda, which was by
the sheep market or, as in the margin
and the Revised Version, the sheep
gate Bethesda means house Of mer-
cy, but mercy can only be found In
Him Of whom the sheep gate Is so sug-
gestive, the Lamb and the sheep Of
Isa lii, 6, Z. on whom all our iniqui-
ties were laid, the Lamb Of God, who
taketh away sins. 1t Is interesting to
note that the building Of the wall by
Nehemiah began and ended at the
sheep gate (Neh. fill, /, 32).
rT,I,fe, Y,ool xx.ifT frOnhIa1 votaFc
was as useless for a really impotent
person as were the feasts of the Jews
| to help any one, for he must needs be
a lively impotent who would get in
/ first The poor, hopeless impotent of
! our lesson had his infirmity thirty
| eight years, and we remember that the
| infirmities OF Israel in the wilderness
lasted just thirty-eight years Oeut ii.
4 14), and only the Lord Himself could
and did deliver Israel. Without help
from any mortal man or without ever
touching the pool this poor impotent
was made whole, for surely the foun-
tain is better than the pool, and there
is none other who can do aught for the
really impotent, and such we all are,
for the whole world is guilty before
God, and there is not one thing that
we can do, not one step that we can
take toward the righteousness which
God requires.
We can only plead our guilt and ut
ter helplessness, and then comes from
Him the word OF life and health, and
we become justified freely by His
grace through the redemption that is I'm
Christ Jesus (Rom Ill, 1920. AS it is
stated In verse "a of our lesson chap
ter, hearing His word and receiving
Him we have everlasting life, have
passed from death TO life, and shall
not come into judgment for our sins.
The Judge Himself says so verse 22),
and that settles IL. This is the life
that is given to all the dead in sins
who now receive Him, and the hour
still continues, though it has already
lasted nearly 1900 years verse 25).
The other hour of verses o. 20. will
last 1000 years and will begin with
the resurrection of the righteous at
the coming of Christ q Thess. iv, 1918:
Luke xiv, 14) and will end with the
resurrection of the rest of the dead
for the great white throne judgment
(Rev. XXX, 5, 6, 11-15). Note some of
the testimonies of Him who alone can
give life, before whom all sickness
fees and to whom all judgment has
been committed: The Son can do moth
ing OF Himself; the Father loveth the
Son and sheweth Him all things that
TIfrnco1f dAoth. hz hot
mitted all judgment unto the Son; he
that honoreth not the Son honoreth
not the Father which hath sent Him;
I seek not mine own will, but the will
OF the Father which hath sent me; the
Father Himself hath sent me; / am
come In my Fathers name; had We
believed Moses We would have bellev-
ed me, for He wrote OF me oversees
1923, 30, 81, 43, 46). Yet this Is the
man whom they sought to kill, accus-
ing Him of breaking their Sabbath and
of making Himself equal with God.
One would think that His words and
His works would have convinced them
verse 36). But when people allow
themselves to be blinded by the devil
he does his work very thoroughly.
When the truth is rejected God allows
lies and strong delusion to grasp the
heart I'll Thess. ii, 9-19. One great
hindrance to believing God Is the
temptation to seek honor from men
rather than from God only (verse Az,
the desire to be held I'm esteem by our
fellows because Of learning and schol-
arship. the unwillingness to be wholly
for God and seek in all things only His
approval Jesus Christ came In His
Fathers name seeking in oil things to
glorify Him. and all His words and