Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1917-04-11

lcAJ SOHH n, ANVns"S"soAy
Prepared by Rev. ID. M. Stearns.
The Golden Text seems to be the
heart Of the lesson this time II not al
ways. While In our lesson He Is the
Good Shepherd laying down His life
for the sheep and giving unto them
eternal life, with the assurance that
they can never perish nor any power
take them from Him (verses IL, Is,
%, 29), in Heb. Kill, 20, Fl, He is the
Great Shepherd risen from the dead,
living His life In us and working In
us that which is well pleasing In the
sight of the God of Peace. In / Pet.
v, A, He is the Chief Shepherd who
shall give rewards to His faithful fol-
lowers at His appearing. In Gen.
xix, "a; Ps. Xxx, /, He is the Shep-
herd of Israel This last shall be fully
seen when Eek. xxxiv, 11-16, and
verse 81 shall be fulfilled, and then
shall be seen the significance Of Ps.
xiii as never before in the history OF
the world. In our lesson chapter He Is
talking to Israel, but He spoke Of 9TH
er sheep whom He must bring (verse
16), and some OF those we are now
gathering to complete His body, the
church, but the full gathering Of the
nations to Him shall be after Israel
has learned to say. "The Lord is my
Shepherd" according TO Zech. II, 1913;
MANY nations shall be Joined to the
Lord In that day and shall be my peo-
pie" Also Jer. iii, II, "At that time
they shall call Jerusalem the Throne of
the Lord, and all the nations shall be
Lord to Jerusalem"
He had been dealing with and was
In the midst of thieves and robbers,
who sought to enter the fold, but not
by the door. They were persistently
robbing God and making His house a
den of thieves (Mal. iii. s; Matt. xxi,
49,. He is the door as well as the
Shepherd, the only way OF access to
God, Gods own appointed way. and
it is not possible to come to God but
by Him verses 10; chapter xiv, @.
But by Him, the door, any man may
enter in and be saved and In Him find
pastures green and waters of quiet
ness Verse 81, peace as a river and
righteousness as the waves of the sea
Qsa. Xviii, 10. All who are not
Christ's are In the employ OF the lead
er Of all thieves and robbers and liars
and murderers, the devil, OF whom He
said in recent lesson that these re-
ligious hypocrites were his children
Verse 10; viii, Az. With righteous
wrath He denounced them In these
words: Eye serpents, ye generation of
vipers, how can We escape the damna-
ton Of help" Matt. xiii. 49,
The Spirit through Paul said to Ely
mas, who tried to turn a man away
from the door to life, 20 full of all sub
tility and all mischief, child Of the dew
il, enemy of all righteousness, wilt
thou not cease to pervert the right
ways of the LordT" acts Kill, 100
Contrast the Good Shepherd, who by
laying down His life for us has pro-
vided life, and life abundantly, for all
who win receive Him. He gives free
ly that which He has purchased at so
great a price, even the sacrifice of
Himself. Life eternal, the water OF
life, eternal redemption and all that
is included in such expressions be
come the sure and everlasting posses
sion of all who receive Him, and there
is nothing in the Bible that in any way
conflicts with the positive assurances
OF verses 27-30. See Heb. 1, 3; TX, IL
90: Rom. vi, 23; i'll. "a; Rev. xxi, IL
There can be no contradictions in the
Bible, for the same Holy Spirit wrote
the whole book.
AS to life abundantly. compare par
} don abundantly and an abundant en-
trance into His kingdom lisa. lv, Z; IL
Pet. /. ID. The Lord gives not only
freely. but fully, all that He has pur
chased for us, and He desires to be
able to give full rewards for service
i'm that day Ql John - which He
. certainly will do If we have been faith
full. Salvation is wholly OF grace and
the same to all. but the rewards will
be according to our works Rev. xii
12. Note the wonderful statement In
verses II, IS. that no man could take
His life from Him, but that He laid II
down of Himself. having power to dc
this, and to take 1t again. His was the
only life that could not be taken from
Him. 1t is true that they killed Him
but it was because He allowed them
to do it,, He willingly suffered all that
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