Belington progressive. [volume] (Belington, W. Va.) 1912-1927, 1918-08-29
IMPROVED UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL
SUNlYSQIOOL
LESSON
CBy Rev. z, b. FITZWATER, d. D.,
Teacher of English Bible in the Moody
Bible Institute of Chieago)
Copyright 1918. by Western Newspaper unionl
LESSON FOR SEPTEMBER
SOME LAWS OF THE KINGDOM OF
GOD.

GOLDEN TENT Remember the words
of the Lord Jesus, how he said, it is more 1
blessed to give than to receive.-Acts 20:
So
DEVOTIONAL READING-I Corin-
thans 9:6-15.
| ADDITIONAL MATERIAL FOR |
TEACHERS-Luke 1863: Romans 1878; III
Corinthians $685. Hebrews 1916; Ezra /:
"a. Chronicles 291-5.
| The principles of ethics which shall
prevail in the earth when Jesus Christ
! shall be king are entirely different
! from those of the world The worldly
/ spirit always inquiries as to what gain
will accrue from an action or service.
Its policy is doing good for the sake
of getting good. Those who have been
made partakers of the divine nature,
who are really subjects of the king
/ dom, do good because they have the
nature and spirit of God, not because
they expect something in return.
I. Give to Every Man That Asketh
of Thee ". 30).
This does not mean that any request
that may be made by the idle, greedy
and selfish should be granted. Only
evil would result from such indiscrimi-
nate and unregulated giving. Such
benevolence would foster idleness and
selfishness. Oftentimes the worst
thing you can do for man Is to give
him money. The drunkard will only
spend 1t for more drink; the gambler
will continue his dissipation. The
meaning then is, give to the one ask
| i1 %ha oh hn nha
man in poverty needs to be given way
to earn his living, rather than to be
given money without the necessity of
labor. There is that in the human
heart which refuses charity, and
cries out for a means to honestly gain
a livelihood.
II. OF Him That Taketh Away Thy
Goods, Ask Them Not Again ". 3O).
"Ask" here means demand. 1t doubt
less forbids the forclble demanding of
the return of that which has been
taken from one.
III. Do to other Men as You Would
That They Should Do Unto You ivy.
31-34).
This ethic puts life's activities on
the highest possible ground. He does
not say, refrain from doing that which
you would not like to be done to you,
as even Confucius taught; but to pos
itively make the rule of your life the
doing to others as you would wish
them to do unto you. Loving those
who love us, doing good to those who
do good to us, and lending to those
| hoy IN lie i1ct
what all the sinners of the world are
doing The child of the kingdom of
Christ is to be different.
~. Love Your Enemies ". 35).
That which is natural to the human
heart is to hate the enemy. To love
in the real sense means to sincerely
desire the good of even ones enemy
and willingness to do anything pos
sible to bring that good. Such action
is only possible to those who have
been born again. Christ loved those
who hated him. He was willing even
to die for his enemies.
v. Lend, Hoping for Nothing Again
". 35).
This is what the Heavenly Father Is
constantly doing. He Is kind and gra-
cious unto the unthankful and the
wicked. He sends his rain and sun
shine upon the unjust and sinners. He
makes fruitful the toll of those who
blaspheme his name. He thus does be-
cause 1t is his nature to so do.
vi. BE MercifuI ". 86).
The example for the imitation Of the
disciple is the Heavenly Father.
VII. Judge Not ". 37).
To Judge does not mean the placing
Of just estimates upon mems actions
and lives, for, "By their fruits We shall
know them" The tree Is judged by
the fruit 1t bears. The thorn tree does
not bear figs, nor the apple tree bear
grapes. Our only way of discerning
the character of men and women is
their actions. That which is con-
demned is censorious judgment-the
impugning of motives.
VIII. Condemn Not ". BY.
This means that we should not pass
sentence upon men for their acts, for
to their own master they stand or fall
Rom. IA ~. The real reason why
such action is not warranted is that
the bias of our hearts and the limita-
ton of our judgments render it i'm
possible to righteously and intelli-
gently pass judgment.
TX. Forgive ". 49,
Those who forgive shall be forgiven.
The one who has realized the forgiv-
ing mercy of God will be gracious and
forgiving toward others.
XXI. Liberality Determined by What
Is Left duke q Ia.
The rich cast into the treasury much,
but it was from their abundance. The
poor widow cast in all that she had;
there was nothing left. God estimates
a gift by what one has left, not by
the size of the gift. To give the wild
l owls mite is to give ALL For the mil
lionaire to give the widows mite would
mean for him to give his millions.