Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-03-14
Sunday School Lesson
BY
Rev. Hugh T. Stevenson.

heartleSsneSs of human neighbor
teach the self-sacrincing love Of the
Divine Neighbor. q heartless neigh
Dor win finally respond to the request
Of q good neighbor's persistent prayer
for bread, we can count upon the love
Of God supplying our needs If We ask
In faith in the Lords name. Certainly
we may look to Him to give unto us the
Holy Spirit. Jesus assures us that II
we ask we shall receive. He promises
us that IL we seek by prayer, we
shall find. II we knock at the throne
of Divine grace we will have opened
to us the doors Of privilege and power.
Every prayer of faith is certain of a
hearing and an answer. Let us not
forget that throughout His teachings
upon prayer, Jesus took 1t for granted
that His disciples would ask for the
gifts of the Holy Spirit. Mans best
impulses ought to help us understand
God according to our Masters teaching,
Rebuking His Enemies.
Ones Judgment of others is an index
to their character. The criticism of
some Of those who said that Jesus
performed one Of His miracles by the
power Of Beelzebub, the chief Of the
devils, revealed their depraved nature.
The Lord met their charge by q state
ment, That house divided against
itself, how could 1t stand? It must fall"
Having answered their charge by His
reasoning, He apr led their own charge
against themselves by asking, IF I by
Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do
your sons cast them out?" According
to Matthews gospel. after this en-
counter with His enemies our Lord
uttered His warning concerning the sin
against the Holy Ghost, saying that all
nf ell -
except sin against the Holy Ghost. Men
have differed about the nature of the
objectionable sin, but the way the
warning against it is linked up in Mat
thew's gospel with the false charge
that Jesus had performed His miracle
OF casting out devils by the power Of
Beezlehub has suggested to many that
the unforgiven and objectionable sin
in this world and in the world to come
Is one that assigns the source Of Christ's
power to some base and malign in
f1uence.
Luke tells us that a certain Pharisee
invited the Master to dine at his home
according to distinguished Jewish
rabbi there were seven classes of the
Pharisee sect in Jerusalem during the
Masters day. Six Of them were COM
posed of men noted for their ethical
and spiritual culture" The Talmud,
he tells us, speaks of a seventh class,
called "S'bhu'tm," dyed or hypocrites,
who were condemned by the Jews of
that time In the same terms that
marked the Lords denunciation of the
Pharisees when He claShed with them
at this Pharisee's house when they
found fault with Jesus for not observ-
ing the ritualistic requirements of wash
ing. The Master brought the interview
with this Pharisee to a close with one
Of the most terrible condemnations
found IN the Bible. pompous scribe
suggested to Jesus that he recognized
that such charges applied to him and
that he refused to stand for it. The
Lord Jesus saw in this the evidence of
the commencement of open hostility,
for He charged him and his class with
social sins and pronounced Judgment
upon them. That for which Jesus CEN
sured the lawyer is today the besetting
sin Of all legalists in religion. Christ
had seen through their strategy. The
fact that they pretended to be friends
and invited Him to break bread with
them may have prompted Him to speak
with such severity of language. His
enemies commenced to try to catch Him
saying something that they could use
against him. Their bitterness was pro-
phetic of His approaching doom.
We are living in an hour that tests
our fidelity to the Lord Jesus just as
much as His loyal followers and friends
were tested In that crucial moment He
has given us the acid test: 'Ye are my
friends II We do what I command
you" Let us prove to the world
our loyalty to Christ Jesus by obeying
HE commands