LESSON XII.—SUNDAY, MARCH 19, 1893
TIMELY ADMONITIONS—A TEMPERANCE LESSON.
[NOTE.—The questions which follow are merely suggestive for the student on the leading points of the lesson: it is presumed that the thorough student will think of many more as he studies the subject. References, where verses alone are given, always refer to the lesson scripture printed above. All other references are given in book, chapter, and verse. The text printed is that of the Revised Version, not because it is especially preferred, but because it is not found in every family, as is the common version.] - My son, if thine heart be wise, my heart shall be glad, even mine;
- Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.
- Let not thine heart envy sinners; but be thou in the fear of the Lord all the day long;
- For surely there is a reward; and thy hope shall not be cut off.
- Hear thou, my son, and be wise, and guide thine heart in the way.
- Be not among wine bibbers; among gluttonous eaters of flesh;
- For the drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty; and drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags.
- Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.
- Buy the truth, and sell it not; yea, wisdom, and instruction, and understanding.
Golden Text.—"And be not drunk with wine, wherein is riot; but be filled with the Spirit." Eph. 5: 18. 1. By what means were the Scriptures given?
"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God," literally, is "God breathed." 2 Tim. 3: 16, Common Version.
2. For what is all Scripture profitable?
"Every Scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness." 2 Tim. 3: 16.
3. How thoroughly does it furnish the man of God?
"That the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work." 2 Tim. 3: 17.
4. Through whom did God give this word?
"For no prophecy ever came by the will of man; but men spake from God, being moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Peter 1: 21.- Is not the instruction given in the word of God on temperance, therefore, a part of what is profitable and necessary? Note 1.
- What does the Lord say will rejoice his heart? Verses 15, 16 lesson scripture.
- In what is wisdom manifested?
"And unto man he said, Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding." Job 28: 28.
8. Through whom may we obtain fullness of wisdom?
"But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who was made unto us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption; that, according as it is written, He that glorieth let him glory in the Lord." 1 Cor. 1: 30.- What injunctions and assurance does the Lord give? Verses 17, 18, lesson scripture.
- In what special way are we bidden to be wise? Verses 19, 20. Note 2.
- What illustration of the Christian experience does the apostle Paul give?
"Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? Even so run, that ye may obtain." 1 Cor. 9: 24.
12. How temperate were they in their practice?
"And every man that striveth in the games is temperate in all things." 1 Cor. 9: 25, first part.
13. What reason does he set before us why we should be thus temperate?
"Now they do it to receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, as not uncertainly; so fight I, as not beating the air; but I buffet my body, and bring it into bondage; lest by any means, after that I have preached to others, I myself should be rejected." 1 Cor. 9: 25 last part, 26, 27. Note 3.
14. Of what is the body of the Christian a temple?
"Know ye not that your body is a temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have from God? and ye are not your own." 1 Cor. 6: 19.
15. What, then, should we do as regards the body?
"For ye were bought with a price; glorify God therefore in your body." 1 Cor. 6: 20.
16. What does the Lord say of those who defile or destroy the temple of God?
"Know ye not that ye are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man destroyeth the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are." 1 Cor. 3: 16, 17.- What selfish motive does the Lord set before us in the matter of temperance? Verse 21, lesson scripture.
- Whose instruction will almost invariably keep us from the evils of intemperance? Verse 22. Note 4.
- What instruction will invariably keep us from the evils of intemperance? Verse 23.
- What is a still higher motive for abstinence from that which may lead to sin?
"Let us not therefore judge one another any more; but judge ye this rather, that no man put a stumbling block in his brother's way, or an occasion of falling." "It is good not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor to do anything whereby thy brother stumbleth." Rom. 14: 13, 21. Note 5.
21. What is the highest motive?
"Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." 1 Cor. 10: 31.
22. What precious injunction should we all heed? Golden text. 1. As God gave his word through men, by the inspiration of his Spirit, it is all his word. As the book of Proverbs is a part of these Scriptures so given, they are also the word of God. While most of them were doubtless given through Solomon, God was their author, and the lesson will be profitable to us only as we realize it is from him. Says Paul in Rom. 15: 4: "For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that through patience and through comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope." Let the pupil then realize that the admonitions of this lesson are the admonitions of God to us. 2. Gluttonous eaters of flesh.—It is well to note that temperance, according to this lesson and all Scripture, includes more than indulgence in intoxicating liquors. Gluttony is a kindred sin to drunkenness. Both are the indulgence of a selfish lust; both benumb the moral sensibilities, make the heart gross, and unfit the soul for spiritual things. Millions are the souls which have gone down in the ocean of alcohol, but the beginning of intemperance is often laid in gluttony; and it may well be questioned whether there are not as many who reject the message of salvation because of the blindness and grossness of heart caused by overindulgence in eating as are lost by drunkenness. This is especially true of flesh eating. It stimulates animal passions, causes unnatural thirst, and thus creates a desire for stimulants. The effect of many a good sermon, many a message from God, is lost on many a soul because of overindulgence in stimulating and unnecessary foods. Here is a warning to parents; let them feed their children with simple, nourishing, unstimulating foods. See Eze. 16: 49. Gluttony will close heaven against us as surely as drunkenness. Gal. 5: 19-21. The truly wise will look upon these things in the way God has presented them in the word. 3. Not as uncertainly.—He who contended in the ancient games, and so in modern, was never certain of winning the prize. Just as he was about to grasp the perishable wreath of parsley or pine, his adversary seized it. For weeks he had endured the severest regimen and the most faithful discipline of body and nerve, but now it was all lost. Not so with the Christian. There is victory for all, a crown for all, a crown of glory which will never fade away. God will give the power to win. His Spirit will enable us to crucify our lust. Rom. 8: 12, 13. Shall we not yield every lust, every wrong appetite, that it may be crucified? If for a perishable crown men would endure the strictest regimen and severest training, ought not those struggling for the eternal crown of life to be willing to do as much? by the power of Christ to keep the body under? 4. Hearken unto thy father.—Whatever the example of parents has been, whatever evil habits they have indulged, their counsel to their children is almost invariably to abstain from everything which would debase or ruin the body or soul. How many times you will find old drunkards warning against the use of intoxicating drinks, or old smokers or users of tobacco warning the young against the use of the weed. The words of Jesus are applicable here: "Whatsoever they bid you, these do and observe; but do not ye after their works; for they say, and do not." Matt. 23: 3. Heed above all this God's precious truth. See Isa. 55: 2. 5. No man put a stumbling block, etc.—The motive of self-preservation is one of the lowest motives which can appeal to a man. Do not be a drunkard or glutton, for death or poverty awaits those who are. A noble motive is forgetting self, or in denying self, of those things which might do us no harm, but which might prove a stumbling block to our brother. A godly minister, in taking a glass of cider, a little off from sweet, induced by his example a brother who had formerly been a drunkard to drink of the cider also, and who barely escaped being thrown back into drunkenness again. No one knew, he said, the strength of the temptation. Reformed drunkards have gone from the fermented and intoxicating communion cup to a drunken debauch. Better as Paul says in another place: "If meat make my brother to stumble, I will eat no flesh forevermore." 1 Cor. 8: 13. The highest motive of all, because it includes the last named, is God's glory.