Kankakee Valley Post, Volume 11, Number 3, DeMotte, Jasper County, 5 December 1940 — IMPROVED UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL Lesson [ARTICLE]

IMPROVED UNIFORM INTERNATIONAL SUNDAY SCHOOL Lesson

By HAROLD L. LUNDQUIST. D. D

bean of The Moody Bible Institute ', of Chicago, (Released by Western Newspaper Union.l

Lesson for December 8 Lesson subjects and Scripture texts selected and copyrighted by International Council of Religious Education: used by permission. A GOOD NEIGHBOR LESSON TEXT—Luke 10:25-37. GOLDEN TEXT—Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself —Luke 10:27. What shall 1 do° These words fall from the lips or' pass through the minds of millions of men and women each day. Never does the question go more j deeply than when it concerns man’s eternal welfare, as it does in our lesson. Always the question indicates that man is not able to decide for himself, and needs the guidance of someone greater and wiser than he. It should lead .us back to God, for only He can fully answer it. The j good neighbor story, of our Lord tells us I. What to Do to Have Eternal Life (vv. 25-28). The lawyer (a student of the law of Moses and hence a theologian rather than an attorney) was posing a question to try to entrap Jesus. He was apparently not much concerned about eternal life and aS- I sumed that it could be obtained by doing something. We know that eternal life is a gift (John 1:12; j Rom. 6;23), but if the man wanted j to have it by doing, Jesus was ready ! to meet him. In response to Jesus’ question (v. - 26) the lawyer gave j Him w r hat the Jews regarded as the summary of the whole law*. The man who can perfectly keep that law will have eternal life, deiclares Jesus. But note that you must do it, not just talk about it. And you must keep the whole la\y, i “for whosoever shall keep the w r hole I law*, and yet stumble in one point, j he is become guilty of all” (James i 2:10, R. V.; see also Gal. 3:10). We ; see then 11. Why It Cannot Be Done by Man j (v. 29). '. The lawyer’s effort to justify him- j self by diverting attention to the ! word “neighbor/’ which he felt i needed definition, showed that he could not do the thing expected of | him. The reason for man’s failure i lies primarily in his own weakness and inability to do what God rer quires, but is also revealed in his pitiable and futile efforts to justify himself. The one who seeing his sinfulness I and his utter inability to keep God’s law casts himself on the Lord and is ready to receive the gift of eternal life; but the one who tries to defend his position and justify himself has shut the door on God’s grace and mercy (see Luke 18:914). Let us see 111. How Christ Does It for and in Man (vv. 30-37). The parable of the Good Samaritan answers fully and finally the ! question, “Who is my neighbor?” by making it clear that anyone who is in need, regardless of race, social position, condition or religion, is our neighbor. The priest and the Levitej doubtless had plenty of excuses for not helping the woundecj man, but j let us remember that excuses, w*hile they may count with men, mean j only our condemnation in the pres- | ence of God. It was the spirit of. Christ that J made the Samaritan show a com- j passionate and sacrificial interest in j the needy man. Only Christ can j make you and me like that; His | love in the heart is the only “good neighbor program” that will ever work. But Christ not only enables man to be a good neighbor, He is in fact the true Good Neighbor Himself; He is the Good Samaritan. “Jerusalem is the city of God; Jericho represents the world. The traveler is the type of humanity. Man has fallen in the awful road which leads down; fallen among thieves and is naked, wounded, helpless and hopeless. The failure of the priest and the scribe to help illustrates the inability of the law and the ordinances to save man out of his deplorable condition. The Good Samaritan is the Lord Jesus Christ He came to the place where the lost are and He alone could have compassion on them. The wine typifies His precious blood He shed to save us. The oil is the type of the Holy Spirit, who applies the blood. He takes care of fallen man found") by Christ. The inn is typical of the church, where the Lord through His Spirit cares for His own. The two pence are not typical of two sacraments, but speak of the reward which those receive who under the Holy Spirit care for souls. The promised coming again with a greater reward offered is the second coming of our Lord” (A. C. Gaebelein). Two truths stand out in our lesson. There is such a thing as being a good neighbor by the grace and blessing of God, and if we are followers of Christ we should be real neighbors. Then there is the One who is Himself our Friend and Brother, the One of whom we sing: “He washed the bleeding sin wounds And poured in oil and wine; He whispered to assure me, ‘l’ve found thee, thou art Mine.’ ” —(A. J Gordon)