Bible Readings for the Home Circle Part 195

15. What parable did Christ give to correct the false idea of the Pharisees that wealth was a sign of special favor with G.o.d?

The parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Luke 16:19-31.

16. What did He point out as one of the dangers of the possession of wealth?

"And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto His disciples, _How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of G.o.d!_... Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, _how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of G.o.d!_" Mark 10:23, 24.

NOTE.-And how hard it is for those who have riches not to trust in them!

17. As a rule, what cla.s.s generally accept the gospel?

"Harken, my beloved brethren, Hath not G.o.d chosen _the poor of this world_ rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which He hath promised to them that love Him?" James 2:5.

18. How difficult did Christ say it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of G.o.d?

"It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of G.o.d." Mark 10:25.

NOTE.-If Christ here referred to a small, low gate in the walls of Jerusalem, called "The Needle's Eye," as is thought by some, the force of the statement still remains; for, before a camel could pa.s.s through this gate, it was necessary that he should be relieved of his burden, and get down on his knees and creep through.

19. Why was the rich young man desiring salvation, unwilling to sell what he had and give alms, as Christ told him to do?

"But when the young man heard that saying, _he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions_." Matt. 19:16.

20. What is the love of money declared to be?

"For the love of money is _the root of all evil_." 1 Tim. 6:10.

21. What evils befall those who are determined to be rich?

"But they that will be rich _fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful l.u.s.ts, which drown men in destruction and perdition_." Verse 9.

22. Who gives man the power to get wealth?

"But thou shalt remember the Lord thy G.o.d: for _it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth_." Deut. 8:18.

23. How may all, rich and poor, honor G.o.d?

"Honor the Lord _with thy substance_, and _with the first-fruits of all thine increase_." Prov. 3:9.

24. What caution is given concerning riches?

"If riches increase, _set not your heart upon them_." Ps. 62:10.

25. Can riches be retained to men's hurt?

"There is a sore evil which I have seen under the sun, namely, _riches kept for the owners thereof to their hurt_." Eccl. 5:13.

26. What charge is given to the rich?

"Charge them that are rich in this world, _that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living G.o.d_, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; that they _do good_, that they be _rich in good works_, _ready to distribute_, _willing to communicate_; laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life." 1 Tim. 6:17-19.

27. What makes rich without adding sorrow?

"_The blessing of the Lord_, it maketh rich, and He addeth no sorrow with it." Prov. 10:22.

28. How are true riches obtained?

"By _humility_ and the _fear of the Lord_ are riches, and honor, and life." Prov. 22:4.

29. How did Moses esteem the reproach of Christ?

"Esteeming the reproach of Christ _greater riches than the treasures in Egypt_: for he had respect unto the recompense of the reward." Heb. 11:26.

30. What two cla.s.ses of rich men are mentioned in the Bible?

"There is that maketh himself _rich_, yet _hath nothing_: there is that maketh himself _poor_, yet hath _great riches_." Prov. 13:7.

NOTE.-In Luke 12:16-20 is an example of the first cla.s.s; in Acts 4:34-37 are examples of the second.

31. What solemn warning is addressed to the rich who, in the last days, have heaped up treasure, and oppressed the poor?

"Go to now, ye rich men, _weep and howl for your miseries that shall come upon you_. Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten.

Your gold and silver is cankered; and _the rust of them shall be a witness against you, and shall eat __ your flesh as it were fire_. Ye have heaped treasure together for the last days. Behold, the hire of the laborers who have reaped down your fields, which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth: and the cries of them which have reaped are entered into the ears of the Lord of sabaoth. Ye have lived in pleasure on the earth, and been wanton; ye have nourished your hearts, as in a day of slaughter." James 5:1-5.

32. Will silver or gold be able to deliver in the day of wrath?

"Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the Lord's wrath." Zeph. 1:18. See also Prov. 11:4.

33. What will the rich men do with their money then?

"_They shall cast their silver in the streets, and their gold shall be removed_: their silver and their gold shall not be able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord: they shall not satisfy their souls, neither fill their bowels: because it is the stumbling-block of their iniquity." Eze. 7:19.

NOTES.-When the steamer "Central America," with nearly six hundred pa.s.sengers aboard, was wrecked off Cape Hatteras, Sept. 12, 1857, in a fearful storm, many of the pa.s.sengers who were returning miners from the gold-mines of California, divested themselves of their treasure belts and scattered the gold upon the cabin floors, telling those to take it who would, lest its weight about their persons should carry them to their death. "Full purses, containing in some instances thousands of dollars, lay around untouched.

Carpetbags were opened, and the s.h.i.+ning metal was poured out on the floor with the prodigality of death's despair. One of the pa.s.sengers opened a bag and dashed about the cabin twenty thousand dollars in gold-dust, and told him who wanted to gratify his greed for gold to take it. But it was pa.s.sed by untouched, as the veriest dross."-_"__Our First Century,__"__ pages 642, 643._

When the steams.h.i.+p "Arctic" was lost from a collision in mid-ocean, Sept. 20, 1854, one pa.s.senger offered thirty thousand pounds sterling, or one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, if the life-boats would put back to save him. They turned to do so, but he sank before they reached him.-_Id._, page 614.

34. As stewards of G.o.d's gifts, what are we told to do?

"And I say unto you, _Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness_; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations." Luke 16:9. "As every man hath received the gift, _even so minister the same one to another_, as good stewards of the manifold grace of G.o.d." 1 Peter 4:10.