Adult - Union Gospel Press Trustees of the Gospel Worker Society, ... LOYALTY” (Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary: Eleventh Edi- ... into the shadows but to boldly pro-

AdultBible Class

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WINTER QUARTER December 2017, January, February 2018

Vol. IX No. 1

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Lessons based on International Sunday School Lessons; the International Bible Lessons for Christian Teaching, copyright© 2014 by the Committee on the Uniform Series and used with permission. Edited and published quarterly by The Incorporat-ed Trustees of the Gospel Worker Society, Union Gospel Press Division, 2000 Brookpark Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44109-5812.Mailing address: P.O. Box 6059, Cleveland, Ohio 44101-1059. www.uniongospelpress.com

Editorial................................................................................................................. 2

Faith in Action

UNIT I: Faith in ChristDec. 3—Faith in Jesus—Acts 3:11-21............................................................................... 4Dec. 10—Faith to Discern—Acts 13:1-12 ........................................................................... 9Dec. 17—Faith to Persevere—Acts 14:8-11, 19-23............................................................ 14Dec. 24—Faithful Seekers of the King (Christmas)—Matt. 2:1-12 ................................... 19Dec. 31—Faith to Unite—Eph. 4:1-16 ................................................................................. 24

UNIT II: A Living Faith in GodJan. 7—A Sincere Faith—Dan. 1:8-21 .............................................................................. 29Jan. 14—A Bold Faith—Dan. 3:19-28 ................................................................................. 34Jan. 21—A Prayer for an Obedient Faith—Dan. 9:4-8, 15-19........................................... 39Jan. 28—A Strong Faith—Dan. 10:10-19............................................................................ 43

UNIT III: Godly FaithFeb. 4—Faith Without Works Is Dead—Jas. 2:14-26 ...................................................... 47Feb. 11—A Disciplined Faith—Jas. 3:1-12 ......................................................................... 51Feb. 18—Faithful Disciples—Acts 9:36-43......................................................................... 55Feb. 25—The Good Fight of Faith—I Tim. 6:11-21 ............................................................ 59

Paragraphs on Places and People ..................................................................... 63Daily Bible Readings............................................................................................ 64

Editor in Chief: Todd Williams

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“Faith” is a word that we may hearused in daily dialogue. Often the wordis referring to “allegiance to a duty orperson: LOYALTY” (Merriam-WebsterCollegiate Dictionary: Eleventh Edi-tion). The faith in view this quarter isnot that kind of faith. Nor is faithmerely fidelity to a set of beliefs, asnecessary as that is when the beliefsare founded on God’s Word. The unittitle uses three words to describewhat we are going to look at: “Faith inAction.”Faith needs to be founded on trustin Jesus Christ. All of us are sinnersand in ourselves have nothing to rec-ommend us to God (Isa. 64:6; Rom.3:23). We need to repent and be con-verted (Acts 3:19). All those who ac-cept God’s offer of grace in JesusChrist have eternal life (Rom. 6:23).The exciting thing is that this life startsimmediately upon trusting JesusChrist as Saviour. At that point we areable to act in faith.In the Bible we see people who act-ed upon their faith. Noah did so andbuilt an ark. He and his family surviveda flood that killed all other humans.Noah’s family and the animals on theark were all that survived of life on theface of the earth. Abraham believedGod would fulfill the promise He gavethat Abraham would have descen-dants. To put action to his faith, Abra-ham was willing to sacrifice the son ofpromise—Isaac. Moses obeyed God and in faith con-fronted Pharaoh. Moses and the Is-

raelites left Egypt. The examples con-tinue, with the greatest example offaith being the Son of God, who wasobedient to the Father’s will to thepoint of death on the cross. Salvationis provided to all who trust in the LordJesus Christ for salvation. “For whoso-ever shall call upon the name of theLord shall be saved” (Rom. 10:13).It is not enough to have the right be-liefs or right words. The follower of Godis to allow those beliefs to guide his ac-tions. Daniel had a fervent faith in God,

but it was not until he stepped outand refused to eat the king’s food thatthe world around him saw the seri-ousness of Daniel’s faith. His faithwas put into action. Shadrach, Me-shach, and Abednego demonstratedthe reality of their faith when they re-fused to bow to Nebuchadnezzar’sgolden image. Such actions of faith are not re-

stricted to the time of Daniel and hisfriends. The martyrdom of Christianshas occurred around the world, is oc-curring, and will occur. Many aremarked for death by their actions.These believers choose not to meltinto the shadows but to boldly pro-claim that Jesus is Lord and Saviour.Everyone who is part of the body ofChrist needs to pray for those who aredaily proclaiming that salvation isfound only in Jesus Christ.Often Christians in Western coun-

tries think that praying for believers tobe spared from persecution is the right

EDITORIAL

Put Faith into ActionSTEVEN D. PYLE

Adult Bible Class 3

way to pray. The reality of what is hap-pening around the world seems topoint in a different direction, and beingspared from persecution does notseem to be what the Bible points to asthe way to pray for those who are be-ing wronged.

The Voice of the Martyrs gives guid-ance in how to pray for those brothersand sisters in Christ undergoing per-secution. The closest thing to our usu-al prayer is pray “for their physicalprotection and deliverance” in themidst of persecution. Some of the re-quests are things like pray “that Godwould give them the right words andthat they would fearlessly make Christknown.”

Pray “that they will endure,” “thatthey will rejoice in sharing the suffer-ings of Jesus,” and “that they will loveChrist far more than life itself.” Pray“that they will love their enemies” and“that they will rejoice that they are con-sidered worthy to suffer for HIS name”(be-a-voice.net/prayerguides/prayer-guide2008.pdf). Notice that theprayers that are given are not for theavoidance of conflict but for thestrength to put faith into action.

In addition to praying for the faithful-ness of other believers, each believerneeds to pray for his own faithfulnessto perform the works God has laid be-fore him. James records that a persondoes not have faith if he displays noworks to back up his claim. “For as thebody without the spirit is dead, so faithwithout works is dead also” (2:26). Canwe meet our world with the faithfulnessthat our persecuted brothers and sis-ters have displayed?

One area that many of us have towork on is the taming of the tongue.The book of James says the tongue isunruly and that no man can tame it(3:8). That should be incentive for us topray to God and lean on Him for wis-dom in our words.

All too often our actions are contraryto the faith we claim. Many of us needpatience to wait before we speak. Weneed patience to listen to both pleas-ant and unpleasant words. Most peo-ple have no problem when hearingpleasant words. In this case our actionneeds to be a measured action. Ourwords (our actions) need to be in linewith what we believe.

It is not enough to know sound doc-trine. The demons know sound doc-trine (cf. Jas. 2:19). “The point Jamesis now driving home is that a Christiancreed without corresponding Christianconduct will save neither devil norman” (Adamson, The Epistle of James,Eerdmans).

Through the Apostle Paul, God hascalled believers to pursue a godly life,faith, love, perseverance, and gentle-ness. Believers are to “fight the goodfight” (I Tim. 6:12) for what they believe.Believers are to hold tightly to the eter-nal life that God has given them. Chris-tians are not only to believe in what isright; they must also confess it and actupon it. Believers are to “keep thiscommandment” (vs. 14). They shouldwant no one to find fault with their faithin God.

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ACTS 3:11 And as the lame manwhich was healed held Pe�ter andJohn, all the people ran togetherunto them in the porch that is calledSol�o-mon’s, greatly wondering. 12 And when Pe�ter saw it, he

answered unto the people, Ye menof Is�ra-el, why marvel ye at this?or why look ye so earnestly on us,as though by our own power orholiness we had made this man towalk?

13 The God of A�bra-ham, and ofI�saac, and of Ja�cob, the God of ourfathers, hath glorif ied his SonJe�sus; whom ye delivered up, anddenied him in the presence ofPi�late, when he was determined tolet him go. 14 But ye denied the Ho�ly One

and the Just, and desired a mur-derer to be granted unto you;

15 And killed the Prince of life,whom God hath raised from thedead; whereof we are witnesses.

16 And his name through faithin his name hath made this manstrong, whom ye see and know:yea, the faith which is by him hathgiven him this perfect soundnessin the presence of you all.

17 And now, brethren, I wot thatthrough ignorance ye did it, as didalso your rulers. 18 But those things, which God

before had shewed by the mouthof all his prophets, that Christshould suffer, he hath so fulfilled.

19 Repent ye therefore, and beconverted, that your sins may beblotted out, when the times of re-freshing shall come from the pres-ence of the Lord; 20 And he shall send Je�sus

Christ, which before was preachedunto you:

21 Whom the heaven must re-ceive until the times of restitution ofall things, which God hath spoken bythe mouth of all his holy prophetssince the world began.

LESSON 1 DECEMBER 3, 2017

Scripture Lesson Text

NOTES

Peter might be known for blurtingout things that got him into trouble, butas he grew spiritually, he was also ableto speak meaningfully in any situationthat arose. During the days followingJesus’ ascension, he became the lead-ing spokesman for the apostles.

PREACHING JESUS—Acts 3:11-16The people’s amazement (Acts

3:11). A new situation is recorded inActs 3:1-10. It required an explanationfrom the apostles, and Peter rose tothe occasion. A great miracle had justoccurred. On their way to the temple topray at three in the afternoon, Peterand John encountered a man who hadbeen lame all his life. He was over fortyyears of age (cf. 4:22) and had to becarried to the temple every day.

Beggars probably had a way of in-stinctively knowing who would re-spond to their pleas, so the man likelywas not surprised when these men didrespond. What did surprise him, how-ever, was what they gave. They lookedat him intently, telling him to look atthem and thus expect something fromthem rather than look ahead to the nextlikely helper. Peter then took him by thehand and lifted him up. He was in-

stantly and completely healed of hislameness.

When the people in and around thetemple saw this happening, they camerunning together in amazement, rush-ing together in a headlong fashion inorder to gather around and see whatwas happening. The Greek wordingthat records their reaction suggeststhey were dumbfounded and stupe-fied. They were so totally amazed andastonished that their senses were in-capable of comprehending the situa-tion. Here was the preacher’s opportu-nity!Emphasis on Israel’s God (Acts

3:12-13). Peter began by asking thecrowd why they were so amazed bywhat they saw and why their attentionwas directed to him and John. It is al-ways the mark of a godly preacher tonot draw attention to himself but ratherto the God he represents. Peter did thisimmediately. He made it clear that heand John were merely instruments inthe hand of God, accomplishing Hiswork. What had been done was a re-flection of the Lord, not His servants. Itwas not their power at work.

Peter then pointed to God, referringto Him as the God of their fathers,

Adult Bible Class 5

Lesson Exposition

Faith in JesusLesson: Acts 3:11-21

Read: Acts 3:1-26TIME: A.D. 30 PLACE: Jerusalem

GOLDEN TEXT—“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blottedout, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3:19).