ECCLESIASTES 4:7\u201316<\/b><\/p>\n
\u2026 woe to him who is alone when he falls<\/i><\/p>\n
(Eccl. 4:10)<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Aristotle once wrote, \u201cWhosoever delights in solitude is either a wild beast or a god.\u201d Commenting on Aristotle, Francis Bacon said, \u201cTo man\u2014such as man is\u2014friendship is indispensable to happiness; and that one, who has no need, and feels no need of it, must be either much above human nature or much below it.\u201d<\/p>\n
As Solomon surveys the vanity of the world, he observes that the weariness of life is much relieved by friendship. \u201cTwo are better than one because they have a good reward for their labor\u201d (Eccl. 4:9). In the beginning God declared that it is not good for man to be alone. If this was so in paradise, how much more after the Fall? Whether we admit it or not, each of us needs encouragement, prayer, correction, and comfort. Jesus did not send His disciples into the world alone, but He sent them in pairs. Neither should we seek to maneuver through the swirling currents of life alone.<\/p>\n
Charles Bridges said this principle is especially true for the Christian. He reminds us that \u201cthe most lively [Christian] left alone is in danger of waxing cold in selfishness.\u2026 This principle also rebukes the religious solitaire\u2014that isolated being, who belongs to no church because no church is perfect enough for him.\u2026 Surely it is better to belong to an imperfect (not heretical) church, than to none; better to \u2018continue steadfastly in the Apostles\u2019 doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers\u2019 (Acts 2:42); not only \u2018first giving up our own selves to the Lord,\u2019 but \u2018unto\u2019 the whole body of the church \u2018by the will of God\u2019 (2 Cor. 8:5) \u2026 Each of us has something to impart, to prevent discouragement\u2014to receive, to teach us humility. The receiver is united to the giver by gratitude\u2014the giver to the receiver by tender compassion.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh! let us ponder well the deep responsibility of our social obligations. Are we discharging them as unto the Lord\u2014for the honor of His name, and for the edifying and increase of His church? Did we but pray for each other as we ought, what a brotherhood would the family of man be! The time is short. Opportunities are passing away. Happy are those, who have been fellow-helpers upon earth! They shall rejoice before their gracious Lord with joy unspeakable\u2014uninterrupted\u2014without abatement\u2014without end.\u201d<\/p>\n
CORAM DEO<\/b><\/p>\n
Psalm 119:113\u2013176<\/p>\n
1 Corinthians 8<\/p>\n
Do you like to fellowship with God\u2019s people? If not, think about why that is. What does God have to say about your need for friendship? Read 1 John 4:7\u201321. What does this passage say about how a Christian should treat his brother in Christ? Do you have the kind of love for others as is described in this passage? How do you show it?<\/p>\n
For further study: Prov. 17:17; 27:10, 17 \u2022 John 15:1\u201317 \u2022 1 Cor. 13<\/i><\/p>\n
friday<\/p>\n
august<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ECCLESIASTES 4:7\u201316 \u2026 woe to him who is alone when he falls (Eccl. 4:10). Aristotle once wrote, \u201cWhosoever delights in solitude is either a wild beast or a god.\u201d Commenting on Aristotle, Francis Bacon said, \u201cTo man\u2014such as man is\u2014friendship is indispensable to happiness; and that one, who has no need, and feels no need … Continue reading “TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12575"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12575\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}