plainest terms. Having told us that " the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment to the Son," he adds, " Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation ; but is passed from death unto life." Now, from the manner in wliich this truth is affirmed, we see at once both the certainty and im- portance of it : and therefore, with confidence, I will set before you,
I. The character here described —
Of course, our Lord did not mean to say, that all who heard his discourses, but that all who so heard them as to make them the rule of their faith and prac- tice, would be saved. Consider then,
1. What the great subject of our Lord's discourses was —
[He represented himself as sent by God the Father to expiate upon the cross the sins of men ; and " to bring in an everlasting righteousness," whereby all who should believe in him might be saved — ]
2. What must of necessity be experienced by all who should receive it aright —
[They must feel themselves sinners, deserving of God's wrath and indignation. They must be convinced of the utter impossibility of ever reconciling themselves to God by any works of their own. They must see Christ to be the true Messiah, sent by God to be the Saviour of the world. To him they must apply themselves, and to God the Father through him ; having no hope but in his blood and righteousness, nor any plea whatever but his obedience unto death. In the daily habit of their minds they must come to God by him with deep humiliation and with fervent prayer ; and must consecrate them- selves to God as his obedient servants, determined to follow, without hesitation or reserve, his revealed will.]
Such, in few words, is the character described.
We notice,
II. The blessedness connected with it — This is set forth as it exists,
1. In prospect — [" Never" shall a person of this character " come into condemnation." However much he may have provoked the
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Divine displeasure in former times, he now enjoys " peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." However God's anger may have waxed hot against him at a former period, " it is turned away from him now," and all " his iniquities are cast into the very depths of the sea." He has nothing to fear. Being " found in Christ," " there is no condemnation to him :" on the contrary, he is " presented faultless before God," and " stands before him without spot or blemish" ]
2. In possession —
[" He" already "hath eternal life," both in title and in actual possession. He can claim eternal life, as given to him by covenant and by oath. Numberless are the promises made to those who " lay hold on God's covenant ;" and he may confidently i*est upon them, expecting every one of them to be fulfilled in its season : for " it is an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure :" and sooner should heaven and earth pass away, than one jot or tittle of it should ever fail.
But it is not a mere title to it that he possesses ; for it is already begun in his soul. He has actually experienced, so far as it respects his soul, a transition similar to that which will hereafter take place in reference to the body. He once lay, as it were, in the grave, altogether " dead in trespasses and sins :" but now " he has passed from death unto life." A new principle of life has been infused into him ; so that he has new views, new desires, new pursuits, and new habits : and is altogether " a new creature in Christ Jesus." " He lives no longer to himself, but unto him who died for him, and rose again."]