November, 1934
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
409
“born again” one. They pertain to the new nature—God’s nature—received by faith in Jesus Christ. When we give heed to these commandments, we know that we are born o f God. God’s commandments may certainly be obeyed, for the new na ture supplies the strength to perform all that is required by that nature. And God’s commandments may be loved, for the Lord Jesus Christ, our great Exemplar, loved the will o f God. It was Christ who said, in the prophetic language o f the psalmist: “I delight to do thy will, O my God” (Psa. 40:8). The will o f God will be the joy of the one who loves God. Delighting in that will, the child o f God will not ask, “May I do this or that?” or, “ Is it lawful for me to go here or there?” The supreme ques tion to be answered will be: “Is this mat ter pleasing to God?” Such an attitude of heart will bring the believer into fellow ship with the Lord Jesus, who could say o f His Father: “I do always those things that please him” (John 8:29). III. V ictory over th e W orld (4-8). The “world” here means that great world-system over which Satan rules and through which he manifests himself. Love to God must be supreme. It is not only the mean and sordid elements o f the world which the Christian is to “overcome,” but also the cultured and religious attractions o f the world—and the latter are more to be feared than the former. The “world” is a system which eventually will gather all its forces together for the avowed pur pose o f casting off all restraint by God and becoming wholly independent o f Him (Psa. 2:1-3). The believer overcomes this world when he believes in the Lord Jesus Christ and accepts Him as Son of God (vs. 4, 5). By faith, he is delivered from all the world-system when he renounces his al legiance to it and its ruler. Just as one who would become a naturalized citizen o f the United States will forswear all al legiance to every other ruler or potentate, so the one who believes in Jesus Christ as the Son o f God forswears all connection with that environment in which he form erly lived (Eph. 2:1-3). The victory referred to is not merely a triumph over .certain evil habits or prac tices, or a ceasing o f the performance of this or that supposedly evil thing, or the adoption o f a mode of religious life. But it is a deliverance from the world-system with all its manifestations. By faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the believer has, and does, overcome the world. The Son o f God “ came by water and blood” (v. 6 ). There are two heresies against which we must always be on guard. First, there is the belief that, in the matter of deliverance from sin, the blood is needed, but not the water. This view recognizes that something is wrong, requiring atonement, but it does not see the need for continuous cleansing. Second, there is the belief that water is needed, but not the blood. Adherents of this view declare that sin may be washed away with out the shedding o f blood. In the Old Testar' picture, Israel was redeemed from J‘.fi ,St, or the world, by means of both blood and water. And the present- day believer can be delivered from the bondage o f the world only by believing on the One “that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ.” The Holy Spirit bears witness to this truth because He is truth. And with the Spirit, the water and the blood also bear witness; and these three agree in one (v. 8 ). There can be no mistake concerning
this great truth after such witness has been borne concerning it. IV. L ife from G od (9-12). Unquestionably, the witness o f God is greater than that of men. Therefore, if we receive the witness o f men, it is cer tain that we should receive the witness of God. And the witness o f God is concern ing His Son. The one who refuses to be lieve God’s witness makes God a liar, be cause that one acts as though God’s wit ness were untrue (vs. 9, 10). The record which God has borne of His Son is that “ God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son” (v. 11). No one ever had eternal life apart from God’s Son, Jesus Christ. “He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son o f God hath not life.” This is the simple declaration of God, but the truth is often bedimmed by our religions. The method o f securing everlasting life in Christ is simply stated: “ For the wages o f sin is death; but the gift o f God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom . 6:23). Points and Problems 1. The reader should notice that verse 1 does not read, “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ shall be born of God.” Sometimes we get the idea that we first believed, and that afterwards, because we believed, God regenerated us. But the Apostle John does not separate faith and the new birth in point of time. He writes: “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.” If anything, John regards “ faith” as an evidence of the new birth, rather than as its procuring cause. But the two cannot be separated in point of time. There is never a time when a man is a believer not yet regenerated. The new birth and faith begin together, at the same instant in the human soul. 2. John has often been regarded as a dreamer and a mystic, whose ideas are abstract and difficult to grasp. And it is -true that he often soars to the very heavens in his doctrine, but in all this he never loses touch with the concrete and the prac tical. Who, for example, can define the “love o f God” ?. But John can make it plain, so plain that a child can understand —“ This is the love o f God, that we keep his commandments.” The mystical side of Christianity is always anchored solidly in moral living. 3. “And his commandments are not grievous." The commandments o f God may be “grievous” to sinners, outside the covenant of grace. But they are not “grievous” to us who believe, for two reasons: First, they are the command ments o f our Father to His children, and hence they must be good for us.; second, the penalty for failure to keep them was borne by our Saviour, and therefore the curse which He bore cannot fall on us. The commandments o f God are no longer “against us” ; they are for us, sanctifying us by the Word o f truth, fitting us more and more for the life with Him in glory. Golden Text Illustration A London city missionary, speaking be fore three hundred ragged children, placed sixpence under a book on the table and said, “Whosoever believeth, let him come and take it.” He waited; they were all “whosoevers,” but only one was “whosoever believeth”.— a little ragged chap who came up, took it, and said, “ Thank you, sir.” “What is your name?” said the mission ary. “ Cecil Smithers.”
Can You Answer These Questions? Was man “ created” or “ evolved ” ? H ow d o we know the Bible is in spired? What are the great mys teries o f the Bible? Does con sciousness continue between death and the resurrection? What the Bible teaches on these and many other equally vital subjects is clear ly stated in the helps found in The Scofield Reference Bible ♦ Printed in two sizes of type, all styles being page for page the same. TWO SIZES—The same, page for page. Handy Size—Minion black-faced type. Size 7x4% inches. Larger Type—Brevier black-faced type. Size 8%x5% inches.
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