THE KING’S BUSINESS
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Him is not condemned” (cf. Rom. 8:1). God aimed to save the world, He made full provision for the salvation o f the world, but only those who accept the sal vation are actually saved. Jesus is in a sense the Saviour o f all men (1 Tim. 4:10) . by His death He made propitiation for the whole world (1 John 2:2, R. V .), i. e., provided a ground upon which God could deal in mercy, and does deal in mercy, with the whole human race. But Jesus is espec ially the Saviour of those who believe, i. e., they alone appropriate to themselves, and therefore enjoy in full, the salvation which Jesus purchased by His blood for all (cf. Rom. 3 :25, 26). Saturday, April 22. John 3:19-21. The condemnation which comes on one who does not believe is just and inevitable, there is nothing arbitrary about it. Light has come into the world, light that would have brought life, but he would not have it, he has chosen darkness rather than light. It is his own choice and his eternal doom is the result o f his own choice o f darkness rather than light. When the Lord Jesus came into the world, “the only-begotten Son o f God” came into the world, the incar nation o f all the perfect attributes o f God, and the one who rejects Him, simply will not have Him, and thereby reveals the blackness of His own heart. What a man chooses shows what a man is; if we choose truth, then we are true. If we choose falsehood, then we are false. The one who rejects Jesus, the incarnation of infinite holiness, wisdom, truth and love, reveals that he is thoroughly bad in heart, and “loves darkness rather than light.” What a man does with Jesus is the final test of what a man is at heart. To speak about a man as a good man simply because he does not lie, or steal, or murder, or commit adultery, or do other foul things, when he is deliberately rejecting Jesus Christ, is absolutely absurd. The man who rejects Jesus, no matter what his outward con duct is in other matters, has a thoroughly bad heart, a heart that chooses darkness
Shall “have eternal life.” This verse also contains a marvellous revelation of God’s love: (1) The objects o f God’s love—“the world.” (2) The character o f God’s love: (a ) Great—holding nothing back, (b ) Self-sacrificing—giving his very best, (c) Holy—not forgiving sin without an ade quate expression o f his hatred o f it. (3) The manifestation o f God’s love in the gift o f His only-begotten Son. (4) The pur pose of God’s love—to save. (5) The result o f God’s love—whosoever believes gets everlasting life. There is also won derful significance in the title given to Jesus “ His only-begotten Son.” It is a common teaching nowadays that Jesus was the Son o f God indeed, but only in the sense that all. men are sons of God, but the Bible clearly teaches here, as well as elsewhere, that He. was the Son of God in the sense that no other is the son o f God, Jesus made this claim for Himself (Mark 12:6, R. V .; John 5:22, 23; 14:9). God sent His Son into the world to save it, not to condemn it (v. 17), but whosover will not receive Jesus is condemned, and con demned already. If we fdll in with God’s purposes, then we are saved; if we reject God’s purposes o f love, then He who came to save only brings the greater condemna tion because of despised and rejected grace (cf. Heb. 10:28, 29). The one who rejects Jesus is condemned “ already ." It is not so much that the .wrath is coming upon those who reject Jesus Christ at some future time o f judgment, but that the wrath, of God, i. e., the intense displeasure o f God, already hangs over every one who rejects Jesus. If we continue to reject Him the wrath of God which already hangs over us will abide on. us (v. 36). The moment we accept —Jesus we step out from under the dark thunder cloud o f God’s wrath into the bright sunlight of God’s favor. If the vilest outcast there is on earth should accept Jesus Christ this moment, the moment he did every sin he has ever committed would be blotted out and he would be absolutley without sin as far as his standing in God’s sight is concerned, “ He that believeth on
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