_This is the witness of God, which He hath testified of His Son _ FAITH, AND THE WITNESS UPON WHICH IT IS FOUNDED Faith stands, under the covenant of grace, in a leading position amongst the works of the regenerate man and the gifts of the Spirit of God. The promise no longer stands to the man wh... [ Continue Reading ]
_And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son _ THE DIVINE RECORD It is obvious that the designs of God respecting the work of His hands entirely depend on His own will, and that, unless He please to favour us with an express declaration of those desi... [ Continue Reading ]
_He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life _ TO HAVE CHRIST IS TO HAVE LIFE We may be said to have or receive the Son in these three modes--as a teacher, an example, and a Saviour; and in each of these He is life to those who have Him. I. Christ is life in H... [ Continue Reading ]
_These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life._ HELPS TO FULL ASSURANCE I. To whom was this written? It is important to observe the direction of a letter; for I may be reading a communication meant for somebody else, an... [ Continue Reading ]
_And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He heareth us _ THE ANSWER TO PRAYER RECEIVED BY FAITH A very considerable amount of error prevails in regard to the answer of prayer. That answer is by many supposed to be a more tangible and ascerta... [ Continue Reading ]
_There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it _ THE SIN UNTO DEATH The sin mentioned here is not the same as the “sin against the Holy Ghost. ” The persons spoken of as respectively guilty are very different from each other. In the latter sin it is the Scribes and Pharisees, t... [ Continue Reading ]
_We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not _ THREE VIEWS OF THE TRULY REGENERATE MAN 1_._ He “sinneth not.” As regenerate, he has a new nature. The power of sin is broken in his soul, and therefore its i... [ Continue Reading ]
_We know that we are of God _ ALL TRUE BELIEVERS ARE OF GOD, AND SO SEPARATED FROM THE WORLD LYING IN WICKEDNESS I. How true believers are of God. 1. By creation; and so all things are of God (Romans 11:36). Thus the devils themselves are of God as their Creator, and so is the world. But this is... [ Continue Reading ]
_We know that the Son of God is come _ THE GOSPEL OF THE INCARNATION “He is coining” is the word of the Old Testament; “He is come” is the better word of the blew. John knew Jesus as the Son of God; and in his writings he only tells us what he knows. “We know that the Son of God is come.” Weft, t... [ Continue Reading ]
_Little children, keep yourselves from idols _ THE SIN OF IDOLISING I. What is the right notion of idolatry, as it still prevails even among nominal Christians?” I answer generally; whatever is so desired and loved, so trusted in or honoured, as to displace God from His preeminence is an idol. Acco... [ Continue Reading ]