Sermon: And ye will not come to me that ye might have life. (John v. 40)

By REV. LACHLAN MACKENZIE, Lochcarron.

THIS is part of the conversation which our Lord had with the Jews soon after He had cured the man that lay at the Pool of Bethesda for thirty-eight years. It seems He had performed His cure upon the Sabbath Day, and thus gave offence to the Jews. Our Lord’s answer to them was that the great works of God were carried on upon the Sabbath Day as well as upon other days. Though God gave the Sabbath as a rule to His creatures, it was no rule to Himself, and this is our Lord’s argument, for, says He: ” My Father worketh hitherto and I work.” God upheld the world upon the Sabbath. He might work a miracle, for He was the Son of God and the Lord of the Sabbath. A great man might forbid his tenants to fish his rivers and cut his woods, but this does not hinder himself or his beloved son and heir from doing either. When Joshua took Jericho the people surrounded that city seven days, and consequently they invested it on the Sabbath Day, so that the Jewish argument is idle and superstitious. What would be otherwise sinful becomes lawful when God makes it a commanded duty. Abraham was to offer up his only son, and his descendants, the Israelites, made war upon the wicked inhabitants of Canaan, and if these things were lawful at the command of God, was it not perfectly lawful for our Lord, at the command of God, and as the great Prophet of the Church, to work miracles upon the Sabbath Day? Our Lord therefore desired them to search the Scriptures, for they surely found these things, which nothing but a Divine command could justify. And if they searched the Scriptures honestly they would find all these marks of the Messiah agree perfectly to our Lord Jesus Christ. Instead of doing so, He informs us in the words of the text, that they would not come to Him in order to obtain life. In speaking upon this subject further, I shall show :—

1. That everlasting life is to be found in our Lord Jesus Christ as the only Saviour.
2. That we become partakers of this life only by coming to Him and trusting in Him.

3. That if we do not believe, like the Jews, the fault must be imputed to our own wickedness and disobedience.

4. Firstly, that everlasting life is to be found in our Lord Jesus Christ as the only Saviour. Life or everlasting happiness is the wish and desire of all men, and though we forfeited our title to this life by our apostacy in Adam, the most sinful of mankind would wish to be happy. Now, the happiness enjoyed in heaven is here called life, and this life is in the Son, which will appear from the following reasons :—

   (1) Grace, which is the source of this life, dwelleth in Christ as its great original fountain.
   (2) Life is to be found in Him, for He laid down His own life to procure this life for His people.
   (3) That all the promises respecting this life pointed to Christ as their Author, and have their accomplishment in Him alone.
   (4) That this life and immortality is brought to light through His Gospel.

   (1) Grace, which is the source of this life, dwelleth in Christ as its great original Fountain. This we read in Scripture (Rev. xxii. 1.), that the river of life proceedeth from the throne of God and of the Lamb. What kind of life? Jesus Christ is both God and Man, for the Word was made flesh, and as such is the Great Fountain of joy and light and happiness, and this grace dwelt in Him before the world began, and it now dwelleth in Him as the Head of the Church, to be communicated to His people as their several needs may require. The fulness of the godhead dwelleth in Him bodily. We have several needs and miseries to supply and relieve. He has a fulness of light to dispel our doubts and our darkness, a fulness of merit to remove our guilt and a fulness of strength to remove our weaknesses and corruptions. Like one of the great rivers in the South and in the East that waters the soil and imparts fertility to all the country around, this river enters and passes through the city of our Lord God, and fills it with joy and gladness. Now, though there is life and grace in Christ originally, as He was God, yet it was necessary that He should become Man, that by His poverty we might become rich.

   (2) Life is to be found in Him, for He laid down His life to procure life for His people. We forfeited our life, and He removed the forfeiture by becoming Man, bearing the curse. It was necessary, then, that He should bestow spiritual life in a way becoming the divine attributes. It comes to us from a Divine man as the reward of His sufferings and death. He shall see the labour of his soul in the spiritual life of thousands of His seed. He laid hold on our nature, and became subject to sufferings on our account, and He must die that we might live. But though He was dead, He is alive, and will be for evermore. His death can remove our death, and promises spiritual and eternal life for us. Access to the tree of life was debarred by the flaming sword of Divine justice. That sword was plunged to the hilt in the breast of our suffering Surety and Saviour. He was wounded for our offences; the chastisement of our peace was laid upon Him. But though He died for our sins, He rose again for our justification. He procured us a title to life, and though sin shut the door, He has opened the portals of Paradise to us. He ascended on high after procuring gifts for men, and the great gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

   (3) That all the promises respecting this life pointed to Christ as their Author, and have their accomplishment in Him alone. The promises are the life and comfort of the soul, and they all flow from Him. Himself spoke them by His Spirit in the Prophets, and encourages us to come to Him as our Surety, Hope and Refuge. He is the great substance of the promises, the meaning of the Scriptures, and the signification of all the ancient types and ceremonies. He is the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, the Ark of the Covenant to which the Cherubim of Glory look, and the wonderful Person to which all the ancient prophets call our attention. All the promises about Him are involved in sacred type and obscurity, but when the type and anti-type, the promise and event, are compared, they can apply to no other. And this one consideration is a source of joy and consolation to the souls of His people. When any soul is in distress, plunged in guilt and covered with crime, his iniquities great and his mind overwhelmed with doubt and terror, he seeks salvation and relief in something, but can never find it till he embraces the Gospel. If he looks up to God, His justice is a consuming fire; but he finds justice and mercy meeting and embracing in the Great Messiah. After searching the Scriptures with painful anxiety, he at last fixes upon Christ as the Rock of his salvation. He finds the promises, yea and amen, in Him, and therefore trusts his soul in His hands.

   (4) That this life and immortality are brought to light through the Gospel. He has been in search of a Saviour through all the pages of the Old Testament. He finds there indeed precious promises about Him, but they are involved in obscurity. At last he opens his eyes on the Gospel. There he finds that Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem of Judea, that princes from the East worshipped Him after a wonderful star had announced His birth; that He led a holy life; that the Spirit was given Him above measure for the work He undertook; that He was put to death, but rose again from the dead; that He commissioned others to preach and work miracles such as Himself wrought in the days of the flesh; that the doubts which remained upon the minds of mankind respecting a future life are entirely vanished, as the resurrection and ascension of Christ are a proof of never-ending happiness.

5. That we became partakers of this life only by coming to Him and trusting in Him. Coming to Christ must surely impart something more than coming to hear His Word and attending the means of religion. Many of the wicked unbelieving Jews followed Christ and saw His miracles, but they did not believe or obey Him. Coming and believing are synonymous terms when faith, the instrument of our spiritual life, imparts the following things:—

   (1) That we believe His Word which tells us of our danger and misery by sin.
   (2) That we believe the report the Gospel makes of a Saviour and that this Saviour is the Lord Jesus Christ.
   (3) That therefore we resign ourselves to Him to be justified, sanctified, and saved. That we give up ourselves to be directed by His Word and Spirit and follow Him in all holy obedience of life.

What kind of life is it which His people find in the Lord Jesus Christ?

• (1) It is a life of holiness and virtue.
• (2) It is a life of peace, joy and comfort.
• (3) It is a life of strength and courage.
• (4) It is a life that will constantly prepare us for the joys and pleasures of the next.

(1) The life we receive from Christ is a life of holiness and virtue. The life we receive from our father Adam is a natural life. It is a rational life, but much debased by the fall. It generally seeks happiness in inferior objects and aims at no higher. When Jesus Christ imparts His spirit to us we have a spiritual life and seek spiritual gratifications. And this life is generally called a life of faith or a life of grace. As our natural life is fed by meat and drink and is rendered happy by the profits and pleasures of this world, so spiritual life is fed by the Gospel, and we are rendered happy by the pleasures and promises of the Gospel. A man may be content that he has his daily bread. But if he has large farms and has plenty of money in the bank, we may say he is rich and consequently happy. Such a man is said to have a good living; and, in general, people are more or less rich as they are more or less industrious. In the spiritual life every man that believes has food for his soul, but some are rich in faith. Every man that believes is a partaker of holiness and leads a life of virtue. Faith will turn our water into wine. Our moral actions, nay, our indifferent actions, now become acts of faith and labours of love. Whatever we do is for the glory of God.

(2) It is a life of joy and comfort. Faith, in the very nature of it, brings comfort to the souls as the sun brings light and heat. Now, the spiritual, like the natural light, increases to the perfect day. Ask a worldly man what increases his joy and comfort. He can readily tell that whatever increases his substance and enlarges the circle of his pleasures will increase both. Now, our virtues and graces, our prayers and our stock of promises are our spiritual riches and our cause of joy; the more we do or suffer for Christ the more happy we are. The more we promote His glory the richer ourselves are. We have heard of prize money. If the prize is great the poorest soldier makes his fortune. How should it animate our hopes and our endeavours that our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord? The more we improve in holiness and virtue the more happy we are. There are degrees of vigour and liveliness in the spiritual as in the natural life. There are some creatures that have life but cannot move, and others that can move but slowly. Great is the difference between these and the hart and wild roe on the mountains, or the birds of the air. Now it is true there is joy and purity in the least measure of faith, when a man believes he passes from death to life, and this belief purifies the conscience. But weak faith has great fears and cannot move with alacrity in the ways of God. The consequence is, there are many desponding thoughts, and the conscience is often defiled with unbelief. But when a man makes progress in the spiritual life he goes on his way rejoicing; the more we are purified the stronger we grow.

(3) It is a life of strength and courage. There are some strong in the faith, giving glory to God. Our spiritual life is a warfare, for we struggle not only against our own corruptions, but also against principalities and powers, and when we make advances in the life of faith, we put to flight these armies of the alien. We read in heathen authors of some warriors who fought with desperate courage, believing themselves to be under the immediate protection of some god. No, this imaginary protection inspired courage. How much more will the faith of the Gospel? Faith in divine protection made David, a stripling, go forth boldly against the champion of Gath. He tells us in one of his Psalms that, depending on this, he leaped over a wall and broke bars of steel. God Almighty addressed Joshua, the generalissimo of His people, in these words: “Have not I commanded thee to be strong and of good courage? Consequently, I will not fail thee nor forsake thee.” And the Apostle assures us that this divine promise belongs to all the followers of the Lamb. In the path of duty and in the struggles of faith there is assistance promised, which will overcome the powers of hell. Our cause is good, our Leader is glorious, and the victory is sure. What animated the Great Head of the Church against the combined forces of men and the devil? It was the glorious reward that was promised. When David, who was a type of the suffering Saviour, conquered his enemies, the soldiers got their large share of the spoil. And what may encourage poor, trembling souls that would wish to fight the Lord’s battles and are hindered by unbelief? We read that King David gave an equal share of the spoil to the poor men that fainted at the Brook Besor. And can we suppose that our Lord has less feeling or love for His poor trembling followers that would wish to follow Him in the heat of the battle? The very lame shall take the prey, and He knows every man that wishes well to His cause.

(4) It is a life that will constantly prepare us for the joys and pleasures of the next. The glorious description we read in Scripture of the heavenly Canaan will encourage us to fight our way, and prepare our souls for such scenes of bliss and happiness. If a man is born to an estate it is impossible but he will be thinking of it. When his reason begins to ripen he studies by education and politeness to prepare himself for his estate, that he may enjoy it with becoming dignity and honour. The true Christian heir of heaven purifies himself, even as he is pure, for the incorruptible inheritance. He will occasionally ascend the Hill of Pisgah, and take a view of the Promised Land. He finds a map of his inheritance in the Book of God. He knows that the map can give him but a faint idea of the place, for imagination cannot conceive the glories of heaven. All the Israelites in general possessed the earthly Canaan, but the great tribes of Judah and Joseph possessed a large share. The great saints will have a large share of the heavenly inheritance. The bounds of our inheritance are appointed in this same world, and the Kingdom of Heaven is prepared before the foundation of the world. These bright thoughts should animate our hopes and prepare us, by holy living, for a happy immortality. As we approach nearer, our prospects will become more bright and more enlarged. Good men, in imitation of Moses and Christ, will ascend the Mount of Contemplation to converse with God and prepare for heaven. Such thoughts will purify the heart and enlarge our benevolence. And if ourselves have some humble hopes of seeing that beautiful country, we shall constantly excite and encourage others to set their faces towards Zion, for great things are spoken of the City of our God.

1. That we believe His Word, which tells of our danger and misery by sin. If we believe the Word of God in general we must believe every particular part. We are to believe what it says to ourselves, in the first place. A great part of the Word consists of precepts, promises and threatenings. And these are general, for they speak to all that hear them. Now, it is a miserable perversion of language to call people believers if they deny any part of the Word. And it tells us all that we are sinners. It speaks to each man in particular, as Nathan to David, “Thou art the man.” We must believe the law, then, and the law denounces our danger and misery. The law curses us as sinners, and exposes our souls naked to the wrath of an infinite God. These are alarming truths, and if we calmly put our hands upon our hearts we may well say that very few believe them. Instead of this, the great majority of Gospel hearers go on in a course of gay insensibility, and take no concern in these matters. And as to those who have the appearance of seriousness, many of them go to the law itself that wounded them, for a cure. Now, though the law can wound, it never did heal. And if we seek comfort from our duties we labour in vain. If we rest here and do not look higher we are under the curse. The tree must be good before it can bring forth good fruit, and if it does not bring forth good fruit it must be cast into the fire. If we rest in our mere duties, and in bare morality without holiness, we are undone. The law is calculated to humble us that we may be fit subjects for Christ. To attempt to obey the law in a state of enmity and unbelief while we are strangers to Christ is impossible. The law, then, is our schoolmaster to lead us to a Saviour that we may be justified by faith. When we find ourselves in the state the Israelites were in when in Egyptian bondage, we cry and long for a Deliverer.

2. That we believe the report the Gospel makes of a Saviour, and that this Saviour is the Lord Jesus Christ. When we believe the law the Gospel becomes precious to our souls. The Gospel reveals a Saviour adapted to cure every condition. He came to save those that were lost, and when we believe this to be our own condition, the Gospel becomes welcome news—”Unto you that believe He is precious.” Now, the Gospel assures us that this Saviour is able and willing to save. Our disease consists in the following things:—(1) Unbelief and enmity; (2) unwillingness; (3) insensibility; (4) weakness and pride that refuses to be justified by the Gospel terms, and if we are sensible of our disease the Gospel assures us that Jesus Christ can give a cure. If we feel, then, our unbelief and our enmity, there is a cure in the Gospel. What is more calculated to cure both than a contemplation of redeeming love? “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him might not perish but have eternal life.” Now, cursed unbelief is ready to say He may have loved others though He does not love me; but why not you in particular? Because I feel enmity, because I am a great sinner. But these are not obstacles to redeeming love. If they were, who could be saved? The way to overcome them is to embrace and believe the Gospel. We cannot be sensible of redeeming love by keeping at a distance from Christ. To cast ourselves upon the mercy and pity of the Saviour is the sure way to feel His love. If we feel unwillingness and insensibility, our cure is in the Gospel. Our passions and lusts make us insensible of our dangers, and therefore unwilling, and because we feel ourselves unwilling we think the Saviour unwilling also. The Gospel assures us He is willing, for He gave proof of His goodwill to sinners. What can encourage us more to believe and make us willing to come so much as the precious calls, invitations, and promises of the Gospel. And what can raise our fear like the terrors of the Lord which the Gospel assures us hang over these who neglect and despise the joyful sound? And if we feel weakness and pride that refuses to be justified upon Gospel terms, our cure is in the Gospel itself. We feel our weakness, and yet such is our pride that we are unwilling to yield to the terms of the Gospel and live as poor pensioners upon free grace. The advocate for mere outward morality will hold faith a very different language indeed. He talks of the beauty of virtue and the fitness of things, and will hold forth several arguments for a good life, but when Jesus Christ is kept out of sight how can a man perform the duties of the law, for we are naturally without strength, and must remain so till we truly believe. Will it be said that the preaching of faith alone as the means or instrument of our justification does not produce morality? It produces much more. It makes morality, which was before a dead image, become a living principle, and bring forth fruit unto God. We resign ourselves to be directed by His Word and Spirit, and follow Him in all holy obedience of life. Seeing our misery, we accept of justification through free grace, feeling our obligation and stimulated by a principle of love and true gratitude to God, we shall be careful to maintain good work. Our obedience will flow from the true principle, and therefore our spring will not become dry. Before faith a man’s action terminated in self, whether they be acts of generosity, of justice, of humanity, or patriotism, or of public spirit. Thus if we do not believe, like the Jews, the fault must be imputed to our own wickedness and disobedience. It is true our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that a man cannot believe of himself. It is equally true that he blames sinners for their unbelief, and shows them the malignity of the crime, and unbelief is our sin for these reasons :—

   (1) Instead of believing, we harbour and nurse our unbelief.
   (2) We indulge and feed the lusts that give life and strength to this cursed principle.

   (1) Instead of believing we harbour and nurse our unbelief. If this was not the case it would not prove our ruin. When it becomes a burden we struggle and pray against it. In that case it will not destroy us. But when we are unwilling to believe and wish to continue blind, our case is dangerous and our sin is great.

   (2) We indulge and feed the lusts that give life and strength to this cursed principle. The favourite lust or passion always gives a sweet morsel to unbelief to feed on. The Jews dreamed of the earthly kingdom of the Messiah, and were therefore groping after posts, places and pensions under Him. Our Lord therefore asks how can ye believe who receive honour one from another? And the question will apply to all other sins and vices that blind the eyes of the mind and hinder our reception of the Gospel.

INFERENCES

As life is in Christ and unbelief a great sin, we may examine what sins hinder our believing, and they are the following :—

• (1) If the Jews were kept back from Christ by a superstitious and over-much attachment to the Sabbath, many of us are kept from Him by mere contempt and indifference to the Sabbath. We leave it with your consciences which are the greatest sinners, you or the Jews, for both refuse to believe? We have double malignity.
• (2) An unhappy attachment to tales and idle stories that profit neither soul nor body. The great Apostle of the Gentiles made but few converts in the city of Athens. Have you a curiosity to know the cause? They were like many among ourselves. They had an insatiable curiosity for news, and though it is an idle passion, it drowns and enervates every noble sentiment in the soul. Story-tellers are generally liars, and these have their portion in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone. As they despised eternal life, they shall suffer the second death.

(3) Lastly—Hatred and want of brotherly love. If this malignant poison dwells in any heart it is impossible the love of God could find room; and even though we should not find real hatred to any person, yet if our hearts are destitute of true Christian love, we cannot believe. The cause of this is either pride or an unhappy attachment to our own little interest. Whatever keeps us from Christ keeps us from life, and will land us in the dreary regions of darkness and death.

May God bless His Word. AMEN.

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