Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1917-03-14

/ 81, OO-Oo-VucmOIy NcIsco, Oh, o<'
Golden Text John viii, 36-Com-
mentary Prepared by Rev. ID. M
| Stearns.
The portions OF this chapter selected
by the committee bring before us the
forgiveness Of a sinner, the evidence
of true discipleship and the deity of
Christ, who was before Abraham. But
what about chapter vii? Well, In viii,
20, we have a fact also mentioned I'm
vii, Q, 8. 30-His time to give Himself
up had not come, and therefore they
could not take him. Contrast xiii, /;
xvii, /, Jesus knew that His hour was
come; Father the hour is come. In the
plan Of eternity, the plan Of the ages
and In the plan Of your life and mine
there Is an appointed time, and 1t be-
comes us to accept it cheerfully and
say, my times are in thy hand" Ps.
XXI, 15).
Their desire to kill Him is seen In
VII, 1, 80, and In viii, 40. Their hatred
fof Him is seen In their calling Him q
deceiver and a devil (vii, II, 20; viii,
49,. 1t is perplexing to read In vii, 5,
that up to this time His brethren did
not believe in Him. Some devoted
Christians say, IF my life was what it
ought to be at home, would not others
In the home receive Him tooT' Not
necessarily. Consider Jesus. See His
great love for all In vii, 1880, "If any
man thirst let him come unto me and
drink" and compare Isa. lv, 1; Rev.
xxi, II. In chapter He said that we
might be wells of living water, and
now He says that we may be rivers
by the power OF the Holy Spirit, and
He can make 1t tru. in some measure
OF us, that everything shall live with
er the river cometh Gzek. Xvii, 81.
What an honor to carry life and light
in His name. His loneliness is seen In
every man going to his own house.
while He went to the Mount OF Olives
vii, SO; viii, II.
As to the woman and His writing on
the ground, 1t was a striking object
lesson on Jer. xvii, 10. "They that de-
part from me shall be written in the
earth, because they have forsaken the
Lord, the fountain of living waters"
These self righteous scribes and Phar-
isees had no use for Him, the fountain
of living water (Jer ii, 49,; they knew
no mercy for sinners and would have
Him condemn this poor sinner. What
He wrote on the ground we know not.
but he virtually said: Ye hypocrites.
your names have never been written
in heaven duke X, POI. You know not
God. You shall die I'm your sins, and
where / am you cannot come oversees
21-24). There were no stones thrown,
for there was no one present without
sin but the Lord Himself, and He had
no stones for any penitent sinner; He
had no scathing words for any but
hypocrites. His Neither do / con-
denim thee. Go and sin no more"
(verse III reminds us that He came,
not to condemn. but to save chapter
iii, ID. He is ready at this moment tc
save any drunkard or other sinner
who will turn from sin and come TO
Him wi, 80. And He is ready and
able to make them free from the
wrath to come and from the power Of
sin here and now q Thess. 1, 10; Matt.
1, 21). He is the Light that dispels the
darkness, the Truth that makes free,
the Son who makes free indeed verses
10, 80, 800. He is able TO save to the
uttermost and evermore and from all
sin all who truly turn to Him. But
He has to say to many: Eye will not
come unto Me-" II would, but We
would not John V, 40; Matt. xiii, 80.
1t is still thought by some that all
people are children of God, but our
Lord told these religious hypocrites
that they belonged to their father, the
devil, who is the father Of lies and
murderer. 1t cost God and His Son a
great deal to make provision whereby
a sinner might become child of God.
The full benefits Of the great sacrifice
are offered freely to every penitent
sinner, but there Is no other way to
become child of God than by receiv-
ing Jesus Christ as ones personal Sa-
viour, putting all our trust in His great
sacrifice for our sins John 1, 12). All
are by nature children OF wrath and
dead in sins CEph. ii, 3, 81, and, con-
tinuing I'm unbelief, the wrath Of God
abideth on them John iii, 36). What
an awfully wicked one and hater Of
God and man the devil must be to lead
any one to prefer the wages of sin,
which is death. to the gift Of God,
which is eternal lifel Cain was reli-
gious, but he rejected Gods way OF
life and proved himself a child Of the
devil q John Iii, 12). And all reli-
giousness today that does not know
the forgiveness OF sins by the precious
blood of the Lamb Of God Is not of
God, but of the adversary.
Mark well His great saying, Before
Abraham was, am" Verse so, and
think OF Him as the one whose goings
forth have been from of old, from the
days Of eternity (Mic. v, 2, margin).
The Creator Of all things, the revealer
Of salvation TO Adam and Eve, the
DoI 30 Abrohorn Toaao oud Iaaoh tho