in The Gospel Messenger (1896)
AUTHOR: | Henderson, J. E.W. |
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NOW, WE ARE BOUND TO CONCLUDE that believing is the effect of life and not the cause thereof; and also that the gift of life is the cause of salvation from a state of death and condemnation. The Saviour said, with reference to His sheep (people): “I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish,” John x. Thus we see that by the gift of life the foundation is laid for faith and hope in the Lord Jesus Christ, which follows, and are the legitimate results or effects of life. To believe anything concerning Christ without divine life is to be a mere casual believer; it is to believe, without efficient cause, like Simon the sorcerer, who after he had believed and was baptized, was denied any part or lot with the saints, and was declared still in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity, Acts viii: 21, 22, 23. “Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God,” [I] John v: 1. |
