Faith and Its Attendant Privileges

DELIVERED BY

C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"He came unto His own, and His own received Him not. But as many as
received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to
them which believe on His name: which were born, not of blood, nor of
the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." John
1:11-13.

ACCORDING to this text, the principal matter in our salvation is faith.
Faith is described as "receiving" Jesus. It is the empty cup placed
under the flowing stream. It is the penniless hand held out for
heavenly alms. It is also described in the text as "believing on His
name." And this reception, this believing, is the main thing in real
godliness. Faith is the simplest thing conceivable! When we hear people
sing, "Only believe and you shall be saved," they sing the Truth of
God, for we have the Divine assurance that "whoever believes on Him is
not condemned." The Gospel message is, "Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and you shall be saved."

The act of faith is the simplest in the world. It may be performed by a
little child. It has often been performed by persons so short-witted
that they have been almost incapable of any other intellectual act. And
yet faith is as sublime as it is simple, as potent as it is plain! It
is the connecting link between impotence and Omnipotence, between
necessity and all-sufficiency. He that by faith lays hold on God has
accomplished the simplest and yet the grandest act of the mind. Faith
is apparently so small a matter that many who hear the Gospel can
hardly believe it possible that we can really mean to teach that it
brings salvation to the soul. They have even misunderstood us and
imagined that we have meant to say that if persons believed they were
saved, they were saved.

If that were the doctrine of Justification by Faith, it would be the
most wicked of delusions. It is not so! Faith in Jesus as our Savior is
a very different thing from persuading ourselves to believe that we are
saved when we are not! We believe that men are saved by faith,
alone–but not by a faith which is alone. They are saved by faith
without works, but not by a faith which is without works. The faith
which saves is the most operative principle known to the human mind,
for he that believes in Jesus for salvation, being saved, and knowing
that he is saved, loves Him that saved him–and that love is the key of
the whole matter!

The loving Believer ceases from everything which would displease Him
whom he loves. He tries to abound in that which will please Him, his
beloved Redeemer. So salvation becomes the great reason for gratitude
and changes the heart! And, the heart being changed, all the issues of
life are changed. The man is like a watch which has a new mainspring–
not a mere face and hands repaired–but new inward machinery with
freshly adjusted works which act to a different time and tune. And
whereas he went wrong before, now he goes right, because he is right
within. Faith is so simple that the little child who believes becomes,
before long, strong in the Lord. It is a vital force which gets such
mastery over men that it makes them other men than they ever were
before!

And as it grows, it lifts them up from being mere men, to be men of
God, and then beyond that it leads them on till they become heroes and
they stop the mouths of lions, quench the violence of flames, obtain
promises and enter into rest. Faith the size of a grain of mustard seed
develops into faith that moves mountains! Faith of the little child
increases into faith of the giant! May we know by experience how true
this is! Our object is to show what faith does. And, O, while I am
trying to speak of this great gift of the Lord to men by which they
obtain every other gift, may many of you who have not believed come to
believe in Jesus! If you do, there is nothing in this text but what
shall certainly be yours.

I. We shall begin by saying that FAITH MAKES THE GRANDEST OF
DISTINCTIONS AMONG MEN. This is clear from the text. Faith makes the
grandest distinctions among men, for the text begins, "He came unto His
own, and His own received Him not"! That is one company–"but as many
as received Him"–that is another company. Were an angel to come here
with a drawn sword and to suddenly separate the righteous from the
wicked with one stroke, you

would find that his sword had for its edge the question, "Do you
believe in the Lord Jesus Christ?" This divides men into saved
Believers and unbelievers with the wrath of God abiding on them.

"He that believes has passed from death unto life, and shall never come
into condemnation; but he that believes not is condemned already,
because he has not believed on the Son of God." There are many
distinctions among men–some proper and some improper–and there always
will be such distinctions while this age lasts. There are rich and
poor– and I fear there never will be a form of society in which there
will be no poor. Even in the kingdom of Christ, when He comes, it seems
there will be poor, for He shall judge the poor and needy. There will
be the governors and the governed. The wise and the foolish. The
teachers and the taught. But, mark you, these distinctions pass away.
The grave is an awful leveler.

There in the sepulcher Caesar is no more than his vassal, Socrates no
greater than the slave who washed his feet! The great emperor who
swayed the scepter has, in the tomb, no higher rank than the bondwoman
who toiled at the mill. Death recognizes no caste, the sepulcher
believes in equality. At the Judgment Seat temporal distinctions will
not be recognized except so far as they involve responsibility–and so
far as that point goes, some of the great and mighty will then wish
that they had been slaves–and regret that they cannot hide their heads
among those whom they oppressed! The grand distinction which will
outlast all time is that of faith or lack of faith. Do you believe or
do you doubt? This makes the broad line of distinction! To the
receivers of Christ or the non-receivers–to which do you belong, dear
Friend?

I want you to observe that the faith which makes the distinction is
described here as a receptive faith. Saying faith becomes a working
faith by degrees, but at first it is a receptive faith. And in fact,
work as it may, afterwards, it must always be a receptive faith! We
only work out our salvation as God works in us–and even the highest
actions that are ever done for God are performed with the strength
which God supplies. Working faith is merely receptive faith in action.
A receiving faith is the vital point and it is absolutely necessary
that the soul should receive Jesus to be its All in All. "To as many as
received Him." Have you ever received Him, the Lord Jesus, the real
Christ? Do you talk to Him? Do you know Him? Is He a companion? Is He a
friend of yours? If you have received a personal Christ by confiding,
trusting and depending upon Him, you are on the safe side of the house!

The text further says, "Even to them that believe on His name." Now,
what is it to believe on His name? It struck me it would be a fair and
a right way of illustrating the text to notice what are the names which
are used in the former verses of this chapter. Please notice, in the
first chapter of John, where our text is, what name of Jesus is used.
"In the beginning was the Word"–that is the first name. The Word. What
is the meaning of that? Why is Jesus Christ called the Word? Why,
because, Brothers and Sisters, if I want to communicate to you by
writing or by speech, I use a word. My thought is here–and there is
your mind.

I could get the thought partly to your mind by a picture–that is what
God has done in Nature. But we cannot use pictures for a full
communication of knowledge–we must employ words. So God, wanting to
speak to man, spoke by sending Christ and Christ is God's Word. Have
you ever received Christ as God's Word? Will you just think of it, what
a wonderful Word He was? God said, "Men, stand no longer at a distance
from Me. I will come and dwell among you"– 33 years the Son of God
dwelt among the sons of men! "Men," He said, "Men, I must punish your
sins." There hung His Son bleeding on the tree for sin–God saying in a
wonderful way–"I hate sin and therefore Jesus must die."

The Lord next cries, "Men, I can now be just and yet can justify you.
Come unto Me." There is Jesus risen from the dead, in newness of life,
and He goes into Heaven a Man and, as Man, is received to the Throne of
God–and thus God says in a word to us, "I am willing to receive you up
to My very Throne." Actions speak louder than words, but Christ,
Himself, is the Word, the love-Word, the tender Word, the very
heart-Word of God–with acts attending and following which make His
utterance the more convincing! God kept nothing back when He spoke
Christ. He spoke that Word and that Word is the fullness of God's soul
to sinners!

Have you ever accepted Christ as the Word between you and God? Have you
ever spoken to God that Word back again by pleading the name of Christ?
Lord, there is no communication between me and You except this!
Whenever You speak, you say, "Christ," and my reply is, "Christ." When
I want You to pardon me, I say, "Christ." When I need You to bless me,
indeed, and give me answers to my prayers, I plead, "Christ." That is
the Word from God to man, and back again from man to God.

Now, to as many as believe on His name as the Word, to them He gives
power to become the sons of God. But many have never accepted Him as,
"the Word," any more than if God had never spoken. They are deaf. At
any rate, there is the Word and they have never received it. Look down
the chapter and you will find that Jesus is described as the Life. "All
things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was
made. In Him was life." Have you believed on His name as the Life? Man
is dead by nature. When God said to Adam, "In the day you eat thereof
you shall surely die," Adam did die that very day and that is the key
word to what is meant by death in the Scriptures. Did he cease to
exist? No, nor will you.

But he ceased to live and that is a very different thing. To exist is
not to live, there is a wide distinction there. To die is not to cease
to exist–no thoughtful man should fall into such an error. What is
death? Practically it is the separation of a living being into its
component elements. When the seed is put into the ground, the Apostle
says, it is not quickened unless it dies, or dissolves into its
constituent elements. It dies in order more perfectly to live. When we
die, neither body nor soul ceases to exist, but they cease to be united
and their separation is death. When a soul departs, (and the life of
the body is the soul), the life of the body is gone. When a soul dies,
it is separated from God, for union to God is the soul's true life.
That is the death which Adam died and which every impenitent sinner
will have to die. No, that is the death which every sinner is under
now, for, "he that believes not shall not see life, but the wrath of
God abides on him."

Listen well that, "he that believes not has not life." He has an
existence and always will have, but he has not life– he abides in
death. But as for the man who believes in Jesus, he gets back his God
and that is his life! Jesus says, "He that believes in Me, though he
were dead, yet shall he live; and he that lives and believes in Me
shall never die." "I am the Resurrection and the Life." When we are
brought back to God, God has made our soul alive! A soul without God is
like a fair palace which has been deserted–you pace through all its
halls and there is not a sound. It is all death, decay and emptiness.
But when the king comes back, again, to his palace, the merry bells
peal out their joyful notes! All is rejoicing and there is life again
throughout the house. God is the life of the soul and as many as
receive God in Christ, receive the

Life.

Now see, Jesus is first the Word, that is God speaking to men. Secondly
the Life, that is God quickening man and dwelling in him. Have we so
received the Christ of God? Note the third name here. "In Him was life,
and the life was the Light of men." Notice that this name of Jesus is
repeated many times if you read through the chapter. "John came for a
witness to bear witness of the Light. He was not that Light, but he was
sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light," and so
on. So that the next name of Christ we have in this chapter is the
Light. Have we received Christ as the Light? What is it to have Christ
to be your Light? What is light? It is that by which we see. Everybody
sees in a light.

Take an illustration–only an illustration. A merchant comes to a city,
town, village. He calculates whether it is a good place for business.
"Bad place, this," he says. "A man cannot live here. It is a bad
situation." And he is not content unless he gets near the Bank or in
Lombard Street, or some other business quarter. Now look at the artist.
He has another light. You take that artist into the city and he says,
"I could not live here in this dreary wilderness of brick, amid these
fogs! Let me get away to North Wales, or somewhere where the
picturesque is to be seen." And he settles himself down in
Bettws-y-coed, and he says, "This is beautiful."

Take the rich man there and say to him, "You are to live here for 20
years." "Twenty years?" he says, "I could not live here a month! It is
preposterous. This is not a place where a man can live." Bring a man of
gaiety into a religious circle and he says, "O, I need a place where
there is some life." I have been traveling, sometimes, where I thought
the scenery very beautiful and I have heard young men say, "This is a
hateful place: there is no life here." Everybody sees according to the
light he sees by.

My dear Hearer, have you ever seen things in the Light of Christ? Did
you ever feel, "this is the place where I can live, for here are
Christians with whom I can commune. Here is the Gospel preached and my
soul will be fed here. I shall learn much of Christ. This is a sphere
in which I can be useful"? When you have Life you will get Light–and
you will see things in that Light. You will see yourself in the Light
of Christ. You will say, "O God, be merciful to me a sinner."
Everything looks according to your light. Yellow spectacles will make
everything look yellow, but get the true Light, the only Light that can
lighten any man that comes into the world, and things will be seen in
the Truth of God. If you get Christ within you, you have Light, indeed!

So the question comes back–have we believed on the name of Jesus as
the Word, the Life and the Light? If we have, it has made a distinction
between us and others, and there is a deep gulf fixed between us,
across which, thank God, men may come to us by Sovereign Grace, but
across which we shall never return–for he that has received the Word
will find in it an incorruptible Seed! He that has received the Life
has received with it the assurance, "Because I live, you shall live
also." And he that has received the Light knows that it shines more and
more unto the perfect day. This distinction, then, is a very grand one
and it is one which obliterates all others, for the text puts it, "As
many as received Him"–that is, if the chimney-sweep receives Christ,
he is a child of God, and if the Czar of Russia receives Christ, he is
a child of God– but not the one more than the other. If they receive
Him–that is the point–they become the sons of God!

It is a distinction, therefore, which is to be sought after abundantly
by us, and which has to do with present things. "As many as received
Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God." Now I charge
you, do not think of religion as a thing to be run after when you die,
as your friends may seek after an undertaker to bury you. My bell
sometimes sounds at the dead of night or at three in the morning.
"Would you come and pray for a dying person?" They even say, "Pray to
some dying person." Why do they send for me? Why do they not think of
sending for me when the man is in good health?

They send for me when the man has taken stupefying drugs, perhaps, to
lull pain, or he is half asleep with coming death, or his suffering is
so intense that he cannot think! Or if he can think, he counts on my
coming and my visit rather ministers to his superstition than to his
benefit! Religion is for life as well as death. It is for today. "Now
are we the sons of God." Oh, have the Gospel today, today, today,
today! It is said that every man ought to repent on the last day of his
life–this day may be yours–"therefore, today, if you will hear His
voice, harden not your hearts." I have many things to say unto you, but
time flies and I have much more left. This is the first head, then.
Faith makes the grandest of all distinctions.

II. Secondly, FAITH OBTAINS THE GRANDEST OF ALL ENDOWMENTS. Read, "To
as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of
God." The margin says the "privilege." The margin is right, but so is
the common reading. The word exousia is a very great word in the Greek.
It cannot be comprehended in the word, "privilege," at all. It means
power, privilege and a great deal more. Everyone that has believed in
Jesus has received the privilege, the power and everything else that
lies in being a son of God. This is described as being a privilege
peculiar to Believers and yet there are rogues who are everlastingly
talking about the "fatherhood" of God because He made them.

I suppose the man who made that table is the father of the table. They
assert that the Creator is the Father of all His creatures. That is not
the sense in which Believers say, "Our Father which art in Heaven." If
you are children of the devil and doing his works, why call God your
Father? How dare you? If you have not believed on the Son of God, He is
not your Father in the sense of the text–and you have no right to
think of yourself as His son! The privilege of the text is, "to as many
as received Him," for, "to them gave He the power" or, "theprivilege to
become the sons of God." As for the unbeliever, what is written
concerning him? "The wrath of God abides on him."

Now, there is a distinction intended here in the use of this word,
"son," rather than the old legal word servant. The most that they could
attain to under the old dispensation was to be servants. "Moses was
faithful in all his house as a servant." Yes, that is all. And what a
blessed thing to be a servant of God! The poor prodigal would have been
glad enough to have been one of the hired servants. But says our
Master, "Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant knows not
what his Lord does, but I have called you Friends." And we know who has
said, "For this cause He is not ashamed to call them Brethren," because
they are sons in the same house. Oh, what a pleasure to rise from
slavery to sonship! From the bondage of the Law to the glorious liberty
of the children of God!

And that is where we all are who have believed. Only sometimes, you
know, we do not live up to this sonship privilege. Those who are under
the Law do not rise to sonship. They may be sons, but they are in their
minority and the child, while he is yet in his minority, differs little
from a servant, though he is lord of all. He is under tutors until he
is of age. Christ has come and we are no longer under a schoolmaster,
but now, blessed be His name, we are the sons of God! Are we not His
servants, too? O, yes! Jesus Christ was first His Father's Son and then
His Father's Servant. So we, being sons, have the joy of serving our
Father. And I tell you it is a very different thing to serve your
Father to what it is to serve a mere prince or ruler!

We are sons, then, rather than servants. We are called sons of God
because of our new nature. We are the children of God by birth. We are
also sons by likeness, for the Spirit of God dwells in us and we are
made like unto God. The likeness between a son of God and God, Himself,
is real and true. Have you ever seen the likeness between yourself and
your child? Yes. Yes, he is very much like you. Some points of his
character are caricatures of yours! You can see your image, distorted
somewhat, and imperfect, but it is yourself. It is as near like
yourself as a child can be like a man–but a child is not a man, for
all that. So God makes His children like Himself, but they are
miniatures, they are little, childish, weak. There are many
imperfections and shortcomings, but still, mark that word, I often
stagger as I read it–"He has made us partakers of the Divine Nature."

In moral qualities and spiritual actualities, He has given us power to
become the sons of God, that is, by making us like unto God, showing us
that as He is who was the Chief Son, so are we, also, in this world.
Oh, the privilege of this! I assure you I would enlarge upon it if I
did not feel that I am quite incompetent. I can only stand as John did
when he wanted to tell us about it, and could only cry, "Behold," as
much as to say–"Look yourself, I cannot tell you!" "Behold what manner
of love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the
children of God." We are such by prerogative, by nature, by growing
like He and by privilege. We are now the sons of God.

Some of you do not know what this means. Children, you know, take many
liberties with their father and are very familiar. I wonder what the
little children of a judge think of him if they are ever taken into
court to see him with his big wig on, sitting there trying prisoners?
Well, I have no doubt they feel a great awe of him. But you should see
him when he is at home! Why there he is down on the rug with the
children on his back! He is the father and the father somehow swallows
up the judge! And the child does not seem to remember that he is a
judge, but only that he is his father. O, how many times has my soul,
while prostrate with awe in the Presence of my God, laid hold on Him
and said, "My Father, great as You are, You are not so great as to
forget that You are my Father. You have taught me to say it, You have
said, 'When you pray, say, 'Our Father,' and I do say it, and I feel
that, 'Abba, Father,' is the natural cry of the spirit that is within
me. Will you not answer to the cry?"

He does answer us and like as a father pities his children, He pities
us. He bows His Omnipotence to help us in our little labors–and bows
His mighty arms to help us in our little troubles. "He counts the
number of the stars, and calls them all by their names. He heals the
broken in heart, and binds up their wounds." Is not that a grand stoop
from rolling the orbs and wheeling the worlds along, to stoop down to
bind broken hearts and to strap their wounds with Heaven's court
plaster lest they should bleed too much? Blessed be his name!–

"The God that rules on high,

And thunders when He pleases.

That rides upon the stormy sky

And manages the seas–

This awful God is ours,

Our Father and our love!

He shall send down

His hea venly powers

To carry us above."

But we must pass on. Faith makes the grandest of distinctions and
obtains the grandest of endowments.

III. Thirdly, FAITH IS THE EVIDENCE OF THE GRANDEST EXPERIENCE, for the
text speaks of, "them that believe on His name which were born, not of
blood, nor of the will of man, but of God." This teaches us that every
man who believes in Jesus is a regenerate man. He has been born of God!
What a wonderful thing it is to be born again! There are poor blind men
about who say that persons are regenerated by the application of water,
though they have no faith, and grow up without any! May the Lord open
their eyes! We will say no more, but wherever there is true
regeneration there must be faith. Read the third chapter of John. See
how faith and regeneration run together. Read this very passage–"To as
many as believe on His name which were born, not of blood, nor of the
will of man." Faith is the first, the unique token of being born again!

Now, what is it to be born again? I saw a big man once. A strong, rough
fellow, and he was evidently under conviction of sin. He said, "Would
God I had never been born." He thought again and he said, "I remember
when I used to pray at my mother's knee. I knew nothing, then, of the
wickedness and vice through which I have gone. Would God I

could begin life again like a little child!" I was pressed to hear him
say that, for it enabled me to say, "That is exactly what you shall do
if you believe in Jesus. You shall be born again." But if we could be
born again as we were born at first, that is, of the will of the flesh,
we should do as we did before–for that which is born of the flesh, if
it could be born twice of flesh–would be still flesh.

That which is born of the Spirit is spirit and, "you must be born again
from above"–you must be born of the Spirit of God. What the Spirit of
God does for us is to give us a new life to start us afresh with a new
nature upon a new career. Whoever believes in Jesus is born again!
Regeneration is a great mystery, but you have that mystery. Do not
puzzle yourself about the new birth–you have experienced it if you
really believe in the Lord Jesus. As I tried to explain it just now,
you are born again. You are a new creature in Christ Jesus. You have
begun life again. It is of little use to attempt to mend the old
nature, it is too far gone. There was a certain prince who used to
swear this oath, "God mend me!" But a good man says, "I think He had
better make a new one."

Some men think God will mend them, but they err. I like the drunkard to
become sober and the thief to become honest and mend himself as much as
he can. But what he really needs is making over again. I have heard of
a man who brought his gun to the gunsmith's to be repaired. "You want
it repaired," says the smith. "Well, what it needs is a new stools dock
and barrel." That looked very much like making a new one! You had
better begin de novo. The old Law had for its token the putting away of
the filth of the flesh, but the distinguishing ordinance of the New
Covenant goes much further.

What does Christ say to His people in the act of Baptism? He says, "You
are dead. You must be buried and must rise into newness of life."
Baptism cannot do this, but it sets forth our need of the death of the
old nature and of resurrection into new life. We must be born
again–not washed, not cleansed, not mended up–but made new creatures
in Christ Jesus. And every man who believes in Jesus has undergone that
wondrous change! He is not born of blood, that is not born according to
the natural way of birth. He is born in a new, celestial manner. He is
not born of the will of the flesh– man's bad carnal will–nor of the
will of man, man's best will, for the will of man, when it has done all
it can, has done nothing at all savingly. If you were born of the will
of man, it would not answer the purpose–"born not of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."

We need renewal by a supernatural power. God alone can create and God
alone can new-create. To make a new creature is a greater wonder than
to make a world, because when God made a world there was nothing to
stand in His way. But when He makes a new creature there is the old
creature in conflict with Him. If I may be allowed to commit so
palpable an error of speech, I would say it takes double Omnipotence to
re-create! We must be born from above, but we are saved if we have
believed in the Lord Jesus. God grant that if any here have not
believed, the new birth may be given them–and faith in Christ Jesus.

IV. Now, lastly, lest I weary you, FAITH RAISES THE BELIEVER TO THE
NOBLEST CONCEIVABLE CONDITION. The man who has received Christ has
undergone a new birth which fits him to be a child of God. Now, note,
first, the inconceivable honor of being a child of God. Ah, if all the
degrees, dignities, honors and titles that were ever conferred by men
could be put into a heap, they would not make enough of real honor to
be seen by a microscope– compared with the glory that belongs to the
humblest, poorest and most despised son of God!

Son of God! "Unto which of the angels did He say at any time, You are
My Son, this day have I begotten You?" I know the text applies to
Christ, but it applies, also, to all His people. His angels are
servants–they are not sons. It is their delight to keep watch and ward
about us, as servants do over young princes of the blood. "They shall
bear You up in their hands, lest You dash Your foot against a stone."
About the child of God there is even, here, a splendor which is none
the less bright because carnal eyes cannot see it. It is like the
splendor of God–invisible because too excessive for eyes to see.

I will picture a child of God, if you please, a daughter of Zion. She
is a poor seamstress. She has stitched a shroud as well as a shirt and
she lies upstairs dying. You would not like to fare as she does. She
dwells in a wretched little room. It is scantily furnished. The bed is
hard and she lies there in agony. She can scarcely breathe. She gasps
for life. She is very poor and those upon whom she is depending have
begun to feel her a burden and sometimes say hard words to her. This is
a gloomy place, is it not? Come here. I will touch your eyes as the
Prophet did the eyes of his servant. And what do you see? You see one
of the members of Christ's body struggling for the last time–and about
to win the victory!

Listen to her! She tells you that Christ is with her! Do you see Him?
There He stands in the deepest sympathy, bending over His beloved,
smiling upon a soul that He has chosen from before the foundations of
the world–a daughter upon whom He has put a garment without spot, meet
for royal wear! She is a King's daughter! Look about the room. Angels
are there, they are waiting all around her, waiting to take her Home!
The Holy Spirit, Himself, is within her soul. Do you see the light of
His consolations and revelations? If your eyes are open, you can see
it. Yes, the Father Himself is here, for He is never away from the
deathbeds of His children! "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the
death of His saints." She has grown worse. Her eyes are dim. Her voice
is feeble. Listen to her! I am picturing no fancy scene–I have heard
it!

She is just about to enter into Life, and she cries–

"And when you hear my heart-strings break, How sweet my minutes roll! A
mortal paleness on my cheek, But Glory in my soul!" If she has strength
enough left, you will hear her sing–

"'Midst darkest shades, if He appears, My dawning is begun; He is my
soul's bright morning star, And He my rising sun."

Do not talk to me of Joan of Arc! This is the true heroine! She is
battling with Death and singing while she dies. Fear? She has long
forgotten what that means. Doubt? It is banished! Distress?
Despondency? She has left them all behind. She is a Believer! She has
received Jesus and she has power to be a child of God! O, the honor and
dignity of being born from above!

Now, note again the safety of this birth. If you are a child of God,
how safe you are! I am sure there is no father and mother here that
would let any harm come to their children. None of us would if we could
protect them. Do you think God will suffer His children to be harmed?
He will cover them with His feathers and under His wings shall they
trust. His Truth shall be their shield and buckler. There shall no evil
befall them–neither shall any plague come near their dwelling. "I, the
Lord, do keep it. I will water it every moment lest any hurt it, I will
keep it night and day." "I give unto My sheep eternal life, and they
shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of My hand. My
Father which gave them Me is greater than all, and none is able to
pluck them out of My Father's hand."–

"Safe in the arms of Jesus." Well may you sing that, for so you are if
you are the children of God!

And, last of all, though much more might be said, what happiness this
brings to a man to know that he is a child of God. I remember, some 22
years ago, being waited upon by a Mormon who wanted to convince me of
the Divine mission of Joseph Smith. And after hearing some of his talk,
I said, "Sir, would you kindly tell me what you have to offer me and
how I am to get it? I will listen to you if you will let me tell you
afterwards what I have to offer you and the way to it." I heard him
with a great deal of patience. He listened to me not quite so
patiently, but when I had done he saluted me thus, "If what you say is
true, you ought to be the happiest man in the world!" To which I
replied, "Sir, you are correct. I ought to be and, more, I am!" And so
I left him.

And so I am, and so is every child of God that lives up to his
privilege. You are a child of God–forgiven, accepted, beloved–what
more do you need? In the name of goodness, what more do you need? If a
man were to become an imperial prince, would he say, "I need more"? My
dear Man, what more can you need? If you are a son of God, what more
can you ask? I remember the time–perhaps you remember it for
yourself–when I was in bondage under sin and I thought I should be
sent to Hell. If the Lord had said to me, "I will forgive you, but you
must live on bread and water till you die," I would have clapped my
hands for joy! I would have said, "Lord, do but save me. If I can get
rid of my sins, the very hardest lot will be a pleasure to me." Let us
never complain, since we are possessors of salvation. The joy of the
Lord is your strength. "Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say,
rejoice."

Remember this as a practical word. There is an old French proverb which
says, "Nobility obliges." There is an obligation upon nobles. You do
not expect to see great princes sweeping the street crossing. You would
not expect to hear of Her Majesty the Queen acting like a milkmaid.
Well, now, if you are a son of God, you must act like it! If I hear of
a man

who says, "I am a child of God," and he gives short weight and is hard
in his bargains–I am ashamed of him! He a son of God? He who must make
money! And hold it, and keep it? He, a son of God? He is not very much
like his Father! Son of God? And yet sharp, quick-tempered, angry,
spiteful! He is not very much like his Father. A child of God and do a
mean thing? My dear Brothers and Sisters, what are you? A son of God
and tell a lie?

A son of God and afraid of anybody? A son of God and cannot look your
fellow man in the face without a blush? A son of God and at home a
tyrant? Such conduct will never bear a thought–and he who is guilty of
it gravely offends. When the great Emperor Napoleon was in his power,
if a member of his family married below his rank, he was made to know
the emperor's anger, for members of the imperial house were under bonds
of honor to keep up their dignity. You girls here, who are daughters of
God, dare you marry out of the imperial family? Never do that! Take
care that you are not unequally yoked. When a king was taken prisoner,
Alexander asked him how he would be treated, and he said, "Like a
king."

Christian, act like a king! When a quarrelsome person offends us, we
should say in our heart, "I would have quarreled with you, but I could
not stoop to it. I am a child of God." I read a bitter remark of
Guizot's to his enemies the other day, which ran something like this,
"Come up the steps and mount as high as you can. And when you reach the
top you will be beneath my contempt." So oftentimes may the child of
God think of the world and all the shams, and all the temptations which
are in it, "I have a great work. How can I come down to you? I am a son
of God. My conversation is in Heaven! I cannot leave my position to
come down to you."

Walk as children of light. "What manner of persons ought you to be in
all holy conversation and godliness?" You are "a peculiar people, a
royal priesthood, a chosen generation, zealous for good works." Do not
demean yourselves! Go your way and may the Spirit of your Father rest
upon you. Amen and amen.

PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON–1 John 3. HYMNS FROM "OUR OWN
HYMN BOOK"–533, 448.