Chapter XXXVII.
He Who Does Not Follow Christ In Faith, Holiness, And Continued Repentance, Cannot Be Delivered From The Blindness Of His Heart, But Must Abide In Eternal Darkness; And He Cannot Have A True Knowledge Of Christ, Or Fellowship With Him.
_God is light, and in him is no darkness at all: if we say we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another._—1 JOHN 1:5-7.
That we may the better understand the nature of light and darkness, it is necessary first to give heed to the description of the light, as it is originally.
2. “God is light,” saith St. John. But what is God? God is a spiritual, eternal, and infinite Being; God is almighty, merciful, gracious, righteous, holy, true, and the only wise God. God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, is unspeakable love and faithfulness; He is one in three Persons; He is the Sovereign Good, and good essentially. And this is the true and everlasting light. Whence every one that departs from God, from his love, his mercy, his righteousness, and his truth, departs also from light itself, and must consequently fall into darkness; for without God there is nothing but everlasting darkness. O how dark, therefore, is that soul in which God doth not dwell! Now if God be light, then the devil must certainly be darkness; and if God be love, then the devil must be nothing but hatred and wrath, enmity and envy, malice and uncharitableness, sin and wickedness. Whoever, therefore, turns himself to sin, turns himself to darkness and to the devil. Neither can he be delivered, till he turn back again, from darkness to light, from sin to righteousness, from vice to virtue, from the devil to God. Acts 26:18. And this is the work of a true and living faith which purifies the heart. Acts 15:9. For he who believes in Christ, daily repents and turns from sin and the devil to Christ Jesus. For even as Adam by sin turned himself from God to the devil, so we ought to withdraw again, by true repentance and faith, from the devil to God.
3. Hence it follows that man, without being converted from sin to God, can never be truly enlightened. “For what communion hath light with darkness?” 2 Cor. 6:14. Impiety and impenitence are wholly darkness, and, consequently, can have no fellowship with the light of the knowledge of Christ. So that it is absolutely impossible that those should be enlightened by the Spirit, and the light of eternal truth, who live in darkness and impenitence. To this purpose, St. Paul says concerning the Jews: “When they shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away” (2 Cor. 3:16); that is, their darkness, blindness, and ignorance shall be removed, and Christ shall give them light.
4. The greatest blindness, or thickest darkness that covers the minds of men, is the sin of unbelief, with the fruits resulting from it; such as pride, avarice, wrath, and the whole train of sensual lusts and pleasures. Wherever these take possession of a man, it is impossible that he should know Christ, the true Light of the world; much less can he savingly believe in him, trust in him, and obtain by him everlasting life.
5. For how should that man know the humility of the heart of Christ, whose own heart abounds with pride and high-mindedness? How should he be acquainted with the meekness of the heart of Christ, who is full of bitter wrath and envy? How should he understand his marvellous patience, who delights in revenge, and is hurried about with a multitude of unruly passions? But he who does not understand the humility, meekness, and patience of Christ, does not know Christ himself, nor believe in his holy name. For truly, if ever thou desirest to attain a sound knowledge of Christ, thou must obtain, by faith, the same heart which is in Christ; thou must experimentally perceive in thy heart, his meekness, his patience, and his humility. It is then that thy knowledge becomes solid and substantial. As a fruit is known by the taste, so Christ, the tree of life, is known by tasting. Whenever thou tastest by faith the humility of Christ, his meekness and his patience, thou then eatest of his fruit, and shalt find rest for thy soul. Thou enjoyest in Christ the favor and consolation of God. This is the only way to true rest and tranquillity of mind. For the grace and comfort of God cannot enter into a heart that is void of faith, and destitute of the meekness and humility of Christ. It is to the _humble_ that God gives grace. 1 Pet. 5:5.
6. But how is it possible that Christ should profit a man who does not desire to have the least fellowship with him? For, in truth, all those that live in the darkness of sin, have no fellowship with Christ, be their pretences what they will. For thus says St. John: “If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another.” 1 John 1:6, 7. And in the following chapter he explains it more fully: “The darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother, abideth in the light, and there is no occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother, is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.” 1 John 2:8-11.
7. As long, then, as a man continues in that dark and terrible cloud of sin, it is impossible that he should be enlightened by Christ, the true Light of the world, and be thereby brought to a saving knowledge of God. Whoever will attain to a true knowledge of God and Christ, must firmly believe that God is nothing but grace and love. Now, no man can know what love is, but he that has, and practises it, the knowledge of a thing being the result of a man’s experience, of his feelings, and of the works of truth which he performs. Whoever, therefore, does not exercise love (whatever words he may use about it), continues an utter stranger to the nature of love; and what he is pleased to call love, is nothing but show and pretence. And as Christ himself is nothing but love and humility, meekness and patience, and every true virtue, so a man that is not frequent in the performance of these and the like virtues, is altogether ignorant of Christ and of the truth. He is but a superficial pretender to, and a vain usurper of, His holy name, let his boasts be what they may. The Word of God is nothing but spirit. Whoever, therefore, does not live and walk in the Spirit, in no wise understands what