I come to what I called the pitcher, with which we draw the water for
our own use—'that whosoever believeth.' You perhaps say, 'Yes, I
believe. I accept every word of the Gospel, I quite believe that Jesus
Christ died, as a matter of history; and I quite believe that He died
for men's sins.' And what then? Is that what Jesus Christ meant by
believing? To believe _about_ Him is not to believe _on_ Him; and
unless you believe on Him you will get no good out of Him. There is the
lake, and the river must flow past the shanties in the clearing in the
forest, if the men there are to drink. But it may flow past their
doors, as broad as the Mississippi, and as deep as the ocean; but they
will perish with thirst, unless they dip in their hands, like Gideon's
men, and carry the water to their own lips. Dear friend, what you have
to do—and your soul's salvation, and your peace and joy and nobleness
in this life and in the next depend absolutely upon it—is simply to
trust in Jesus Christ and His death for your sins.
I sometimes wish we had never heard that word 'faith.' For as soon as
we begin to talk about 'faith,' people begin to think that we are away
up in some theological region far above everyday life. Suppose we try
to bring it down a little nearer to our businesses and bosoms, and
instead of using a word that is kept sacred for employment in religious
matters, and saying 'faith,' we say 'trust.' That is what you give to
your wives and husbands, is it not? And that is exactly what you have
to give to Jesus Christ, simply to lay hold of Him as a man lays hold
of the heart that loves him, and leans his whole weight upon it. Lean
hard on Him, hang on Him, or, to take the other metaphor that is one of
the Old Testament words for trust, 'flee for refuge' to Him. Fancy a
man with the avenger of blood at his back, and the point of the
pursuer's spear almost pricking his spine—don't you think he would make
for the City of Refuge with some speed? That is what you have to do. He
that believeth, and by trust lays hold of the Hand that holds him up,
will never fall; and he that does not lay hold of that Hand will never
stand, to say nothing of rising. And so by these two links God's love
of the world is connected with the salvation of the world.