_SINCERITY OF HEART NECESSARY TO THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE GOSPEL._
"If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether
it be of God, or whether I speak of myself."--John vii. 17.
The Jews, marvelling at Christ's teaching in the temple, exclaim, "How
knoweth this man letters, having never learned?" They do not mean to
ask whether Christ is competent to teach, for they _see_ that he is so
clearly enough; but they thus express their astonishment at the
authority and the ability with which He deals with the Scriptures,
considering that He has never received the instruction of the Schools.
In His reply, Jesus fully enters into the thought of His questioners.
That thought is this: "In order to teach, one must have been taught."
He intimates to them that He meets this requirement. As though He had
said: "It is true that I have not been in the schools of your Rabbis,
but I have been taught in a better school than theirs. He who has
given me my mission, has also given me my message. So that my teaching
does not proceed originally from myself. I have only to lay hold of my
Father's thought, and then to reproduce it faithfully to you."
But how is this to be verified? The answer to this question is found
in the text: "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the
doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself."
Christ's teaching, in its highest aim, is a Divine method of
sanctification. Whoever, then, earnestly seeks to "do the will of
God"--that is, to be holy--will soon recognise the Divine adaptability
of the gospel to its end. The meaning of the verse is the same as in
chapter v. and verse 46: "For had ye believed Moses, ye would have
believed me;" and also in chapter iii. and verse 21: "He that doeth
truth cometh to the light." On the one hand, the holy sublimity of the
gospel flashes irresistibly on the soul that longs for holiness; on
the other hand, the soul, in its inability to attain its ideal, seeks
peace and strength at the hands of the Saviour. Faith, therefore, is
not the result of a logical operation; it appears to the soul as the
best means of realising the satisfaction of its deepest
want--holiness. The word "will" points to the loftiness of the
aspiration and to the earnestness of the effort.
Our Lord's words, then, mean this, that if any man be supremely
anxious to do the right, he will find in Scripture sufficient proof of
its divinity, and, as a consequence, of its adaptability to the soul's
deepest need. Christ was dealing with men who were disposed to cavil
about His authority and about the truth which He taught. These men
were acquainted with the Mosaic law, which enjoined not only purity of
life, but also purity of heart. It was a law therefore which, if
honestly studied, must lead to those convictions which would enable
them to see the necessity and the wisdom of the gospel which Christ
was preaching. And so He lays down the principle that sincerity in
regard to the _known_ law of God determines the real position of the
mind _towards_ God, and prepares it for deeper and still deeper
penetration into all necessary spiritual knowledge. On the contrary,
he who is insincere, and does not practise what he knows, but
endeavours to evade it by sophistry, blinds himself until even the
brightest light can be of no service to him. This was the case with
the majority of the Pharisees with whom Christ had to do. This
passage is therefore of the highest practical importance, since it
teaches that man's capacity for spiritual knowledge is dependent upon
his inclination. If the will be opposed to God, the understanding
becomes clouded; if it be inclined towards God, the ability to know
increases. That the inclination is the door to the intellect is a fact
universally recognised. It is expressed in the proverb: "None are so
blind as those who will not see." In every department of learning, a
man, in order to attainment, _must make up his mind to it_. For good
or ill, the will is a quickening power.
It would be interesting and instructive to discuss this question in
connection with religious error, both in and out of the professing
Christian Church. My present purpose, however, is a more simple and
elementary one--namely, to indicate the bearing of the question upon
man's reception of the gospel for his salvation. I say, then, that
honesty, sincerity, integrity of heart is the required and
indispensable condition for perceiving and feeling the divinity and
suitability of the gospel; and that even an ignorant man, if he be but
sincere, and devoutly anxious to know the will of God, that he may do
it, may discover in the Bible those traces of moral beauty and of
Divine truth which a learned but unconscientious man will almost
certainly fail to find therein. Sincerity of heart--this is the
wisest, most natural, and most comprehensive means of access to the
inner spirit of that gospel which is the power of God unto salvation.
A few remarks in proof of this.
I. Suppose the gospel to be so manifestly filled with the proofs of its
divinity that all hearts, even the most obdurate, could not refrain from
yielding to its claims. Suppose it to be _self-evidencing_, in the same
way and to the same extent, as the sun is self-evidencing by its
shining, or fire by its known power to burn. In this case, no moral or
intellectual disposition would be necessary in order to its reception.
It could no more be denied than the light of the sun, or the consuming
power of fire. But what, with such a gospel, would be man's position?
Forced to assent to an imperious obligation, he would be, in relation to
the gospel and to the salvation provided in it, nothing more than a
machine, acting under the impulse of an irresistible necessity. There
could, under these circumstances, be neither praise nor blame attached
to him. He could no longer be accounted a moral agent--could not be
regarded as free, inasmuch as it would not be possible for him to choose
error or evil without obvious and startling folly. He could no longer be
responsible, because he would have to yield to a necessity. There could
be no free thought in his creed, no free love in his heart, and
consequently no virtue in his life.
II. Since, then, some disposition is necessary in order to a man's
coming to the gospel, suppose that God had imposed an _intellectual_
qualification--such, for instance, as is required for the learning of
art or of science, or for the understanding of any difficult problem
in philosophy. Observe what in that case must follow. If, to discover
the truth necessary to salvation, a large measure of natural genius or
of accumulated knowledge be required, we must consider as excluded
from salvation the immense majority of the human race! Men cannot in
any large numbers abandon the common, legitimate, indispensable
pursuits of secular life in order to become students of theology. Such
an arrangement would shut out from heaven all who have neither time,
nor fortune, nor energy of intellect sufficient to enable them to
follow our profounder investigations. The poor man for want of means,
the sick man for want of strength, the old man for want of time--all,
being unable to explore and to make their own the prescribed science,
would be lost! The fearfulness of the consequences shows how false the
supposed principle must be.
III. Take another supposition; viz., that, in order to a man's being
convinced of the truth of the gospel, he should be required to purify
his heart from all evil, so that with a clear moral vision he should
be able to see the beauties which have been obscured by his sinful
passions. Doubtless this means of appreciating Christianity would be
efficacious, were it practicable. But it is not so; for evidently the
_knowledge_ of the truth must precede the _practice_ of the truth. A
creature without wings might as well be told that he should go to
heaven on condition that he would fly thither!
IV. See now, not what _our_ plans might be, but what _God's_ plan is.
He does not influence man so as to degrade him into a machine: He
simply and uniformly demands the worship and the service of willing
hearts. He does not require of him the genius or the learning which is
the privilege of only a few. He does not ask in advance the goodness
which is impossible as a spontaneous production of his degenerate
nature. He just requires of all that which they can give, if they
will--viz., simple, devout honesty of purpose. Christ's words are not,
"If any man _does_;" but, "If any man will do"--_desires_ to do--is
supremely _anxious_ to do--_wills_ to do--"the will of God he shall
know of the doctrine, whether it be of God." Who, then, has a right to
complain? Who cannot be sincere? Who is unable to set before himself
the purpose of living up to the light he has in order that he may be
in the surest position for receiving more? Who will say, "This
condition is too hard?"
Observe, then, how your case stands. Are you, or are you not, anxious
to please God in any way which He may appoint and reveal to you? If
you are not, His gospel must be a sealed and unmeaning book to you.
Your mind is not open to the faith which unites the soul to the
Saviour. You are altogether destitute of the motive which would lead
you to the cross. But if you are, what then? You must see at once that
you are sinners, that you are guilty, and that you are hopeless. In
the light of these convictions, look at the gospel. It tells you of
the Divine Saviour who died for you and who rose again, who paid your
debt, who took to Himself your penalty, and who has therefore done
all that was necessary to set you free. To meet your helplessness, He
only asks for your faith, and offers to you the quickening and guiding
and upholding influences of His Holy Spirit.