Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 1642
Delivered on Lord’s-Day Morning, January 29, 1882
“Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that hears My Word, and believes on Him that sent Me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation but is passed from death unto life.” John 5:24.
“Verily, Verily, I say unto you, he that believes on Me has everlasting life.”-
John 6:47.
THE words “Verily, verily,” as they were solemnly used by our Divine Lord, indicate an utterance of special importance. If Jesus says, “Verily, verily,” there is something coming to which we should attend with all our hearts! The subject which He thus introduces is our possession of eternal life and our being delivered from condemnation by faith in Himself. Can any theme be more important? Many questions may be asked, but they can all afford to wait till we get the answer to that first enquiry, “What must I do to be saved?” What shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world of knowledge and knows not the way of life? If he wins a world in this life, what will that matter to him if he misses life everlasting?
It is very considerate on our Lord’s part to call us with such great solemnity to think about our souls and eternal life. Let us attend to His appeal. Come here, dear Hearer, and bend over the words which Jesus commends to you with a double emphasis, saying, “Verily, verily.” Our Lord used this, “Verily, verily,” to denote a clear and certain Revelation. There must be an end to all doubt when Jesus says, “Verily, verily.” His ordinary word is true, for nothing but the Truth of God can come from Him who is “The Truth.” But when He uses His strongest exhortation, “Verily, verily,” then we must regard the statement with special reverence if we are, indeed, His loyal subjects.
When Jesus says, “Verily, verily,” we see two armies of truth gathered around His royal standard. His declaration is to be accepted as the indisputable, immutable, infallible Truth of God. Do you not agree to this? Carefully notice where this certainty lies—it rests solely upon the Word of Jesus—“I say unto you.” In the matter of our salvation, carnal reason never arrives at certainty. Mere argument can never bring a troubled heart to a sure anchorage. The certainty which Christ sets before us rests upon His own solemn assertion. Instead of proof, the Incarnate Son of God gives us— “Verily, verily, I say unto you.” If you are His disciples, and would enjoy the benefits of His salvation, you must accept your Lord’s statement without question. Doubts and reason must lie down at His feet and it must be enough that Jesus says it.
The ipse dixit of a mere man is not enough, but those of us who adore the Lord Jesus as the Son of God desire no better assurance than the Word of His lips! Here is our ultimate ground of faith, our main argument with mankind, our final answer to Satan and the eternal quietus of every misgiving—Jesus says it! We shall never arrive at certainty as to everlasting life except by a conviction that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is Infallible in everything that He says. I had rather have one word from Jesus than volumes of human reason, however conclusive they may appear! Our judgment has often deceived us—even our senses play us false and our emotions are no more to be depended on than the winds and waves— but here is a rocky foundation, firm as the pillars of Heaven! “Verily, verily, I say unto you.”
It is clear that the teaching of this present verse must be accepted by all Christians. They must either believe it or reject their Lord, for He does, as it were, stake His own Character for Truth upon this utterance by prefacing it with, “I say unto you.” Jesus does not leave the way of life a moot point, but decides it with all authority, states it in plain terms and sets it forth, formally, in a declaration for which He will be forever responsible. If you reject this teaching, you must reject the Teacher, Himself! Nothing of authority remains to Jesus if you take liberty to question this point, for He does not put it as a matter of report, or inference, but as a Truth of God to be accepted on His own authority—“Verily, verily, I say unto you.”
I have heard some who call themselves Christians talk about the Doctrine of Salvation through faith in Christ as if it were a mere theory of what they are pleased to call the Evangelical School—but is it so? Is it not our Lord’s own teaching? Our opponents have full liberty to canvass the peculiar tenets of a party—and the more they do so the better—but this teaching is not ours! It is the teaching of Him whom these critics call Master and Lord! Is this their reverence for the Son of God? Do they challenge Him to His face and question that which He asserts with a double verily and certifies by the dignity of His Person and the veracity of His Character?
I am equally at issue with those who admit the Doctrine of Justification by Faith and then add that it is to be guardedly stated and cautiously presented! Does Jesus teach dangerous doctrine? This Truth of God is constantly assailed by the carnally wise, but is that a reason for mistrusting it when Jesus puts it forward in such a form? Understand clearly that if you reject the doctrine of life through believing, you reject the authority of Jesus! It is useless to talk about being a Christian if you are not prepared to believe what Jesus Christ asserts, for one of the first requisites for a true disciple is faith in his Master!