Good News

“OH, I have something so good to tell you,” said a little girl of thirteen some time since, as she turned to her friend a face beaming with joy which this world can neither give nor take away. “I know that I am saved―that the Lord Jesus died to put away my sins; it was all shown to me as plainly as possible last evening. This was the text: ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.’ (John 5:24.) Mr.―said that anyone and everyone who really believed Christ’s word has everlasting life; not life to be had at some future time, but that very moment. God’s word says so, therefore it must be true.”
“I saw it all clearly, and knew that it meant me. I do believe God’s word―I have everlasting life. That word hath’ rang in my ears till I did not know how to contain myself; I felt as if I must jump up and shout out for joy, for I had everlasting life, and should never, never come into condemnation, but had already passed from death unto life. I can see now how the good Lord Jesus has done everything for me, and I am so glad, so full of joy and peace this morning, that my heart feels as if it can hardly hold so much.”
“I wanted to tell you the first of all, before saying a word to anyone else about it, because it was through your teaching in the Sunday-school that I first began to think or care about such things at all, and then to long to know the Lord Jesus as my own Saviour. When you used to speak of Him as if you loved Him so much, and really longed to see Him, I often wished that I did, too, and now I know that I do; oh! isn’t it wonderful! I can never thank Him or love Him half enough, I am sure.”
With heartfelt thanksgivings and tears of grateful joy the “sower and reaper rejoiced together.” It was indeed the Lord’s doing, and marvelous in their eyes.
Surely only those who have known what it is thus to receive unexpected answers to the prayers of perhaps years will understand, how thoroughly ashamed this one felt of her want of faith, and how a sweet sense of contrition mingled largely with her joy.
Years have passed, and the bright, happy young believer, who from that memorable day went on her way rejoicing, has had like others “to endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” ―to meet with trials and temptations of various kinds, but “the joy of the Lord has been her strength,” and the Lord Himself her All. Her quiet, unassuming, consistent life has not been without its influence already upon others, and He who began the good work in her will, we know, perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
E. G

Bible Subjects. Redemption.
THERE are not very many texts in the New Testament which speak of redemption. Perhaps we had better look first at Romans in. 24, “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” We have already seen that His LIFE, HIMSELF, His BLOOD, are spoken of as the price paid for our redemption―our buying out—and in the chapter from which we quote a verse we have God giving in the most solemn way the awful state in which the sinner is by nature. Only one ransom price could buy the sinner out of this condition― “Under sin” (vs. 9). “All under sin” is the terrible word about Jew or Gentile, all under it, and none with any power whatever to get above it. A ransom such as could buy out the sinner from the bondage was necessary, and thanks be to God, it has been provided for us, and has been rendered to God. Because of this, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, God freely justifies us who believe. The ransom price paid on behalf of sinners magnifies His glory. It is of full and sufficient value in His eyes, whatever unbelieving man may see its worth to be. Through it, and not through any less value does God justify us. Utterly bound in sins were we―nothing could loose us from them, but the blood of Jesus, and He has “loosed us from our sins by His blood” (Rev. 1:5, R.5), and that because He loves us.
The redemption through which God justifies us is in Christ Jesus; it is in no other person, and nowhere else.
Never let us lose sight of the great and solemn reality that God hates sin because it is sin; in Him is no darkness at all, and all sin is opposed to His holy nature. Hence as we speak of redemption, we must not simply think of what we feel we need, but we must seek to consider, poor indeed as such considerations will be, God’s just wrath against sin. As we think of this, what blessed words of calm to our souls are these, “Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
This consideration leads us to similar texts, “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” (Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14.) The redemption is through His blood, not through His spotless life, His holy works, His wondrous prayers, no, nor through His resurrection, but through His blood. The price paid was His blood, His dying for us, nothing less. Keep very closely to this THROUGH. “Through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins” (Acts 13:38), says God to us, and through His blood the redemption for forgiveness is ours.
We are bought out of our bondage to sin and to Satan, and are forgiven every transgression and sin we have committed. A transgression is the overstepping a straight line, and such are our sins done against the plain word of God; but others of our sins may be simply our wicked ways done in ignorance of God― none the less calling down upon us His judgment. Thanks be to His name, the blood of Christ His Son has answered for them all.
Now let us look at the word in― “in whom we have redemption,” in the person of our risen Redeemer. Through His death on the cross; in Him in the glory. This is the most gracious word. He has accomplished the work of redemption once for all, and in Himself the redemption is secured forever. He in glory lives the witness of the eternal value of His work. The redemption is not in our hands, but in Christ, who lives in heaven, to die no more.
It is said we have it: not we hope to have the redemption―the forgiveness someday―no, but we have it now. It is a present and continual have that is our portion; we are having the redemption. There is no break in this have; it is not said we had or shall have, but we have, or are having it. We have it now, and the next moment we have it, and so on—it is an everlasting have. Let us thank God for this.
Only one further text on this subject shall occupy us at this time; we shall find it in Hebrews 9:12― “Having obtained eternal redemption.” Christ our Redeemer has obtained―not a redemption for a short time, such as we shall see by and by was known amongst the Hebrews in their land—but an everlasting redemption. As we read the Epistle to the Hebrews we find the word “eternal” often occurring. Everything that Christ touches is seen, in the epistle to those whose temple and services were about to vanish away, in a lasting character. What the law given by Moses did was temporary―what Christ did is eternal. So we read of eternal redemption obtained by Him. How different is this from many prevailing thoughts! There are numbers now who, like the Jews of old, regard the efficacy of the sacrifice as limited to a certain time. The blood of goats and calves shed under the law might affect a redemption for a short time, but the blood of Christ the Lord must, by reason of His Person who shed it, have an everlasting efficacy and effect―an eternal redemption.
This, and nothing short of it, is ours― obtained by Christ, let us remember, not obtained by ourselves. The redemption He has obtained through His blood, and which we have through grace, is not one moment short of eternal.

Our English Bible.