as given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He
that hath the Son hath the life."--1 John 5:11, 12.

It is an awe-inspiring thought, a wonderful, blessed reality, that
every real believer on the Lord Jesus has, here and now, _eternal
life_, not simply the promise of it, but the eternal life itself. The
human mind cannot fully take it in, that every man, the moment he is
redeemed from the curse of the law (Gal. 3:13), redeemed from all
iniquity (Titus 2:14), redeemed from under the law (Rom. 6:14), and
adopted as a child of God (Gal. 4:4-7), has then and there
_everlasting life_ (John 5:24), a new life that is never, never to
end; a life that will outlast the stars; a life that he will be
consciously enjoying when all the stars shall have burnt out. And yet
when such a life is offered as a gift ("I give unto them eternal life,
and they shall never perish,"--John 10:28) many men will not repent
and accept the gift. Religious prejudice, pride, secret sin, love of
the world,--for what puny trifles do men turn from the greatest of all
gifts, the greatest of all blessings, eternal life! Reader, will you
be among the number who make this foolish, this fatal mistake?

But with some the greatness of this gift, and its blessed reality, are
obscured by the teaching that the believer on Christ has not
everlasting life _now_, but only the _promise_ of it. When God's word
tells us that the redeemed one, the believer on Christ, is not under
the law (Rom. 6:14), is a child of God (Gal. 3:26), _has been_ saved
(Eph. 2:8, 9, 1911 Bible and R. V.), not _will be_ saved, it would be
strange that, after all, the believer should have only a promise for
the beyond and no reality here and now. But God's word goes further
and says, "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ _is born of
God_."--1 John 5:1. _There cannot be birth without new life._ It is
not the old life; that would mean no birth. If, then, the new life is
not _eternal_ life, _what life is it_?

If language can be made to mean anything, God's word makes it plain
that every redeemed man, every believer on Christ, has _here and now_,
eternal life; for God's word tells us, not only that "by grace _have
ye been saved_" (Eph. 2:8, 9, 1911 Bible and R. V.), but it states
plainly, "he that believeth on the Son _hath_ everlasting life" (John
3:36); "Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word and
believeth on him that sent me, _hath_ everlasting life a