Chapter VI—Unbelievers in the blood of Christ shall be condemned.
Let no man deceive himself. Both the things which are in heaven, and the glorious an-
gels,527 and rulers, both visible and invisible, if they believe not in the blood of Christ, shall,
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in consequence, incur condemnation.528 “He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.”529
Let not [high] place puff any one up: for that which is worth all is530 faith and love, to which
nothing is to be preferred. But consider those who are of a different opinion with respect
to the grace of Christ which has come unto us, how opposed they are to the will of God.
They have no regard for love; no care for the widow, or the orphan, or the oppressed; of the
bond, or of the free; of the hungry, or of the thirsty.
Let no man deceive himself. Unless he believes that Christ Jesus has lived in the flesh,
and shall confess His cross and passion, and the blood which He shed for the salvation of
the world, he shall not obtain eternal life, whether he be a king, or a priest, or a ruler, or a
private person, a master or a servant, a man or a woman. “He that is able to receive it, let
him receive it.”531 Let no man’s place, or dignity, or riches, puff him up; and let no man’s
low condition or poverty abase him. For the chief points are faith towards God, hope towards
Christ, the enjoyment of those good things for which we look, and love towards God and
our neighbour. For, “Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and thy neighbour
as thyself.”532 And the Lord says, “This is life eternal, to know the only true God, and Jesus
Christ whom He has sent.”533 And again, “A new commandment give I unto you, that ye
love one another. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”534 Do
ye, therefore, notice those who preach other doctrines, how they affirm that the Father of
Christ cannot be known, and how they exhibit enmity and deceit in their dealings with one
another. They have no regard for love; they despise the good things we expect hereafter;
they regard present things as if they were durable; they ridicule him that is in affliction; they
laugh at him that is in bonds.
527 Literally, “the glory of the angels.”
528 Literally, “judgment is to them.”
529 Matt. xix. 12.
530 Literally, “the whole is.”
531 Matt. xix. 12.
532 Deut. vi. 5.
533 John xvii. 31.
534 John xiii. 34; Matt. xxii. 40.
Chapter VI—Unbelievers in the blood of Christ shall be condemned.
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Chapter VI—Unbelievers in the blood of Christ shall be condemned.