Page:Complete Works of Menno Simons.djvu/545

Rh image from the dust of earth; placed them at the head of all creation; gave them gold, silver, land, house, and home, and all the necessaries of life; gave them his divine word; first, the law of nature, then Moses and the prophets, and afterward his only begotten Son, his wisdom, his power, Christ Jesus, who has taught them the will of his Father in great clearness; opened heaven and closed hell; vanquished death, sin, and the devil for them; fulfilled the cumbersome, threatening law on the cross, and acquired for them grace, favor, mercy, peace, freedom, deliverance, remission of sins, and eternal life with the Father, if they in truth believe, seek, and desire it, besides calling them daily to repentance, regeneration, and the glory of the chosen children of God; desiring to draw them forth from the darkness of the world and deliver them into the kingdom of his beloved Son; not letting his righteous judgment come on them as it did on Sodom and Gomorrah; giving them day and night, sun and moon, rain and drought; again, blessing them with wisdom and understanding, wife, children, cattle, and fruits; if they did cordially acknowledge these rich gifts of his abundant grace, then all the tyrants under heaven would not separate them from the doctrine, love, sacraments, life, and confession of Jesus Christ even if it were possible that they could testify to and assert it by a thousand deaths. Yea, they would say with the apostle Paul, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" Rom. 8: 35.

But because they do not acknowledge the God of all grace in his divine word, judgments, and beneficences; and do neither acknowledge the Spirit, power, will, and life which was in Christ Jesus whom we should follow, according to the word of God; therefore they so wrongfully oppose and persecute the heavenly doctrine of Jesus Christ, and diligently follow, teach, and protect all manner of falsehood, deceit, fraud, and idolatry. Again I repeat, If they rightly acknowledged and believed the paternal heart, mind, and love, protection, favor, will, solicitude, and affection of the Almighty God in Christ Jesus, they would doubtlessly accept and cordially fulfill his blessed word and admonition; but as they do not rightly acknowledge Christ Jesus and his Father—the Savior said, "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned; but he that believeth not, is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil," Jn. 3: 16–19.

Take heed, O ye miserable, erring mend! For here the eternal wisdom of the blessed Christ Jesus has expressed, why you do not believe his precious word, and do not fulfill his divine will, because you prefer the damnable darkness to the saving light. Yea, I repeat, that if you sincerely accepted and believed the divine goodness, mercy, and the ineffable love of our beloved Lord Jesus Christ toward you, namely, that by his ardent love he became an humble mortal man for you; came down from high heaven into these lower parts of the earth, taught and preached unto you the eternal kingdom of God, performed miracles, prayed, suffered tribulation, anxiety, apprehension, and prison; that he was beaten, mocked, derided, spit upon, scourged, crowned with thorns, drenched with gall and vinegar, blasphemed, crucified, and that he died and was buried for you; was again raised up, ascended to heaven, seated at the right hand of the Father; and that by his precious blood he became your faithful Servant, Reconciler, Deliverer, Mediator, and Advocate; that by love he sent to you and the whole world, his faithful servants, the holy apostles, with the word of grace—if you believe all this, you would, doubtlessly, love him who has shown you such great love and grace without any merit on your part; and if you would return the love with which he has loved you and yet loves you, you would, verily, not tire of seeking and following him, so that you