protestations that they shall not come into judgment: John
I humbly judge, according to my present light, that he will not; and
my reasons for it are these, namely:
1. The first is drawn from Christ's judicial proceedings in the
last day, set down largely and clearly in the 25th of Matthew, where
he enumerates only the good works they had done, but takes no
notice of the spots and blots, of the stains and blemishes, of the
infirmities and enormities, of the weaknesses and wickednesses of
his people, Deut. 32:4-6.
2. My second reason is taken from Christ's vehement
protestations that they shall not come into judgment: John
5:24, "Truly, truly, I say unto you, he who hears my word, and
believes on him who sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come
into condemnation, but has passed from death unto life." Those
words, "shall not come into condemnation," are not rightly
translated; the original is, shall not come into judgment, not into
damnation. Further, it is very observable, that no evangelist uses this
double asseveration but John, and he never uses it but in matters of
the greatest weight and importance, and to show the earnestness of
his spirit, and to stir us up to better attention, and to put the thing
asserted out of all question, and beyond all contradiction; as when
we would put a thing forever out of all question, we do it by a double
asseveration, Truly, truly, it is so, etc.
3. Thirdly, Because his not bringing their sins into judgment does
most and best agree with many precious expressions that we