1. God’s mind towards the world.

2. God’s gift to the world.

3. The way man obtains the benefit of God’s love.

4. How true belief in Christ may be discerned and known.

Faith: Old Paths – J. C. Ryle

There are few texts better known than that which heads this page. Its words are probably familiar to our ears. We have very likely heard them, or read them, or quoted them, a hundred times. But have we ever considered what a vast amount of divinity this text contains? No wonder that Luther called it “the Bible in miniature”! And have we ever considered the word which forms the turning-point of the text, and the immensely solemn question which arises out of it? The word I refer to is “believeth”. The Lord Jesus says, “Whosoever believeth shall not perish”. Now, DO WE BELIEVE?

Old Paths: Being Plain Statements On Some Of The Weightier Matters Of Christianity