The Character of redeemed experience - Chambers, Oswald
Lecture : December 18, 1914
By redeemed experience is meant eternal life manifested in the fleeting moments of temporal life. What is not meant is the consciousness of feeling good, or the consciousness of the presence of god. If we mistake these feelings for eternal life, we shall be disillusioned sooner or later. When we are being initiated into a new experience we are conscious of it, but any sane person is much too wise to mistake consciousness of life for life itself. It is only the initial stages of new experiences which produce consciousness of themselves, and if we hug the consciousness of gods blessings and of his presence we become spiritual sentimentalists. God began to introduce us to life, and we would not go through with it.
1. The unique character of this life ( john 6:47)
What is eternal life? And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true god ( john 17:3). Eternal has reference to the quality of the life. Our lord says very distinctly what eternal life is note. G. Matthew 4:4; luke 12:15. Whenever our lord speaks of life he means eternal life, and he says, ye have not [this] life in yourselves ( john 6:53 rv). Men have natural life and intellectual life apart from jesus christ. The life which jesus christ exhibited was eternal life, and he saysanyone who believes in me, i. E. Commits himself to me, has that life. To commit myself to jesus means there is nothing that is not committed. Belief is a twofold transactiona delib- erate destroying of all roads back again, and a com- plete surrender to our lord himself. God comes in with a rush immediately a soul surrenders to the lord jesus christ. The only barrier to gods love is unbe- lief working sentimentally, i. E. Brooding around the shores of an experience which produces consciousness of itself; the life is not there.
2. The upward character of the life ( john 11:4142)
The upward look towards god of eternal life is an indication of the inherent nature of the life; that is, it is not attained by effort. Natural characteristics, natural virtues and natural attainments have nothing to do with the life itself. A blackguard and an upright man both commit themselves to jesus christ and receive eternal life; will the latter have freer access to god? No! Eternal life works the same in both. There is no respect of persons with god. The manifestation of eternal life is, however, a different matter.
3. The outward character of the life ( john 3:16)
This verse gives the outlook man-ward of eternal life as exhibited in our lord. The only way to react rightly on men around is to let eternal life react through you, and if you want to know how eternal life will react you will see it in jesus christ. Our lord was in no wise a hard worker; he was an intense reality. Hard workers are like midges and mosquitoes; the reality is like the mountain and the lake. Our lords life was one of amazing leisure, and the presentation of his life as one of rush is incorrect. The three years of public life are a manifestation of the intense reality of life (acts 10:38). When the passion for souls obscures the passion for jesus christ you have the devil on your track as an angel of light. Our lord was never in a hurry, never in a panic. There are no dates in his fine leisure. Our lords life is the exhibition of eternal life in time. Eternal life in the christian is based on redemptive certainty; he is not working to redeem men; he is a fellow worker with god among men because they are redeemed.
4. The downward character of this life (2 corinthians 5:21)
The downward look of eternal life is manifested by our lord a fearless, clear-eyed, understanding look at sin, at death, and at the devil that is the unmistakable characteristic of the downward look of our lord. The devils counterfeit is no sin, no hell and no judgement
