THE FIRST EPISTLE GENERAL OF JOHN - Chapter 3 - Verse 15
Verse 15. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer, etc. That is,
he has the spirit of a murderer; he has that which, if it were acted out,
would lead him to commit murder, as it did Cain. The private malice, the
secret grudge, the envy which is cherished in the heart, is murderous in
its tendency, and were it not for the outward restraints of human laws,
and the dread of punishment, it would often lead to the act of murder.
The apostle does not say that he who hates his brother, though he does
not in fact commit murder, is guilty to the same degree as if he had
actually done it; but he evidently means to say that the spirit which
would lead to murder is there, and that God will hold him responsible for
it. Nothing is wanting but the removal of outward restraints to lead to
the commission of the open deed, and God judges men as he sees them to be
in their hearts. What a fearful declaration, then, is this! How many
real murderers there are on the earth besides those who are detected
and punished, and besides those open violators of the laws of God
and man who go at large! And who is there that should not feel
humbled and penitent in view of his own heart, and grateful for that
sovereign mercy which has restrained him from open acts of guilt?—
for who is there who has not at some period of his life, and perhaps
often, indulged in feelings of hatred, and envy, and malice towards
others, which, if acted out, would have led to the commission of the
awful crime of taking human life? Any man may well shudder at
tile remembrance of the secret sins of his own heart, and at the
thought of what he would have been but for the restraining grace of
God. And how wonderful is that grace which, in the case of the
true Christian, not only restrains and checks, but which effectually
subdues all these feelings, and implants in their place the principles
of love!
{a} "Whosoever hateth" Mt 5:21,22
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