I respond: It must be said that here he speaks of true faith; but true faith excludes a twofold pretense. For faith is feigned either because one believes but does not love, or because one believes and loves but does not persevere. True faith, therefore, is that which loves what it believes and perseveres; and everyone such will be saved.
30. For God did not send. Above he determined what the way of salvation is and what the principle of salvation is; here thirdly he now determines what the impediment to salvation is. And first he shows that the impediment to our salvation is not on the part of God; second, that it is on the part of a defect of faith; third, that it is on the part of a defect of good works.
(Vers. 17.). He shows therefore first that our damnation is not on the part of God, when he says: For He did not send etc.; and it should be continued thus from the preceding: I have truly said that God gave His Son, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life, not, I say, that he be condemned. For God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world, namely by condemning it, but that the world might be saved through Him: First John three: "In this we have known the love of God, that He first loved us and sent His Son as a propitiation for our sins," therefore for the purpose of propitiation, not for condemnation.
31. (Vers. 18.). He who believes in Him is not judged. Here the second point is touched upon, that damnation and judgment comes from a defect of faith. And he shows this through the fact that he who believes will not be judged, but he who does not believe is already judged. For this reason he says: He who believes in Him, namely in the Son of God, is not judged: below in chapter five: "He shall not come into judgment, but shall pass from death to life." But he who does not believe is already judged, that is, is held as condemned, because he does not believe in the name of the only-begotten Son of God; because, as it is said in Acts four, "there is no other name under heaven given to men, by which we must be saved." And therefore he who does not believe in His name is justly condemned.
32. (Vers. 19.). And this is the judgment etc. Here the third point is touched upon, namely that the impediment to salvation and the reason for damnation and judgment is on the part of a defect of good works, by reason of which man flees from salvation. For this reason he says: And this is the judgment: The Gloss: "That is, the cause of damnation": because the light came into the world, that is, the incarnate Word: below in chapter twelve: "I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me may not remain in darkness." And men loved darkness more, namely of error, than light, of truth: Job twenty-four: "They were rebels against the light." And the reason for this blindness is a defect of good works; on account of which he says: For their works were evil. And he shows that an evil work is the reason for fleeing the light.
33. (Vers. 20.). For everyone who does evil hates the light: Job twenty-four: "The eye of the adulterer watches for the darkness." And does not come to the light, lest his works be exposed, that is, be manifested as evil: Ephesians five: "Do not participate in the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them; for all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light." But on the contrary, a good work leads to the light. Therefore he says:
34. (Verse 21.). But he who does the truth comes to the light: Matthew 5: "No one hides a lamp under a bushel, but upon a lampstand"; because good works are light. Whence he also adds: That his works may be made manifest, because they have been done in God. Those things are done in God which are done in charity: 1 John 4: "He who abides in charity abides in God, and God in him," who is the highest light, and therefore they are to be revealed to his honor: Matthew 5: "So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father, who is in heaven."
QUESTIONS.
35. Question I. But a question arises here, first concerning what he says, that he did not send his Son into the world to judge.
Against this: It is stated below in chapter 5: The Father has given all judgment to the Son.
I respond: There is a twofold coming: the first and the second, the first of mercy, the second of justice. In the first he came to propitiate, not to judge, but in the second he will come to judge.
36. Question II. Likewise, the question is raised concerning what he says: He who does not believe is already judged.
Against this: If God does not judge twice for the same thing: and unbelievers are already judged: therefore on the day of judgment they will not be judged.
If you say that they have been judged by merit: so likewise wicked Christians.
I respond: There is the judgment of present punishment: and by this all the wicked are judged, because "there is no disgrace of sin without the beauty of justice"; especially unbelievers, because unbelief is a great punishment in itself. There is the judgment of the final examination, and by this unbelievers will not be judged. And there is the judgment of future retribution. By the first, all the wicked are judged; by the second, the moderately good and the wicked; by the last, all the good and all the wicked. The unbeliever is therefore said to be already judged either on account of his blindness, or because he will not be judged through examination, as Gregory says.
37. Question III. Likewise, an objection is raised concerning what he says: Everyone who does evil hates the light.
Against this: "All men naturally desire to know ," just as they desire to be happy: but wickedness of action does not induce hatred of happiness: therefore neither of light.
I respond: it must be said that light can be considered in two ways: either by reason of its first effect, insofar as it is a principle of knowledge, and thus it is hated by no one; or by reason of its second effect, which is to make manifest what is shameful, and because all the wicked abhor this, they therefore also abhor light with respect to this effect. But happiness does not have an effect in the soul contrary to any natural desire, as Augustine shows.
38. Question IV. Likewise, if he who does evil does not come to the light: therefore no sinner ever converts to the faith.
The response must be that as long as he delights in remaining in evil work, he does not come to the light; but if he begins to hate evil, then he can come to the light: and thus sinners come through contrition.
39. After these things Jesus came etc. The Lord manifested himself to the Jews by a sign of power and by a word of teaching; here he manifests himself by the Sacrament of regeneration, receiving the Jews to baptism. And because both the Lord and John were baptizing, and yet the Lord alone was regenerating, therefore first there is introduced the purification of Christ and of John; second, a question arising concerning preeminence, there: Therefore a question arose; and third, the resolution of the question, there: John answered.
40. (Verse 22). Therefore the purification of Christ through baptism is described first, by which he manifests himself to the Jews; and so he says: After these things, that is, after the aforementioned manifestations, Jesus and his disciples came into the land of Judea, so that he might make himself manifest to the Jews through baptism. Whence he adds: And he was staying there with them, namely the disciples, and was baptizing, according to what John had borne testimony to him above in chapter one: "Upon whom you shall see the Spirit descending, he it is who baptizes"; nor was he alone baptizing, but indeed also his precursor. On account of which he says:
41. (Verse 23). And John was also baptizing in Aennon near Salim, that is, Salem, which was the city of Melchisedech, Hebrews 7. And the reason is added: Because there were many waters there. A good reason, because John baptized only in water; Mark 1: "I have baptized you with water," John said. And they came to him and were baptized, even while Christ was baptizing; Matthew 3: "Jerusalem went out to him, and all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan, and they were baptized by him."
42. (Verse 24). For John had not yet been cast into prison, because then his baptism ceased, the master being absent, for it was temporal. Concerning the imprisonment of John, Matthew 14: "Herod seized John and bound him and cast him into prison," etc.
43. Therefore a question arose, etc. Here is introduced the question proceeding from the twofold purification, which had its origin from the disciples of John accusing the Jews that, having abandoned John's baptism, they were going to Christ. On account of which he says: