4. Boldness

All this is the fruit of love; God's perfect love. It is love "toward us" (v. 9), love "in us" (v. 12), love "to us" (v. 16), and love "with us" (v. 17); and this gives us our fourth point, boldness. We get another "herein" in the seventeenth verse, “Herein is love with us" (as the margin rightly puts it) "made perfect, that we may have boldness in the Day of Judgment." There are thus four things we get, —life, peace, power (by the Holy Spirit), and boldness in the Day of Judgment. There is no fear in love. God's perfect love casts out all fear, because fear hath torment. There is a saying we all know, “When poverty comes in at the door, love flies out at the window;" but we can say, When love comes in at the door, fear goes out at the window.
God's perfect love casts out fear, for "As he is so are we in this world." Look at these nine monosyllables. Exactly as Christ is, so is the Christian. When he dies? No. When he has attained to a state of perfection? No, "In this world." I know nothing sweeter to the heart, than to see you peerless Man, who was in death, but is gone back to heaven, at the right hand of God; and God says, “As he is, so are we in this world." There is a saying people think very precious, “For every look you give at self, give ten looks at Christ." But I say, Give Him the eleventh. See Him the Father's delight from all eternity. How is He? Is He on the other side of death? So are we. Is He where no sin can touch Him? So are we. Is He the Father's delight? So are we. If you believe this, you will have life, peace, power, and boldness in the Day of Judgment. I shall be at His side in that day. He is the One who took my judgment on the cross.
“Bold shall I stand in that great day,
For who aught to my charge shall lay?”
If the devil begin in that day to lay any charges against me, I think Christ will hold out His hand with the marks of the nails on it, and say, Look, there is the mark of what I did for him. I died for him; I suffered for him; and I have taken all that belonged to him. That is what the gospel is. He has given us His place, “As he is, so are we in this world." The Lord lead you to rest in Himself, my beloved reader, and thus to walk in the enjoyment of His love till you see Him face to face. W. T. P. W.