He that believes on him is not condemned: but he that believes not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
Read Chapter 3
Clement Of Alexandria
AD 215
(being already condemned, for "he that believeth not is condemned already".
"Little children, let us not love in word, or in tongue "says John, teaching them to be perfect, "but in deed and in truth; hereby shall we know that we are of the truth.".
"since he that believeth not, is "according to the utterance of the Saviour, "condemned already."
In His Gospel also, according to John: "That was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into this world. He was in this world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not.".
And this is the judgment, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light.".
And this is the judgment, that light has come into the world, and men have loved darkness rather than light."
Having proved by facts, that He is both Son of God the Father, and introduceth into the world grace which is more excellent than the ministration of Moses (for how is not the being justified by grace better than the being condemned by the law?), He devised, as God, another way to bring unto the faith, from all quarters driving together to salvation them that were lost. He puts forth then to the believer as his reward the not being called to judgement, to the unbeliever punishment, bringing into one and the same way by both, calling to come readily unto the faith, some by desire for the grace, others by fear of suffering. He shews that heinous and great is the crime of unbelief, since He is Son and Only Begotten. For by how much is that worthy of belief which is insulted, so much the more will that which despises be condemned for his dire transgression. He says that he that believeth not is condemned already, in that he hath already determined against himself the due sentence of punishm...
Is not judged. He that believeth, viz. by a faith working through charity, is not judged; that is, is not condemned; but the obstinate unbeliever is judged; that is, condemned already, by retrenching himself from the society of Christ and his Church. (Challoner)
Yet if He came not to judge the world, how is he that believes not judged already, if the time of judgment has not yet arrived? He either means this, that the very fact of disbelieving without repentance is a punishment, (for to be without the light, contains in itself a very severe punishment,) or he announces beforehand what shall be. For as the murderer, though he be not as yet condemned by the decision of the judge, is still condemned by the nature of the thing, so is it with the unbeliever. Since Adam also died on the day that he ate of the tree; for so ran the decree, In the day that you eat of the tree, you shall die Genesis 2:17, Septuagint; yet he lived. How then died he? By the decree; by the very nature of the thing; for he who has rendered himself liable to punishment, is under its penalty, and if for a while not actually so, yet he is by the sentence.
Lest any one on hearing, I came not to judge the world, should imagine that he might sin unpunished, and should so become ...
