the one sinless and perfect man but also the Word of God, therefore those who believe in Christ realize in some measure how heinous sin is in God's sight, and how contrary it is and ever must be to His all-holy nature. Therefore they hate sin and renounce it, and strive with all their might not to commit it. And, since believers know that God, of His infinite love, ^l has not grudged ² His only Son, but has freely given Him to suffer death for their salvation, therefore it is evident to them that God truly loves them, desires their true happiness, and is willing and able to support them, amid suffering and sorrow, trials and temptations, and to give them even here on earth true peace and consolation. Accordingly their trust and all their hope is firmly fixed upon God, and they obey Him with all their heart.

In short, even though man cannot fully enter into any of God's plans, and cannot, therefore, claim to understand the whole method of Christ's atonement, yet reflection makes at least this much clear, that this way of salvation is in every respect completely worthy of God, who is just, holy, merciful and loving, is entirely efficacious in saving from sin those who truly believe in Christ, and is successful in purifying their hearts and in enabling them to walk honestly ³ and uprightly in newness of life, ⁴ as children of light.⁵

were far more clearly evidenced in Christ's death and atonement for sinners than in the creation and preservation of the world and in all His other favours and kindnesses bestowed upon mankind. In the same way God's justice and holiness were clearly manifested; for His hatred of sin was far more powerfully shown forth in Christ's voluntary death for sinners than by the terrible punishments which. have at times befallen the guilty, as for example Noah's flood ¹ and the overthrow of the cities ² of the plain. In fact God's holiness, justice, love and mercy, do not become recognized except as they were all revealed in the atonement made by Christ and in the salvation which He has thereby brought us. Therefore it is that only true Christians realize these attributes of God at all worthily, since only those who truly believe in Christ as their Saviour and who put their whole trust in His atonement can love God, knowing that He first loved ³ them, and are thus drawn towards Him and away from sin. Such men's resolve is by God's grace to serve and obey Him here and hereafter. Their obedience and self-restraint are in this manner secured in the most perfect way possible, for, since God's forgiveness of sin has been granted and obtained in no other manner but through Christ's atonement and the death of Him who is not only