made alive.' He fulfilled the law in our stead and was perfect in holiness and righteousness, thereby giving a pledge that those who believe in Him would finally in the ages to come after this world, growing gradually in His likeness, be restored to the image of God in which Adam was created, and would attain 'unto ¹ the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.' As Himself God's only begotten Son, He gives new spiritual birth ² to those who truly believe in Him and accept Him as their Saviour, and by that new birth they become God's adopted ³ sons in Christ.

Christ's crucifixion was the culmination of the world's sin, the manifestation of its guilt, its hatred of good and of God. But Christ, in submitting to death, took upon Himself the burden of the sin of the ⁴ world. Accordingly, if we reject Christ, we associate ourselves with His murderers and incur condemnation; whereas, if with all our hearts we accept Him, He takes upon Himself the burden of our guilt and gives us a share in His own perfect righteousness. By His life and by His death He has revealed God to men, and is daily drawing more and more of the human race to Him, and freeing them from the love and the power of sin and from the slavery of the evil one. He took the sinner's place ⁵ on the cross, and all that He bore He suffered for

us sinners, being made a sin-offering ¹ for us. His sufferings were all the results of man's sins. With all reverence we may say that His Heavenly Father in Him suffered for us, thereby proving His love and satisfying ² the demands of the law of righteousness. Because of Christ's atonement, death has lost its sting for a true Christian, and is no longer worthy of the name of the King ³ of Terrors: for the Lord Jesus Christ 'abolished ⁴ death, and brought life and incorruption to light through the gospel.'

In short, the means of obtaining salvation and the remission of sins are stated in the holy Scriptures to be, firstly, Christ's precious suffering and death, and secondly, the repentant sinner's heartfelt belief in Him and reliance on the one perfect sacrifice and atonement made once for all by Christ. Hence His Apostles and first disciples were empowered to offer forgiveness ⁵ in God's name to all who truly believe in Him, for through faith in His blood all true believers become acceptable to God and heirs of eternal happiness and holiness.

We have already pointed out that the great object of Christ's coming into the world was to save sinner's, ⁶ and not merely to teach and warn and reprove. For the latter task could be undertaken