It is most blessed to know that God, who alone knows what sin is, in its awfulness, has in love provided a remedy, which alone satisfies the just claims of His holiness, and as completely meets all the need of the very worst sinner on earth:while all may not be conscious of the terrible results of sin, yet surely all must acknowledge they are sinners before God. "For all have sinned " (Rom. 3:23).

I. What has man, of his own, to offer as atonement for his sin?

Anything to give man a perfect standing must embrace in its efficacy "his whole existence from his entrance into this world to his entrance into eternity. To illustrate, a person born into this world lives say eighty years here and then passes out into eternity. At the age of thirty, such an one is brought to see his sin and desires to be saved. In order to have perfect rest of conscience and heart he must see that what he proposes to present as an offering for his sin must not only atone in the fullest sense for the thirty years past, but for the future fifty years of his life, and give right to God's presence in eternity, fitting him forever for His holy eyes to look on with favor. Now what can one bring? Righteousness is what is needed; has man any of his own which will avail? (Ps. 97:2). " But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6; Rom. 3:10, 20; Eph. 2:9; Gal. 3:10, comp. Dent, 27:26; James 2:10. Thus the sinner can never get acceptance with God by self-righteous character, works, or amendment of life by law keeping.

2. What does God require for sin? " The wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23), is the uncompromising sentence of God who is "of purer eyes than to behold evil, and can not look on iniquity" (Hab. 1:13). He further tells us, "the life of the flesh is in the blood." . . . (Lev. 17:ii), and that "without shedding of blood is no remission" (Heb. 9:22). Thus His justice and holiness demand the full requirement to be met, while for the sinner there can be no settled peace for his conscience and heart in anything less-which is death, or life given up, as an atonement. This was what made the difference between Cain's and Abel's offering; the latter, of course, was based upon faith in this very truth. Comp. Gen. 4:3, 4 with Heb. 11:4. See also Gen. 2:17; 3:24; Rom. 5:12; 6:23; Rev. 21:8; 20:15; Mark 9:42-50; John 8:21, 24.

3. God's provision and remedy for sin.

"The life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls:for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul" (Lev. 17:ii). Thus God speaks, not in an arbitrary manner, but according to justice, which demanded the offering up of the life forfeited by sin. It will be observed too that it was "upon the altar" where the settlement was to be made through substitutionary sacrifice. Thus the Old Testament pages are tinged with the blood of bulls, and goats, and lambs, "which they offered year by year continually" (Heb. 10:i), but which could never "make the comers thereunto perfect,"1:e. completely purged as to position and conscience. All pointed on to the one great atoning sacrifice of Calvary.

So when John stands at the Jordan and cries, "Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29), it was an announcement that God had provided Himself a Lamb whose sacrifice should be once for all, absolutely complete.
In the Tabernacle worship, the animal was slain and burned without the camp, the blood taken by the high-priest inside the veil, sprinkled once on the mercy-seat and seven times before it, satisfying the justice of Jehovah and giving a perfect standing to the high-priest as the representative of Israel. This was repeated every Day of Atonement.

But what do we read of the Lamb of God, our blessed Lord Jesus Christ? On Calvary's cross, He bore our sins in His own body (i Peter 2:24), having offered Himself without spot to God (Heb. 9:14), endured the full judgment of a holy God for sin, and completely satisfied all God's claims as to sin for those who believe on Him. He was "delivered for our offences, and was raised for our justification " (Rom. 4:25), and by His own blood has entered into heaven itself, having obtained eternal redemption, salvation for us.

Read carefully the following, John 3:16; 2 Cor. 5:21; i Pet. 2:24; 1:18-20; Gal. 4:4-7; Rom. 5:6, 8, 10; viii 3; Heb. 10:12-14; 1 John 1:7; Rev. 5:9.

4. How may sinners obtain the benefit of all this?

In that familiar verse, John 3:16, we read, "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Here God makes a plain, clear, unmistakable promise, but for whom? Why surely for sinners- who else can it be for? Notice God "loved" and "gave;" the sinner "believeth " and "hath." Again "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth My word, and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life" (John 5:24). Again, "To Him give all the prophets witness, that through His name, whosoever believeth in Him shall receive remission of sins " (Acts 10:43). Here then are three positive declarations from the Triune God, against whom we have sinned, declaring it a fact that any sinner, conscious of his sinnership and its consequences-for this must first of all be realized–believing on the Lord Jesus Christ has "everlasting life " and "remission of sins." See also John 10:28-30; Rom. 8:i; i Tim. i; 15.

But the question may naturally be asked whom and what and how are we to believe.

First, it is indispensable to believe in the Deity and sinless humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ. Read i John 2:22; 4:2, 3, 14, 15; John 1:1-3, 14; 5:18, etc. If our Lord was merely a man, He could never be our Redeemer, because divine righteousness would not be satisfied by anything less than itself. He was also sinless, for He "knew no sin" (2 Cor. 5:21); "did no sin" (i Pet. 2:22); and was "apart from sin" (Heb. 4:15).

Second, to believe that His death upon the cross was a full and complete atonement for our sinful condition, position, etc. (Isa. 53:i-6; Matt. 1:21); (read with emphasis on "He shall"); 20:28; Luke 19:10; John 3:14; 12:32, 33; Rom. 5:8; Col. i, 20; Heb, ii, 9; i Cor. 15:3; Acts 4:24, 25).

Thus it can be seen divine justice has been fully met, and the need of sinners as well-in One who was God Himself, and yet became man (Phil. 2:8).

Third, How are we to believe? (Rom. 10:8-ii); "with the heart," 1:e., a trusting confidence based upon God's word (Rom. 10:17), not on our feelings. James 2:19, shows the devils have feelings, yet they are not saved (2 Pet. 2:4).

"Dost thou believe on the Son of God? (John 9:35). B. W. J.