18 The Fundamentals loathsome character in God’s sight, and in all the heaviness of its guilt before the law, without hope of remedy for either; but in a cheering and comforting light it is set forth as an offence that may he forgiven and a defilement that will or may be ultimately cleansed.
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As for the pardonableness of sin, that indeed constitutes the pith and marrow of the “Good News” for the publication of which the Bible was written. From the first page in Genesis to the last in Revelation an undertone, swelling out as the end approaches into clear and joyous accents of love and mercy, proclaiming that the God of heaven, while Himself holy and just, of purer eyes than to behold iniquity, and unable to clear the guilty, is nevertheless merciful and gracious, long-suffering and slow to wrath, abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, trans gression and sin (Ex. 34:6) ; announcing that He has made full provision for harmonizing the claims of mercy and justice in His own character by laying help upon One that is mighty, (Psa. 89:19), even His only begotten and well-beloved Son, upon whom He had laid the iniquity of us all (Isa. 53:6), that He might once for all, as the Lamb of God, take away the sins of the world (John 1:29), intimating that the whole work necessary for enabling sinful men to be forgiven has been accomplished by Christ’s death and resurrection, and that now God is in Him “reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing unto men their trespasses” (2 Cor. 5 :19), invit ing men everywhere to repent and be converted, that their sins may be blotted out (Acts 3 :1 9 ) ; telling men that nothing more is required of them in order to be freely and fully justified from all their transgressions than faith in the propitiation of the cross (Rom. 3 :2 5 ) ; and declaring that nothing will shut a sinner out from forgiveness except refusal to believe in the great redemption and accept the freely offered forgiveness— though that will, since it is written that he who believeth not on the Son of God “shall not see life” (John 3 :36). ^1 JL ± 1
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