The Loving Pardon
In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. Ephesians 1:4-8
“You may have heard of some people condemned to execution, who at the scaffold were so obdurate and stiff-necked that not a cry or a tear came from them. Yet, just as they were going to lay their necks upon the block, a pardon came, and they were at once discharged from guilt, imprisonment, and death, they that were unable to weep a tear before, no sooner saw the pardon sealed and themselves acquitted, than they dissolved into tears of joy, thankfulness and surprise. So it is with believers. The more they see Christ in the pardon of sin, and the love of God in Christ to receive and embrace them, the more they melt.”
Tobias Crisp
