But is Faith logical? Yes, it is logical. It is a mistake to think that faith is opposed to reason. Faith and reason go hand in hand, but faith goes on when reason can get no further. Reason, to a great extent, is dependent on faith, for without knowledge it is impossible to reason, and knowledge is very largely a matter of faith in human testimony. For instance, I believe strychnine administered in a large enough dose will poison a human being, but I have never seen the experiment performed, yet I have such faith in the written testimony of men that I would not take a large dose of strychnine for anything

    If you check up carefully, you will find that nine-tenths of the things you know (?) are a matter of faith in human testimony, written or spoken, for you have not verified them for yourself; then, having accepted the testimony of other men so freely, will you not accept the testimony of thousands of Christians when they affirm that they have verified the things written in God's Word and proved them to be true?

   But why should God judge my sin as Worthy of death? I would suggest that because of His infinite holiness no sin could exist in His presence. In Central Africa a native chief may club his wife to death on slight provocation without falling in the slightest degree in the estimation of his people, while the same act in our land would have to be paid for by the life of the murderer. The act is the same in both lands, but in one instance no judgment; in the other, quick retribution; and the difference is simply the result of our enlightenment. If a sin in Central Africa which is considered as nothing would lose a man his life in our land, think, if you can what a sin which appears to us as nothing must look like to an infinitely Holy God - "For God is Light, and in Him is no darkness at all." (I John 1:5)

    It may be just, but is it merciful of God not to take us all to heaven even if we reject Christ as our sin-bearer? Yes, both just and merciful. Tell me: Would it be any kindness to transfer a poor, ragged beggar into the glare of a beautiful palace room? Would he not be the more conscious of his rags and dirt? Would he not do his best to escape again to the dark street from whence he came? He would be infinitely happier there. Would it be kindness and mercy on God's part to bring a man in his sins into the holy light of heaven, that man having rejected God's offer of the only cleansing power there is? If you and I would not be very happy if our friends could see right inside our minds now, and read all the thoughts that have ever been there (and our friend's standards are perhaps not any higher than our own), what would it be like to stand before God, Whose absolute holiness would make our sin appear in all its awfulness to us and everyone else.

    In Revelation 6:16, God tells us how those will feel who refuse now to accept Jesus Christ as their Savior, and persist in going into eternity in their sins. They call on the mountains and the rocks to fall on them and hide them from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and yet is is the presence of this same Christ that will make heaven for those who have accepted Him as Savior and Lord.

    You see the absurdity of talking about God taking us all to heaven - heaven is a condition as well as a place. The presence of the Lord Jesus Christ will constitute heaven to those who are cleaned from their sins, while that same Presence would make a hell of remorse in the hearts of any who, still in their sins, should stand in the infinite light of His holiness. Let us be quite reasonable - could you really be happy in the presence of One whose love you had rejected, and whose great sacrifice you had not counted worthy of your acceptance?

HERE IS A MAJOR PROBLEM

SALVATION BY SUBSTITUTION,

or   

THE INNOCENT BEARING THE PENALTY FOR THE GUILTY

    God's love would have forgiven the sinner, but God's righteousness forbade Him. God's righteousness would have judged the sinner, but God's love restrained Him. How to reconcile His inherent righteousness with His character of essential love was a problem that no human philosopher could have solved, for Divine wisdom and mercy find their highest expression in the solution - the vicarious suffering and death of God the Son.

    But, says Mr. Critic, does not therefore Christianity fail at its very foundation by basing everything on substitution, for substitution will not stand thoughtful investigation. It makes Christ, the innocent, bear the penalty for the guilty, and lets the guilty go free. It is diametrically opposed to our every idea of justice, for we believe that justice should protect the innocent and bring the full penalty upon the guilty.

    But see God's perfect justice and perfect mercy revealed at the Cross. He does not there take the innocent and compel him to bear the penalty of the guilty, God acts like the judge in this anecdote: - It is on record that of two young men who studied law together, one rose to a seat on he Bench, while the other took to drink and wasted his life. On one occasion this poor fellow was brought before his old companion, charged with crime, and the lawyers present wondered what kind of justice would be administered by the Judge under such trying circumstances. To their surprise, he sentenced his one time companion to the heaviest penalty the law would allow, and then paid the fine himself and set his old friend free.

   God, against Who we had sinned, in justice sat upon His judgment throne, and passed the heaviest penalty He could - the sentence of Death upon the sinner. Then, in mercy, He stepped down from His throne and in the person of His Son took the sinner's place, bearing the full penalty Himself, for II Cor. 5:19 tells us that God was IN Christ, not THROUGH Christ, but IN Christ reconciling the world unto Himself.

    God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are one God. The same God, against Whom we had sinned passed the judgment, paid the penalty, and now offers you full and free pardon, based upon absolute righteousness. That is why the Apostle Paul, in Romans 1:16, 17, says: "I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth for therein is the righteousness of God revealed." I, too, can say I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for no man on earth can find a flaw in the righteous forgiveness offered by God to man, and that is the righteousness you may possess now, at this very moment if you will accept it.