In this.

`in this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world,

that we might live through Him' (1 John 4:9).

`herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins'

(1 John 4:10).

`hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us' (1 John 3:16).

It is a basic tenet, and salvation hangs upon it, that :

`God loved the world like this, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not

perish, but have everlasting life'.

The issues are clear. There are some who object to the sacrificial basis of salvation insisted on by the Scriptures,

and say something to this effect :

`Can we believe that a loving Father would demand a bleeding sacrifice before He would forgive His little

children?'

This is an appeal to the emotions and based upon an untruth. God is the Creator of all men, but the Father only of

those who are numbered among His children in the family of faith (John 1:12). Our Saviour Himself spoke of some

in His own day as children of the Devil (John 8:44), and Paul tells us that before salvation we, who now rejoice in

the high calling of Ephesians, `were children of wrath, even as others' (Eph. 2:3). Further, it is a travesty of truth to

say that God `demanded' a bleeding sacrifice. The overwhelming fact is that the God Who demanded, is the God

Who supplied that sacrifice.

`The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world' (1 John 4:14).

`He that spared not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all' (Rom. 8:32).

It is fatal to invent attributes of God derived from our own lives and motives. Apart from revelation, we may be

convinced that `God is', but would have no means of adding to these two words `God is ... ?'. The Scriptures alone

do that.

` God is Light'. `God is Love' . `God is Spirit'. `God is a consuming fire'. `God is just'. `God is holy'. `God is

merciful'. `It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God'. `God cannot lie'. `God cannot deny

Himself'. `God cannot look upon iniquity'.

We read of the wrath of God as well as the love of God. The same God Who is love is also a `consuming fire' (Heb.

12:29). Redemption, Ransom and Atonement are necessary because God must be both just, and at the same time `A

Just God and a Saviour' (Isa. 45:21); and Romans 3:23-26 makes it clear that not only must the saved be `justified'

but so also must God!

`For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by His grace through the

redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to

declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I

say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus'

(Rom. 3:23-26).

It will be seen that Romans 3:23-26 is crucial, and once having been read and written, cannot be set aside

without careful examination.

Before attempting a detailed examination of these verses, it will be helpful to note the following outline of the

apostle's teaching in Romans 1 to 5.

1 Righteousness Revealed. Power to Salvation.

(Rom. 1:17,16).