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ultimately inherit eternal life and happiness, if he abides faithful 1 unto death. And the more he eats of the fruit of that tree, and the more he loves and trusts the Lord Jesus Christ, the more will he gain of the blessed results of the proffered salvation and the more pure, perfect and happy will his inward and spiritual life become.

But, honoured reader, should you find that some Christians whom you know personally are not of the character and conduct of which Christians ought to be, in accordance with the teaching of the New Testament, then you should know that the reason is that such people do not truly and heartily believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore it is that they do not walk according to the commandments of the Saviour and of His Apostles. In reality these people are not Christians, but merely profess to be such. In the Book of Revelation it is said of a Church of such nominal Christians: 'I 2 know thy works, that thou hast a name that thou livest, and thou art dead.' Since therefore such people do not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ with all their heart, and have no true and spiritual union with Him, they have no knowledge of and no share in the power, grace and favour which result from faith in Him and from accepting the salvation won for men by His atonement. It is no marvel then that in their life and conduct you do not perceive the fruits 3 of the Spirit of God. For the Christian


1 Rev. ii. 10. 2 Rev. iii. 1. 3 Mentioned in Gal. v. 22-3.

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faith is a spiritual religion; and only those who with all their heart believe in Christ, and are thus united to Him, and draw life and strength from Him as branches do from the vine, 1 share in the benefits, moral and spiritual, which result from the salvation which He offers all true believers. And, since God Most High does not force any one to believe, therefore among professing Christians also there are men who, through love of the world and of sin, have never attained to true faith, but who, having rejected the salvation which Christ has obtained for men, remain the slaves of sin. Moreover, by no means all Europeans even claim to be Christians. There are a vast number of them who are openly unbelievers. Their faults must not be attributed to Christianity. If a physician has at the cost of his own life brought us a perfect cure for the plague will it heal those who refuse to take it? Or can one appeal to their death as a proof that the remedy is ineffectual?

In conclusion, the writer of this book humbly begs to state that in these pages he has endeavoured by the grace of God to set forth, in accordance with the holy Scriptures, what is the true nature of sin, and what are its awful results for time and for eternity. He has also explained the way and the means upon which depend the forgiveness of sins and the attainment of true happiness and eternal salvation. It has been proved that the remission


1 John xv. 1-6.