When the being who claims our obedience is not only our benefactor, but the object of all our hopes, the power of obligation is still further increased. To disobey a being whom we ought to obey, would be wrong; to disobey that being, if he were our self-denying benefactor, would be ingratitude added to the wrong; and to disobey that being, if from him we hoped for all future good, would be to add unworthiness to wrong and ingratitude. Thus, faith in Christ Jesus combines the sense of wrong, of ingratitude, and unworthiness, in the rebuke which conscience gives to the delinquent believer; and obedience to the Redeemer's example and precepts is enforced by the united power of duty, gratitude, and hope. Further, and finally--Conscience recognises the fact that our obligation of gratitude is in proportion to the benefit conferred. If a benefactor has endured great sacrifices and self-denials to benefit us, the obligation of gratitude binds us the more strongly to respect the will and feelings of that individual. Conscience feels the obligation of gratitude just in proportion to the self-denials and sacrifices made in our behalf. If a friend risks his interest to the amount of a dollar, or an hour of time, to benefit us, the obligation of gratitude upon the conscience is light, but still there is a sense of obligation; but if a friend risks his life, and wades through deep afflictions, to confer benefits, the universal conscience of man would affirm the obligation, and would reprobate the conduct of the individual benefited, as base and unnatural, if he did not ever after manifest an affectionate regard for the interests and the desires of his benefactor. Thus, by faith in Jesus Christ, the conscience is not only guided by a perfect rule, but it is likewise quickened and empowered by a perfect sense of obligation. Christ is the Divine Lawgiver; therefore it is right to obey him. He is our Benefactor; gratitude, therefore, requires obedience. But as our Benefactor he has endured the utmost self-denial and sacrifice for our sake, therefore we are under the utmost obligation of gratitude to return self-denial and sacrifice for his sake; or, in the words of an apostle, 'He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again;' and, added to this, our hope of all future good rests in the same Being that right and gratitude require us to obey and love. Thus does a perfect faith in Christ perfect the conscience of believers, by guiding, quickening, and by producing a perfect sense of obligation.