The objective atonement for sin must come before the subjective purification of our natures. And justification is upon the ground of that objective atonement, and not upon the ground of the subjective cleansing. The Jews had a proverb that if only one man could perfectly keep the whole law even for one day, the kingdom of Messiah would at once come upon the earth. This is to state in another form the doctrine of Paul, in _Rom. 7:9_—“_When the commandment came, sin revived, and I died._” To recognize the impossibility of being justified by Pharisaic works was a preparation for the gospel; see Bruce, Apologetics, 419. The Germans speak of Werk‐, Lehre‐, Buchstaben‐, Negations‐, Parteigerechtigkeit; but all these are forms of self‐righteousness. Berridge: “A man may steal some gems from the crown of Jesus and be guilty only of petty larceny, ... but the man who would justify himself by his own works steals the crown itself, puts it on his own head, and proclaims himself by his own conquests a king in Zion.” B. The difficult feature of justification is the declaration, on the part of God, that a sinner whose remaining sinfulness seems to necessitate the vindicative reaction of God’s holiness against him, is yet free from such reaction of holiness as is expressed in the penalties of the law. The fact is to be accepted on the testimony of Scripture. If this testimony be not accepted, there is no deliverance from the condemnation of law. But the difficulty of conceiving of God’s declaring the sinner no longer exposed to legal penalty is relieved, if not removed, by the three‐ fold consideration: (_a_) That Christ has endured the penalty of the law in the sinner’s stead. _Gal. 3:13_—“_Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us._” Denovan: “We are justified by faith, instrumentally, in the same sense as a debt is paid by a good note or a check on a substantial account in a distant bank. It is only the intelligent and honest acceptance of justification already provided.” _Rom. 8:3_—“_God, sending his own Son ... condemned sin in the flesh_” = the believer’s sins were judged and condemned on Calvary. The way of pardon through Christ honors God’s justice as well as God’s mercy; _cf._ _Rom. 3:26_—“_that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus._” (_b_) That the sinner is so united to Christ, that Christ’s life already constitutes the dominating principle within him.