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p84 Dear G McRaw, - I know no one who does not think that all who believe in Christ are washed in His blood: but washed in His blood is not the same as redemption, though they may be identified as necessarily going together. Peace is not simply a matter of experience, though peace is experienced. Having made peace by the blood of his cross": that is not experience. And when I began to preach peace by Jesus Christ, fifty or sixty years ago, it was very rare indeed for any believer to have it. I object entirely to its being called mere experience: there is faith in the efficacy of Christ's work as well as in His Person, though all who believe in His Person have part in His work. The "therefore" of Romans 5 is lost in the note you send me, and the connection with chapter 4: the writer is not aware of it, but he denies justification by faith as stated in Romans 4, 5. No doubt if I believe in Christ, God sees me clear, but that is not justification. Peace is the consequence of justification by faith. I insist that all that believe in Christ are justified (washed in Christ's blood). But your correspondent leaves out justification by faith in consequence of Christ's being risen, and confounds peace and justification, or rather drops the latter, leaving all as what is in God's mind, or the experience of peace. It is for souls very dangerous teaching, leaving out all exercise of soul, and the reality of faith connected with the sense of sins. Conscience and responsibility are left out of the question and hence so much hollowness of profession. The best gospel preached when I began was, You must be born again, and now examine whether you are in the faith; and three quarters of evangelists are there yet, and object to assurance, though there is an immense change; but very few have the faith of Hebrews 10. Your correspondent shuts out faith as to this. I do not believe he means any harm, but I fear there is too little experience, and too much learned.

[53073E]

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