maintained. The penitent will be careful not in future to offend God; in
his excuses he will trust, not to his own apologies, but to Christ's
intercession; his indignation will be directed against his own
iniquities; his fear will be lest he cause God displeasure; his desire
is equivalent to alacrity in duty; zeal will follow; and revenge will be
practised in the censure passed on his own sins.


_V.--OF JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH_


A man is said to be justified in the sight of God when, in the judgment
of God, he is deemed righteous, and is accepted on account of his
righteousness. So we interpret justification as the acceptance with
which God receives us into His favour as if we were righteous; and we
say that this justification consists in the forgiveness of sins and the
imputation of the righteousness to Christ. Since many imagine a
righteousness compounded of faith and works, let it be noted that there
is so wide a difference between justification by faith and by works that
one necessarily overthrows the other. If we destroy the righteousness by
faith by establishing our own righteousness, then, in order to obtain
His righteousness, our own must be entirely abandoned. The Gospel
differs from the law in this, that it entirely places justification in
the mercy of God and does not confine it to works. It is entirely by the
intervention of Christ's righteousness that we obtain justification
before God.

The doctrine of Christian liberty is founded on this justification by
faith. This liberty consists of three parts. First, believers renouncing
the righteousness of the law look only to Christ. Secondly, the