My dear sheep, it is hard for us to appreciate life without the free grace of the gospel. For many dark years, the people of God lived in a world where grace had to be earned. The father of Myconius, just before the dawn of the Reformation, would say the following:
"The blood of Christ, is the only ransom for the sins of the whole world. O my son, though three men only should be saved by Christ's blood, believe, and believe with assurance, that thou art one of those three men. It is an insult to the Saviour's blood to doubt that he can save." - J H Merle d'Aubigne
It's a precious reminder for us that our salvation belongs to God alone, through Christ alone. It is only the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ that is sufficient to wash away sins. Which reminds me of the blessed sermon we had from Egimar on Sunday morning. If you were away, I would strongly encourage you to listen to it. It was a very precious reminder for us of the all-sufficient work of Christ upon the cross.
Speaking of substitutionary atonement. Last week I read a fantastic article on the subject by Nick Batzig. Why is the substitutionary atonement essential? Well worth a read!