he Holy Spirit. In the fall
of man there was the act of transgression and also a change in man's moral
image. In his restoration there must be a pardon of transgression and
subsequently a change in nature.

It is a law of God that the redemption of man be accomplished through
faith, by his grace. Our faith can not reach beyond our knowledge. By
knowledge we mean a real soul-consciousness or conviction and not an
intellectual knowledge. At this point many a dear soul has erred from the
truth. They have endeavored to bring their faith up to their intellectual
knowledge, which ends in presumption. True Bible faith is grounded in the
soul. It results from a soul-knowledge, or conviction. To accept pardon of
sins or healing of the body with only an intellectual knowledge of these
blessings and not a real heart-conviction is mere presumption, and ends in
failure and disgrace. To follow the comprehensions of the intellect, and
not the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit upon the soul, concerning the
mysteries of God's salvation is to be led into error, because the
intellect can not fathom the things of God. We do now emphatically say,
according to God's established law, that no unregenerated heart can have a
comprehension or conviction of a corrupt moral nature and its
purification. Why? Because transgression stands between it and purity. The
awakened guilty soul knows nothing but its guilt, and for forgiveness only
does it plead. After being pardoned, the soul gains a knowledge of
carnality, and it is then convicted for the second cleansing.

Those who believe that purity of heart is attained in pardon take as a
basis of such belief the language of Paul in 2 Cor. 5:17; Rom. 8:1-7; and
similar texts. Now the apostle often speaks of full salvation, or complete
redemption of the soul, in a general way. He says that "salvation is by
the grace of God through faith." By this he does not mean justification
only, but sanctification as well. He has not specified the two works, but
has spoken of full salvation in a general way of being by grace through
faith. Thus Eph. 2:8-10 includes full salvation. In 2 Cor. 5:17 he again
speaks of full salvation in a general way. It is true we are in Christ
when converted, but we are none the less in him when sanctified. To say
that Paul is referring to the justified only in this text is an error. By
the two preceding verses we have reason to believe he is referring to
those who are wholly sanctified.