Amy answered as she had been taught, “Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.”
“To save whom?”
“Sinners.”
“Not those who thought themselves good, but those who knew they had been sinful. What did he save them from?”
“From punishment,” said Amy thoughtfully.
“Yes,” said Mrs. Mordaunt, “from punishment, and from sin. He came to suffer, that we might be delivered and freely forgiven, and to make us holy. Did it cost him nothing to do this, Amy?”
“He died for it on the cross,” said Amy softly.
“He did indeed. And did he suffer all that pain and anguish of mind for nothing?”
“It would have been for nothing,” said Mrs. Mordaunt, “if we had still to earn forgiveness for ourselves. Jesus bore the punishment for us just because we could not have borne it; and he has borne it so that we shall never have to bear it now. If, then, you go and give yourself up to the blessed Saviour as He calls you to do, God will receive you for his sake, as if you had been always a good and obedient child, and Jesus will give you his Holy Spirit to abide with you always, and to make you good and obedient and happy.”