God views the regenerate as his justified and adopted child. The Lord delights in your obedience, imperfect though it be, because he sees you as one with Christ, the Righteous One. God forgives your disobedience, though displeasing to him, because he sees you as one with Christ, who is the propitiation of our sins. He disciplines his children to make them share in his holiness, but not to condemn them.

John Bolt was born in the Netherlands; immigrated to Canada at the age of three; grew up in a sleeping village south of Vancouver, British Columbia. He is retired professor of systematic theology at Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand Rapids, Michigan; his favorite movie is The Sting; favorite smells are food smells, especially bakery (cinnamon rolls!!); favorite color is green; his first (paid) job was delivering a morning newspaper, The Vancouver Province (up at 5:00 AM); non-academic passions: watching sports, especially my grandkids, reading novels, especially good mystery novels.