For God, Christ’s satisfaction opens the way–without violating his rights–to forgive sins out of grace and so to justify the ungodly. If sin is of such a nature that “right” and righteousness, law and truth, do not suffer the least damage even when sin is not punished, then neither does the grace of forgiveness amount to much. But if sin is so enormous “that God, rather than…leave it unpunished, punished it in his beloved son, Jesus Christ, with the bitter and shameful death of the cross,” then the riches of God’s grace, the power of his forgiving love, come splendidly to the fore. Then, too, in the face of their accusing conscience, humans find rest and consolation in that satisfaction and can rejoice without any fear in the forgiveness of their sins. For a perfect satisfaction (atonement) is the guarantee of absolute, irrevocable, and eternal forgiveness.
~Herman Bavinck~
Reformed Dogmatics Vol. 3: Sin and Salvation in Christ (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Baker Academic; 2003) p. 376-377.
The Old Guys 
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