He then returns to the hopeless case of fallen man, to which God's
wholly unmerited grace has responded in the incarnation of the
Mediator and Redeemer, Jesus Christ. The questions about the
appropriation of God's grace lead naturally to a discussion of
baptism and justification, and beyond these, to the Holy Spirit
and the Church. Augustine then sets forth the benefits of
redeeming grace and weighs the balance between faith and good
works in the forgiven sinner. But redemption looks forward toward
resurrection, and Augustine feels he must devote a good deal of
energy and subtle speculation to the questions about the manner
and mode of the life everlasting. From this he moves on to the
problem of the destiny of the wicked and the mystery of
predestination. Nor does he shrink from these grim topics;
indeed, he actually _expands_ some of his most rigid ideas of
God's ruthless justice toward the damned. Having thus treated the
Christian faith and Christian hope, he turns in a too-brief
concluding section to the virtue of Christian love as the heart of
the Christian life. This, then, is the "handbook" on faith, hope,
and love which he hopes Laurence will put to use and not leave as
"baggage on his bookshelf.
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