William Pinke (c.1599–1629) on the Sum and Scope of Christianity

3. Consider in the next place the summe and scope of Christianity, which is only to show how miserable thou art by sin, and how happy thou mayest be in Christ. When thou art come thus far, set the looking glass of the Law before thee, and terrify thyself with the ugly deformities and loathsome stains of thy soul through the guilt of sin, then turn unto the Gospel, and consider how Christ Jesus out of the abundance of his love, with which he loved thee being his enemy, shed his dearest blood to wash away these stains from thy soul, as very a wretch as thou art, as well as any mans else.

William Pinke, The Trial of a Christian's Sincere Love Unto Christ, 5th edition (Oxford: Printed by W. Hall for John Forrest, 1659), 48.

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Note: Observe how Pinke counsels lost souls, or false professors of Christianity in the context. He tells them to see their misery and ugliness by means of the law, and then exhorts them to turn unto the gospel to consider 1) Christ's love for him and 2) how he shed his dearest blood for him. The lost sinner may know both of these things prior to believing the gospel. The gospel reveals these objective truths to everyone that hears the message.