again find the way of repentance and faith. And when one deliberately sins against the grace and mercy of God, he falls without hope of recovery. 'This, because they believed, then became unbelievers; Therefore hath a seal been set on their hearts, and they understand not.' ¹

We have so far viewed the grace of God as awakening grace, as sustaining grace, as restoring grace, and now we turn to consider it from another standpoint. The purpose of God's gracious dealings with man is his sanctification or reformation.

The path which the believer enters on when he repents and believes has to be journeyed over. His salvation is not entrance into a stronghold in which the grace of God protects him, but the entering into a path along which he must daily take his journey travelling upwards from good to better. In this journey he requires increasing light and direction, and these through the grace of God are supplied. 'God will increase the guidance of the already guided.' ²

God's grace may thus be described as sanctifying grace. The direction grows from more to more according to the obedience of the believer. God's grace is not merely something given to the believer at the time of his repentance, or even something which sustains him and keeps him true; it is something which leads him onward and upward and his course must be a constant advance in faith and obedience. It is of God's grace and 'inspiration' that believers advance in good works and in the performance of their religious duties. 'We also made them [Isaac and Jacob] models, who should guide (others) by our command; and we inspired

(awhaina) them with good deeds, and constancy in prayer, and alms-giving; and they worshipped us.' ¹

In this advance, the heart and inclinations of the believers are cleansed and purified, so that while formerly they were inclined to evil deeds and did them, their inclinations will now be towards good deeds, and they will be enabled by God's grace to perform them. '. . Save those who shall repent and believe, and do righteous works; for these God will change their evil deeds into good; for God is Gracious, Merciful.' ²

The greater the endeavour of the believer to walk in the way of God, the greater will be the grace given him that he may advance. This appears to be the true meaning of such a passage as the following, 'And whoso maketh efforts for us, in our ways will we guide them; for God is with the righteous.' ³

Yet with all that we have said of the teaching of the Qur'an on the operations of the grace of God, there is a want of clearness in the words which describe the dealings of God with the conscience and heart of the believer. This want of clearness is due to the fact that the Qur'an is wholly wanting in any satisfactory doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Muhammad had no true conception of how the Spirit of God works in the heart of man. He knew that repentance, faith and good works are not the result of man's unassisted endeavours, but are in some way dependent on the work of God's grace in the human heart but, since his doctrine of God, as we shall see, left no place for any