Q183. Do you then consider it better for a man to see his condition by nature than to remain ignorant of it?

A thousand times better to see it in this world than to see it in hell fire, for he must see it in one place or the other. If he sees it here, this is the place of prayer; here is the preaching of the Word, which is God's appointed means to produce faith. Beyond that, here God applies promises of mercy to the desolate, and Christ Himself has declared that whoever comes to Him He will in no wise cast out1.