From Dr John T. Mueller… 

in his work, “Christian Dogmatics”

“The central teaching of Scripture is the comforting doctrine of God’s grace in Christ Jesus toward fallen and lost mankind.”

“Christians who desire to remain steadfast in their faith and sure of their salvation must therefore continually dwell in the sanctuary of sanctuaries,
the divine Word, where God offers and imparts to them constant grace
and strength for abiding with Christ in true faith.”

“This truth the Christian believer must constantly keep in mind:
for if he denies that death is a punishment of sin, he can neither understand properly nor estimate rightly Christ’s atoning death on the cross.
In fact, quite consistently, those who have denied the guilt of sin as the sole cause of death have denied also the vicarious atonement of Christ.”