Chapter 20: Christian Perfection purified, that the leaders of Israel may take hold of Christ for the sanctification of their own hearts, and then they will know what to say to the church on the subject of holiness.
IV. Many seek sanctification by works, who do not know that they are seeking in this way.
They profess that they are seeking sanctification only by faith. They tell you they know very well that it is in vain to seek it in their own strength. But yet the results show how conclusively, that they are seeking by works, and not by faith. It is of the last importance that you should know, whether you are seeking sanctification by works, or by faith for all seeking of it by works is absurd, and never will lead to any good results. How will you know?
Take again the case of a convicted sinner. Sinner! how are you seeking salvation? The sinner replies, "By faith, of course; everybody knows that no sinner can be saved by works."
I say, No, you are seeking salvation by works. How shall I show it to him? Sinner! do you believe in Christ? "I do." But does he give you peace with God? "O no, not yet; but I am trying to get more conviction, and to pray more, and be more in earnest in seeking, and I hope he will give me peace if I persevere." Nay, every Christian sees, at a glance, that with all his pretensions to the contrary, this man is seeking salvation by works. And the way to prove it to him is exceedingly simple. It is evident he is seeking by works, because he is relying on certain preparatory steps and processes to be gone through, before he exercises saving faith.
He is not ready now to accept of Christ, he is conscious he is not, but thinks he must bring himself into a different state of mind as a preparation, and it is at this he is aiming.
That is works. No matter what the state of mind is that he aims at as preparatory to his coming to Christ, if it is anything that must precede faith, or any preparatory process for faith, and he is trying without faith to get into a proper state of mind to have faith, it is all the religion of works.
Now, how common is just such a state of mind among those Christians who profess to be seeking sanctification. You say you must mortify sin; but the way you go about it, is by a self-righteous preparation, seeking to recommend yourselves to Christ as worthy to receive the blessing, instead of coming right to Christ, as an unworthy and ruined beggar, to receive at once, by faith, the very blessing you need. No efforts of your own are going to make you any better. Like a person in a horrible pit of miry clay, every struggle of your own sinks you deeper in the clay. You have no need of any such thing, and all your endeavors, instead of bringing you any nearer to Christ, are only sinking you down in the filth, farther and farther from God. It is not so much as the beginning of help.
The sinner, by his preparatory seeking, gains no advantage. There he lies, dead in trespasses and sins, as far removed from spiritual life, or holiness, as ever a dead corpse was from natural life; until at length, ceasing from his own works, he comes to the conviction that there is nothing he can do for himself but go now, just as he is, and submit to Christ.
As long as he thinks there is something he must do first, he never feels that now is God's