The Method of Grace

Fifthly, and lastly, I shall briefly represent the necessary antecedency of this quickening work of the Spirit to our first closing with Christ by faith: and this will easily let it self into your understandings if you but consider the nature of the vital act of faith: which is the souls receiving of Christ and resting upon him for pardon and salvation, in which two things are necessarily included, viz.

1. The renouncing of all other hopes and dependencies. 2. The opening the heart fully to Jesus Christ.

First, The renouncing of all other hopes and dependencies whatsoever. Self in all its acceptations, natural, sinful, and moral, is now to be denied and renounced for ever, else Christ can never be received, Rom. 10. 3. not only self in its vilest pollutions, but self in its richest ornaments, and endowments: but this is as impossible to the unrenewed natural man, as it is for rocks or mountains to start from their Centre, and fly like wandering Atoms in the air: nature will rather choose to run the hazard of everlasting damnation, than escape it by a total renunciation of its beloved lusts, or self-righteousness: this supernatural work necessarily requires a supernatural principle, Rom. 8. 2.

First, The renouncing of all other hopes and dependencies whatsoever. Self in all its acceptations, natural, sinful, and moral, is now to be denyed and renounced for ever, else Christ can never be received, Rom. 10. 3. not only self in its vilest pollutions, but self in its richest ornaments, and endowments: but this is as impossible to the unrenewed natural man, as it is for rocks or mountains to start from their Centre, and fly like wandering Atomes in the air: nature will rather choose to run the hazard of everlasting damnation, than escape it by a total renunciation of its beloved lusts, or selfrighteousness: this supernatural work necessarily requires a supernatural principle,