The sound believer. A treatise of evangelical conversion. Discovering the work of Christ's spirit,…

Answ. So much Compunction or sense of sin is necessary as attains the End of it: Now what is the End of it? No other but that the Soul being humbled might go to Christ (by Faith) to take away his sin; the Finis proximus or next End of Compunction is Humiliation, that the Soul may be severed from sin, as to renounce it self for it; the Finis remotus, or last End is, that being thus humbled, it might go unto Christ to take away sin: For, beloved, the Condemnation of the World lies not so much in being sinful under Guilt and Power of Sin as in being unwilling the Lord Jesus should take it away: This I say is the greatest Hindrance of Salvation, John 3.19. and 5.40. O Jerusalem wilt thou not be made clean? Jer. 13.27. that was their great Evil, they were not only polluted, but they would not be made clean: The Lord Jesus therefore rolls away this stone from the Sepulchre, beats down this Mountain; and because it must first believe in Christ before it can receive Grace from Christ, it must come to Christ to take away sin, before the Lord will do it; hence so much loosening from sin as makes the Soul thus to come, is necessary. So much fear and sorrow as loosens from sin, and so ⟨p. 64⟩much loosening from sin as makes the Soul willing, as at least not unwilling that the Lord Jesus should take it away, is necessary: For who ever comes to Christ, or is not unwilling Christ should come to him to take away all his sin, hath (whatever he thinks) some antecedent loosening and separation from sin.

Oh, saith a poor sinner, when the Lord hath struck his Heart, and he feels Guilt, and Terror, and mighty strength of Corruption, if the Lord Jesus would take away these Evils from me, tho' I cannot, Means cannot, that will be exceeding rich Mercy. The Lord doth not wound the Heart to this End, that the Soul should first heal it self, before it come to the Physician, but that it might seek out, or feeling its Need, be willing and desirous of a Physician, the Lord Jesus, to come and heal it. It is the great Fault of many Christians, either their Wounds and Sorrows are so little, they desire not to be healed; or if they do, they labour to heal themselves first, before they come to the Physician for it; they will first make themselves holy, and put on their Jewels, and then believe in Christ. And hence are those many Complaints, What have I to do with Christ? Why should he have to do with me that have such an unholy, vile, hard, blind, and most wicked Heart? If I were more humbled, and more holy, then I would go to him, and think he would come to me. O for the Lord's sake dishonour not the Grace of Christ. It is true, thou canst not come to Christ, till thou art loaden, and humbled, and separated from thy sin. Thou canst not be engrafted into this Olive, unless thou be cut, and cut off too from the old Root Yet remember for ever, that no more sorrow for sin, no more separation from sin is necessary to thy Closing with Christ, than so much as makes thee willing, or rather not unwilling