You must be born again

It is a common error of those that are in a corrupt natural state that they seek to reform their lives according to the law, without any thoughts that their state must be changed before their lives can be changed from sin to righteousness. The heathens, that knew nothing of a new state in Christ, were urged by their own consciences to practice several duties of the law, according to the knowledge they had by the light of nature (Rom. 2:14 , 15). Israel according to the flesh had a zeal of God and godliness and endeavoured to practice the written law, at least in external performances, while they were enemies to the faith of Christ. And Paul attained so far that he was blameless in these external performances of the righteousness of the law, while he persecuted thechurch of Christ (Phil. 3:6).

Some are so near the kingdom of God, while they continue in a natural state, that they are convinced of the spirituality of the law, that it binds us principally to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbour as ourselves, and to perform universal obedience to God, in all our inward thoughts and affections, as well as in all our outward actions, and to do all the duties that we owe to our neighbour, out of this hearty love (Mark 12:33, 34). And they struggle and labour with great earnestness to subdue their inward thoughts and affections to the law of God, and to abstain, not only from some sins, but from all known sins, and to perform every known duty of the law with their whole heart and soul, as they think; and are active and intent in their devout practice, that they overwork their natural strength, and so fervent is their zeal, that they are ready even to kill their bodies with fastings and other macerations, that they may kill their sinful lusts. They are strongly convinced that holiness is absolutely necessary to salvation, and are deeply affected with the terrors of damnation; and yet they were never so much enlightened in the mystery of the gospel as to know that a new state in Christ is necessary to a new life; therefore they labour in vain to reform their natural state, instead of getting above it in Christ. And some of these, when they have misspent many years in striving against the stream of their lusts, without any success, do at last fall miserably into despair of ever attaining to holiness, and turn to wallowing in the mire of their lusts, or are fearfully swallowed up with horror of conscience.

There are several false opinions by which such ignorant zealots encourage themselves in their fruitless endeavours. Some of them judge that they are able to practice holiness, because they are not compelled to sin, and may abstain from it if they will. To this they add that Christ, by the merit of His death, has restored that freedom of will to good which was lost by the Fall, and has set nature on its legs again, and that, if they endeavour to do what lies in them, Christ will do the rest, by assisting them with the supplies of His saving grace; so they trust on the grace of Christ to help them in their endeavours. They plead further that it would not consist with the justice of God to punish them for sin, if they could not avoid it; and that it would be in vain for the ministers of the gospel to preach to them and exhort them to any saving duty, if they cannot perform it. They produce examples of heathens, and of such as had the name of Christians, without any acquaintance with the faith that I have described, who have attained to a great excellency in religious words and works.

My work at present is to deliver those ignorant zealots from their fruitless tormenting labours, by bringing them to despair of the attainment of holiness in a natural state, that they may seek it only in a new state by faith in Christ, where they may certainly find it, without such tormenting labour and anxiety of spirit. For this end, I shall confirm the truth asserted in the direction, and fortify it against the forementioned false opinions by the ensuing considerations.

 The foundation of this assertion is firmly laid in the direction already explained, and confirmed by many places of Scripture. For, if all endowments necessary to enable us for a holy practice can be had only in a state of union and fellowship with Christ by faith, and faith itself, not by the natural power of free will, but by the power of Christ, coming into the soul by His Spirit, to unite us with Himself, who does not see that the attainment of true holiness by any of our most vigorous endeavours, while we continue in our natural condition, is altogether hopeless? I need add no more, were it not to show more fully what abundance of light the Scripture affords to guide us right in this part of our way, that those who wander out of it by following any false light of their own, or other corrupted judgements, may find themselves the more inexcusable.

 It is evident that we cannot practice true holiness while we continue in a natural state, because we must be born of water and of the Spirit, or else we cannot enter into the kingdom of God (John 3:3, 5); and we are created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them (Eph. 2:10). If we could love God and our neighbour as the law requires, without a new birth and creation, we might live without them, for Christ has said, 'This do, and you shall live' (Luke 10:28 ). Now, a new birth and creation is more than a mere reforming and repairing our natural state. If we were put into a certain state and condition by the first birth and creation, much more by the second. For the first produces the substance of a man as well as a state; the second had nothing to produce, but a new state of the same person. And note that we were first created and born in Adam the natural man, but our new birth and creation are in Christ the spiritual Man. And, if any man is in Christ, he is in a new state, far different from the state of Adam before the Fall. He is wholly a new creature; as it is written, old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new (2 Cor. 5:17 ).