Thomas Wilcox

You say you cannot believe, you cannot repent. Go to Christ with all your impenitence and unbelief, to get faith and repentance from Him; that is glorious. Tell Christ, "Lord, I have brought no righteousness, no grace to be accepted in, or justified by: I am come for Thine, and must have it." We would be bringing to Christ, and that must not be. Not a penny of nature's highest improvements will pass in heaven. Grace will not stand with works, Titus 3:5, Romans 11:6. That is a terrible point to nature, which cannot think of being stripped of all, not having a rag of duty or righteousness left to look at.

When we come to God, we must bring nothing but Christ with us. Any ingredients, or any previous qualifications of our own, will poison and corrupt faith. He that builds upon duties, graces, etc., knows not the merits of Christ. This makes believing so hard, so far above nature. If you believe, you must every day renounce, as dung and dross, your privileges, your obedience, your baptism, your sanctification, your duties, your graces, your tears, your meltings, your humblings, and nothing but Christ must be held up, Philippians 3:7,8. Every day your workings, your self-sufficiency must be destroyed. You must take all from God's hand. Christ is the gift of God, John 4:10; faith is the gift of God, Ephesians 2:8; pardon, a free gift, Isaiah 45:22. Ah, how nature storms, frets, rages at this, that all is a GIFT, and it can purchase nothing with its actings and tears and duties, that all workings are excluded, and of no value in heaven.