Men trust to the grace and mercy of God, but do not look for a change; and this prevents many from embracing the whole trust of the gospel and from knowing Christ as the truth is in him. They hear that they must be changed, and they are unwilling.
They believe that God is merciful, and that Christ died, and so on. They snatch enough of the gospel to build them up in self-love and think all is well. But when they see the kind of grace that must teach them to 'deny ungodliness and worldly lusts' (Titus 2:12), and the grace that must alter them, this they cannot endure.
They are content to go to heaven if they may have it in a way to hell, in maintaining their corruptions, being proud and covetous and worldly as they are. They must not be. There must of necessity be a change.
Taken from the book Glorious Freedom by Richard Sibbes 1639
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