Page:The Works of the Reverend George Whitefield, M.A. (1771 Vol 1).djvu/264

 tinctured with sin, and want the atonement of the Mediator; and therefore, if you leave off striving, because "whatever is of self is sin," you must never attempt to do any duty whatsoever again. Your stillness hath as much a mixture of self in it, as your striving, and if you proceed in this manner, you must become a professed Quietist. Six weeks did satan keep me under this delusion, but the helped me in the hour of extremity: May he also help my dear Brother K! Another error you seem to be fallen into is, "that a man cannot be a christian, at least that he is a very weak one, so long as he finds corruption stirring in his heart." If I was to urge the seventh to the Romans, you would say, St. Paul only speaks of a man under first-awakenings, and not of a converted man; but my dear Brother, did you ever know a man, that was not really converted, delight in the law of after the inner man? And yet such an one the Apostle speaks of in the latter part of that chapter. Be not deceived, we are to be holy as is holy; we are to receive grace for grace; every grace that is in the blessed, is to be transplanted into our hearts; we are to be delivered from the power, but not from the indwelling and being of sin in this life. Hereafter, we are to be presented blameless, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. If you labour after any other perfection here, you will labour in vain. St. Paul had attained no other, when he wrote to the Philippians, and to the other churches: But my dear Brother K seems to think, "I did wrong in writing to Mr. H to know his sentiments upon several texts of scripture, and in sending for several of Calvin's books." And why, my dear Brother, was this wrong? Why you say, "you think it is contrary to St. Paul in his Epistles, when he says, he would not speak other men's words;" but St. Paul says no such thing: The place you aim at, I believe, is 2 Cor. x. 16. "And not to boast in another man's line, of things made ready to our hand." My dear Brother, examine the context, and you will find the Apostle means no more than that he would not enter into other men's labours, as ver. 15. He would not preach where churches were already settled, but go where the gospel had not been delivered. This, and this only, is the meaning of the passage, which dear mistaken Mr.