Finally, it is extremely foolish and improper, on the part of our adversaries, to contend that even those, who deserve eternal wrath, obtain forgiveness of sin through love, or actum elicitum dilectionis, self-selected works of love; whereas it is clearly impossible to love God until the heart has taken hold of the remission of sins through faith.

For the heart, filled with anxiety, and truly feeling the wrath of God, can never love him, until he gives it relief and comfort, and assures it of his grace. For while he terrifies and assails us, as if he would cast us off in eternal wrath, into everlasting death, our poor, feeble nature must lose all courage and hope, and tremble before the great anger, which terrifies, and punishes so fearfully; and it cannot feel a spark of love, until God himself comforts and relieves it.

The idle and inexperienced may indeed devise for themselves a dream of love; hence they contend so frivolously, that one who is guilty even of mortal sin, can yet love God above all things; for they have never fully realized what a burden sin is, or how great a torment it is to feel the wrath of God.

But pious hearts that have experienced this, in real strife against Satan, and in real distress of conscience, know well that such words and thoughts are nothing but fancies and dreams. Paul, Rom. 4:15, says: “The law worketh wrath.” He does not say that men obtain remission of their sins through the law; for the law always accuses the conscience and terrifies.

The law, therefore, justifies no one in the sight of God; for an alarmed conscience flees from God and his judgments. Hence those are in error, who would merit the remission of their sins by their works, or the law. (Henkel Translation, p. 163-164).

Our adversaries consider only the commandments of the second table of Moses which treats of external honesty, a virtue which human reason more readily comprehends; and they imagine, that by these external good works they keep God’s law. But they do not consider the first table which requires us to love God with our whole heart, firmly to believe that God is wroth on account of sin, sincerely to fear God, and to be fully assured that God is near us and hears our prayer, &c.

Now we are all so constituted from Adam, previous to our being born again through the Holy Ghost, that our hearts, in their security, despise God’s wrath, judgment, and threats, and hate and oppose his judgments and penalties. Now if all the children of Adam are born so deeply in sin, that we naturally despise God, and doubt his Word, his promises, and his threats; then indeed must the best of our good works, performed previous to our being born anew through the Holy Ghost, be sinful and condemned in God’s sight, although to the world they may appear lovely; for they proceed out of a bad, ungodly, and impure heart; as Paul says, Rom 14:23; “Whatsoever is not of faith, is sin.” For all such self-righteous men perform works without faith, despise God in their hearts, and believe as little as Epicurus, that God takes care of them. Their contempt of God within, must necessarily make their works impure and sinful, although they may appear beautiful before men; for God searches the heart. (Henkel Translation, p. 163).

Now if it be necessary to be born again of the Holy Ghost, our good works or our own merit will not justify us before God; nor can we keep or fulfil the law. Again, Rom. 3:53: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” that is, they are wanting in the wisdom and righteousness which avail in the sight of God, and through which they rightly know, honor, and praise him. Again, Rom. 8:7–8: “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then, they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”

These passages of Scripture are so exceedingly clear and plain, that they require no very keen intellect to understand them; we need only to read them and properly examine the plain words. As Augustine says on this subject: “If human reason and being carnal minded constitute enmity against God, then, without the Holy Ghost, no man can love God with his whole heart. Again, if to be carnal minded is enmity against God, then indeed are even the best works of the children of Adam impure and sinful; for if the flesh cannot be obedient to the law of God, then in truth does a man commit sin, even when performing noble, lovely, and excellent works, which the world highly esteems.” (Henkel Translation, p. 162-163).