"You may speak peace to yourselves, but yet there is no peace..."

"When a poor soul is somewhat awakened . . . then the poor creature, being born under a covenant of works, flies directly to a covenant of works again. And as Adam and Eve hid themselves among the trees of the garden, and sewed fig leaves together to cover their nakedness, so the poor sinner, when awakened, flies to his duties and to his performances, to hide himself from God, and goes to patch up a righteousness of his own. Says he, “I will be mighty good now—I will reform—I will do all I can; and then certainly Jesus Christ will have mercy on me.” But... our best duties are as so many splendid sins... There must be a deep conviction before you can be brought out of your self-righteousness. It is the last idol taken out of the heart... Can you say, “Lord, thou mayst justly damn me for the best duties that I ever did perform?”... If you are not thus brought out of self, you may speak peace to yourselves, but yet there is no peace... You must lay hold by faith of the all-sufficient righteousness of Jesus Christ, and then you shall have peace."

George Whitefield