Man is nothing: he hath a free will to go to hell, but none to go to heaven, till God worketh in him to will and to do his good pleasure.
Interpretation
The quote suggests that while humans have the freedom to make choices, they cannot achieve salvation without divine intervention.
This quote by George Whitefield highlights the concept of free will in relation to divine grace. It underscores the belief that while individuals can choose their actions, particularly to lead a sinful life (going to hell), the ability to choose righteousness or attain salvation (going to heaven) is contingent upon God's influence and grace. Thus, it reflects on the limitations of human agency in spiritual matters, suggesting that genuine goodness and desire for a divine life come not from human effort alone, but through the workings of God in a person's heart.
In practice
This quote can be used in a sermon about the necessity of God's grace in our lives.
And now let me address all of you, high and low, rich and poor, one with another, to accept of mercy and grace while it is offered to you; Now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation; and will you not accept it, now it is offered unto you?
God is well pleased when all our actions proceed from love, love to Himself, and love to immortal souls.
If your souls were not immortal, and you in danger of losing them, I would not thus speak unto you; but the love of your souls constrains me to speak: methinks this would constrain me to speak unto you forever.
Whoever reads the gospel with a single eye, and sincere intentions, will find, that our blessed Lord took all opportunities of reminding his disciples that His Kingdom was not of this world; that His doctrine was a doctrine of the Cross; and that their professing themselves to be His followers, would call them to a constant state of voluntary suffering and self-denial.
The Christian world is in a deep sleep; nothing but a loud shout can awaken them out of it!
What could the Lord Jesus Christ have done for you more than he has? Then do not abuse his mercy, but let your time be spent in thinking and talking of the love of Jesus, who was incarnate for us, who was born of a woman, and made under the law, to redeem us from the wrath to come.
Good is a product of the ethical and spiritual artistry of individuals; it cannot be mass-produced.
Man's ultimate concern must be expressed symbolically, because symbolic language alone is able to express the ultimate.
In the law, rights are islands of empowerment. . . . Rights contain images of power, and manipulating those images, either visually or linguistically, is central in the making and maintenance of rights. In principle, therefore, the more dizzyingly diverse the images that are propagated, the more empowered we will be as a society.
The existing liberties and the existing gratifications are tied to the requirements of repression: they themselves become instruments of repression.
Writing long books is a laborious and impoverishing act of foolishness: expanding in five hundred pages an idea that could be perfectly explained in a few minutes. A better procedure is to pretend that those books already exist and to offer a summary, a commentary.
When one is in town one amuses oneself. When one is in the country one amuses other people. It is excessively boring.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.