Spending Time With the Puritans

I've been spending some time reading Puritan sermons recently...well, that is until my computer malfunctioned on Tuesday, preventing Internet access. (I am blogging from the local library's system now.) Anyway, before I lost Internet connection, I was reading an abridgement of Jeremiah Burroughs' sermon, Christ: All in All at the Fire and Ice web site. Here is a selection from that sermon on Christ's being "all in all" in the matter of our justification and pardon of sins..

"...In the point of justification and the pardon of sins, the great thing we stand in need of from God is the acceptation of us as righteous. Christ is all in all to us here, that is the tenor of the gospel, Rom.3:24, ...being justified freely by His grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ. Our justification is not made up by what we have done or all that we can possibly do. You will say, "True, we have done little." But suppose any of you should do your utmost in any particular that God requires. You will say, "I hope if I can do what I can that God will accept it." No, you made a great mistake if you think this. People are very apt to look upon God as if the terms between God and them were no other than this: God is full of pity and mercy and we are weak and can only do a little, but if we do what we are able, God will accept the will for the deed. No, God does not accept the will for the deed in the point of justification. It is true in those that are already justified that God accepts the will for the deed in the performance of a duty, so as to take delight in them, but in the point of justification, pardoning sin and acceptation to righteousness, He must there have perfect obedience. Though we endeavor never so much, unless we can bring to God  a perfect righteousness, we are undone forever..."           (Large print emphasis, added)


p.s. (Can anybody give me an encouraging word regarding any possibility of hope for my 10 year old e.machine running Windows Me.?? Please don't say that it is a miracle that it is still running at all. I don't want to hear anything like that : /