My Pastor has a nice pithy statement to help in summary of the Christian’s carriage toward that heavenly city: Direction, not perfection. This is not to encourage the presumptious hypocrite in his hellish formalism, but to drive the earnest and weak believer to Christ, asking for the furnishment of new obedience, all the while resting upon the finished work of Christ alone for justification. Andrew Gray also comments in encouragement to the earnest believer who may be tempted to doubt his assurance because he does not see the progress he would expect/like (Works, pp. 187):
A third objection of assurance is, a Christian’s wrestling with his corruptions painfully and seriously, and yet not meeting with any sensible victory over them; but, on the contrary, his corruptions seem to be stronger, and he himself seems to be weaker, and then it is he strengthens his misbelief with that word, 1st John 3:3, Every man that hath this hope in him, purifieth himself, even as he is pure. And indeed, this is a knot that is not easily loosed; but when he seeth idols and corruptions prevailing over him, he will cry out, I am gone, and there is no hope in Israel concerning this thing;—and yet this also is a word in haste. Paul had registrated himself a standing witness, even after he was a chosen vessel, Rom. 7, how strangely a child of God may be born down with a body of death, even under most serious wrestling against it: and therefore, if thou dost seriously maintain that combat, though thou dost not sensibly prevail, thou hast no reason upon that ground to weaken thy assurance.
