The believer is a new creature; he belongs to a holy generation and a peculiar people - the Spirit of God is in him, and in all respects he is far removed from the natural man; but for all that the Christian is a sinner still. He is so from the imperfection of his nature, and will continue so to the end of his earthly life.

The black fingers of sin leave smuts upon our fairest robes. Sin mars our repentance, before the great Potter has finished it, upon the wheel. Selfishness defiles our tears, and unbelief tampers with our faith. The best thing we ever did apart from the merit of Jesus only swelled the number of our sins; for when we have been most pure in our own sight, yet, like the heavens, we are not pure in God's sight; and as He charged His angels with folly (foolishness, madness), much more must He charge us with it, even in our most angelic frames of mind.

The song which thrills to heaven, and seeks to emulate seraphic strains, has human discords in it. The prayer which moves the arm of God is still a bruised and battered prayer, and only moves that arm because the sinless One, the great Mediator, has stepped in to take away the sin of our supplication.

The most golden faith or the purest degree of sanctification to which a Christian ever attained on earth, has still so much alloy in it as to be only worthy of the flames, in itself considered. Every night we look in the mirror, we see a sinner, and need to confess, "I am as an unclean thing, and all my righteousnesses are as filthy rags".

Oh, how precious the blood of Christ to such hearts as ours!

How priceless a gift is His perfect righteousness! And how bright the hope of perfect holiness hereafter!

Even now, though sin dwells in us, its power is broken. It has no dominion; it is a broken-backed snake; we are in bitter conflict with it, but it is with a vanquished foe that we have to deal.

Yet a little while and we shall enter victoriously into the city where nothing defiles.

C.H. Spurgeon, Morning & Evening, 10/27

Christ is the One who covers our failures and sins, but He throws His garment of righteousness only over the sincere soul: "Blessed is he....whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity." Everyone likes to believe this, but notice the requirement of receiving this mercy: "...in whose spirit there is no guile" Psalm 32:1,2.

God approves of the sincere man as holy and righteous even though he is not totally free of sin. And just as God does not mistake the saint's sin for sincerity, neither does He unsaint him for it. For instance, Scripture recorded that Job fell into the pit of sin, but God saw sincerity mixed with his transgression and judged him perfect. And at the end of the combat God brought Job through with the favorable testimony that His servant had "spoken of me the thing that is right" Job 42:7. Job himself saw his own earnestness dashed with failures, and this made him confess his sin rather than presume upon God's mercy. But God saw the sincerity.

If sincerity could not guarantee our welcome at the throne of grace, God would never accept a single prayer. For there never was nor ever shall be a saint living in the flesh who does not have entire chapters of faults in his life's story and in whom eminent failings may not be found. Elijah, for instance, did great wonders in heaven and in earth by prayer. Yet God's Spirit tells us he was a man like us: "Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayer.....and he prayed again" James 5:1. Even a weak hand with a sincere heart can turn the key in prayer.

The Christian in Complete Armour, William Gurnall 1616 - 1679, Puritan Preacher, Vol.2, p.55