Brooks has this to say about the "good person" gospel that is rampant today, just as it seems it was in his day. Particularly this seems true in this day in which exclusive Christianity (that which repeats the gospel call to faith in Christ ALONE) is looked upon and derided as judgmental, foolish, and downright wrong. All people seem to care about is that you are, generally speaking (and without regard to how you deride orthodox-believing Christians) you are a 'nice person', then you're bound for glory. (There really is nothing new under the sun)
this truth [TKP- the truth that there is holiness without which men shall not see the Kingdom of God, from Heb XII.14] looks sourly and sadly upon all those who please and satisfy themselves with civility and common honesty; who are good negative Christians who bless themselves that they are no swearers, nor drunkards, nor extortioners, nor adulterers, &c., they pay every man his own, they are just and righteous in their dealings; no man can say black is there eye; their carriage is civil, comely, harmless and blameless. 'They make a fair show in the flesh', Gal. vi. 12, or as the Greek hath it, they set a good face on it. But as good a face as they do set on it, I must crave leave to tell them that civility is not sanctity; civility rested in is but a beautiful abomination, a smooth way to hell and destruction....if you look upon many civil, moral men's lives, you will find them so full of ingenuousness, equity, righteousness, sweetness and justice, that you will be ready to say, Sure these are holy men. But then do but observe how unaquainted they are with God, with Christ, with the Scripture, with the way and working of the Spirit, with the filthiness of sin, with the depths and devices of Satan, with their own hearts, with the new birth, and with the great concernments of eternity, and you will judge them to be mere heathens, to be men void of all principles of grace and holiness, and to be mere strangers to union and communion with Christ, and to the more secret and inward operations and workings of the Spirit of Christ, and to the most spiritual duties and services that are commanded by Christ. Civility is very often the nurse of impiety, the mother of flattery, and an enemy to real sanctity. A high conceit of civility keeps many a man from looking after inward and outward purity. Moral honesty proves to many men a bond of iniquity, that they can neither see the necessity nor beauty of sanctity; there are those that now bless themselves in their common honesty, whom at last God will scorn and cast off for want of real holiness and purity, Mat. xxv.3,11,12...
it is a stain, a blot upon the most moral honest man in the world, to say, he is a very civil honest man, but Christless; he is a very just man, but graceless; he is a man of much moral righteousness, but he hath not a drachm of real holiness, &c. This but is a fly in the box of ointment, that spoils all. Well, sirs, remember this, though the moral honest man be good for many things, yet he is not good enough to go to heaven, he is not good enough to be made glorious, Mat. v.20. Certainly there is nothing in all the world, below real sanctity, that will ever bring a man to the possession of glory. And though it may grieve us...to see sweet natures, to see many moral honest men, take many a weary step towards heaven, and to come near to heaven, and to bid fair for heaven, and yet after all to fall short of heaven; yet it will be no way grievous to a holy God to turn such sweet natures into hell, Ps. ix. 17. Moral honesty is not sufficient to keep a man out of eternal misery; all it can do is help a man to one of the best beds that hell affords.
Well, I have to say he gets to the point and makes it with cannons. How often to we hear the world proclaiming the gospel of the "good person"? Do we openly speak against it, proclaiming Christ ALONE as sufficient for salvation, His righteousness ALONE, as sufficient to make the mark? Or do we sit idly by, happy that at least the world isn't as utterly sinful as it might be?
More importantly, do we at times BELIEVE this rotten false gospel? Have I fallen for this lie, and made it a point to strive for civility, rather than seek after sanctity in Christ our Lord?