The way to come to Christ - John Bunyan

"This is a legal and old-covenant spirit that
secretly persuades the soul that if ever it will be
saved by Christ, if must be fitted for Christ by
its getting of a good heart and good intentions
to do this and that for Christ; I say, that the
soul when it comes to Christ may not be
rejected or turned off; when in deed and in
truth this is the very way for the soul to turn
itself from Jesus Christ, instead of turning to
Him; for such a soul looks upon Christ rather
to be a painted Saviour or a cypher than a very
and real Saviour. Friend, if thou canst fit
thyself, what need hast thou of Christ? If thou
cant get qualifications to carry to Christ that
thou mightst be accepted, thou dost not look to
be accepted in the Beloved. Shall I tell thee?
Thou art as if a man should say, I will make
myself clean, and then I will go to Christ that
Do not think that I am against the order of the Gospel.

He may wash me; or like a man possessed, that
will first cast the devils out of himself, and then
come to Christ for cure from Him. Thou, must,
therefore, if thou wilt so lay hold of Christ as
not to be rejected by Him; I say, thou must
come to Him as the basest in the world, more
fit to be damned, if thou hadst thy right, than
to have the least smile, hope, or comfort from
Him. Come with the fire of Hell in thy
conscience, come with thy heart hard, dead,
cold, full of wickedness and madness against
thy own salvation; come as renouncing all thy
tears, prayers, watchings, fastings; come as a
blood-red sinner; do not stay from Christ till
thou hast a greater sense of thy own misery, nor
of the reality of God’s mercy; do not stay while
thy heart is softer and thy spirit in a better
frame, but go against thy mind, and against the
mind of the devil and sin, throw thyself down
at the foot of Christ, with a halter about thy
neck, and say, Lord Jesus, hear a sinner, a hardhearted
sinner, a sinner that deserveth to be
damned, to be cast into Hell; and resolve never
to return, or to give over crying unto Him, till
thou do find that He hath washed thy
conscience from dead works with His blood
virtually, and clothed thee with His own
righteousness, and make thee complete in
Himself; this is the way to come to Christ." -John Bunyan