A bad tree

(Octavius Winslow, "From Grace to Glory" 1864)

"By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people gather
grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise
every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears
bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad
tree cannot bear good fruit." Matthew 7:16-18

An unconverted state will bear fruit corresponding with
its own essence. It must, in the nature of things, be so.

The enmity against God of the carnal mind,
the rejection of the Lord Jesus,
the governing principle of SELF,
the supreme ascendancy of the world,
the slavery of sin;
indicate, unmistakably, the unrenewed, unregenerate
nature from which they spring. We do not expect one
to yield the fruits of holiness from an unholy nature.

The life an unbeliever lives is in keeping with the
unrenewed heart he possesses. He is of the earth,
earthly. It is consistent with his unregenerate nature . . .
that he should be of the world,
that he should love the world,
that the world should love him and claim him as its own,
that the things of the world its pursuits, its pleasures,
its sins; should . . .
harmonize with his nature,
charm his tastes,
delight his senses, and
bind his affections in their spell.