“Besides, this mind [pious mind] restrains itself from sinning, not out of dread of punishment alone; but because it loves and reveres God as Father, it worships and adores him as Lord.”
- Book I. Chapt.3.2
Christian piety is a gracious gift from God that swells out of a heart of love. It must be of grace for there is no love for God in the fallen man’s heart. If he wills to restrain himself from sinning it is out of fear of what he may loose for himself, but not out of honor he may give to God in love. God is not a Father to those who have not been given grace to honor and love God the Son as Lord. Therefore to restrain oneself from sin out of fear and dread of God as an illegitimate son is to expose a heart of prideful shame. But God is not mocked by a “vague general veneration” as though He is hungering for praise out of pride as the prideful man who needs the approval of others for His glory. Therefore there is needed grace for a pious mind that restrains itself from sin for love, honor, worship and adoration to God. An impious mind restrains itself from sin because of being afraid of being found out or caught, or fearing the consequences it may face or cause others to face, or fearing what this may do to a name, family, church or company it represents. And this impious mind is moral, good and upright in a world of immorality, depravity and decline. But it is impious because it does not have love for God but only self. When the pious mind is loved by God and filled with grace then it loves God by hating sin, it reveres God by shunning immorality, it worships him by running the incline to heaven out of the pit of mire, and it adores him in a passionate flight from the dung pit toward his glorious kingdom of righteousness, peace and joy in the Spirit.
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