The sun may as well be hindered from rising as Christ the Sun of righteousness (Mal 4:2). Look not a moment off Christ. Look not upon sin, but look upon Christ first. When you mourn for sin, if you see Christ then, away with it (Zech 12:10). In every duty look to Christ; before duty to pardon; in duty to assist; after duty to accept. Without this it is but carnal, careless duty. Do not legalize the gospel, as if part remained for you to do and suffer, and Christ were but half a Mediator and you must bear part of your own sin, and make part satisfaction. Let sin break your heart, but not your hope in the gospel. Thomas Willcox
There are some profoundly important thoughts in this paragraph. It is a profoundly biblical thought that believers should look to Christ for pardon from sin, for the strength of grace to carry out the duties, and then after the duty is done we must still look to Christ for the person and the duties to be accepted. There is perhaps a fine line that a person must walk here between the need for duties to be done and forms of legalism. But it is Christ Himself who is the line between those things. As one as one walks the line of Christ then one will not fall into a vicious form of antinomianism or some form of legalism. But there are real and present dangers on both sides.
Notice the language that Willcox gives in his relentless pursuit of biblical thinking on the Gospel and the necessity of Christ-centeredness in all things. Without this, that is, without looking to Christ at all points of the duty “it is but carnal, careless duty.” This is not antinomianism, but this is living unto Christ by the strength of grace. This is not legalism, but living by grace alone. One can have a solid creed and one can have a correct doctrine, but the heart must be looking to Christ whether one has a creed or correct doctrine. The creed and the doctrine does not guarantee a person that s/he is looking to Christ and receiving grace from Christ, but this is something that the heart must actually do as opposed to being just something to intellectually hold as factual.
How could anyone argue against looking to Christ alone before all duties, during all duties, and after all duties? We look to Christ as our bearer of wrath and as such the satisfaction for our sins. We look to Christ as our life and as such the strength and life of grace that dwells in us. We look to Christ as our great Mediator who is the only Mediator between God and man and who alone can take our duties that He has worked in us and present them to the Father in His own name and covered by His own blood and in His own righteousness as perfect. Indeed, our duties are nothing else but carnal, careless duties apart from Christ. But they are carnal and careless duties if they don’t have Christ at all points.
Sinners, while under obligation to love God perfectly, must never legalize the Gospel of Christ alone and make it to where they must suffer for their own sins or make up something that is lacking in the righteousness of Christ. We must never look at our duties as if we do them to make up something that is lacking in Christ. We must never do them in our own strength. We must never do a duty as if it earns us some righteousness. We must always know that a duty that is properly done starts with Christ, is all from Christ all through the duty, and ends with Christ. Anything else is less than the Gospel of grace alone or at least takes us into a form of legalism at some point.
It is true that the Gospel is thought of by so many as that little message a person hears when s/he becomes a Christian, but after that it is not thought so highly of. But the reality of the matter is that the Gospel of grace alone and Christ alone has much to do with life and obedience. It is the Gospel of Christ alone that delivers us from the wrath of God and so we should never try to suffer for sin for the rest of our lives and for eternity. It is the Gospel of Christ alone that gives us a perfect righteousness in this life and for all eternity. Each day we are to live in that light which tells us that we are to live out of love for God and His glory rather than trying to suffer for sin or to earn a bit of righteousness. This great and glorious Gospel of grace alone that comes because of Christ and through Christ has everything to do with all that we are to do. How we need to examine our hearts and cry out for grace to cast out all things opposed to Christ and His glorious life of grace in and through His people.
God Loves... Himself 
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