They cannot deliver themselves

Second, by this helplessness I mean an absolute inability to deliver ourselves from that guiltiness, or that desert of punishment, of which we are still conscious. They cannot deliver themselves from the desert of punishment or root out the remains of sin. By all the grace we have already, to say nothing of our natural powers, we cannot remove the pride, the self-will, the love of the world, the anger, and the general leaning to depart from God, which we know by experience remain in the heart even of those who are born of God. Nor can we remove the evil which, in spite of all our efforts, cleaves to all our words and actions. Add to this an utter inability wholly to avoid uncharitable conversation, and, still more, unprofitable conversation. Add an inability to avoid sins of omission, or to supply the numberless defects we are convinced of, especially the want of love and of other right tempers, both toward God and toward man.

If anyone is not satisfied of this, if anyone believes that a justified person is able to remove these sins out of his heart and life, let him make the experiment. Let him try whether, by the grace he has already received, he can drive out pride, self-will, or inbred sin in general. Let him try whether he can cleanse his words and actions from every mixture of evil, whether he can avoid all uncharitable and unprofitable conversation, and all sins of omission, and, last, whether he can supply the numberless defects which he still finds in himself. Let him not be discouraged by one or two trials, but repeat the trial again and again. The longer he tries, the more deeply he will be convinced of his utter helplessness in all these respects.