It is the duty of preachers to plead with men about their sins, but we must always remember to speak in such a way as to lead them to the discovery of their state and condition. Otherwise, we may lead men to formality and hypocrisy and not accomplish the true end of preaching the gospel. It will not avail to beat a man off from his drunkenness into a sober formality. We must lay the axe at the root. To deal with sin without the root is like beating and enemy in the open field and chasing him into an impregnable castle where he cannot be touched. Drive the conviction to the heart, not just particular sins.
John Owen in The Mortification of Sin
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