a nest of poisonous snakes

The saint whom Christ has redeemed at an early age needs to recognize the potential wickedness of his own heart. He can get a clear picture by looking into the mirror of the devil's nature. Really to understand the significance of the Cross in your life, you must realize you are as great a debtor to the mercy of God as the worst of sinners. Until you accepted Christ's pardon, the same sentence of death lay upon your soul as upon Judas'. If you have not sinned as grievously as someone else, it does not mean you are a better person; it means that God has been gracious. Our old nature (whose residue is not cast off until heaven) has the devil's stamp of 'traitor' on it from the day we were born. Our sovereign God had every right to crush us for it then and there - just as we destroy a nest of poisonous snakes, not for any harm they have yet inflicted, but because we know their potential danger.

Can you honestly say that when God first came to you your thoughts were pure and your intentions holy? Were you not already armed with the weapons of rebellion - a covetous spirit, a deceitful heart, a lying tongue? Oh, yes, you had a nature fully charged with enmity against God. It lay like unfired gunpowder, waiting for a flame! Fall on your knees in humble gratitude to the One who sent His Spirit and grace to stop you, even while your nature meditated on nothing but war against God and His laws.

William Gurnall The Christian in Complete Armour, vol. 1, abridged by Ruthanne Garlock, et al. (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 2009) 194.