…sinners cannot part with their “virtues.” They have none that are not imaginary, but they are real to them. So grace becomes unreal. The real grace of God they spurn in order to hold on to the illusory virtues of their own. Their eyes fixed on a mirage, they will not drink real water. They die of thirst with water all about them.

~ John Gerstner [excerpt from chapter 6 of Theology for Everyman]

https://www.the-highway.com/theology6_Gerstner.html