Not only the late Nature of True Virtue treats sanctification but even The End for Which God Created the World sees remanation, return to God, as the goal of all God's redemptive activity. In emphasizing sanctification, Edwards was in the mainstream of the Puritan tradition. Indeed, in refuting Troeltsch and Weber, Haller jumps to the erroneous conclusion that the Puritans were actually Arminian. The Puritans were not Arminians, but they were greatly concerned with growing steadily in faith and good works. This is the reason Edwards could preach that a pretense of trusting Christ is in vain as long as men live wicked lives.
Faith rules out such a life, for it infuses the virtues with itself.
It aims at virtue as such and therefore at universal virtue. As we have seen, justification is by faith alone, but not by the faith that is alone. It is impossible that men should be saved without an evangelical, universal, and sincere obedience under the second covenant. In the old covenant life was to be obtained on the basis of man's works. This is not so in the new covenant.