IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) h /, {/ ^ .^>^.. r>?¥ A i/.ji & ^ 1.0 I.I 50 "1^ wn^^ 2.0 m 140 1.8 1-25 i 1.4 U n ■!' -^ ■■: V] vl '><>'^'' "> "^ /A 'w '/ Hiotpgrephic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 iV iV '^ o M ^ '^ ^9> i o :. CIHM/ICMH Microfiche CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historicai Microreproductions / institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copy which may be bibliographically unique, which may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. D D D D D D D D D D \/ Coloured covers/ Couvertura de couleur Covers damaged/ Couverture endommagde Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurde et/ou pelliculde Cover title missing/ Le titre de couverture manque Coloured maps/ Cartes g^ographiques en couleur Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Relid avec d'autres documents Tight binding may cause shadows or distortion along interior margin/ Lareliure serr^e peut causer de I'ombre ou de la distortion le long de la marge int6rieure Blank leaves added during restoration may appear within the text. Whenever possible, these have been omitted from filming/ 11 se peut que certaines pages blanches ajoutdes lors d'une restauration apparaissent dans le texte, mais, lorsque cela dtait possible, ces pages n'ont pas 6X6 fitmdes. Additional comments:/ Commentaires suppldmentaires; Various pagings. L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a 6t6 possible de se procurer. Les details de cet exemplaire qui sont peut-dtre uniques du point de vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite. ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dans la methods normale de filmage sont indiqu6s ci-dessous. □ Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur D D D \/ n Pages damaged/ Pages endommagdes Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaurdes et/ou pellicul^es Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages d6colordes. tachetdes ou piqudes Pages detached/ Pages ddtachdes Showthrough/ Transparence I I Quality of print varies/ Quality indgale de I'impression Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel supplementaire Thee to th The poss of th fllmii Origi begii the li sion. othei first sion. or ill! Thai shall TINU whic Mapi diffai entiri begir right requi math Only edition available/ Seule Edition disponible Pages wholly or partially obscured by errata slips, tissues, etc.. have been refilmed to ensure the best possible image/ Les pages totalement ou partiellement obscurcies par un feuillet d'errata. une pelure, etc., ont 6t6 film6es d nouveau de fapon d obtenir la meilleure image possible. This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est film^ au taux de reduction indiqu6 ci-dessous 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X SOX V 12X 1«X 20X 24X m 32X aire ; details ues du t modifier ger une I filmage The copy filmed here has been reproduced thanks to the generosity of: Dana Porter Arts Library University of Waterloo The images appearing here are the best quality possible considering the condition and legibility of the original copy and in keeping with the filming contract specifications. L'exempiaire film6 fut rsproduit grice i la ginirosit^ de: Dana Porter Arts Library University of Waterloo Les images suivantes ont it6 reproduites avec le plus grand soin, compte tenu de la condition et de la nettetA de l'exempiaire filmd, et en conformity avec les conditions du contrat de filmage. ides Original copies in printed paper covers are filmed beginning with the front cover and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, or the back cover when appropriate. Ail other original copies are filmed beginning on the first page with a printed or illustrated impres- sion, and ending on the last page with a printed or illustrated impression. The last recorded frame on each microfiche shall contain the symbol — ^ (meaning "CON- TINUEO"), or the symbol V (meaning "END"), whichever applies. Les exemplaires originaux dont la couverture en papier est imprimde sont filmds en commen^ant par le premier plat et en terminant soit par la dernidre page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration, soit par le second plat, selon le cas. Tous les autres exemplaires originaux sont filmte en commencant par la premiere page qui comporte une empreinte d'impression ou d'illustration et en terminant par la derni^re page qui comporte une telle empreinte. Un des symboles suivants apparaitra sur la derni^re image de cheque microfiche, selon le cas: le symbole — »■ signifie "A SUIVRE", le symbole V signifie 'FIN ". ire Maps, plates, charts, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratios. Those too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc.. peuvent dtre filmte d des taux de reduction diffdrents. Lorsque le document est trop grand pour dtre reproduit en un seul cliche, il est filmd d partir de Tangle supdrieur gauche, de gauche d droits, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images ndcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. ly errata 9d to nt ne pel u re, i9on d 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 8 6 0( WESLEY'S OOOTRINALi JSTANDABDS. o o -J cc \^ o PART I. CO cc LU > DOi INTR , ■ ^ I WESLEY'S DOCTRINAL STANDARDS. PART I. THE SERMONS, WITH INTRODOOTIONS. ANALYSIS. AND NOTES. / ■ ^ ' II Vt I : } c :f REV. N. BUR WASH, S.T.D., ?'^' / Professor of Theology in the University of Victoria College, j '2 2^ I / i ( -^fc3je^ flC o o I u. o CO cc UJ > . :3 TORONTO WILLIAM BRIGGS Montreal: C. IV. COATES Halifax: S. F. HUESTIS Rntend according to the Act of the ParHament of Canada, in the year on« thousHiiJ eiglit huiiilred and eighty-one, by William B&IQQB, in the Olhcu of the Miuiater of Acruuuitm-e, at Ottawa. This pared that th( expositi for the Christia The obvious our mo ficial an with th instruct ness of professi( of so-ca are sooi having fall thrc there a gathers Emotioi them, sciences are wai' it is no carried unduly the gosj blows theoriei ourrenc men at such bl But ethical recogni imparti raent, i appeal obeyed EDITOR'S PREFACE. on« the This edition of Mr. Wesley's Standard Sermons has been pre- pared with a special view to the wants of students. It in thought that there is need in our Church for an authoritative and exact exposition of our fundamental doctrines, from which candidates for the ministry, local preachers, Sabbath-school teachers, and Christian workers generally, might be furnished for their work. The universal tendency to superficiality is nowhere more obvious or more dangerous than in religious instruction. Much of our modern evangelistic work is terribly marred by its super- ficial and unsoriptural methods. There is little profound dealing with the conscience, little preaching of the law, little careful instruction in doctrine, little regard to the depth and thorough- ness of the work of repentance, and too great haste to extract a profession of faith, and to enroll and publish names and numbers of so-called converts. The results are that the so-called converts are soon back into a state of carelessness worse than before ; or, having never attained to a satisfactory witness of the spirit, Uiey fall through the fii-st temptation into the slough of despond and there abide. On the other hand such superficial work never gathers into the Church the better and stronger classes of people. Emotional illustrations and weak hortatory appeals will not move them. Nothing but strong reasons, such as convince their con- sciences, will form for them a basis of religious life. While they are waiting for this, and being disgusted and disappointed because it is not furnished to them, they are in constant danger of being carried away by the plausible reasonings of scepticism, which are unduly aided by the weak, and often erroneous, presentations of the gospel to which they are opposed. Scepticism! can strike hard blows at commercial theories of atonement 0.0.^ Antinomian theories of salvation by faith, and if these things pa ^s iuto popular currency as being genuine Christianity, what wonder thftt some men are led to believe that Christianity has been demoiiuhed by such blows 1 But the Wesleyan evangelical doctrine, with its strong grasp of ethical truth, its clearly defined doctrine of probation, its constant recognition of the work of the Holy Ghost, and its view of the impartial and universal love of God to man, manifest in the Atone- ment, is unassailable before the bar of conscientious reason. Its appeal to honest consclenoe cannot be denied, even when it is not obeyed. u. o > CO a: LJJ > ,i|.i-' EDITUU 8 FUKFACK. It is, therefore, with strong confidence that we call the attention of all workers in Methodism to the /orm of tfis yospel here pre- sented. We believe it to be the primitive, the Apostolic gospel, the gospel for all men and for all ages, and especially for uur age. We believe that if our preachers and teachers make it the subject of careful study, and test it by the Word and by experience, and then, with fvUl assurance of its tnitli, bring its moral power to bear upon the world, the result will be glorious beyond anything that the Church has yet seen. The additions made to the original text in *^he present edition will generally explain themselves. In the introduciion an aiiempt is made to show in what sense the sermons are standards of doc- trine. The habit of testing doctrine by categorical definitions has so universally prevailed that the various questions investigated in the introduction are essential to a proper understanding of the work. The analysis prefixed to each sermon or in some instances to a group of sermons, is intended to aid the student in testing and fixing his knowledge of the text. The text of the sermon should first of all be read through carefully. The analyses will then aid in printing upon the memory a connected and compacted view of the whole subject. They will also assist in review, and in testing the student's knowledge of any particular sermon. The notes are generally historical. They are drawn from Mr. Wesley's journals and doctrinal writings, and serve to throw the doctrines of the text out in stronger relief, sometimes in the light of experience, sometimes in the light of Cimtroversy with error. It is hoped that they will ba found of esisunDial utirvicu to the careful student. The table of contents may seem unimportant, but careful study has convinced the editor that these sermons were grouped by Mr. Wesley in such form as to illustrate and supplement each other, and to form a complete and progressive view of the whole subject of experimental and practical religion. He has endeavoured to elucidate this by an analysis of the table of contents into ten sections or groups. It is scarcely necessary to add that the con- stant study of these sermons as a text book of practical theology has been to the editor an increasing means of spiritual pleasure and profit ; and it is his earnest prayer that they may be moia abundantly so to his readers. V 1. Thb It has] perhaps, longer nel right Btat a right co it' these e serious er Jesus Ch another o inirtginecl yet has e impressio because < might ha without t could ha^ opinion r Buperficia dogmas a are nearl; developni theniselvi Now, i of placin others ii iuudame: And if fictitious Unknow as perma the cessa conclusi( Fiwt, Christiai Because \W * V INTRODUCTION. 1. I'HB Necessity and Proper Use of Standards op Doctrine. It has come to be assorted with great assurance in our day, and, pcrliaps, by some sincerely believed, that doctrinal standards are no longer necessary. It is said that genuine and true religion consists in a right state of heart, by which is signified the religious allections, and in a right conduct of life flowing from these affections. It is argued that if these essentials be right, such an one, notwithstanding many and even serious erroneous beliefs, deserves recognition as a follower of the Lord Jesua Christ and a member of the Christian Church. One part after another of Christian dogma is selected, and some individual is found, or imagined to be found, who has professed disbelief in this dogma, and yet has evinced genuine marks of Christian character ; and thence the impression is silently created, or the conclusion boldly asserted, that, because one imlividual has been so found, the whole Christian world might have been so found, and genuine religion might have existed without this particular dogma. Few are bold enough to say that religion could have existed and have been propagated without any dogma or opinion regarding God ; but such an impression is certainly left on the superficial mind. And it is even maintained in some theories that all dogmas are but helps to the attainment of the religious life, and that all are nearly equally useful for this purpose, in the various stages of mental development in which they respectively prevail, and equally untrue in themselves when brought to the test of severe science. Now, if it be true that our dugmas are entirely unnecessary, as means of placing ourselves in right relations to God, or as means of bringing others into such right relations, then the assertion of such dogmas as fundamentals and essentials in religion is a falsity and a moral wrong. And if it be true that such dogmas are mere transitory, mutable, fictitious forms by which we posit as the object of religious afi'ections the Unknown and the Unknowable, then the maintenance of these forms, as permanent doctrinal standards, becomes possible only as the result of the cessation of all spiritual growth in humanity. Let us examine these conclusions more carefully. Fint, then, upon what grounds are certain unwelcome elements of Christian doctrine excluded from the essential elements of the faith 1 Because it is said that certain persons have been found in possession of CO o o -J tr UJ 5 o CO UJ > INTRODUCTION. genuine religious life without theae beliefs ; hence they are not ensentiaL But in this conclusion the absolute non-existence of these beliefs is assumed without sufficient proof. There is often the most happy inconsistency between men's logically defined systems of dogma and their religious afTections, because their religious affections have been developed before their logical apprehension , of dogma. And yet they have been developed under the power of the truth contained in the very dogma which their mistaken logic afterward rejects. That truth has surrounded them on every side in the religious life of the entire Christian Church ; and they have caught its influence before they have learned to formulate it in words. The doctrine of tlie Deity of Christ is involved in every act of Christian worship, as it is inwrought into the entire texture of the New Testament Scriptures. It, therefore, by no means follows that a man who has been brought up from his childhood in contact with the entire intellectual and spiiitual life of the Christian Church, but who fornially dtnies this doctrine, if he becomes possessor of the Christian life, has become £0 independently (if tliis doctrine. Far leKs fpundation is there for the concluaum L.,ut the Christian life, in its fulness of New Testament perfection, could have existed without any knowledge of this doctrine in the Church. But it is said the Christian life existed in its most glorious perlection, both individual and ecclesiastical, before ever this aiul otiier myster'jus doctrines were prescribed in the creeds. Very true, but not before tliey were preached in concrete, practical, liistorical form. The Church might have fulfilled her mission of spreading the life of communion vith God for centuries without an abstract scientific form of dogn">, ; but not without the reality of truth which gives substance and power to that form. It may even be granted that tlie abstract scientific form is not the form in which the truth is most mighty to win her spiritual conquests in the world. The truth, intermingled in the currents of human life and history, insinuates itself more easily into the living affections of men. But whether in the concrete and practical, or in tlie abstract scientific form, the truth must be held as the condition of the Church's power among men. Equally unwarranted and dangerous is the more pretentious, philo- sophical conclusion, that all forms of religious dogma are but changing fictions, by which we render objective the successive phases of our progressive spiritual development ; fictions all equally true from the practical standpoint, and equally false from the scientific. It is very true that in the history of religion there has been development. And it is also true that practically there has been associated with the spirit and truth of religion very much that belonged to the mere extenial form. But to conclude that because some things in religious teaching are fonnal and changing, all things are so, is not good logic. To conclude that because when the truth enters into the human appre- hension, it takes mould from the narrow and imperfect vessel into wliich it Is contain this th Qospel God. the sen the rela of cons( George here is absolute atfectio out whi( Wecc that its eternal i true, bu its puri and the is the e and if t eternal ( a form, ii apprehei INTRODUCTIOK. Vll it )■ received, it Is therefore the mere product of the veeul — « form containing emptineM, is scarcf^ly common sense. A striliing example of this theory, carried to the utmost extreme, we have in the Positivist Gospel of Humanity, as a substitute for the old form of religion with a God. Denying the validity of all ideas not immediately derived from the senses — and hence, the verity of the existence of God — it seeks, in the relative positive knowledge left to man, a basis for the development of conscience, and the other moral and religious affuctlona ; and this George Eliot and others think they have found in humanity. But even here is the admission that something, positively received ae truth, is absolutely needful for the development of the moral and religious affections of our nature. The only question, therefore, is — Is tliis, with- out which spiritually we cannot live, mere phantaay, or is it eternal verity 1 We come back, then, to the ori(,Mnul belief of the Church in all ages, that its body of doctrine for the lite and salvation of the world is the eternal and immutable truth of God ; a treasure in earthen vessels, it is true, but with the excellent power of God. To preserve this treasure in its purity ond integrity is the bounden duty of the Christian Church, and the end of all its doctrinal standards. If the work of the Church is the extension among men of spiritual life In communion with God ; and if that life is founded upon the apprehension by mtn of certain eternal and immutable truths concerning God, then this truth ntust have A form in which it can be presented, as well as through which it can be apprehended ; and that /orm constitutes the " doctrine," the " preaching," the "word," or the dogma of Christianity. It is never intended to dwarf, limit, or impede the spiritual growth of men ; but rather to create that spiritual life without which there can be no true growth. For thiSf truth is absolutely essential, and trutli must be received and held in some suitable form. The only question that can be raised is: What is the bust I'orm 1 |l II. Thb Wesletan Form of Standards. The most ancient form of doctrinal standard, usually recognized as euch, was a brief synopsis, called a creed, from the fact that in Latin it began with the word Credo, " I believe." This synopsis was used in the formal profession of the Christian faith at baptism, and as the foundation of the instruction of the catechumens. The creed, in the controversial age of the Church (A.D. 250-700), became the symholum, or mark of orthodoxy, and during this period the great declarations of the rule of faith, made by the authority of the CEcumenicol Councils, all took the form of a creed. At the era of the Reformation, the Aristotelian method of cate- gorical statement universally prevailed. Hence Luther propounded hia views of essential truth in the form of theses, which were subse- quently expanded into a confession, consisting of a number of artidea. O O I o >- w c: UJ > i Vlll INTRODUCTION. This form was adopted by all the Protestant Churches of the era of the Reformation. For purposes of instruction these articles were re-mouldei into catechisms. Even the Church of Rome, under the same scholastic influence, adopted this form in the canons and decrees of the Council of Trent, and the Boman Catechism. . It remained for Wesley to inaugurate a new form of doctrinal standard, in making a certain form of preaching and standard of interpretation of Scripture the rule of faith in his Societies. We shall see presently that in doing this he did not invent a new form of standard, but in reality revived the most ancient form. Of these three forms, the Patristic, the Protestant, and the Wesleyan, which is the best 1 To answer this question satisfactorily, we must first consider the purposes to be served by doctrinal standards. These may be classified as follows : — 1. An authoritative guide or aid to the student or teacher in acquiring or communicating a knowledge of Divine truth. 2. An authoritative standard to which appeal can be made in matters of controversy. 3. An authoritative source from which the truth is obtained. For the second and third of these purposes, to the Protestant, there is but one ultimate standard — the Word of Qod. This is the only source from which religious truth comes with authority, binding the conscience, and commanding the faith of the Christian ; and this is the only authority from which no appeal can be taken, and which is an end of all controversy. But the term standard may be used in a lower sense, which may admit of human and ecclesiastical standards. Doctrine is teaching. A standard of doctrine is a normal form of teaching. Standards of doctrine in this sense refer to the work of the teacher of religious truth. Now, the teacher of religious truth, founding upon the Word of God, must in the first place interpret it; hence his standard of doctrine must embrace a right method of interpretation, especially in the use of the analogy of faith. In the second place, he preaches the Word ; hence his standard of doctrine must embrace a right form of preaching the truth, with a view to the salvation of men. In the third place, he teaches, especially the young and the ignorant ; hence his standard of doctrine should embrace a norm of teaching, such as the ancient creed, or more modem catechism or confession. The precise form which the standards of any church will take, will thus naturally depend on the circumstances of its origin. A chur«h arising out of a great intellectual movement, like the churches of the Reformation, will naturally fortify itself with creeds, confessions, and catechisms ; inasmuch as its existence and success depend so largely upon the logical validity of its teachings. A church arising out of a great §vangelistie movement quite as naturally finds its standard ii; a grandt distinctive norm or type of preaching; and, in like manner, every Church, driven to juBtify itseli by final appeal to the Word of Qod, must have ito canon will fuj was an type of I exhibit! Mark, little ful as Matl| this n( epistlesl was wfl VI. INTRODUCTION, IX eanon of interpretation. The growth of all the great Christian synibola will furnish illustrations of these principlea The Church of the Apostlea was an evangelistic Church. Its standard of doctrine was first of all a type of preaching, of which we doubtless have a compressed yet faithful exhibit in the synoptic gospels. The Pauline and the Petrine, Luke and Mark, set forth one Christ, in essentially one gospel, of which John, a little further on, sets forth the more perfect unification and expansion — ^.just as Matthew had given the foundation. To this consensus of preaching, this normal or standard gospel, Paul makes constant reference in his epistles, although it had not yet been reduced to written form. But it was well known to all the Christian Churches. No one can read, especially in the original, such expressions as " another gospel," " the gospel of Christ," " the gospel which was preached of me," (see Gal. i. 6, &c.,) without feeling that even then there was a familiar form of preaching (A.D. 56 or 57.) In the pastoral epistles this fact becomes still more manifest in such phrases as, " no other doctrine," 1 Tim. i. 3 ; " according to the glorious gospel," v. 11 ; " words of faith and good doctrine," iv. 6 , " the doctrine," v. 16 ; " the doctrine which is according to godliness," vi. 3 ; " that which is committed to thy trust," v. 20 ; " tlie form (wuTvrru'vtt) of sound words," 2 Tim. i. 13. See also 2 Tim. ii. 2, and iii. 16, in which last passage the norm of preaching is carried up to its fountain-head in the "Word of God. The first standard of doctrine was the substance of what the Apostles, preached; ard even the first Creed, the so-called Apostles', was but a memorized brief of the same. But this simple standard of gospel preaching was soon followed by the symbols of a polemic Church, in the form of exact, logical, dogmatic definitions, the creeds and canons of the universal councils. The circum- stances of an age of conflict with heresies and errors developed the discursive form of Christian truth ; and though its symbols still began with credo, " I believe," in their true nature they were very dilierent from the original credo of the sub- Apostolic age. In like manner all the (symbols of the era of the Reformation bear the stamp of sharp, dogmatic distinction and definition, savouring of the theological conflict out of which they were born. At the same time they absorbed into themselves the formularies and theses of the earlier time ; and into such vast proportions has this type of symbolics grown, that the simpler form of a standard of preaching, rather than a standard of scientific, dogmatic teaching, has become quite eclipsed. In fact, the apostolic form revived by Wesley is almost ignored by the great modem writers on symbolics. Even Winer and Schaff have not been able to recognize the right of our " Volumes of Sermons " and " Notes" to rank among the great Christian symbols, and hence are disposed to assume that as a Church we have no proper distinctive symbols. I fear that even many Methodists them- selves have not seen the injustice of this position ; and have felt some- what ashamed of what they are bidden to regard as the unscientific and >- O O -J IT < O > t cc UJ > INTAODUCTIOIt. nnaatiflfactoTy form of our Btandards of doctrine. They have been diiiposed to regard the " Articles of Religion " which we have inherited and appropriated from the days and polemics of the Reformation, and which have required the most serious pruning to render them at all harmonious with the theological ideas of our Church, they have been disposed, we say, to regard these as ranking above the " Sermons and Notes" as the exponent of our doctrinal system. On the other hand, we are disposed to maintain that the " Sermons and Notes " were the natural form of standard for a Church originating as did Methodism, not out of dogmatic disputations, but out of a glorious era of goipel preaching; and further, that they are the Apostolic and primitive form of standard. And if this form is natural, it is truly scientific, as all things natural are. All that is required is that we discover the law of its growth, which is also the law of its exposition and logical unity ; and then what has seemed to be an unscientific medley of disconnected truths stands forth as a beautifully-proportioned and perfect body of divinity. We, therefore, claim for the "Sermons and Notes'* a foremost place among the Christian symbols. The Sermons set before us that great, dis- tinctive type and standard of gospel preaching, by which Methodism is wluit she M as a great, living Church. When she ceases to preach according to this type and standard she will no longer be Wesleyan Methodism. No other Church of modem times can boast of such a standard of preaching, gO mighty and perva^ve in its power to preserve the perfect doctrinal as well as spiritual unity of the entire body. God save us from the day when the Methodist ministry shall cease to study this standard, and to preach according thereto ! The Notes have also their peculiar and unique value. They open up to us the mode of interpretation by which the grand type of preaching contained in the Sermons was derived from its fountain-head— the New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. They are thus the Link which binds our subordinate standard to the original Apostolic standard. Without that link our form of preaching would be deprived of its Divine authorization. But the Articles of Religion have their own appropriate place in our doctrinal foundations. They indicate that which we liave received as our common heritage from the great principles of the Protestant Refor- mation, and from the still more ancient conflicts with error in the days of Augustine and Athanasius. They represent the Methodist Church in its unity with Christendom and Protestantism ; but the " Sermons and Notes" represent it in its own completeness as a living form of religion, called into being by the Spirit and Providence of God. III. Historical View of thk Standard Sermons. The Wesleyan standards of doctrine, as held by the Methodist Church of Canada, are three-fold, viz.: INTBODUCTIOV. XI I. The Standard of Preaching — the fifty-two scrmonB embraced in the four volumes. II. The Standard of Interpretation — the notes on the New Testament III. The Standard of Unity with the Sister Churches of the Reforma tion — the Twenty-five Articles. We shall now confine our attention more eflpecially to the sermona. The historical key to these sermons is to be found in the development of Mr. Wesley's own spiritual life. The first element in the formation of all spiritual life is to be found in early training. Wesley's parents were both born and educated in Nonconformist families, and their religious life was strongly and permanently moulded by Puritan prin- ciples. But, strange to say, at a comparatively early age each of them, as the result of investigation of the controversy, became converted to High Church views. But, as Isaac Taylor well remarks, they '* could not lay down that in Nonconformity, which belonged to the inner man. A stem, moral force, and a religious individuality, went with him (the father) into the Church, nor left him as he entered it ; and it showed itself as an inherited quality in his sons." " Some of the very choicest samples of the firm, consistent, English Christian character have been the product of the Nonconforming or Puritanical soul, blended with the better-ordered and more broadly-based Christian temperament of the Episcopal Church." In the case of the Wesleys, this combination of the earnest moral character of the Puritan, with the dogmatic positions of the High Churchman, was of very great importance. At Oxford the theology and the religious spirit have always been High Church. In these two respects no portion of the English Church was less affected by the Reformation than was this University. Both its Church principles and its views of doctrine continued from the first to look towards the Roman Church. Especially did it agree with Rome in its high estimate of the importance of good works in religion ; and, like the Latin Church, it inclined to views of the freedom of the will inconsistent with Augustinianism, and leading it to Arminianism, as the Latins tended to semi-Pelagianism. On this point the English High Church divines, while, doubtless, owing something to the Remonstrants of Holland, and to the great Latin fathers, were not a little moulded in their views, as will be seen from Burnet, by the Greek 'athers, who were neither semi-Pelagians nor yet fully developed Arminians, but in whose writings may be found all the essential scriptural views which have entered into Wesleyan Armini.in- ism. These data will enable us to estimate the stand-point from which Mr. Wesley's spiritual life really began. From his father and mother, as well as at Oxford, he had received an anti-predestinarian theology, the somewhat imperfectly defined Arminianism prevalent among the High Church divines of England of that age. This led to convictions of the responsibility of free-will, and the necessity for holy living. These convictions were pressed by a pious mother, and received by the xii INTRODUCTION. young Wesley, with all the intensity of religi us feeling which they had inherited from their Puritan ancestry. Hence the religion of the Wesleys, at a comparatively early period of their lives, became marked by a very different character from the easy going, latitudinarian formality of the High Church Arminianism of that time. It became an intensely earnest religion of good works and means of grace. At the very com- mencement of this crisis, which occurred when John Wesley was about twenty-two years of age, two works fell into his hands which exerted a marked influence on his religious lite. These were " The Imitation of Christ," by Thomas a'Kempis, and Bishop Taylor's " Holy Living and Dying." These works were at once in accord with the Puritan earnest- ness of his spirit, and with his conception of the prominence of good works as a condition of human salvation ; but they forever banished from his mind any reliance upon mere external forms or works, and works were henceforth good to his judgment only in their motives, as they proceeded from a right state of heart. Sliortly afterward the writings of William Law carried this conception of heart holiness a step higher, and gave him a belief in its perfectibility, which became a permanent element in his religious system. Tliere remained but one thing more to render Wesley's religious life, and his conception of religious life, alike complete, that was the imparting of the Divine breath to this still inanimate body. He did not yet understand that the foundation of religious life must be laid, not in a mysterious communi- cation of sacramental grace, nor yet in a mere intellectual assent to the great principles of religious truth, but in a conscious reception of justi- fying, regenerating, and sanctifying grace, through a definite act of personal faith in Christ. This last lesson was tlie most difficult of all to learn. Natural reason and conscience, quickened and aided by the Word and Spirit of God, could help him to an understanding of all other parts of his religious system ; but the light of the Spirit alone could teach him the nature of this mystic faith. The Moravians were tlie instruments, in the providence of God, first, of bringing him to a sense of the defect of his religious life and views ; and then, by their prayers and counsels, of leading him to that profound experience of Divine grace, by which alone that defect could be supplied. The 24th of May, 1738, supplied the foundation-stone for the superstructure, the aesign and materials of which had all been previously prepared. Let us now recapitulate the great principles of scriptural religion which had at this time demonstrated themselves to Mr. Wesley's head and heart. These were : — 1. The universality and impartiality of God's grace to man as mani- fested in the provisions of the Atonement. 2. The freedom of the human will, and man's individual, probational responsibility to God. 3. The absolute necessity, in religion, of holiness in heart and life. 4. The natural impossibility of this to fallen human nature. I INTF.CIDUCTION. xUi liu- hial ;'j ft. "he perfect provision for this necessity and impossibility, as well as {or t'le pardon of past sins, in the salvation offered by Christ 6. The sole condition of this salvation — faith. 7. The coBucious witness of the Spirit to this salvation. This full-orbed conception of scriptural religion embraced the great scriptural verities of all ages and schools of Christian thought. It grasped the wideness of God's love with the old Greek Christian and the modern Arminian, and it sounded the depths of the human heart with Augustine. It maintained the necessity of good works with the Roman Church, and it recognized the peculiar import of faith with Protestantisin. With the Churchman it held the importance of means, and with tho evangelical mystic, it recognized the peculiar office of inward grace ; and it built the doctrines of inward holiness and Christian perfection of the English mystics upon their true foundation, by uniting them to the evangelical principle of saving faith. From the date above referred to, it may be said that Mr. Wesley's system was in some sense complete. It certainly was filled out and perfected in some points, and pruned and purified at others ; but from this date no essential element was wanting. In all its fundamental principles the gospel which henceforth he preached, and at the same time verified in his own experience, was unchanged. The first sermou in the series was preached at Oxford, eighteen days after the date referred to ; and in that sermon, while the newly-discovered faith stands in the fore- front, all the foregoing elements are either expressed or implied. There was subsequent expansion, and, to some extent, correction and perfection of his earlier views, as witness the footnotes to the Journal of May, 1738, added som6 thirty years later. Wesley was a life-long student of the Word of God and of Christian experience, both his own and that of others ; and both these sources furnished stronger light and wider views. He learned to recognize the mystic faith where at first he had not discerned it. He learned also to sympathize with the broad freedom of the spirit of the gospel, as distinguished from narrow Judaic 'literalism. But his conception of the fundamental principles of Christianity remained unchanged. We have seen how those fundamental principles were, in the providence of God, one after another, revealed to Wesley, and com- bined and fused in the fervent heat of his religious experience. But there is a wider historical review which we might take of the growth of the Church's apprehension of these principles. It would be a great mistake to suppose that they came forth to light and practical influence, for the first time, in the age of John Wesley, and in his spiritual life. These truths had lived in the Church ever since the days of the Apostles. At divers times and places they had been more or less clearly appre- hended in the Church's thought. At various periods they had moulded the Christian life and experience with a deep and abiding impress It was not the glory of Wesley or of Methodism that he discovered or preached a new gospel. But all the elements of gospel truth were In I IL o CO QC UJ > z 3 XIT INTRODUCTION. him combined in a burning focus of spiritual light and heat, as, perhaps, they had not been since the Apostolic age. The fundamental principle of Wesley's doctrine, the impartial nnlTer- sality of God's provision of grace in Christ, was clearly apprehended and taught by all the Greek fathers, and has been unquestioned in all the eastern Church down to the present time. It was obscured, though not directly denied by Augustine ; but firmly held by the great body of the Latin Church, both before and since the Reformation. Though the first symbols of the Reformation were constructed in the spirit of the opposite view, yet the great body of the Lutheran Church speedily vindicated the universality of the Atonement. In the English Church Calvinism never suflBciently prevailed to lead to a denial of this truth in the Articles of Religion ; while in the Liturgy and in Article xxxi it is most explicitly asserted, and so was maintained by reformers and divines prior to Arminius, e.g., Baro, Trewe, and Latimei. Even in the very strongholds of Calvinism, the great body of Arminians vin- dicated this doctrine so fully that they have given it their name, though it was believed and taught by nine-tenths of the Christian Church for fifteen hundred years before Arminius was bom. It was, therefore, no new doctrine, lately imported from Holland, which Wesley received from parental teaching, and subsequently in his studies at Oxford, but the primitive and almost universal doctrine of the Christian Church. The second grand element in Wesley's theology, the unqualified responsibility of man, based upon his moral freedom, was equally ancient. Says Hagenbach on this point : " All the Greek fathers, as well as the Apologists Justin, Tatian, Athenagoras, Theophilus, and the Latin author Minucius Felix, also the theologians of the Alexandrian school, Clement and Origen, exalt avri^ovaio* (the autonomy, self-determination,) of the human soul with the freshness of youth and a tincture of Hellenistic idealism. But also influenced by a practical Christian interest, they know nothing of any imputation of sin except as a voluntary and moral self-determination, is pre-supposed. Even Irenaeus * * * and Tertullian strongly insist upon this self-determination in the use of the freedom of the will. * * ♦ Both were far from considering inherent depravity as constituting accountability, and still farther from believing in the entire absence of human liberty." Even after the controversy between Augustine and Felagius had developed the full difiiculty of the subject, the great body of the Eastern Church, and, perhapa, full half of the Latins, held firmly to the doctrine of human freedom, reconciling it as best they could with the teachings of the New Testament touching the fall of Adam and human depravity. Their theoretical harmonies were olten wrong, but their fundamental facts were right. Depravity, freedom, and responsibility were facts difficult to co-ordinate, but facts, neverthe- le«, to which they held fast The spiritual life of the Reformation, in its profound Augustinian views of human sin and depravity, was at first dispose Church tendenc were m was mu Wesley' had bee of theol the Sch< opinions the anci dogma s to be, w( Anoth the Prin doctrine century, doctrine, Whitby, held firm by the fa The Engl tion, had profound, of the th experienci Tumiuj the impo; Methodisi catechism controven goipel. Si published 1771, wh( following forbetwee spoken in not consc: accustome professedl; peruses tl doctrines After refe drawn the the follow heaven, w INTRODUCTION. ST bject, If the the Idom, Irthe- drat disposed to minify the fact of freedom. But while the Befonned Churches of Switzerland, France, Holland, and Scotland pushed this tendency to an extreme length, the Lutherans and the Church of England were much more guarded in their statements ; and their final position was much the same as that of the earlier Church. In fact, during Mr. Wesley's student days, the whole strength of the English Church divines had been devoted for nearly half a century to the formation of • system of theology on the basis of the first five centuries. This was evidently the School of Divinity from which Mr. Wesley most largely received his opinions, and this revival of patristic theology held as tenaciously as did the ancients to the dogma of human freedom and responsibility ; and a dogma so ancient and of such persistent vitality as this has proved itself to be, would certainly appear to have vindicated its claim to be the truth. Another proof of the unity of the Wesleyan theology with that of the Primitive Church is found in the firmness with which he held the doctrine of the fallen estate of man. The Arminians of the seventeenth century, who depended more upon the aid of reason in the formation of doctrine, were not seldom led into semi-Pelagian views, as witness Whitby. But those who were not in haste to construct a system, but held firmly by the fundamental verities taught in Scripture and received by the fathers, were not led into either semi-Pelagian or Arian errors. The English Church, in common with all the Churches of the Reforma- tion, had most fully accepted the teachings of Augustine as to the profound, inherited evil of human nature. And these teachings, relieved of the theoretical notions of imputation, entered fully into Wesley's experience and doctrine. Turning our attention, now, more directly to the sermons, we note the important fact that they exhibit the actual preaching of original Methodism. They were not prepared as a text-book for students, or a catechism for scholars, nor as a series of theological propositions for controversial discussion, but as an exhibition to the world of a preached gotpel. Says Mr. Wesley, in a preface to the first volume of sermons, published first in 1746, (and incorporated into an extended preface in 1771, when he might have said thir^ years instead of eight,) "The following sermons contain the substance of what I have been preaching for between eight and nine years past During that time I have frequently spoken in public on every subject in the ensuing collection ; and I am not conscious that there is any one point of doctrine, on which I am accustomed to speak in public, which is not here, incidentally, if not professedly, laid before every Christian reader. Every serious man who peruses these will, therefore, see in the plainest manner what these doctrines are which I embrace and teach as the essentials of religion." After referring to the Word of Qod as the source from which he had drawn these truths, he goes on to say, " I have accordingly set down in the following sermons what I find in the Bible concerning the way to heaven, with a view to distinguish this way of God from all those which O Q u. o cc UJ > z 3 xvi INTRODUCTION. are the inventions of men. I have endeavonred to describe the true, the scriptural, experimental religion so as to omit nothing which is a real part thereof, and to add nothing thereto which is not And herein it is more especially my desire, first, to guti ^ those who are just setting their faces toward heaven, (and who, havng little acquaintance with the things of God, are the more liable to be turned out of the way,) from formality, from mere outside relicriou, which has almost driven heart religion out of the world ; and, secondly, to M'am those who know the religion of the heart, the faith which worketh by love, lest at any time they make void the law through faith, and so fall back into the snare of the devil" These sermons, then, in Mr. Wesley's own intention, were a full exhibit of the Methodist preaching. But they were, further, an exhibit of that preaching in its mature form. The great Wesleyan revival had now lasted for more than thirty years. In that time it had been purified from many accidental blemishes and defects in the apprehension of the religious intellect. All the great phases of Christian life, repentance, faith, justification, the witness of the Spirit, regeneration, the conflict with sin in believers, and perfect love had become prominent in its preaching, and had been exemplified by the living experience of thousands of witnesses. This Christian life had also maintained itself in conflict with its two great spiritual dangers — formalism and Antinomianism ; and had asserted itself as the truth of Qod in opposition both to the one and the other. The standard type of preaching which was thus formed was, therefore, no hasty congeries of immature doctrine, no hotbed growth of a few montha' revival, but the digested result of a lifetime of religious experience and labour in the midst of mjrriads of examples and illustrations of every phase of religious life. Of this religions life, as exemplified in hia societies, and as he came in contact with it in his meeting of the classes, Mr. Wesley was a constant student and most accurate observer ', and to that peculiar institution of Methodism — the Class, or Fellowship, or Society Meeting — ^we owe not a little of the breadth and completeness of our doctrinal system as a preached gospeL Again, the marked experimental character of the sermons, must be kept constantly in view by every one who would properly understand them. Here is Divine truth drawn directly from the Word of Qod ; not as a subject of intellectual contemplation ; not as a speculation, a philosophy of Qod, and man, and the universe ; not as a mere theory of religion, or of Atonement, or of faith, or of the plan of salvation. But here is Divine truth as it has entered into the heart of the preacher, and become in him the life of Qod, and as from his own heart he presents it to the heart of his hearers. The student, then, must read these standards by the constant inward light of the Divine Spirit, and must allow the truth presented to enter into his heart, for only then will he understand and appreciate it Nool ti overs j nomianl which l| have ii But it theologj INTRODUCTION. xvU No one can properly read these standards who losses sij^ht cf theii con- lioversial aspect. They defend the truth as»ain8t formalism and Anti- nomianism. It might be supposed that this controversial character, which has not moulded, but only somewhat modified their form, would have interfered with their peculiarly practical and spiritual character. But it is not so. First of all, that which appears here is not a mere theological polemic, but a practical conflict. It is not so much against an erroneous theory that these standards have erected a defence, as against the evil influence of error. There were a thousand speculative errors abroad in the world in Mr. Wesley's time, but he lifts up his voice against them only as they endanger the existtnce of the life of God in the souls of men, or mar its beauty and perfection. Methodism from the beginning had been a living protest against the cold externalism and formalism, which had well-nigh extinguished all genuine religion in England, in the beginning of the eighteenth century. It was likewise in uncompromising antagonism with all those doctrines of legalism, sacramentarianism, and churchism, which ally themselves so naturally to formality. The Wesleys themselves, while free from the frivolities of modem ritualism, and while 8trenuon.sly oppostid to the easy-going legality of latitudinarianism, were still prejudiced high churchmen and sacramentarians in the beginning of their career. But by the time of the origin of our standards, the evangelical leaven had eliminated almost every vestige of these antagonistic principles. But the evangelical doctrine was not without its peculiar dangers. The doctrine of faith, by what appeared to be a very slight modification, but which was in reality a total perversion of its principles, was easily imitated by an antinomian theory of salvation by logical deduction. A commercial view of the atonement, a disregard of the profound work of the Spirit, and of the necessfty of repentance, and a resting in an intellectual assurance instead of the God-given witness of the Spirit, these were the elements out of which was constructed an imitation of evangelical religion which, even in Mr. Wesley's day, threatened to pervert the great work of grace which God had wrought through his preaching. The four volumes of sermons appeared in their final form just at the juncture when the conflict with Antinomianism culminated in the Calvinistic controversy. But a quarter of a century before this the doctrinal minutes had guarded the preachers against antinomian error ; so that as, during that time, these sermons had grown into form, they embodied the opposition of the true christian life to all varieties ol teaching which might favour this spurious imitation. There were other minor forms of error, such as the Moravian stillness, and certain enthusiastic extravagances, which have left their impress on the form of the sermons. But in their opposition to all these things, the sermons did not cease to be sermons. They maintained their practical and spiritual character, and aimed only and directly at the extension and perfection of the religious life. o 3 I U. o CO > 2 zviii INTBODUOTIOM. Another cause which prevented this controversial aspect of the sermons from marring their perfection as standards of doctrine for all time, was the fact that the essential principles of these controversies belong to all time. They are as old as the days of Paul, and have repeated themselves in every subsequent age of the Church's history. It was, therefore, imperatively necessary that standards of doctrine should give no uncertain sound in regard to the questions herein involved. Finally, in the study of these documents, it must be borne in mind that they were proposed as standards of preaching. That which was to be tested by them was the pulpit in every Methodist Church. This was to be the type of preaching for which these houses were erected. The relation in which Methodism stood to the Established Church in England, during Mr. Wesley's life, provided for the doctrinal unity of Methodism with the Protestant Reformation. When, in the United States of America, Methodism became an independent Church, the same provision was made by the abridged and amended Articles of Beligion. But tlie introduction of the Sermons and Notes, as the standard of preacliing, into every Trust Deed of a chapel or church in the Connexion, assured, so far as human means can do so, an Arminian evangelical preaching and exposition of Qod's Word for all time. To interpret these standards or apply them after the manner of Articles of Religion, or Creeds, or Confessions of Faith, which cate- gorically define the doctrines to be professed or believed, would be contrary to their very nature. It is to the spirit and type of this preaching that our obligations bind us. There may be in the Notes and Sermons many things, accidental and personal, to which no Methodist minister or layman would feel bound to profess assent. But Methodism demands that in all our pulpits we should preach this gotpel, and expound the Word of God according to this analogy of fjiit]^ •I" PKEFACE. Thk following Sermons contain the substance of what I have been preaching for between eight and nine years last past.''' During that time I have frequently spoken in public, on every subject in the en- suing collection : and I am not conscious, that there is any one point of doctrine, on which I am accustomed to speak in public, which is not here, incidentally, if not professedly, laid before every Christian reader. Every serious man, who peruses these, will therefore see in the clearest manner, what these doctrines are, which I embrace and teach, as the essentials of true religion. 2. But I am thoroughly sensible, these are not proposed in such a manner as some may expect. Nothing here appears in an elaborate, elegant, or oratorical dress. If it had been my desire or design to write thus, my leisure would not permit. But, in truth, I, at present, designed nothing less ; for I now write as I generally speak, ad populum : to the bulk of mankind, to those who neithei relish nor understand the art of speaking ; but who, notwithstand- ing, are competent judges of these truths, which are necessary tt present and future happiness. I mention this, that curious readen may spare themselves the labour of seeking for what they vriji noi find. 3. I design plain truth for plain people : therefore, of sut pur'ioae, I abstain from all nice and philosophical speculations ; Irou all per- plexed and intricate reasonings : and, as far as possible, from even the show of learning, unless in sometimes citing the original Scrip- ture. I labour to avoid all words which are not easy to be under- stood, all which are not used in common life ; and, in particular, those kinds of technical terms that so frequently occur in bodies of divinity, — those modes of speaking, which men of reading are in- timately acquainted with, but which, to common people, are an unknown tongue. Yet I am not assured that I do not sometimes slide into them unawares : it is so extremely natural to imagine, that a word which is familiar to ourselves is so to all the world. 4. Nay, my design is, in some sense, to forget all that ever I have road in my life. I mean to speak, in the general, as if I had never * In the year 1747. > Z 3 rUKKACK read ono author, ancient or modern : (alwayH excoptinj; the innpired.) I am pt>i'H oiin hand, this may \ui a moans of enabling mo more clearly to oxpreHS tho HotitimtMilH of my heart, while I simply follow the chain of ray own thoughtH, without en- tangling myself with those of other men ; and that, on the other, I shall come with fewer weights upon my mind, with Iohh of prejudice and prepoHSfSHion either to search for myHelf, or to delivor to otliois tho nnked truths of the Gospel. 5. To candid, reasonahlo men, I am not afraid to lay open what have been the inmost thoughts of my heart. I hive thought, I am a creature of a day, passing through life, as an arrow through the air. I am a spirit come from God, and returning, to God ; just hovering over the great gulf; till a few moments hence, I am no more seen I I drop into an uiicliangt'able eternity ! I want to know one thing, the way to heaven : how to land safe on that happy shore. God himself has condescended to teach the way ; for this very end he came from heaven. He hath written it down in a book I Oh give me that book 1 At any price, give me the book of God ! I have it : here is knowledge enough for mc. Let me be homo uniua libri.'^ Here then 1 am, far from the busy ways of men. I sit down alone : only God is here. In his presence I open, I read this book ; for this end, to find the way to heaven. Is there a doubt concerning the meaning of what I read 1 Does any thing appear dark or intricate ] I lift up my heart to the Father of light. — Lord, is it not thy word, " If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God ]" Thou " givest liberally and upbrnidest not." Thou hast said, '• If any be williug to do thy will, he shall know." I am willing to do : let me know tliy will. I then search after, and consider parallel passages of Scripture, "comparing spiritual things with spiritual." I meditate thereon, with all the attention and earnestness of which my mind is capable. If any doubt still remains, I consult those who are experienced in the things of God : and then, the writings whereby, being dead, they yet speak. And what I thus learn, that I teach. 6. I have accordingly set down in the following sermons, what I find in the Bible concerning the way to heaven ; with a view to dis- tinguish this way of God, from all those which are the inventions of men. I have endeavoured to describe the true, the scriptural, experimental religion, so as to omit nothing which is a real part thereof, and to add nothing thereto which is not. And herein it is * A man of one book. rREFAUB. V If more especially tnj desire, first, to guard those who are just setting their faces towards heaven, (and wlio, having little acquaintance with the things of God, are the more liable to be turned out of the way,) from formality, from more outside religion, which has almost driven heart religi'ni out of the world ; and, secondly, to warn thoso who know the religion of the heart, the faith which workoth by love, lest at any tiuio they inako void the law through faith, and so fall back into tho snare of the devil. 7. By the advic(i, and at the requei^t of some of my friends, I have pielixed to the 'ther seiiuuns contained in this volume, three sermons of my own, and on« of my brother's, preKchd of love forbid that we should ever make the trial ! May he prepare us for the knowledge of all truth, by filling our hearts with all his love, and with all J07 and peace in believinfr 1 ANALYSIS OF CONTENTS. PAGB 1. In four sermons before the University of Oxford, the fundamental evangelical doctrine of "Salvation by Faith" is placed in contrast with the imperfect Christianity of outward works, and the indiflference of woildly minds, as a work of the Holy Ghost. Sermon I. — Salvation by Faith. By grace are yo saved, through faith. Ephesians ii. 8 I Sermon II. — T?ie Almost Christian. Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian. Acts xxvi. 2S 11 Sermon III. — Awake, thou that steepest. Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light. Ephesians v. 14 17 Sermon IV. — Scriptural Christianity. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost. Acts iv. 31 26 3. In eight sermons, being the substance of Mr. Wesley's evangelical preaching during the earlier period of his itinerant ministry, (one, the second, on the Witness of the Spirit, was added twenty years later,) the Gospel Salvation is expounded as Justification or Righteous- ness by Faith, with its antecedent conditions, Repentance and Faith ; and its concomitant results, the Fruits of the Spirit, the Spirit of Adoption, and the two-fold Witness of the Spirit of God with our own spirits. Sermon V. — Justification by Faith. To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is eounted to him for righteousness. Romans iv. 5 39 Sermon VI. — The JtighteousMss of Faith. Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them. Bat the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise : Say not in thine neart, Who shall ascend into heaven ? (that is, to bring Christ down from above :) Or, Who shall descend into the deep ! (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it ? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart : that is, the word of faith which we preach. Romans x. 5-8 . . 51 Sermon VII. — The Way to the Kinrjdom. The kingdom of God is at hand : repent ye, and believe the gospel. Maik L 16 61 Sermon VIII.— 7%« First Fruits of the Spirit, There Is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesna, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans viii. 1 . . 70 O o i Li. O CO u > z '3 1 X.XIV ANALYSIS OF CONTENTS. Sermon IX. — The Spirit of Bondage and of Adoption. Ye have not received the spirit of bondaf^e again unto fear ; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. Romans viiL 15 79 Sermon X.—The Witness of the Spirit. mscouiisis I. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. Romans viii. 16 90 Sermon XI. — The Witness of the Spirit. DISCOURSE II. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God. Romans viii. 16 101 Sermon XII. — The IVitncss of our own Spirit. This is our rejoicing, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace ot God, we have had our conversfition in the world. 2 Corinthians i. 1 2 .... 109 3. In two supplementary sermons, inserted in 1771, the evangelical doc- trine is guarded against the erroneous perfectionism of the Moravians, and weak Christians are so directed as to prevent discouragement. Sermon XIII. — On Sin in Believers. If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. 2 Corinthians v. 17 117 Sermon XIV. — T/ie Repentance of Believers. Repent ye, and believe the gospel. Mark i. 15 127 4. A special sermon on the Judgment, preached in 1758, and inserted in 1771. Sermon XV. — The Great Assize. We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Romans xiv. 10. . 138 6. A sermon guarding the evangelical doctrine of faith against Moravian stillness. Sermon XVI. — The Means of Grace, Ve are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Malachi iii. 7 149 6. In twenty sermons followi.ig, the evangelical doctrine is guarded against Antinomianism, and is united to the doctrine of holiness of heart and life which Mr. Weslej' had early received from Thomas a'Kempis, Taylor, and Law. Into this series was inserted, in 1771, . the sermon on The Lord our Righteousness, as an exposition and defence of the harmony between evangelical faith in the Atonement and Scriptural holiness. The three sermons concluding this section are distinctly controversial, and pointed at Antinomianism. Sermon XVII. — The Circumcision of tlic Heart. Circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter. Romans ii. 29 16.*^ Sermon XVIII. — The Marks of the New Birth. So is every one that is born of the Spirit. John iii. 8 172 Sermon XIX. — The Great Privilege of those that are Bom of Ood. Whosoever is born of God, doth not commit sin. 1 John iii. 9 181 79 ANALYSIS OF CONTENTS. XXV 8F.BM0N XX. — The Lord our Righteouanesa. This is his name whereby he shall be called, The Loru our Riqhteous- NESS. Jeremiah xxiii. 6 189 Sermon XXI. — Upon our Lord's Sermon on the Mount. DISCOURSE I. And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain ; and when he v»s set, his disciples came unto him, &c. Matthew v. 1-4 199 Sermon XXII. — Upon our Lord's Sermon on the Mount. DISCOURSE It. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth, &c. Matthew v. 6-7 214 Sermon XXIII. — Upon our Lord's Sermon on the Mount. DISCOURSE HI. Blessed are the pure in heart : for they shall see God, &u. Matthew 7. 8-12 225 Sermon XXIV. — Upon our LordHa Sermon on the Mount. discourse IV. Ye »re the salt of the earth ; but if the salt have lost its savour, where* with shall it be salted ? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men, &c. Matthew v. 13-16 236 Sermon XXV. — Upon our Lord's Sermon on the Mount. DISCOURSE V. Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets : I am not come to destroy, but to fultil, dec Matthew v. 17-20 247 Sermon XXVI. — Upon our Lord's Sermon on the Mount. DISCOUSSE VI. Take heed that ye do not your alma before men, to be seen of them : otherwise ye have no reward from your Father which is in heaven, &c. Matthew vi. 1-15 259 Sekmon XXVII. — Upon our Lord's Sermon on the Mount. DISCOURSE VII. Moreover when ye fast, be not as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance : for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say imto you. They have their reward, &c. Matthew vi. 16-18 270 Sermon XXVIII. — Upon our Lord's Sermon on the Mount. DISCOURSE VIII. Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal, & z 3 ZZVi AMALTSIS OF 0OMTENT8. Sbuion XXX. — Upon our Lord's Sermon on the Mount DISCOURSE z. Judge not, that ye be not judged, be. Matthew vii. I<12 30# SXBIIOM XXXI. — Upon our Lord's Sermon on the Mount. DISCOURSE XI. Enter ye in at the strait gate : for wide ia the gate, and broad is tit way, that leadeth to destniction, and many there be which go iu thereat, &c. Matthew vii. 13, 14 81> Sermon XXXII. — Upon our Lord's Sermon on the Mount. DISCOURSE XII. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are rarening wolves, &c. Matthew vii. 15-20 S18 Sermon XXXIII. — Upon our Lord^s Sermon on the Mount. DISCOURSE XIII. Not every one that saith nnto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the king* dom of heaven ; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven, &c Matthew vii. 21-27 326 Sermon XXXIV. — The Original, Nature, Properties, and Use of the Law. Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. Romans vii. 12 333 Sermon XXXY. — The Law established through Faith. DISCOURSE I. Do we then make void the law through faith T God forbid : yea, we establish the law. Romans iii. 31 846 Sermon XXXYI. — The Law established through Faith. DISCOURSE II. Do we then make void the law through faith f God forbid : yea we establish the law. Romans liL 31 354 7. In three following discourses the deep earnestness of spiritual religion is guarded against enthusiasm, bigotry, and narrowness. Sermon XXXYII. — The Nature of Enthtcsiaim. And Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, thou art beside thyself. Acts xxvi. 24 360 Sermon XXXVIII. — A Caution against Bigotry. And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us : and we forbade him, because he foUoweth not us. But Jesus said. Forbid him not. Mark ix. 38, 39 369 Sermon XXXIX. — Catholic Spirit. And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the son rrf Reuhab coming to meet him : and he saluted him, and said to him, Is thine heart r.'ght, as my heart is with thy heart ? And Jelionadab' answered. It is. If it be, give me thine hand. 2 Kings x. 15 879 t> In four sermons the Wesleyen doctrine of Christian Perfection is defined and defended. Those seeking this grace are guarded against difficulties, and the way of its attainment is pointed out. 90# 846 354 ANALYSIS OF CONTENTS. < XXVii Sermon XL. — On Christian Perfection. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect Phil. iii. 12 389 Sbrmon XLI. — Wandering ThougfUs. Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. 2 Cor. x. 5 409 Sermon XLII. — Satan's Devices. We are not ignorant of his devices. 2 Cor. ii. 11 416 Sermon XLIII. — The Scripture Way of Salvation. Ye ire saved through faith. Ephesians ii. 8 426 9. In connection with this doctrine we have an exposition of the related aabjects — Original Sin and the New Birth — and a guard against sub- jective difficulties common to those who search deeply their own hearts, and seek inward perfection. Sermon XLIV. — Original Sin. And Ood saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil con- tinually. Genesis rL 6 436 Sermon Xh^.—The New Birth. Ye most be bom again. John iiL 7 446 Sermom XLYI.— TAd JFildemeu State. Ye now have sorrow : but I will see you again, and yonr heart shall TCjjoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. John xvi. 22 456 Sermon XLVII. — Heaviness through manifold Temptations. Now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temp- tations. 1 Peter i. 6 467 10. A concluding section on subjects touching the practical life of Christians. Sbkmon XlNlll.— Self-Denial And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself; and take up his cross daily, and follow me. Luke ix. 23 . . . . 476 Sermon XLIX.— rA« Cure of Evil Speaking. If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone : if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother, &C. Matthew xviii. 15-17 486 Sermon L. — The Use of Monty, I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteous- ness ; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habi- tations. Luke xvi. 9 493 Sermon LI.— The Oood Stowurd. Give an account of thy stewardship ; for thou mayest be no longer steward. Luke xvL 2 501 Sermon LIL — The BeformtUion of Maimers. Who will rise up with me against the wicked f Psalm xciv. 16. 610 O o ~.^ cc I LL o CO cc UJ > z 3 m s Preachi Graoh fallen c( salvation I. Wh 1. Not Governoi 2. Not 3. Not rection. 4 But 5. Hei • Gospel c Christ; j tion ; a : OS given which a his sins and, in c to him, redempti k SERMONS ON SEVERAL OCCASIONS. SEPtMON I.— Salvation by Faith. Preached at St. Mary's, Oxford, before the Universitij, June 11th, 1738. *' By grace are ye saved through Faith." — Eph. ii. 8. AITALYSIS. Grace is the source of all blessings to man, and in his fallen condition must be pre-eminently the source of his salvation. Faith is its condition. I. What Faith is it through which we are saved ? 1. Not barely the faith of a heathen in God as Moral Governor. 2. Not the intellectual faith of a devil. 3. Not barely the faith of the Apostles before the Eesur- rection. 4. But a faith in Christ, of the heart, in the Atonement. 5. Hence Christian faith is not only an assent to the whole Gospel of Christ, but also a full reliance on the blood of Christ ; a trust in the merits of his life, death, and resurrec- tion ; a recumbency on him as our atonement and our life, as given for us, and living in us. It is a sure confidence which a man hath in God, that through the merits of Christ his sins are forgiven, and he reconciled to the favour of God ; and, in consequence hereof, a closing with him, and a cleaving to him, as our " wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption," or, in one word, our salvation. O O i o CO cc UJ > 9 SALVATION BY FAITH. [sermon L 8ERM( II. What is the Salvation which is through Faitli ? 1. A present salvation. 2. From sin. 3. From guilt. 4 From fear. 5. From the power of sin. He that is born of God sinneth not by habitual sin, nor by wilful sin, nor by sinful desire, nor by infirmities. III. Answer to ObjectiooK. 1. Salvation by faith is not opposed to good works, for — 2. It does not reduce God's law to the limits of human weakness, but points out its true spiritual fulfilment. 3. It does not lead to pride, for it excludes boasting. 4. It does not encourage in sin, since God's goodness will lead all the sincere to repentance. 5. It drives to despair only of ourselves, that we may find salvation in Christ. 6. It is the doctrine of true comfort. 7. It is the scriptural foundation doctrine. 8. It is the effectual antidote to Komanism. 9. And the true secret of the power of rrotestantism. a trusfl redemi "I ness, al INTEODUCTORY NOTES. This sermon was preached by Mr. Wesley, before the University, iltuie 11th, 1738, (not June 18th, as appears in all the editions of his works,) eighteen days alter his conscious experience of the new life. It consists of three parts — the definition of faith, the definition of salvation, aad the answer to objections. The definition of faith is evidently a transcription of his own expe- rience, as will appear from the following extract from his journal, under date May 24th, 1738 :* " Accordingly, the next day he (Peter Boehler) came again with three others, all of whom testified, of their own per- sonal experience, that a true living faith in Christ is inseparable from a sense of pardon for all past, and freedom from all present, sins. They added with one mouth that this faith was the gift, the free gift of God ; and that he would surely bestow it upon every soul who earnestly and perseveringly sought it. I was now thoroughly convinced ; and by the grace of God I resolved to seek it unto the end — 1. By absolutely re- nouncing all dependence, in whole or in part, upon my ovm works or righteousness ; on which I had really grounded my hope of salvation, though I knew it not, from my youth up. 2. By adding to the constant use of all the other means of grace, continual prayer for the very thing, justifying saving grace, a Jul! reliance on the blood of Christ shed for nw; * Pp. 73, 74, Vol. III., Wesley'* Works, Amarican Edition. SERMON I.] SALTATION BY FAITU. a trust in him, as my Christ, as my sole justification, sanctification, and redemption. " I continued thus to seek it (tliough with strange indifference, dul- ness, and coldness, and unusually frequent relapses into nin) till Wed- nesday, May 24th. 1 think it was about five this morning that I opened my Testament on those words, Ta fAfyig-Ta »)fi(» xai t//x/« iirayyiX/nar* SsJcipTjTai, iva ysvriaSs Oiias xo/»w»oi (pvatus : ' There are given iinto us exceeding great and precious promises, even that ye should be partakers of the Divine nature,' 2 Pet. i. 4. Just as I went out, I opened it again on those words, ' Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.* In the afternoon I was asked to go to St. Paul's. The anthem was, * Out of the deep have I called unto thee, Lord : Lord, hear my voice. let thine ears consider well the voice of my complaint. If thou, Lord, wilt be extreme to mark what is done amiss, Lord, who may abide it ? For there is mercy with thee ; therefore thou shalt be feared. Israel, trust in the Lord : for with the Lord there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption. And he shall redeem Israel from all his sins.' "In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation ; and an assurance was given me that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death." Such was the progress and culmination of this saving faith in Mr. Wesley's own experience ; — First, an apprehension of the way, and a determination to forsake his own works, and seek saving faith as a gift from God. Then the answer to his prayer in rays of Divine light from the Word of God, and finally in the clear vision of full and present assurance. It is this fully assured faith which Mr. Wesley has embodied in his definition, rather than the gradual process of dawning light, falling on a receptive heart, which preceded it ; not because he did not regard the latter as of the nature of faith, but because the perfected faith alone introduced him into a conscious present possesssion of salvation. We shall see hereafter how clearly Mr. Wesley defines the various degrees of faith, and the corresponding states of grace. The definition of salvation is also very clearly illustrated by his own experience. The very night of his happy change he says, "After my return home I was much buffeted with temptations ; but cried out, and they fled away. They returned again and again. I as often lifted up my eyes, and He 'sent me help from His holy place.' And herein I found the difference between this and my former state chiefly consisted. I was striving, yea, fighting with all my might under the Law, as well as under grace. But then I was sometimes, if not often, conquered ; now I was always conqueror." Five days later he writes, " I have constant peace, not one uneasy thought ; and I have freedom from $in, not one unholy- O o LL o CO cc UJ > 3 SALVATION BY FAITH. ("sermon I. desire." "Yet on Wednesday," (two days after,) "did I grieve the Spirit of God, not only by not watcliiiig unto prayer, but likewise by speaking with eliarpness, instead of tender love, of one that was not sound in the faith. Immediately CJod hid his face, and I was troubled ; and in this heaviness I continued till the next morning, June 1, when it pleased God, while I was exhorting another, to give comfort to my soul." The student will note the correspondence of the objections considered with those still urged against the doctrine. Mr. Wesley's prognostica- tion of the increase of Romish delusion at Oxford was strikingly verified by the Tractariun movement just a century later. SERMON I. 1. All the blessings which God hath bestowed upon man, are ol his mere grace, bounty, or favour ; his free, undeserved favour ; favour altogether undeserved ; man having no claim to the least of his mer« cies. It was free grace that " formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into him a living soul," and stamped on that soul the image of God, and " put all things under his feet." The same free grace continues to us, at this day, life and breath, and all things. For there is nothing we are, or have, or do, which can deserve the least thing at God's hand. " All our works, thou, oh God ! hast wrought in us." These, therefore, are so many more instances of free mercy : and, whatever righteousness may be found in man, this is also the gift of God. 2. Wherewithal then shall a sinful man atone for any, the least of his sins 1 With his own works ? No. Were they ever so many or holy, they are not his own, but God's. But indeed they are all unholy and sinful themselves, so that every one of them needs a fresh atone> ment Only corrupt fruit grows on a corrupt tree. And his heart is altogether corrupt and abominable; being "come short of the glory of God," the glorious righteousness at first impressed on his soul, after the image of his great Creator. Therefor? having nothing, neither right, eousness nor works to plead, his mouth i-, utterly stopped before God. 3. If then sinful men find favour with God, it is "grace upon grace !" If God vouchsafe still to pour fresh blessings upon us, yea, the great- est of all blessings, salvation ; what can we say to these things, but, " Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift !" And thus it is. Herein "God commendeth his love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died" to save us. " By grace, then, are ye saved, through faith." Grace is the source, faith the condition, of salvation. Now, that we fall not short of the grace of God, it concerns us carefully to inquire, I. What Faith it is through which we are saved ? II. What is the Salvation which is through Faith ? III. How we may answer some Objections. 1. What faith it is through which we are saved ? 1. And first. It is not barely the faith of a heathen. Now God requireth of a heathen to believe, " That God is ; that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him ;" and that he is to be sought by glorifying him as God, by giving him thanks for all things, and by a careful practice of moral virtue, of justice, mercy and truth t( yea, a thus mi and pui is barel 2. farther there is ish ; bu the wor " I knoi doubt of the by thos( that g High then, th 8SRM0K I.] SALVATION BY b'AlTIt. US hat to aU md truth towards their fellow creatures. A Greek ( Koiii m, th«"*'°fore, ycu, a Scythian or Indian, was without excuse n he huiI not ilieve thus much : The being and attributes ot'Ciod, a tut ire state oi eward and punishment, and the obligatory nature of nioru^ virtue, i >r this is barely the faith of a heathen. 2. Nor, secondly. Is it the faith of a devil, (hough he goes much farther than that of a heathen. For the devil believes, not only that there is a wise and powerful God, gracious to reward, and just to pun. ish ; but also that Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ, the Saviour of the world. So we find him declaring in express terms, Luke iv, 34, " I know thee, who thou art ; the Iloly One of God." Nor can we doubt but that unhappy spirit believes all those words which came out of the mouth of the Holy One ; yea, and whatsoever else was written by those holy men of old, of two of whom he was compelled to give that glorious testimony, "These men are the servants of the Most High God, who show unto you the way of salvation." Thus much, then, the great enemy of God and man believes, and trembles in be. lieving, that God was made manifest in the llcsh ; that he will "tread all enemies under his feet ;" and that " all Scripture was given by in. spiration of God." Thus far goeth the faith of a devil. 3. Thirdly. The faith through which we are saved, in that sense of the word which will hereafter be explained, is not barely that which the apostles themselves had while Christ was yet upon earth ; though they so believed on him as to " leave all and follow him ;" although they had then power to work miracles, to " heal all manner of sick, ness, and all manner of disease ;" yea, they had then " power and au- thority over all devils ;" and, which is beyond all this, were sent by their Master to "preach the kingdom of God." 4. What faith is it then through which we are saved ? It mav b« answered, first, in general, it is a faith in Christ ; Christ, and God through Christ, are the proper objects of it. Herein, therefore, it is sufficiently, absolutely distinguished from the faith, either of ancient or modern heathens. And from the faith of a devil, it is fully distin- guished by this, it is not barely a speculative, rational thing, a cold, lifeless assent, a train of ideas in the head ; but also a disposition of the heart. For thus saith the Scripture, "With the heart man believ eth unto righteousness." And, "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe with thy heart, that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." 5. And herein does it differ from that faith which the apostles themselves had while our Lord was on earth, that it acknowledges the necessity and merit of his death, and the power of his resurrection. It acknowledges his death as the only sufficient means of redeeming man from death eternal, and his resurrection as the restoration of us all to life and immortality ; inasmuch as he " was delivered for our sins, and rose again for our justification." Christian faith is then, not only an assent to the whole Gospel of Christ, but also a full reliance on the blood of Christ ; a trust in the merits of his life, death, and re- surrection ; a recumbency upon him as our atonement and our life, (U given for us, and Jiving in us. It is a sure confidence which a man hath in God, that through the merits of Christ, his sins are forgiven, and he^ reconciled to the favour of God ; and. in consequence liere(»£ O O cc I u. o CO LU > z 3 SALVATION BY FAITH. [srRMON I. B cloiiing with him, and cleaving to him, as our "widdom, righteous* ne.ss, sanctiBcation, and redemption," or, in one word, our salvation. II. What salvation it is, which is through this t'aith, is the second thing to be considered. 1. And tirst, whatsoever else it imply, it is a present salvation. It IS something attainable, yea, actually attained on earth, by those who are partakers of this faith. For thus saith the apostle to the believ. era at Ephesus, and in them to the believers of all ages, not ye shall be, (though that also is true,) but *'ye are saved through faith." 2. Ye are saved ("to comprise all in one word) from sin. This is the salvation which is through fnith. This is that great salvation foretold by the angel, before God brought his First-bogotten into the world: "Thou shalt call his name Jksus, for he shall save his people from their sins." And neither here, nor in other parts of Holy Writ, is there any limitation or restriction. All his people, or as it is else- where expressed, " all that believe in him," he will save from all their sins ; from original and actual, past and present sin, " of the flesh and of the spirit." Through faith that is in him, they are saved both from the guilt and from the power of it. 3. First from the guilt of all past sin : for, whereas all the world is guilty before God, insomuch, that should he "be extreme to mark what is done amiss, there is none that could abide it ;" and whereas, "by the law is" only "the knowledge of sin," but no deliverance from it, so that, "by fulfilling the deeds of the law, no flesh can be justified in his sight;" now, "the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, is manifested unto all that believe." Now, "they are justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ." "Him God hath set forth to be a propitiation, through faith in his blood ; to declare his righteousness for (or by) the remission of the sins that are past." Now hath Christ taken away " the curse of the law, being made a curse for us." He hath " blotted out the hand writing that was against us, taking it out of the way, nailing it to his cross." "There is, there- fore, no condemnation now, to them which" believe in Christ Jesus. 4. And being saved from guilt, they are saved from fear. Not in. deed from a filial fear of offending ; but, from all servile fear ; from that fear which hath torment ; from fear of punishment ; from fear of the wrath of God, whom they now no longer regard as a severe Master, but as an indulgent Father. "They have not received again the spirit of bondage, but the spirit of adoption, whereby they cry Abba, Father • the Spirit itself also bearing witness with their spirits, that they are the children of God." They are also saved from the fear, though not from the possibility, of falling away from the grace of God, and com- ing short of the great and precious promises : they are " sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of their inheritance," Fiph. i, 13. Thus have they "peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. They rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And the love of God is shed abroad in their hearts, through the Holy Ghost, which is given unto them." And hereby they are persuaded, (though perhaps not at all times, nor with the same fulness of persuasion,) that " nei- ther death, nor life, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate them from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." 6. as wrlll he wattl soever childrt^l devil, of Goc cannotl whoHi A keepetf 6. H ain ; (>'>■ S2HMON I.] SALVATION UY FAITH. of is ps ei. tit, 5. Again, through this faith they are saved from the power of sin, M wdl as from the guilt of it. So the apostle declares, " Ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins, and in him is no sin. Who* soever «bideth in him, sinneth not," 1 John iii, 5, Aic. Again, " Little childr(!>n, let no man deceive you. He that committoth sin is of the devil. Whosoever believeth is born of God. And whosoever is Iwrn of God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him : and he cannot sin, because he is born of (iod." Once more, " We know, that whoM( stiver is born of God sinneth not : hut he that is begotten of God. keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not," chap, v, 18. 6. He that is, by faith, born of God, sinneth not, 1, by any habitual sin ; fi'tr all habitual sin, is sin reigning : but sin cannot reign in any that b lieveth. Nor, 2, by any wilful sin, for his will, while he abideth in tht faith, is utterly set against all sin, and abhorreth it as deadly poison. Nor, 3, by any sinful desire ; for he continually desireth the holy and perfect will of (iod ; and any tendency to an unholy desire, he, by the grace of God, stifleth in the birth. Nor, 4, doth he sin by infirmities, whether in act, word or thought : for his infirmities have no concurrence of his will ; and without this they are not properly sins. Thus, "He that is born of God doth not commit sin." And though he cannot say, he hath not sinned, yet, now " he sinneth not." 7. This then is the salvation which is through faith, even in the present world : a salvation from sin, and the consequences of sin, both often expressed in the word justification ; which, taken in the largest sense, implies, a deliverance from guilt and punishment, by the atone- ment of Christ actually applied to the soul of the sinner now believing on him, and a deliverance from the whole body of sin, through Christ, formed in his heart. So that he who is thus justified, or saved by faith, is indeed born again. He is born again of the Spirit unto a new life, •' which is hid with Christ in God." " He is a new creature : old things are passed away : all things in him are become new." And as a new- born babe he gladly receives the aJoXov, "sincere milk of the word, and grows thereby ;" going on in the might of the Lord his God, from faith to faith, from grace to grace, until at length he comes unto " a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." HL The first usual objection to this is, 1. That to preach salvation, or justification, by faith only, is to preach against holiness and good works. To which a short answer might be given : It would be so, if we spake, as some do, of a faith which was separate from these : but we speak of a faith which is not 80, but necessarily productive of all good works and all holiness. 2. But it may be of use to consider it more at large ; especially since it is no new objection, but as old as St. Paul's time : for even then it was asked, "Do we not make void the law through faith?" We answer, first, All who preach not faith, do manifestly make void the law ; either directly and grossly by limitations and comments, that eat out all the spirit of the text ; or, indirectly, by not pointing out the only means whereby it is possible to perform it. Whereas, secondly, " we establish the law," both by showing its full extent and spiritual meaning ; and by calling all to that living way, whereby " the righteousness of the law may l^ fulfilled in them." These, while they trust in the blood of Christ alone, use all the ordinances which he hath appointed, do all the " good 8 SALVATION BY FAITH. [sermon 1. works which he had before prepared that they should walk therein," and enjoy and manifest all holy and heavenly tempers, even the same mind that WuS in Christ Jesus. 3. But does not preaching this faith lead men into pride ? We an- swer, Accidentally it may : therefore ought every believer to be ear- nestly cautioned, in the words of the great apostle, " Because of unbelief,, the first branches were broken off; and thou standest by faith Be not high minded, but fear. If God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he spare not thee. Behold, therefore, the goodness and seve- rity of God ! On them which fell, severity; but tov >.rds thee, good- ness, if thou continue in his goodness ; otherwise thou also shalt be cut off." And while he continues therein, he will remember those words of St. Paul, foreseeing and answering this very objection, Rom. iii, 27, " Where is boasting then ? It is excluded. By what law ? Of works? Nay, but by the law of faith. If a man were justified by his works, he would have whereof to glory." But there is no glorying for him " that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly," Rom. iv, 5. To the same effect are the words both preceding and following the text: Eph. ii, 4, &.c, "God, who is rich in mercy, even wlien we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved,) that he might show the exceeding riches of his grace, in his kindness towards us through Christ Jesus. For, by grace are ye saved, through faith ; and that not of yourselves." Of yourselves conieth neither your faith nor your salvation : " It is the gift of God ;" the free, undeserved gift ; the faith through which ye are saved, as well as the salvation, which he of his own good pleasure, his mere favour, annexes thereto. That ye believe, is one instaTice of his grace ; that believing ye are saved, another. " Not of works, lest any man should boast." For all our works, all our righteousness, -which were before our believ- ing, merited nothing of God but condemnation. So far were they from deserving faith, which, therefore, whenever given, is not of wcrh. Neither is salvation of the works we do when we believe : for it is then God that worketh in us : and, therefore, that he giveth us a reward for what he himself worketh, only commendeth the riches of his mercy, but leaveth us nothing whereof to glory. 4. However, may not the speaking thus of the mercy of God, as saving or justifying freely by faith only, encourage men in sin ] Indeed it may and will : many will " continue in sin that grace may abound :" But their blood is upon their own head. The goodness of God ought to l«ad them to repentance ; and so it will those who are sincere of heart. When they know there is yet forgiveness with him, they will cr} aloud that he would blot out their sins also, through faith which is in Jesus. And if they earnestly cry and faint not ; if they seek him in all the moans he hath appointed ; if they refiise to be comforted till he come ; " he will come and will not tarry." And he can do much work in a short time. Many are the examples, in the Acts of the Apostles, of God's shedding abroad this faith in men's hearts, even like lightning falling from heaven. So in the same hour that Paul and Silas began to preach, the jailer "repented, believed, and was baptized:" as were three thousand, by St. Peter, on the day of Pentecost, who all repented and believed at his first preaching. And blessed be God, there are now many living proofs that he is still " mighiy to save." SERMON. l] SALVATION BY FAITH. 9 oud SU8. the pne; a 3, of linz 5. Yet to tlic same truth, placed in another view, a quito contrary objection is made : " If a man cannot be saved by all that he can do, this will drive men to despair." True, to despair of being saved by their own works, their own merits, or righteousness. And so it ought ; for none can trust in the merits of Christ, till he has utterly renounced his own. He that " goeth about to establish his own righteousness," cannot receive the righteousness of God. The righteousness which is of faith cannot be given him while he trusteth in that which is of the law. 6. Put this, it is said, is an uncomfortable doctrine. The devil spoke like himself, that is, without either truth or shame, when he dared to suggest to men that it is such. It is the only comfortable one, it is " very full of comfort," to all self-destroyed, self-condemned sinners. That " whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed : that the same Lord over all, is rich unto all that call upon him :" Here is com- fort, high as heaven, stronger than death ! What ! Mercy for all ? For Zaccheus, a public robber 1 For Mary Magdalene, a common harlot ? Methinks 1 hear one say. Then I, even I, may hope for mercy ! And so thou mayest, thou afflicted one, whom none hath comforted ! God will not cast out thy prayer. Nay, perhaps he may say the next hour, " Be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee ;" so forgiven, that they shall reign over thee no more ; yea, and that " the Holy Spirit shall bear witness with thy spirit that thou art a child of God." O glad tidings ! Tidings of great joy, which are sent unto all people ! " Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters : Come ye, and buy, without money and without price." Whatsoever your sins be, " though red, like crimson," though more than the hairs of your head, " return ye unto the Lord, and he will have mercy ujwn you ; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon." 7. When no more objections occur, then we are snupiy told, that salvation by faith only ought not to be preached as the first doctrine, or, at least, not to be preached to all. But what saith the Holy Ghost 1 " Othej- foundation can no man lay, than that which is laid, even Jesus Christ." So then, that " whosoever believeth on him, shall be saved," is, and must be, the foundation of all our preaching ; that is, must be preached first. " Well, but not to all." To whom then are we not to preach it ? Whom shall we except 1 The poor ? Nay ; they have a peculiar right to have the gospel preached unto them. The unlearned ? No. God hath revealed these things unto unlearned and ignorant men from the beginning. The young ? By no means. Suffer these, in any wise, to come unto Christ, and forbid them not. The sinners ? Least of all. " He came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.' Why then, if any, we are to except the rich, the learned, the leputable, the moral men. And, it is true, they too often except themselves from hearing ; yet we must speak the words of our Lord. For thus the tenoi of our commission runs, " Go and preach the gospel to every creature.' If any man wrest it, or any part of it, to his destruction, he must bear his own burden. But still, " as the Lord liveth, whatsoever the Lord saith unto us, that we will speak." 8. At this time, more especially, will we speak, that ** by grace ye are saved, through faith :" because, never was the maintaining thisj doctrine more seasonable than it is at this day. Nothing but this can effecluallv prevent the increase of the Romish delusion among us. It O O ^s a: o CO cc > 10 SALVATION BY FAITH. [sermon I. SEKHON II. is endless to attack, one by one, all the errors of that church. But salvation by faith strikes at the root, and all fall at once where this ia established. It was this doctrine, which our church justly calls the strong rock and foundation of the Christian religion, that first drove ix>pery out of these kingdoms, and it is this alone can keep it out. Nothing but this can give a check to that immorality, which hath * overspread the land as a flood." Can you empty the great deep, drop by drop ? Then you may reform us by dissuasives from particular vices. But let the " righteousness which is of God by faith" be brought in, and so shall its proud waves be stayed. Nothing but this can stop tho mouths of those who " glory in their shame, and openly deny the Lord that bought them." They can talk as sublimely of the law, as he that hath it written, by God, in his heart. To hear them speak on this head, might incline one to think they were not far from the kingdom of God : but take them out of the law into the gospel ; begin with the righteous- ness of faith ; with Christ, " the end of the law, to every one that believeth;" and those who but now appeared almost, if not altogether Christians, stand confessed the sons of perdition ; as far from life and salvation (God be merciful unto them !) as the depth of hell from the height of heaven. 9. For this reason the adversary so rages, whenever " salvation by faith" is declared to the world : for this reason did he stir up earth and hell, to destroy those who first preached it. And for the same reason, knowing that faith alone could overturn the foundations of his kingdom, did he call forth all his forces, and employ all his arts of lies and calumny to afiright that champion of the Lord of Hosts, Martin Luther, from reviving it. Nor can we wonder thereat ; for as that man of God observes, " How would it enrage a proud strong man armed, to be stopped and set at nought by a little child coming against him with a reed in his hand ?" Especially, when he knew that little child would surely overthrow him, and tread him under foot. Even so, Lord Jesus ! Thus hath thy strength been ever " made perfect in weakness !" Go forth then, thou little child that believest in him, and " his right hand shall teach thee terrible things !" Though thou art helpless and weak as an infant of days, the strong man shall not be able to stand before thee. Thou shalt prevail over him, and subdue him, and overthrow him, and trample him under thy feet. Thou shalt march on, under the great Captain of thy salvation, '* conquering, and to conquer," until all thine enemies are destroyed, and " death is swallowed up in victory." " Now, thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ," to whom with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be blessmg, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, for ever. Amen. ! SEKMON II.] THK ALMOST CHRISTIAN. 11 SERMON II.— The Ahnost Christian. Preached at St. Mary's, Oxford, before the University, Jxdy 25th, 1741. " Almost tliou persuadest me to be a Chiistian." — Acts xxvi. 28. ANALYSIS. I. What is implied in being almost a Christian ? 1. Heathen honesty; including justice, truth, and love. 2. The form of godliness ; in abstaining from outward sins, doing good, even to labour and suffering, and using the means of grace, publicly in his family, and privately. 3. Sincerity, or a real design to serve God. II. What is implied in being altogether a Christian ? 1. Love to God. 2. Love to our neighbour. 3. Faith ; not dead, speculative faith, but that which assures of forgiveness of sins, and is followed by a loving heart to obey God's commandments. INTRODUCTORY NOTES. The character of the almost Christian, as portrayed in this sermon, ha" gome very interesting historical parallels. It represents, with very great exactness, the religion of the early Oxford Methodists, of whom for so many years Mr. Wesley was a leader. It doubtless also represents the best type of religion to be found in the University at the date of this sermon, when the preacher spent some three weeks in Oxford examining tlie course of study in Divinity, and also inquiring particularly into the state of religion there. Tliat he did not overlook the elements of genuine religion to be found in the character here presented is evident from the ninth sermon, where this same legal sincerity is contrasted with natural enmity and indifference. Nothing could mark more decidedly his sense of the supreme importance of the crisis known as conversion, than the fact that he here makes all antecedent grace avail nothing without that crowning experience which transforms the almost into the altogether Christian. This sermon was not prepared for Oxford alone. About a month before, he had preached it in London; and doubtless in most parts of England he found sincere, good, moral servants of God who needed to be awakened to seek the full Christian Sonship. Wliile the heathen and the Jew might be saved from a lower state of grace, Mr. Wesley evidently did not consider any Christian safe short of the assurance of Adoption. " Unto whom much is given," &c. The heads of the form of godliness in this sermon are a summary of the Rules of Society which were niiblishcd about two years later. This is an example of the careful process of elaboration in his own mind, O O I LL O CO cc ULI > 3 12 THE ALMOST CHRISTIAN. [sermon II. which these important documents passed through before they were sent forth to the Church and the world. Note. — This and the discourse introduced and defended the Gospel as preached by the Wesleys to the University, with earnest Christian simplicity and love, but with the moderation of that charity which "hopeth all thinr^s." The two which follow are marked by the severer virtues of faithful reproof and warning. SERMON II. And many there are who go thus far: ever since the Christian reli- gion was in the world, there have been many in every age and nation, who were " almost persuaded to be Christians." But seeing it avails nothing before God, to go only thus far, it highly imports us to consider, First, What is implied in being almost; Secondly, What in being altogether a Christian. 1. (I.) 1. Now, in the being almost a Christian is implied, first, heathen honesty. No one, I suppose, will make any question of this especially, since by heathen honesty here, 1 mean, not that which is recommended in the writings of their philosophers only, but such as the common heathens expected one of another, and many of them actually practised. By the rules of this they were taught, that they ought not to be unjust; not to take away their neighbour's goods, eitiier by rob- bery or theft ; not to oppress the poor, neither to use extortion towards any ; not to cheat or overreach either the poor or rich, in whatsoever commerce they had with them ; to defraud no man of his right ; and, if it were possible, to owe no man any thing. 2. Again, the common heathens allowed, that some regard was to be paid to truth as well as to justice. And, accordingly, they not only held him in abomination, who was foresworn, who called God to witness to a lie ; but him also, who was known to be a slanderer of his neigh- bour, who ftilsely accused any man. And, indeed, little better did they esteem wilful liars of any sort, accounting them the disgrace of human kind, and the pests of society. 3. Yet, again there was a sort of love and assistance, which they expected one from another. They expected, whatever assistance any one could give another, without prejudice to himself. And this they extended not only to those little offices of humanity, which are per- formed without any expense or labour, but likewise, to the feeding the hungry, if they had food to spare ; the clothing the naked, with their own superfluous raiment ; and, in general, the giving, to any that need- ed, such things as they needed not themselves. Thus far, in the lowest iccount of it, heathen honesty went, the first thing implied in the being almost a Christian. (II.) 4. A second thing implied in the being almost a Christian, is, tlie having a form of godliness, of that godliness which is prescribed in the gospel of Christ ; the having the outside of a real Christian. Ac- cordingly the almost Christirin does nothing which the gospel forbids. He takeih not the name of God in vain : he blesseth and curseth not : he sweareth not at all, but his communication is yea, yea ; nay, nay. He profanes not the day of the Lord, nor suffers it to be profaned, even by the stranger that is within his gates. He not only avoids all actual aiiultery, fornication, and uncleanness, but every word or look, tuit :h they ICC any lan, IS, -3 i dSRMON II,] THE ALMOST CHBIdTIAN. 13 either directly or indirectly tends thereto ; nay, and all idle words, abstaining both from all detraction, backbiting, tale bearing, evil speak •Jig, and from ** all foolish talking and jesting," — s^jt^uvskiu, a kind of virti'e in the heathen moralist's account ; — briefly, from all conversation that is not " good to the use of edifying," and that, consequently, " grieves the Holy Spirit of God, whereby we are sealed to the day of redemption." 5. He abstains from " wine wherein is excess ;" from revellings and gluttony. He avoids, as much as in him lies, all strife and contention, continually endeavouring to live peaceably with all men. And, if he suffers wrong, he avengeth not himself, neither returns evil for evil. He is no railer, no brawler, no scoffer, either at the faults or infirmities of his neighbour. He does not willingly wrong, hurt, or grieve any man ; but in all things acts and speaks by that plain rule, " Whatsoever thou wouldest not he should do unto thee, that do not thou to another." 6. And, in doing good, he does not confine himself to cheap and easy offices of kindness, but labours and suffers for the profit of many, that by all means he may help some. In spite of toil or pain, " What- soever his hand findeth to do, he doeth it with all his might;" whether it be for his friends, or for his enemies ; for the evil, or for the good. For, being not slothful in this, or in any business, as he hath opportu- nity he doeth good, all manner of good to all men ; and to their souh as well as their bodies. He reproves the wicked, instructs the ignorant confirms the wavering, quickens the good, and comforts the afflicted He labours to awaken those that sleep ; to lead those whom God hatl already awakened to the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness that they may wash therein and be clean ; and to stir up those who are Raved, through faith, to adorn the gospel of Christ in all things. 7. He that hath the form of godliness, uses also the means of grace ; yea, all of them, and at all opportunities. He constantly frequents the house of God ; and that, not as the manner of some is, who come into the presence of the Most High, either loaded with gold and costly ap- parel, or in all the gaudy vanity of dress, and either by their unseasona- ble civilities to eacli other, or the impertinent gayety of their behaviour, disclaim all pretensions to the form, as well as to the power of godliness. Would to God there were none even among ourselves who fall under ihe same condemnation : who come into this house, it may be, gazing about, or with all the signs of the most listless, careless indifference, though sometimes they may seem, to use a ])rayer to God for his blessing on what they are entering upon ; who, during that awful service, are either asleep, or reclined in the most convenient posture for it ; or, as though they supposed God was asleep, talking with one another, or looking round, as utterly void of employment. Neither let these be accused of the form of godliness. No ; he who has even this, behaves with seriousness and attention in every part of that solemn service. More especially when he approaches the table of the Lord, it is not with a light or careless behaviour, but with an air, gesture, and deport- ment, which speak nothing else, but " God be merciful to me a sinner." 8. To this, if we add the constant use of family prayer, by those who are masters of families, and the setting times apart for private addresses to God, with a daily seriousness of behaviour ; he who uniformly prac- tises this outward religion has the form of godliness. There needs but O O I o UJ 14 THE ALMObT CHKIISTIAN. [bLRMOM II, one tniRg inore in order to his being almost a Christian, and that is, sincerity. (III.) 9. By sincerity, I mean a real, inward principle of religion from whence these outward actions flow. And, indeed, if we have not this, we have not heathen honesty ; no, not so much of it as will nnswci the demand of a heathen Epicurean poet. Even this poor v r«>tch, in his sober intervals, is able to testify, Oderunt peccare boni, virtutis amore ; Odorunt peccare mali, formidine pcenffi.* So that, if a man only abstains from doing evil in order to avoid punish- ment, Non pasces in cruet corvos,f saith the pagan ; there, " Thou hast thy reward." But even he will not allow such a harmless man as this, to be so much as a good heathen. If then, any man, from the same motive, viz. to avoid punishment, to avoid the loss of his friends, or his gain, or his reputation, should not only abstain from doing evil, but also do ever so much good ; yea, and use all the means of grace ; yet we could not, with any propriety, say, this man is even almost a Christian. If he has no better principle in his heart, he is only a hypocrite alto- gether. 10. Sincerity, therefore, is necessarily implied in the being almost a Christian ; a real design to serve God, a hearty desire to do his will : it is necessarily implied, that a man have a sincere view of pleasing God in all things ; in all his conversation ; in all his actions ; in all he does, or leaves undone. This design, if any man be almost a Christian, runs through the whole tenor of his life. This is the moving principle, both in hifi doing good, his abstaining from evil, and his using the ordi nances of God. 11. But here it will probably be inquired. Is it possible, that any man living should go so far as this, and nevertheless, be only almost a Chris- tian ? What more than this can be implied in the being a Christian altogether 1 I answer, first, that it is possible to go thus far, and yet be but almost a Christian, I learn, not only from the oracles of God, but also from the sure testimony of experience. 12. Brethren, great is " my boldness towards you in this behalf." And " forgive me this wrong," if I declare my own folly upon the house lop, for yours and the gospel's sake. — Suffer me then, to speak freely of myself, even as of another man. I am content to be abased, so ye may be exalted, and to be yet more vile, for the glory of my Lord. 13. I did go thus far for many years, as many of this place can tes- tify ; using diligence to eschew all evil, and to have a conscience void of offence; redeeming the time ; buying up every opportunity of doing all good to all men ; constantly and carefully using all the public and all the private means of grace ; endeavouring after a steady seriousness of behaviour, at all times, and in all places ; and, God is my record, l)efore whom I stand, doing all this in sincerity ; having a real design to serve God ; a hearty desire to do his will in all things ; to please him, who had called me to " fight the good fight," and to *' lay hold on eter- nal life." Yet my own conscience beareth me witness in the Holy Ghost, that all this time I was but almost a Christian. * Good men avoid sin from the love of viriue : Wicked men avoid sin from a fear of punithin«nt. tThou xhalt not be hanged. b£BMON II bi£BMON II.j 'XHK ALMOUT CUB13TJAN. 15 II. If it be inquired, What more than this is implied in the beinj; altogether a Christian 1 I answer, (I.) 1. First, The love of God. For thus saitli his word, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength." Such a love of God is this, as engrosses the whole heart, as takes up all the affections, as fills the entire capacity of the soul, and employs the utmost extent o' all its faculties. He that thus loves the Lord his God, his spirit, con- tinually " rejoiceth in God his Saviour." His delight is in the Lord, his Lord and his All, to whom " in every thing he giveth thanks." " All his desire is unto God, and to the remembrance of his name." His heart is ever crying out, ** Whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee." Indeed, what can he desire beside God ? Not the world, or the things of the world. For he is " crucified to the world, and the world crucified to him." He is crucified to the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eye, and the pride of life. Yea, he is dead to pride of every kind ; for, " love is not puffed up ;" but " he that, dwelling in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him," is less than nothing in his own eyes. (II.) 2. The second thing implied in the being altogether a Christian^ IS, the love of our neighbour. For thus said our Lord, in the follow- ing words, " Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." If any man ask. Who is my neighbour 1 we reply, every man in the world ; every child of his, who is the Father of the spirits of all flesh. Nor may we in any wise except our enemies, or the enemies of God and their own souls. But every Christian loveth these also as himself, yea, •* as Christ loved us." He that would more fully understand what manner of love this is, may consider St. Paul's description of it. It is " longsuffering and kind." It " envieth not." It is not rash or hasty in judging. It " is not puffed up," but maketh him that loves, the least, the servant of all. Love " doth not behave itself unseemly," but becometh " all things to all men." She " seeketh not her own," but only the good of others, that they may be saved. " Love is not provoked." It casteth out wrath, which he who hath, is not ** made perfect in love." " It thinketh no evil. It rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth. It covereth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." (III.) 3. There is yet one thing more that may be separately con- sidered, though it cannot actually be separate from the preceding, which is implied in the being altogether a Christian, and that is the ground oi all, even faith. Very excellent things are spoken of this throughout the oracles of God. " Every one," saith the beloved disciple, " that believeth, is born of God." " To as many as received him, gave he power to become the sons of God. even to them that believe in his name." And " this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." Yea, our Lord himself declares, " He that believeth in the Son hath everlasting life ; and cometh not into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life." 4. But here let no man deceive his own soul. " It is diligently to be noted, the faith, which bringeth not forth repentance, and love, and all good works, is not that right living faith which is here spoken of, but a dead and devilish one. For, even the devils believe that Christ was born of a virgin ; that he wrought all kinds of miracles, declaring O -J cc i o CO cc > 10 THK ALMOST CHRIS:iTIAN, [hKUMON II« himself very God ; tha», for our sakes he suffered a most painful death, to redeem us from death everlasting ; that he rose again the third day -, that he ascended into heaven, and sitteth at the right hand of the Fatlier, and at the end of the world shall come again to judge both the qrick and dead. These articles of our fnith the devils believe, and so they believe all that is written in the Old and New Testament. And yet, for all this faith they be but devils. They remain still in their damnable estate, lacking the very true Christian faith."* 5. " The right and true Christian faith is," to go on in the words ot oui own church, " not only to behtve, that holy Scripture, and the articles of our faith, are true, but also to have a sure trust and confidence to be saved from everlasting damnation by Christ. It is a sure trust and confidence which a man hath in God, that by the merits of Christ, his sins are forgiven, and he reconciled to the favour of God ; whereof doth follow, a loving heart, to obey his commandments." 6. Now, whosoever has this faith, which purifies the heart, (by the power of God, who dwelleth therein,) from pride, anger, desire, from all unrighteousness, from " all filthiness of flesh and spirit ;" which fills it with love stronger than death, both to God and to all mankind ; love that doth the works of God, glorying to spend and to be spent for all men, and that endureth with joy, not only the reproach of Christ, the being mocked, despised, and hated of all men, but whatsoever the wisdom of God permits the malice of men or devils to inflict ; whosoever has this faith, thus working by love, is not almost only, but altogether, a Christian. 7. But who are the living witnesses of these things ? I beseech you, brethren, as in the presence of that God, before whom " hell find de- struction are without a covering, — how much more the hearts of the children of men ;" — that each of you would ask his own heart, " Am 1 of that number 1 Do I so far practise justice, mercy, and truth, as even the rules of heathen honesty require ? If so, have I the very onUide of a Christian ? The form of godliness ? Do I abstain from evil, from whatsoever is forbidden in the written word of God ] Do I, whatever good my hand findeth to do, do it with my might ? Do I aeriously use all the ordinances of God at all opportunities ? And, is all i.'iis done, »vith a sincere design and desire to please God in all things ?"' 8. Are not many of you conscious, that you never came thus far : that you have not been even almost a Christian ; that you have not come up to the standard of heathen honesty ; at least, not to the form of Christian godliness ? — much less hath God seen sincerity in you, a real design of pleasing him in all things. You never so much as intended to devote all your words and works, your business, studies, diversions, to his glory. You never even designed or desired, that whatsoever you did should be done " in the name of the Lord Jesus," and as such, should be a " spiritual sacrifice, acceptable to God through Christ." 9. But supposing you had, do good designs and good desires make a Christian 1 By no means, unless they are brought to good eftect. " Hell is paved (saith one) with good intentions." The great question of all, then, still remains. Is the love of God shed abroad in your heart ? Cdfl you cry out, ' \Iy God, and my All '.'" Do you desire nothing but * Moinity on the Salvation of Mod BBHMON III,} AWAKE, THOU THAT SLEEl'EbT, 17 him ? Are you happy in God ? Is lie your glory, your delight, your crown of rejoicing ? And is tliis conuuundment written in your heart. That he who loveth God love his brother also ? Uo you then love your neighbour as yourself? Do you love every man, even your enemies, even the enemies of God, as your own soul ! As Christ loved you ? Yea, (lost thou believe that Christ loved thee, tuid gave himself for thee ? Hast thou faith in his blood? Believest thou the Lamb of God hath taken away thy sins, and cast them as a stone into the depth of the sea? That he hath blotted out the hand writing that was against thee, taking it out of the way, nailing it to his cross ? Ilast thou indeed redemption tlirough his blood, even the remission of thy sins ? And doth his Spirit hear witness with thy spirit, that thou art a child cf God ? 10. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who now stand- eth in the midst of us, knoweth, that if any man die without this faith and this love, good it were for him that he had never been born. "Awake, then, thou that sleepest, and call upon thy God : call in the day when he may be found. Let him not rest, till he make his goodness to pass before thee," till he proclaim unto thee the name of the Lord ; " the Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suffering, and abun- dant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity, and transgression, and sin." Let no man persuade thee, by vain words, to rest short of this prize of thy high calling. But cry unto him day and night, who, " wliile we were without strength, died for the ungodly," until thou knowest in whom thou hast believed, and canst say, " My Lord, and my God !" Remember, " always to pray, and not to faint," till thou also canst lift up thy hand unto heaven, and declare to Him that liveth for ever and ever^ ' Lord, thou knowest all things, thou knowest that I love thee." 1 1. May we all thus experience what it is to be, not almost only, but altogether Christians ; being justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus ; knowing we have peace with God through Jesus Christ ; rejoicing in hope of the glory of God ; and having the love of God slied abroad in our hearts, by the Holy Ghost given unto us ' SERMON" in. — Awake thou that sleepest. Preached on Sunday, April 4th, 1742, before the University of Oxford. By CiiARLRS Wkslbv, M.A., student of Christ Church. "Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give t'.iee light." — Eiiiiesians v. 14. ANALYSIS. I. Description of the sleepers. 1. That state of natural insensibility, darkness, deceptive peace, and self-satisfaction, whether of the outwardly vicious, or of the good-natured professor of the religion of Lis 13 AWAKE THOU THAT SLEKPE8T. [sermon hi SERMON fathers, or of the zealous and orthodox Pharisee, who has a form of godliness, but denies its power. 2. But, however regarded by men, this is a state denounced by Christ — a state of death, of insensil)ility to spiritual things, in which the Spirit of God neither comforts nor convinces of sin. II. The exhortation enforced. By the threatenings of God's word. By the responsibilities of eternity and judgment. By the soul's want of the indwell- ing Spirit, of the inward change, and of a good reason for hope of salvation. III. Exposition of the promise. God is light. By faith we receive his Spirit, through which we " know the things that are freely given to us of God." This experimental knowledge througli the Spirit of Truth is alone true Christianity. This conscious con'imunion of the Holy Ghost is the doctrine of the English Church. Lamenting the overspreading iniquity of the land and of the University, the preacher concludes with a solemn appeal to God and to his congregation. INTRODUCTORY NOTES. In this sermon we observe the unity of the Gospel as preached by John and Charles Wesley. In both the central idea is the definite con- scious life of love, wrouj^ht by the Holy Ghost, and received by faith. The peculiar characteristics of Charles Wesley's style, poetic imagery largely borrowed from the Scriptures, flaming zeal which spake " with irresistible power and authority," are fully exhibited. Mr. Jackson says that " it is doubtful whether any sermon in the English language, or in any language whatever, has passed through so many editions, or has been a means of so much spiritual good." SERMON III. In discoursing on these words, I shall, with the help of God, First, Describe the sleepers to whom they are spoken : Secondly, Enforce the exhortation, " A. wake, thou that sleepest, arise from the dead : " And, Thirdly, Explain the promise made to such as do awake and arise ; •' Christ shall give thee light." I. 1. And first, as to the sleepers here spoken to. By sleep is sig- nified the natural state of man; that deep sleep of the soul into which the sin of Adam bath cast all who spring I'rom hia loins; that 8upine> nesH, int SERMON III.] AWAKE, THOU THAT SLKKPEST. 19 ness, mduleiice, and stupidity, that insensibility of ins real condition, whcruin every man conies into the world, and continues till the voice of Ciod awakes iiim. 2. Now, " they that sleep, sleep in the night." The state of nature is a state of utter darkness ; a state wherein " darkness covers the earth, and grossdarkness the peo|)lo." The poor unawakcncd sinner, how much knowledge soever he may have as to other things, has no knowledge of hiinseH*: in this respect *' he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know.'* Ilt> knows not that he is a fallen spirit, whose only business, in this world, is to recover from his fall, to regain that image of God wherein lie was created, lie sees no tiecessiti/ for the one thing needful, even that inward universal change, that " birth from above," figured out by baptism, which is the beginning of that total renovation, that sanctiti- cation of spirit, soul, and body, " without which no man shall see the I.ord." 3. Full of all diseases as he is, he fancies himself in perfect health . fast bound in misery and iron, he dreams that he is happy, and at liberty, lie says, " Peace, peace !" while the devil, as " a strong man armed," is in full possession of his soul. Ho sleeps on still, and takes his rest, though hell is moved from ^sneath to meet him; though the pit, from whence there is no return, hath opened its mouth to swallow him up: a fire is kindled around him, yet he knoweth it not; yea, it burns him, yet he lays it not to heart. •1. By one who sleeps, we are, therefore, to understand (and would to God we might all understand it!) a sinner satisfied in his sins: con- tented to remain in his fallen slate, to live and die without the image of God ; one who is ignorant both of his disease, and of the only remedy for it ; one who never was warned, or never regarded the warning voice of God, " to flee from the wrath to come ;" one that never yet saw he was in danger of hell fire, or cried out, in the earnestness of his soul, " What must I do to be saved ?" 3. If this sleeper be not outwardly vicious, his sleep is usually the deepest of all : whether he be of the Laodicean spirit, " neither cold nor hot," but a quiet, rational, inoffensive, good natured professor of the religion of his fathers ; or whether he be zealous and orthodox, and, " after the most straitest sect of our religion," live " a Pharisee ;" that is, according to the Scriptural account, one that " justifies himself;" one that labours " to establish his own righteousness," as the ground of his acceptance with God. 6. This is he, who, " having a form of godliness, denies the power thereof;" yea, and probably reviles it, wheresoever it is found, as a mere extravagance and delusion. Meanwhile, the wretched self de ceiver thanks God, that he " is not as other men are ; adulterers, unjust, extortioners :" no, he doeth no wrong to any man. He " fasts twice in a week," uses all the means of grace, is constant at church and sacra ment ; yea, and " gives tithes of all that he has ;" does all the good that he can : " touching the righteousness of the law," he is " blameless :" he wants nothing of godliness, but the power ; nothing of religion, but the spirit ; nothing of Christianity, but the truth and the life. 7. But know ye not, that however highly esteemed, among men, such a Christian as this may be, he is an abomination in the sight of God, and an heir of every wo which the Son of God, yesterday, to day. and !• az i CO UJ > 20 AWAKK, TIIOi; THAT SLEEPE8T. [sEflMON MI. forever, denounces against "scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites." He hath " made clean tlie oulsiih; ol' the cup and the phitter," hut, within, 19 full of ail tilthinetss. " An evil disease cieaveth still unto him, so tliat liis inward parts are very wickedness." Our Lord fitly compares him to a painted se|)ulchre, which " a|>|)ear8 beautiful v/ithout ;" but, never- llieless, is ** full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanncss." The bones indeed arc no longer dry ; the sinews and tiesh are come upon them, and the skin covers them above: but there is no breath in theui no Spirit of tlii. living (iod. And, *' if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." " Ye arc Christ's, if so [h(!sy, there inijrht now he " a noise and a >haking ;" and may " the hones come tog<'lher, hone to his hone I" I'hcn, " come from the f(»ur winds, oh Breath, and hreathe on these shiin, that they may live !" And do not ye harden your hearts, and resist the Holy Ghost, who even now is come to ronvirire you of sin, " hecause you helieve not on the name of the oidy begotten Son of God." II. 1. Wiierefore, "Awake, thou that sieepest, and arise from the dead." God callcth thee now by my moutli; and bids thee know th)- sclf, thou fallen spirit, thy true state and only concern below. " Whht meanest thou, oh slee|)er I Arise ! call upon thy God, if so be thy Got! uill think upon thee, that thou perish not." A mighty tempest is >iirred up round about thee, and thou art sinking into the de|)ths ol perdition, the gulf of God's judgments. If thou wouldst escape them, cast thyself into them. " Judge thyself, and thou shalt not be judged of the Lord." 2. Awake, awake! Stand up this moment, lest thou "drink at the Lord's hand the cup of his fury." Stir up thyself to lay liold on the Ix)rd, the Lord thy righteousness, mighty to save ! " Shake thyseJi from the dust." At least, let the earthquake of God's threateninga shake thee. Awake, and cry out with the trembling jailer, " What must I do to be saved ?" And never rest, till thou believesl on the Lord Jesus, with a faith whicli is his gift, by the operation of his Spirit. 3. If I speak to any one of you more than to another, it is to thee, who thinkest thyself unconcerned in this exiiortation. " I have a message from God unto thee." In his name, I warn thee to " flee from the wrath to come." Thou unlioly soul, see thy picture in condemned Peter, lying in the dark dungeon, between the soldiers, bound with two chains, the keepers before the door keeping the prison. The night is far spent, the morning is at hand, when thou art to be brought Ibrth to execution. And in these dreadful circumstances, thou art fast asleep; thou art fast asleep in the devil's arms, on the brink of the pit, in the jaws of everlasting destruction ! 4. Oh may the angel of the Lord come upon thee, and the light shine into thy prison ! And mayest thou feel the stroke of an almighty hand, raising thee, with " Arise up quickly, gird thyself, and bind on thy san- dals, cast thy garment about thee, and follow mc." 5. Awake, thou everlasting spirit, out of thy dream of worldly hap- l)iness! Did not God create thee for himself? Then, thou canst not rest till thou restest in him. Return, thou wanderer ! Fly back to thy ark. This is not thy home. Think not of building tabernacles here Thou art but a stranger, a sojourner upon earth ; a creature of a day, but just launching out into an unchangeable state. Make haste. Eter- nity is at hand. Eternity depends on this moment. An eternity of happiness, or an eternity of misery ! 6. In what state is thy soul 1 Was God, while I am yet speaking, to require it of thee, art thou ready to meet death and judgment 1 Canst thou stand in his sight, who is of " purer eyes than to behold iniquity?" Art thou "meet to be partaker of the inheritance of the saints in light 1" TIast thou " fought a good fight, and kept the faith 1" »• 22 AWAKE, TUOU THAT SLEEPKbf. [SEUAIUM 111. SiSRMON ll Hast thou secured the one thing needful? Hast thou recorered the image of God, even righteousness and true holiness ? Hast thou put off the old man, and put on the new ? Art thou clothed upon with Christ 1 7. Hast thou oil in thy lamp ? Grace in thy heart 1 Dost thou " love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy mind, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength ? Is that mind in thee, which was also in Christ Jesus 1 Art thou a Christian indeed ? that is, a new creature ? Are old things passed away, and all things become new ? 8. Art thou a " partaker of the divine nature 1" Knowest thou not, that " Christ is in thee, except thou be reprobate ?" Knowest thou, that Ggd " dwelleth in thee, and thou in God, by his Spirit, which he hath given thee ?" Knowest thou not that " thy body is a temple of the Holy Ghost, which thou hast of God ?" Hast thou the witness in thy- self? The earnest of thine inheritance? Art thou "sealed by thai Spirit of promise, unto the day of redemption ?" Hast thou " received the Holy Ghost?" Or, dost thou start at the question, not knowing " whether there be any Holy Ghost ?" 9. If it offend thee, be thou assured, that thou neither art a Chris- tian, nor desirest to be one. Nay, thy very prayer is turned into sin ; and thou ha '■ . )lemnly mocked God this very day, by praying for the inspiration : s Holy Spirit, when thou didst not believe there was any euch thing to ue received. 10. Yet, on the authority of God's word, and our own Church, I must repeat the question, " Hast thou received the Holy Ghost?" If thou hast not, thou art not yet a Christian. For a Christian is a man that is " anointed with the Holy Ghost, and with power." Thou art not yet made a partaker of pure religion and undefiled. Dost thou know what religion is ? That it is a participation of the divine nature, the life of God in the soul of man : Christ formed in the heart, " Christ in thee, the hope of glory ?" Happiness and holiness; heaven begun upon earth ? *' A kingdom of God within thee ; not meat and drink," no out- ward thing ; *' but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost ?" An everlaiiting kingdom brought into thy soul ; a " peace of God, that passeth all understanding ;" a " joy unspeakable, and full of glory ?" 11. Knowest thou, that "in Jesus Christ, neither circumcision availeiij any thing, nor uncircumcision ; but faith that worketh by love ;" but a new creation ? Seest thou the necessity of that inward change, that spiritual birth that life from the dead, that holiness ? And art thou thoroughly convinced, that without it no man shall see the Lord ? Art thou labouring after it ? " Giving all diligence, to make thy calling and election sure ? " Working out thy salvation with fear and trembling ?" Agonizing to enter in at the strait gate ?" Art thou in earnest about thy soul ? And canst thou tell the searcher of hearts, " Thou, oh God, art the thing that I long for ! Lord, thou knowest all things ! Thou knowest that I would love thee ?" 12. Thou hopest to be saved ; but what reason hast thou to give oi the hope that is in thee ? Is it because thou hast done no harm ? Or, because thou hast done much good ? Or, because thou art not like other men ; but wise, or learned, or honest, and morally good ? Esteemed of men, and of a fair reputation ? Alas ! all this will never bring thee to God. It is in his account lighter than vanity. Dost thou know JesuR Christ, whom he hath sent ? Hath he taught thee, that, " by grace we SiiRMON lll.j AWAKE, TilOU THAT 8LEEPEST. 23 ,; are saved, through faith ; and that not of ourselves : it i& the gifl of God ; not of works, lest any man should boast 1" Hast thou received the faithful saying, as the whole foundation of thy hope, " that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners ?" Hast thou learned what that meaneth, " i came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance? I am not sent, but unto the lost sheep 1" Art thou (he that hearcth, let him understand !) lost, dead, damned already 1 Dost thou know thy de- serts ? Dost thou feel thy wants ? Art thou poor in spirit ? Mourning for God, and refusing to be comforted? Is the prodigal come to himself, and well content to be therefore thought beside himself, by those who are still feeding upon the husks which he hath left? Art thou willing to live godly in Christ Jesus ? And dost thou therefore suffer persecution ? Do men say all manner of evil against thee falsely, for the Son of man's sake? 13. Oh that in all these questions ye may hear the voice that wakes the dead ; and feel that hammer of the word, which breaketh the rocks in pieces ! " If ye will hear his voice to day, while it is called to day, harden not your hearts." Now, awake, thou that sleepest in spiritual death, that thou sleep not in death eternal ! Feel thy lost estate, and arise from the dead. Leave thine old companions in sin and death. Follow thou Jesus, and let the dead bury their dead. " Save thyself from this unto- ward generation." " Come out from among them, and be thou separate, and toiich not the unclean thing, and the Lord shall receive thee." '' Christ shall give thee light." in. 1. This promise, I come, lastly, to explain. And how encou- raging a consideration is this, that whosoever thou art who obeyest his call, thou canst not seek his face in vain ' If thou even now awakest and arisest from the dead, he hath bound himself to give thee light. The Lord shall give thee grace and glory ; the light of his grace here, and the light of his glory when thou receivest the crown that fadeth not away. " Thy light shall break forth as the morning, and thy dark- ness be as the noon day." " God, who commandeth the light to shine out of darkness, shall shine in thy heart ; to give the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." " On them that fear the Lord shall the Sun of righteousness arise, with healing in his wings." And in that day it shall be said unto thee, ** Arise, shine ; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee." For Christ shall reveal himself in thee : and he is the true light. 2. God is light, and will give himself to every awakened sinner, that waiteth for him : and thou shalt then be a temple of the living God, and Christ shall " dwell in thy heart by faith :" and, " being rooted and grounded in love, thou shalt be able to comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of that love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that thou mayest be filled with all the fuUneRs of God." 3. Ye see your calling, brethren. We are called to be " a habita- tion of God through his Spirit ;" and through his Spirit dwelling in us, to be sain>s here, and partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. So exceed ng great are the promises which are given unto us, actually given unto us who believe ! For by faith we " receive, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God," the sum of all the promises, * that w.i may know the things that are freely given to us of God." 4 The Spirit of Chrisi. is that great gif\ of God, which, at finndry •• I r3 24 AWAKE, THOU THAT SLEEPEST. [SEKMON III. times, and in divers manners, he hath promised to man, and hatn (uUy bestowed, since the time that Christ was glorified. Those promises before made to the fathers, he hath thus fulfilled : " I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes," Ezek. xxxvi, 27. " I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground : I will pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring," Isaiah xliv, 3. 5. Ye may all be living witnesses of these things ; of remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. " If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." " Who among you is there, that feareth the Lord, and yet walketh in darkness, and hath no light ?" I ask thee, in the name of Jesus, believest thou that his arm is not short- ened at all ? That he is still mighty to save ? That he is the same yes- terday, to day, and for ever ? That he hath now power on earth to for- give sins ? " Son, be of good cheer ; thy sins are forgiven." God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven theo. Receive this, " not as the word of man ; but as it is, indeed, the word of God ;" and thou art justified freely through faith. Thou shalt be sanctified also through faith which is in Jesus, and shalt set to thy seal, even thine, that " God hath given unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son." 6. Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you ; and suffer ye the word of exhortation, even from one the least esteemed in the church. Your conscience beareth you witness in the Holy Ghpst, that these things are so, if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. " This is eternal life, to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent." This experimental knowledge, and this alone, is true Christianity. He is a Christian who hath received the Spirit of Christ. He is not a Christian who hath not received him. Neither is it possi- ble to have received him, and not know it. " For, at that day," (when he Cometh, saith our Lord,) " ye shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you." This is that Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him. But ye know him ; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you," John xiv, 17.) 7. The world cannot receive him, but utterly reject the promise of the Father, contradicting and blaspheming. But every spirit which confesseth not this, is not of God. Yea, " this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come into the world, and even now it is in the world." He is antichrist whosoever denies the inspi- ration of the Holy Gho«t, or that the indwelling Spirit of God is the common privilege of all believers, the blessing of the gospel, the un- speakable gift, the universal promise, the criteiion of a real Christian. 8. It nothing helps them to say, " We do not deny the assistaiKc ol God's Spirit; but only this inspiratiou, this receiving the Holy Ghost, and being sensible of it. It is only i\\\?, feeling of the Spirit, this being viovcd by the Spirit, or filled with it, which we deny to have any place in sound religion." But, in only denying this, you deny the whole Scriptures; the wlioie truth, and ])romise, and testimony of God. 9. Our own excellent cluircli knows nothing of this devilish distinc- tion ; but speaks plainly of "feeling the Spirit of Christ;"* of being "moved by the Holy Ghost,"+ and knowing and " feeling there is no other name than that of Jesus, "J whereby we lan receive life and sal- ♦ Art. 17. t Office of consecrating priests. { Visitation of the sick. ,17.) lise of hich irist, even ilace .'hole I SliRMON III.J AWAKE, THOU THAT SLEEPEbT. 25 vation. She teaches us all to pray for the " inspiration of the Holy Spirit ;"* yea, that we may be " filled with the Holy Ghost."t Nay and every presbyter of hers professes to receive the Holy Ghost by the imposition of hands. Therefore to deny any of these, is, in effect, to renounce he church of England, as well as the whole Christian reve- lation. 10. But " the wisdom of God" was always " foolishness with men." No marvel, then, that the great mystery of the gospel should be now also " hid from the wise and prudent," as well as in the days of old ; tl;at it should be almost universally denied, ridiculed, and exploded, as mere frenzy ; and that all who dare avow it still, are branded with the names of madmen and enthusiasts ! This is that falling away which was to come : that general apostasy of all orders and decrees of men, which we even now find to have overspread the earth. " Run to and fro in the streets of Jerusalem, and see if ye can find a man," a mat; that loveth the Lord his God with all his heart, and serveth him with all his strength. How does our own land mourn (that we look no far ther) under the overflowings of ungodliness ! What villanies of every kind are committed day by day ; yea, too often with impunity, by those who sin with a high hand, and glory in their shame ! Who can reckon UD the oaths, curses, profaneness, blasphemies ; the lying, slandering, evil speaking ; the sabbath breaking, gluttony, drunkenness, revenge : the whoredoms, adulteries, and various uncleanness ; the frauds, injus- tice, oppression, extortion, which overspread our land as ri flood ? 11. And even among those who have kept themselves pure iroin these grosser abominations ; how much anger and pride, how much sloth and idleness, how much softness and efferninacy, how much luxury ;in 26 SCRlPiURAL «aai«TIANITY. [sermon IV. 3ut if the salt hath lost its savour, it is thenceforth good for nothing ; but to he cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men." 13. And " Shall I not visit for these things, saith the Lord 1 Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this ?" Yea, we know not how soon he may gay to the sword, " Sword, go through this land !" He hath given us long space to repent. He lets us alone this year also : but he warns and awakens us by thunder. His judgments are abroad in the earth. And we have all reason to expect the heaviest of all, even that he " should come unto us quickly and remove our candlestick out of its place, except we repent and do the first works ;" unless we return to the principles of the reformation, the truth and simplicity of the gos- pel. Perhaps we are now resisting the last effort of divine grace to save us. Perhaps we have well nigh " filled up the measure of our iniquities," by rejecting the counsel of God against ourselves, and casting out his messengers. 14. Oh God, " in the midst of wrath remember mercy !" Be glorified in our reformation, not in our destruction ! Let us hear the rod, and him that appointed it ! Now that thy " judgments are abroad in the earth, let the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness !" 15. My brethren, it is high time for us to awake out of sleep ; before the " great trumpet of the Lord be blown," and our land become a field of blood. Oh may we speedily see the things that make for our peace, before thny are hid from our eyes ! " Turn thou us, oh good Lord, and let thine anger cease from us. Oh Lord, look down from heaven, behold and visit this vine ;" and cause us to know " the time of our visitation." " Help us, oh God of our salvation, for the glory of thy name ! Oh deliver us, and be merciful to our sins, for thy name's sake ! And so we will nrft go back from thee : Oh let us live, and we shall call upon thy name. Turn us again, oh Lord God of hosts ! Show the light of thy countenance, and v.-e shall be whole." " Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church, by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." SERMON lY.— Scriptural Christianity. Preached at St. Mary's, Oxford, before the University, August S4th, 1744. *' Whosoever heareth the sound of the trampet, and laketh not warning ; if the sword come, and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head." — Ezekiel xxxiii. 4. " And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost."— Acts iv. 31. ANALYSIS. Historical summary of Pentecost. The extraordinary and ordinary gifts of the Spirit at this time. Tlie lattei alone the subject of discourse. i i SERMON IV.] SCUIPTURAL CHRISTIANITf. 27 I. Christianity as beginning to exist in individuals. Con- viction of sin, repentance, faith, followed by the spirit of adoption. The fruits of this spirit.peace, joy, love to God and to man, leading to all inward holiness, abstinence from sin, use of the means of grace, and practice of good works. II. Christianity as spreading from one to another. God's rule. Impelling love. Resulting labours. The success of their work. Opposition and persecution. Ending in still t^reater victories. III. Christianity as covering the earth. Predicted in the Old Testament. In the New. Ideal description of the state of the world. IV. Application. Where does this Christianity now exist ? Is this a Christian country ? Is this a Christian city ? Ap- peal to the officers, professors, clergymen, and youth of the University. Solemn appeal to God for salvation. O o az I INTRODUCTORY NOTES. This was the last sermon preached by Mr. Wesley before the Univer- sity. His career as leader in an extraordinary religious movement had attracted the attention, not only of the masses of the people, but also of Oxford itself. This style of religious excitement was so distasteful to the collegiate mind, that they would readily have dispensed with the pre- sence and services of one who, in their estimation, was lowering the dignity of his clerica' and literary standing. But tlie law required that each fellow should preach in his turn, or pay three guineas for a substi- tute. The University could refuse his services only by finding the sub- stitute. After the present sermon, the authorities agreed to do this for Mr. Wesley, and notified him accordingly. The first part of the sermon is evidently a vindication, from the example of the Apostolic history, of the work of grace which God had wrought by his own preaching. He says nothing about himself or his work ; but every sentence which he applies to the great religious movement of Apostolic times could be CO cc LU > 28 SCRIPTUUAL CIIKISTIANITY. [sermon IV. applied, almost without change of a word, to the great religious move- ment in London, Cornwall, or Newcastle. No work was ever more like that of the apostles than was that of John Wesley ; hence he justly read apostolic history in the light of his own experience. There would seem to be nothing, however, in the first part of his discourse to arouse the ire of Oxford. They miglit smile at the enthusiastic evangelist, reading the history of primitive Christianity by the light of his own experience of religious awakening, or, as they would say, excitement ; but they could not but own that it was natural that he chould do so. They might be very far from admiring his ideal of a Christian world, but at most they could but scorn or ridicule. But it was the application which gave offence. Full of his conception of Scriptural Christianity as the on)}' true religion, lie turns all its vivid light upon the religious life of his aristocratic audience ; and it is this which fills them with anger. Where is this religion of the Holy Spirit to be found 1 Is it in. England ? Is it in Oxford ? Do the magistrates of the city possess and exemplify it 1 Do the dignitaries of the University live by it and teach it 1 Have the young clergy either its spirit or power ? Have the great body of students even the semblance of its form ? As he exposes in the light of his high ideal, the coldness, emptiness, and corruption of one class after another of his hearers, and finally calls them " a gene- ration of triflers before God," it is not surprising that they grew angry, sent for his notes, and returned word that he should be asked to preach there no more. That he received this notice with a full consciousness of having faithfully discliarged Ids duty, appears from the text which he prefixed to the sermon as published. The famous Dr. Kennicott was a student at Oxford at the time when this sermon was preached. A- full extract of his vivid description of the sermon and its effect upun the audience is given in Tyermau's Life of Wesley, Vol. I., p. 449. dEKMOq cloven were al| was, the Pail tosrethel SERMON IV. 1. The same expression occurs in the second chapter, where we read, " When the day of pentecost was fully come, they were all," (the apos- tleSjwith the women, and the mother of Jesus, and his brethren,) " with one accord, in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind. And there appeared unto them SERMON IV.] SCHlPTUnAL CHRISTIANITY, 29 cloven tongues, like as of fire, and it sat upon eacii of tlicin. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost:" One immediate ellbct tliereol was, '* They began to speak with other tongues ;" insomucli, that both the Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and the otiier strangers wiio " came together, when this was noised abroad, hoard tliem speak, in their several tongues, the wonderful works of God," Acts ii, 1-6. 2. In this chapter we read, that wiien the apostles and brethren had been praying, and praising God, " the place was shaken where they were assembled together, and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost," Acts iv, 31. Not that we find any visible appearance here, such as had been in the former instance : nor are we informed that tiie cxtrnordi' nan/ gifts of the Holy Ghost were then given to all or any of them ; such as the " gift of healing, of working other miracles, of prophecy, o( discerning spirits, the speaking with divers kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues," 1 Cor. xii, 9, 10. 3. Whether these gifts of the Holy Ghost were designed to remain m the church throughout all ages, and whether or no they will be restored at the nearer ap| .ch of the *' restitution of all things," are questions which it is not needful to decide. But it is needful to observe this, that, even in the infancy of the church, God divided them with a sparing hand. Were all even then prophets ? Were all workers of miracles 1 Had all the gifts of healing ? Did all speak with tongues ? No, in no wise. Perhaps not one in a thousand. Probably none but the teachers in the church, and only some of them, 1 Cor. xii, 28-30. It was, therefore, for a more excellent purpose than this, that " they were all filled with the Holy Ghost." 4. It was to give them (what none can deny to be essential to all Christians in ail ages) the mind which was in Christ, those holy fruits of the Spirit, which whosoever hath not, is none of his ; to fill them with " love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness." Gal. v, 22-24 ; to endue them with faith, (perhaps it might be rendered, y/r/c- liti/,) with meekness and temperance ; to enable them to crucify the tlesh, with its affections and lusts, its passions and desires, and, in con- sequence of that inward change, to fulfil all outward righteousness, to " walk as Christ also walked," " in the work of faith, in the patience of hope, the labour of love," 1 I'hess. i, 3. 5. Without busying ourselves then in curious, needless inquiries, touching those extraordinnr>/ gifts of the Spirit, let us take a nearer view of these his ordinary fruits, which we are assured will remain throughout all ages; — of that great work of God among the children ol men, which we are used to express by ne word, Christianity ; not as it implies a set of opinions, a system of doctrines, but as it refers to men's hearts and lives. And this Christianity it may be ireful to con- sider under three distinct views : As beginning to exist in individuals : As spreading from one to another : III. As covering the earth. I design to close these considerations with a plain practical appli- cation. I. 1. And first, let us consider Christianity in its rise, as beginning to exist in individuals. SupiMjse, h^n, one of those who heard the apostle Petei preaching O o i 11. o CO cc UJ > 30 SCUlPiUUAL CUUISTIANITY. [SEliUON IV. repentance and remission of sins, was prick»=!(l to the heart, was con- vinced of sin, repented, and then heiieved in Jesua. By this faith oi the operation of God, winch was the very substance, or subsistence ol things hoped for, Heb. xi, 1, the demonstrative evidence of invisible things, he instantly received the spirit of adoption, whereby he now cried, " Abba, Father," Rorn. viii, 15. Now first it was that he could call Jesus Lord, by tiie Holy Ghost, 1 Cor. xii, 3, the Spirit itself bear- ing witness with his spirit that he was a child of God, Rom. viii, 15. Now it was that he could truly say, " I live not, but Christ liveth in me ; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son o* God, who loved me and gave himself for me," Gal. ii, 20. 2. This, then, was the very essence of his faith, a divine eXtfj^oj; (evi- dence or conviction) of the love of God the Father, through the Son ol his love, to him a sinner, now accepted in thp Beloved. And, " being justified by faith, he had peace with God," Rom. v, 1, yea, " the peace of God ruling in his heart;" a peace, which passing all understanding, (ffavTtt vsv, all barely rational conception,) kept his heart and mind from all doubt and fear, through the knowledge of him in whom he hao be- lieved. He could not therefore " be afraid of any evil tidings ;" for his " heart stood fast believing in the Lord." He feared not what man could do unto him, knowing the very hairs of his head were all num- sered. He feared not all the powers of darkness, whom God was daily oruising under his feet. Least of all was he afraid to die ; nay, he de- sired to " depart and to be with Christ," Phil. 1, 23 ; who, " through death, had destroyed him that had the power of death, even the devil, and delivered them who, through fear of death, were all their lifetime (till then) subject to bondage," Heb. ii, 15. 3. His soul therefore magnified the Lord, and his spirit rejoiced in God his Saviour. " He rejoiced in him with joy unspeakable, who had reconciled him to God, even the Father:" " in whom he had redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins." He rejoiced in that witness of God's Spirit with his spirit, that he was a child of God ; and more abundantly, " in hope of the glory of God ;" in hope of the glorious image of God, and fiill renewal of his soul in righteousness and true holiness ; and in hope of that crown of glory, that " inheritance, incor- ruptible, undcfiled, and that fadeth not away." 4. " The love of God was also shed abroad in his heart, by the Holy Ghost, which was given unto him," Rom. v, 5. " Because he was a son, God had sent forth the Spirit of his Son into his heart, crying, Abba, Father !" Gal. iv, 6. And that filial love of God was continually increa- sed by the witness he had in himself (i John v, 10) of God's pardoning love to him ; by " beholding what manner of love it was, which the Father had bestowed upon him, that he should be called a child of God,'" I John iii, 1. So that God was the desire of his eyes, and the joy of his heart ; his portion in time and in eternity. 5. He that thus loved God, could not but love his brother also ; and " not in word only, but in deed and in truth." " If God," said he, " so loved us, we ought also to love one another," 1 John iv, 11 ; yea, every soul of man, as " the mercy of God is over all his works," Psa. cxiv, 9. Agreeably hereto, the affection of this lover of God embraced all man- kind for his sake ; not excepting those whom he had never seen in the fleah. or those of whom he knew nothing more than that they were " »he 9KUMUN IV.J SUUlP'i'UUAL CUUISIIANITY. A I devil Holy a son, Abba, ncrea- oning ih the God,'- of his and 1, " so every dv, 9. man- n tlie "the olfspring of God," for whose souls his Son had died ; nut excepting tiie ".vir and unthankful, and least of all his enemies, those who hated, or persecuted, or despitefully used him for his Master's sake. Theee had a peculiar place, both in his heart and in his prayers. He loved them " even as Christ loved us." 6. And " love is not puflfed up," 1 Cor. xiii, 4. It abases to the dual every soul wherein it dwells: accordingly, ne was lowly of heart, little, mean, and vile in his own eyes. He neither sought, nor received the praise of men, but that which cometh of God only. He was meek and long suffering, gentle to all, and easy to be entreated. Faithfulness and truth never forsook him ; they were " bound about his neck, and wrote on the table of his heart." By the same Spirit he was enabled to be temperate in all things, refraining his soul even as a weaned child. He was " crucified to the world, and the world crucified to him ;" supe- rior to " the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eye, and the pride of life." By the same almighty love was he saved, both from passion and pride ; from lust and vanity ; from ambition and covetousness ; and from every temper which was not in Christ. 7. It may easily be believed, he who had this love in his heart, would work no evil to his neighbour. It was impossible for him, knowingly and designedly, to do harm to any man. He was at the greatest dis- tance from cruelty and wrong, from any unjust or unkind action. With the same care did he " set a watch before his mouth, and keep the door of his lips," lest he should ofTend in tongue, either against justice, or against mercy or truth. He p»it away all lying, falsehood, and fraud ; neither was guile found in his mouth. He spake evil of no man ; nor did an unkind word ever come out of his lips. 8. And, as he was deeply sensible of the truth of that word, " with out me ye can do nothing," and, consequently, of the need he had to be watered of God every moment; so he continued daily in all the ordinances of God, the stated channels of his grace to man : " in the apostles' doctrine," or teaching, receiving that food of the soul with all readiness of heart; in " the breaking of bread," which he found to be the communion of the body of Christ ; and '* in the prayers" and praises offered up by the great congregation. And thus, he daily " grew in grace," increasing in strength, in the knowledge and love of God. 9. But it did not satisfy him, barely to abstain from doing evil. His soul was athirst to do good. The language of his heart continually was. " My Father worketh hitheito, and I work." My Lord went about doing good ; and shall not I tread in his steps ? As he had opportu- nity, therefore, if he could do no good of a higher kind, he fed the hun- gry, clothed the naked, helped the fatherless or stranger, visited and assisted them that were sick or in prison. He gave all his goods to feed the poor. He rejoiced to labour or to suflTer for them ; and wherein soever he might profit another, there especially to " deny himself." He counted nothing too dear to part with for them, as well remembering the word of his Lord, " Inasmucli as ye have done it unto one of the least of thtse my brethren, ye have done it unto me," Matt, xxv, 40. 10. Such was Christianity in its rise. Such was a Christian in ancient days. Such was every one of those, who, when they heard the threatenings of the chief priests and elders, " Wiled up their vr>ice to O o cc CO cc UJ > SCIUl'TUHAL CIIUISTIANITY. [s^:IlMo^f iV God with one accord, and were all filled with the Holy GhoHt. 'I'liti multitude of lliein that bedieved were of one heart and of one soul." (So did the love of him in whom they had believed, constrain lliem to love one another!) " Neither said any of them that aught of the tilings which he possessed was his own ; but they had all things com- mon." So fully were they cruciticd to the wocld, and the world crucified lo them ! " And they continued steadfastly with one accord ir. the apostles' doctrine, and in the breaking of bread, and in prayer," Acta ii, 42. " And great grace was upon them all ; neither was there any among them that lucked : for as many as were possessors of lands or houses, sold them, and brought the prices of the things that wore eold, and laid them down at the apostles' feet : and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need," Acts iv, 31-35. II. 1. Let us take a view, in the second place, of this Christianity, as spreading from one to another, and so gradually making its way into the world: for such was the will of God concerning it, who did not " light a candle to j)ut it under a bushel, but that it might give light to all that were in the house." And this our Lord had declared to his first disciples, *' Ye are the salt of the earth," " the light of the world ;" at the same time that he gave that general commami, " Let your light so shine before men, tliat they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven," Matt, v, 13-16. 2. And, indeed, supposing a few of these lovers of mankind to see " the whole world lying in wickedness," can we believe they would be unconcerned at the sight, at the misery of those for whom their Lord died 1 Would not their bowels yearn over them, and their hearts melt away for very trouble ? Could they then stand idle all the day long, even were there no command from him whom they loved ? Rather would they not labour, by all possible means, to pluck some of these brands out of the burning ? Undoubtedly they would : they would spare no pains to bring back whomsoever they could of those poor " sheep that had gone astrav, to the great Shepherd and Bishop of their souls," 1 Pet. ii, 25. 3. So the Christians of old did. They laboured, raving opportunity, " to do good unto all men," Gal. vi, 10, warninj; them to flee from the wrath to come ; now, now to escape the damnation of hell. They de- clared, " The times of ignorance God winked at; but now he calleih all men every where to repent," Acts xvii, 30. They cried aloud, Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways ; " so iniquity shall not be your ruin," Ezek. xviii, 30. They reasoned with them of temperance and righteousness, or justice, of the virtues opposite to their reigning sins, and of judgment to come ; of the wrath of God, which would surely be exeruted on evil doers in that day when he should judge the world, Act\3 xxiv, 25. 4. They endeavoured herein to speak to every man severally as he had need. To the careless, to those who lay iinconcerned in darkness and in the shadow of death, they thundered, "Awake, thou that slcep- est : arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light :" but to those who were already awakened out of sleep, and groaning under a sense o' the wrath of God, their language was, "We have an Advocate with tne Fatlier ; he is the propitiation for our sins." Meantime, those who had believed, they provoked to love and to good works; to patient con- 'KRMON IV. I SCUIPlUilAL CIiniSTlANITY. 33 as he rkness |slcep- those Insft ot th tne |o had con- 11 I 4 tiiiuance in well doing; and to abound more and more in that holiness, without which no man can sec the Lord, lleh. xii, 14. 5. And their lahour was not in vain in tlie Lord. His word ran, and was glorified. It grew mightily and |)revailed. But so much the more (lid oflences prevail also. The world in general were oirended, " because they testified of it, that the works thereof were evil," John vii, 7. The men of pleasure were offended, not only because these men were made, lis it were, to rejirove their thoughts: — " He professeth," said they, " to have the knowledge of God ; he calltth himseir the child of the liord; his life is not like other men's ; his ways are of another fashion ; lie abslaineth from our ways, as from filthiness ; he inaketh his boast, (hat God is his Father," Wisd. ii, 13-16 : — but much more, because so many of their companions were taken away, and would no more run with them to the same excess of riot, 1 Pet. iv, 4. The men of reputa- tion were offended, because, asthe gospel spread, they declined in the '•steem of the people ; and because many no longer dared to give tliem llattering titles, or to pay man the homage due to God only. The men of trade called one another together, and said, " Sirs, ye know thai l»y this crall we have our wealth. But ye see and hear that these men have persuaded and turned away much people. So that this our craft is ill danger to be set at nought," Acts xix, 25, dtc. Above all, the rnen of religion, so called, the men of outside religion, " the saints of the world," were offended, and ready at every opportunity to cry out, " Men of brael, help ! we have found these men pestilent follows, movers of sedition throughout the world," Acts xxiv, 5. " These are the men that teach all men, every where, against the people, and against the law," Acts xxi, 28. 6. Thus it was that the heavens grew black with clouds, and the storm gathered amain. For the more Christianity spread, the more liurt was done, in the account of those who received it not ; and the number increased of those who were more and more enraged at these " men who thus turned the world upside down," Acts xvii, 6 ; inso- much that more and more cried oui, " Away with such fellows from the earth ; it is not fit that they should live ;" yea, and sincerely believed, that whosoever should kill them would do God service. 7. Meanwhile they did not fail to cast out their name as evil, Luke vi, 22 ; so that this " sect was every where spoken against," Acts xxviii, 22. Men said all manner of evil of them, even as had been (lone of the prophets that were before them, Matt, v, 11. And whatso- ever any would aflirm, others would believe. So that offences grew as the stars of heaven for multitude. And hence arose, at the time fore- ordained of the Father, j)ersecution in all its forms. Some, for a season, suffered only shame and reproach; some, ''the spoiling of their goods;' "some had trial of mocking and scourging; some of bonds and im pri:50iiment;" and others " resisted unto blood," Heb. x, 34, xi, 36,&.c '^. Now it was that the pillars of hell were shaken, and the kingdom of God spread more and more. Sinners were every where *' turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God." H« j^ave his children " such a mouth, and such wisdom, as all their adver saries could not resist :" and their lives were of equal force with then words. But above all, their sufferings spake to all the world. They " aoDroved themselves the servants of God, in afflictions, in necessities I o CO cc ULi > ^3 l-i 34 SORIPTUHAI. tUHIMllA.NlTY. [SKIIMUN IV. in (tinlressea, in {tiri|> hlood of each found a voice, and the heathen owned, " lie heing dead yet speaketh." 9. Thus did Christianity spread itself in the earth. But hoM soon did the tares a|)pear with the wheat, and the mi/steri/ of initjuity work as well as the mi/stcri/ of ffodti/mss ! How soon did Satan find a se.it, even in t/if tnnp/e of God, " till the woman lied into the wilderiu'ss," and " the faitliful were again minished from the children of men !" Hero we tread a heaten path : the still increasing corru|)tions of the succeeding generations have been largely (lescribed from time to time, by tho.se witnesses Ciod raised up, to show that he had " built his church upon a Rock, and the gates of hell should not (wholly) prevail against her," Matt, xvi, 18. III. 1. But shall we not see greater things than these? Yea, greater than have been yet from the beginniug of the world. Can satan cause the truth of God to fail, or his promises to be of none effect? If not, the time will come when Christianity will prevail over all, and cover the earth. Let us stand a little, and survey (the third thing which was proposed) this strange sight, a Christian World. Of this the prophets of old inquired and searched diligently, 1 Pet. i, 10, 11, &,c: of this the Spirit which was in them testified : " It shall come to piiss in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations shall ffow unto it. And they shall beat their swords into plough* shares, and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation; neither shall they learn war any more," Isa. ii, 1-4. " In that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people. To it shall the Gentiles seek, and his rest ?hall be glorious. And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand again to recover the remnant of his people ; and he shall set up an Ensign for the nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah, from the four cor- ners of the earth," Isa. xi, 10-12. " The wolf shall then dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf, and the young lion, and the falling together ; and a little child shall lead them. They shall not hurt nor destroy, saith the Lord, in all my holy mountain. For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea," Isa. xi, 6-9. 2. To the same effect are the words of the great apostle, which it is evident have never yet been fulfilled. " Hath God oast away his people ? God forbid." " But through their fall salvation is come to the Gentiles." "And if the diminishing of them be the riches of the Gentiles, how much more their fulness?" " For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery. That blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in ; and so all Israel shall be saved," Rom. xi, 1, 11, 25, 26. 3. Suppose now the fulness of time to be come, and the orophecies to be accomplished. What a prospect is this ! All is " peace, quietnes!*, .•4KKMUN IV. J 8('KI I'TU KA I, (II KISTI AN ITV. 3:> ami assurance for evrr." Here i» no din ofarinii, no *' confused noise," no ' garnienlH rolled in blood." *' Destructions are come to a per|)etual end:" wars are ceased from the earth. Neither are there any intestine jnrs remaining ; no brother i ising up against brother ; no country or cit^ divided against itself, and tearing out its own bowels. Civil discord ii at an end for evermore, and none is left either to destroy or hurt his neighbour. Here is no oppression to make even the wise man mad; no extortion to grind the face of the pt)or ; no robbery or wrong; no rapine or injustice; for all are " content with such things as they pos- jiCFS." Thus " righteousness and jieace have kissed each other," Psa. Ixxxv, 10; they have "taken root and fdled the land:" "righteousness flourishing out of the earth," and " peace looking down from heaven." 4. And with righteousness or justice, mercy is also found. The earth is no longer full of cruel habitations. The Lord hath destroyed both the blood-thirsty and malicious, the envious an yo\. even so do unto them." 5. It follows, that no unkind word can 'iver br; hf,a/d amo have the Lord for their God," Psa. cxliv, 15. " Arise, shine, (s-iith the Lord,) for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen 'i^on (hee." " Thou hast known that I, the Lord, am ihy Saviour, an<' '.'.iv Redeemer, the mighty God of Jacob. I have made thy ci^rers p*iact), and thy exacters righteousness. Vioience siiall no more be heard in the land, wasting nor destruction with.n >'.hy oori^rs; out ihou shalt call thy walls, salvation, and thy gates, praii^e." *' Tl'.j' people are ail righteous ; they shall inlierit ihe land ^n fjver : the brancli of my plant- ing, the work of my hands, that I ray be glorified." " The mm snaii be no more thy light by day; neit u v for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God th> glory," itin. ix, 1, 16-19. IV. Having tins briefly considered Christianity, as beginning, as going on, and as covering the earth ; it remains only that I should close the whole with a plain, practical application. 1 And first, f would ask. Where does this Christianity now exist'' I o CO cc UJ > r3 36 SCRIPTURAL CHIUSTIANITY. [SKRMON JV. Where, I pray, do the Christians live? Which is the country, the inhabit* ants whereof are all tliiis filled with the Holy Ghost ? Are all of one heart and 'jf one soul ? Cannot sufler one among them to lack any thing, but continually give to every man as he hath need ? Who, one and all, have the love of God filling their hearts, and constraining them to love their neighbour as themselves? Who liave all "put on bowels of mercy, humbleness of mind, gentleness, long suffering?" Who offend not in any kind, either by word or deed, against justice, mercy, or truth ; but in every point do unto ail men, as they would these should do unto them With what propriety can we term any a Christian country, which does not answer this description ? Why then, let us confess we have never yet seen a Christian couutry upon earth. 2. I beseech you, brethren, by the mercies of God, if ye do account me a madman or a fool, yet, as a fool bear with me. It is utterly need- ful that some one should use great plainness of speech towards you. It is more especially needful at t/iis time ; for who knoweth but it is the (ast? Who knoweth how soon the righteous Judge may say, " I will no more be intreatod for Uiis people." " Though Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in this land, they should but deliver their own souls." And who will use this plainness, if I do not? Therefore I, even I, will speak. And I adjure you, by the living God, that ye steel not your breasts against receiving a blessing at 7«v/ hands. Do not say in your hearts, Non persundcbis, ctiavisi pcnuaseris: or in other words. Lord, thou shalt not send by whom thou wilt send; let me rather perish in my blood, than be saved by this man ! 3. Brethren, " I am persuaded better things of you, though I thus speak." Let me ask you then, in tender love, and in the spirit of meek- ness. Is this city a Christian city? Is Christianity, scriptural Christianity, found here? Are we, considered as a community of men, so "filled with the Holy Ghost," as to enjoy in our hearts, and show ibrth in our lives, the genuine fruits of that Spirit ? Are all the magistrates, all heads and governors of colleges and halls, and their respective societies, (not to speak of the inhabitants of the town,) " of one heart and one soul ?" Is " the love of God shed abroad in our hearts?" Are our tempers the same tliat were in him ? And are our lives agreeable thereto ? Are we "holy as He who hath called us is holy, in all manner of conversation?" 4. I inlreat you to observe, that here are no peculiar notions now under consideration : that the question moved is not concerning doubt- ful opinions, of one kind or another, but concerning the undoubted, fun- damental branches (if there be any such) of our common Christianity. And for the decision thereof, I apj)eal to your own consciences, guided by the word of God. He therefore that is not condemned by his own he.Trt let him go free. 5. In the fear, then, and in the presence of the great God before whom both you and 1 shall shortly appear, I pray you that are in authority over us, whom I reverence for your office' sake, to consider, (and not after the manner o!* dissemblers with God,) are you " filled with the Holy Ghost?" Are you lively portraitures of Him whom ye are apponited to represent among men ? " I have said ye aru gods," ye magistrates and rulers ; ye are by office so nearly allied to the God of heaven ! In your several stations and degrees, ye are to show forth unto w " the Lorhsm ? In the name of the Lord God Almighty, 1 ask, What religion are you of? Even the talk of Christianity, ye cannot, will not bear. Oh, my brethren ! what a Christian city is this ! " Jt is time for thee. Lord, to lay to thine hand !" n. For, indeed, what probability, .vhit possibility rather, (speaking after the manner of men,) is there tht ♦ Christianity, scriptural Chris- tianity, should be again the religion of this place ? That all orders o< inefl among us should speak and live as men " filled with the Holy Ghost ?" By whom should this Christianity be restored ? By those of vou that are in authority ? Are you convinced then that this is scrip- tural Christianity? Are you desirous it should be restored? And do ye not count your fortune, liberty, life, dear unto yourselves, so ye may be instrumental in the restoring of it ? But, suppose ye have this desire, who hath any power ])roportioned to the effect ? Perhaps some of you have made a few faint attempts, luit with how small success ! Shall Chris- tianity then be restored by young, unknown, inconsiderable men ? I know not whether ye yourselves could suffer it. Would not some of you cry out, " Young man, in so doing thou rcproachest us ?" But there is no danger of your being nut to the proof; so hath iniquity overspread us like a flood. Whom then shall God send ? The famine, the pestilence, (the last messengers of God to a guilty land,) or the sword ? The arr..ies of the Romish aliens to reform us into our first love ? Nay, " rather let us fall into thy hand, oh Lord, and lei us not fall into the hand of man." Lord, save, or we perish ! Take us out of th'.- mire that we sink not ! Oh help us against these enemies ! for vain is the help of man. Unto thee all things are {)ossiblc. According to the greatness of thy power, presv^rve thou those that are a|)pointc(l to die; and preserve us in the manner that seemcth to thee good ; not as we will, but as thou wilt! CD O i o >- br CO cc 2: SERMON Y.— Justification hy Faith. " To him that worketh not, but believetli on him that justifieth the UDgoJly, bi3 fiiitli is counted to him for riglitoou9ness."--Kom. iv. 5. ANALYSIS. How may a sinner bo justified beiore Ood ? Importance of the question, and confused notions regarding it. I. (.f round of the doctrine oi" justification. Man created in God's image. Placed under a perfect law — a law of love 40 JUSTIFICATION BY FAITO. [sermon V. SEBIION Vl and of positive command, Man violated this law. The con- sequences of this sin, to Adam, to his posterity. The gift of God's Son, and his atoning work. God's ofler of pardon through him to the whole world. II. Justification defined. Not the being made actually just or righteous. Not a clearing from accusation of Satan, or of the law. Does not im- ply that God is deceived when he justifies. The plain Scrip- tural notion of justification is pardon, the forgiveness of sins. 1 1 is that act of God the Father, whereby, for the sake of the propitiation made by the blood of his Son, he " sheweth forth liis righteousness (or mercy,) by the remission oi sins that are l)fist," Justification in Scripture is sometimes reierred to the day of judgment ; but more frequently is that which takes place at the beginning of the Chr'^-tian life. III. Who are they ihat are justified ? The ungodly. Hence not they who are sanctified. Buc the lost, the sick, the condemned. Good works, in the highest sense of the term, do not precede but follo\; ifter justificatioiL IV. The terms of justification. Faith alone. Scripture proof of this. This faith defined as not- only a divine evidence or conviction that " God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself," but a sure trust and confidence that Christ died for my sins, that he loved me, and gave himself for me. This faith the doctrine of the Church of England. This is the necessary condition. No justification without it. This is the only condition. The moment this faith is received it is " counted for righteousness." The reason of this condition with God. But it hides pride from man. Exhortation to the ungodly to believe. INTRODUCTORY NOTES. In this and the ^ieven sermons following Mr, Wesley expounds the evangelical doctrine. He begins with the fundamental, central doctrine ol' justification by faith. This lie presents under two aspects — as an act of pardoning grace by God, conditioned on faith ; and as a gift of righteousness or rightness of relation to Qod received by us through faith. Next follows a sermon on the antecedent steps to the attainment of this gracious state. Then two sermons are devoted to the fruits of SEBMOM v.] JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 41 lent Is of the regenerating Spirit, or Spirit of Adoption which accompanies it. Lastly, tlie doctrine of the twofold assurance or witness of this state of grace is fully presented in three discourses. Mr. Wesley regarded the circle of doctrines presented in these eight sermons as " articulus stantit vel cadentis eccledae ; the Christian Cliurch stands or falls with it." The eight years preceding the publication of these sermons (in 1746) wi-ie marked by repeated controversy in defence of these truths. The nature ;ind conditions of justification were especially points in dispute. In the year 1739 Mr. Wesley published two treatises by Dr. Barnes, one on ' Justification by Faith only," the other on " The Sinfulness of Man's- Natural Will and his utter inability to do works acceptable to God until he be justified and born again of the Spirit of God." In 1743 he pub- lished his "Earnest Appeal to Men of Reason and Religion." In thi^^ Appeal he especially defines the nature of saving faith, and argues the reasonableness of it. On the 2jth of June, 1744, Mr. Wesley met tin- tirst Conlerence. The first work of this Conference was the considera- tion of this doctrine, and the following important propositions were agreed upon: 1. To be justified is to be pardoned and received into God's favour. 2. Faith is the condition of justification. 3. Repentance and works meet for repentance must go before this faith. 4. Faith is a divine, supernatural evidence or conviction of things n^f seen : it is a spiritual sight of God and the things of God. First n sinner is convinced by the Holy Ghost, "Christ loved me and gave him- self for me." This is that ftiith by which he is justified, or pardoned, the moment he receives it. Immediately the same Spirit bears witness' " Thou art pardoned ; thou hast redemption in his blood." And this is saving faith, whereby the love of God is shed abroad in the heart. 5. No man who hears the Gospel can go to heaven without this faith whatever a heathen may do. At the Conference of 1745, these positions were carefully reviewed and guarded as follows : — Q. Is a sense of God's pardoning love indispensably necessary to final salvation — suppose in a Papist, or Quaker ; or, in general, among those who never heard it preached ? A. Love hopeth all things. We know not how far any of these may fall under the case of invincible ignorance. Q. Have we duly considered the case of Cornelius ] Was not he in tlie favour of God when " his prayers and alms came up for a memorial before God ;" that is, before he believed in Christ ? A. It does seem that he was in some degree, but we speak not of those who have not heard the gospel. Q. But were not those works of his " splendid sing 1 " A. No ; nor were they done without the grace of Christ. O o CO > 42 JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. [sermon V. I «k;KMON V.]l Q. How then can we maintain that all works done heforo we have a sense of the pardoning love of God are sin, and, as such, an abomination to him ? A. The works of him who has heard the ffospel, and does not believe, are not done as God hath " willed and commanded them to be done." And yet we know not how to say that they are an abomination to the Lord in him who feareth God, and from that principle does the bust he can. In this Si\me year (the year preceding tne publication of the first volume of sermons) Mr. Wesley published a " Further Appeal to Men of Reason and Religion." It would appear that there prevailed somewhat widely in the Church of England at that period a view of justilication not far removed from that propounded by the Council of Trent in opposition to Protestantism. According to this conception, sanctitication and good works preceded justification, and were the basis of acceptance with God, or at times justilication was defined as the communication of inherent righteousness, and faith was made identical with the practice of all good works. In this way the language of Scripture was made to con- vey the doctrine of Rome. In this appeal Mr. Wesley proves conclusively that the evangelical doctrine of Justification by Faith, which he preached, was the doctrine of the articles and homilies of tlie Church of Fiiglaiid, and the doctrine of Scripture ; and defines his doctrine and the doctrine of the Church as follows : — 1. " That no good work, properly so called can go before justification. 2. " That no degree of true sanctification can be previous to it. 3. " That as the meritorious cause of justification is the life and death of Christ, so the condition of it is faith, faith alone. 4. " That both inward and outward holiness are consequent on this faith, and are the ordinary, stated condition of final justification." It will be seen from these extracts that while Mr. Wesley was contend- ing with the self-righteous, anti-Protestant doctrine of justification by works, he was obliged to present the truth of the Gospel as " lying very near to Calvinism and Antinomianism ;" " within a hair's breadtli," so that " we may come to the very edge of Calvinism " — 1. In ascribing all good to the free grace of God. 2. in denying all natural free will, and all power antecedent to grace. And 3. In excluding all merit from man; even for what he has or does by the grace of God. These alternate positions of Mr. Wesley, as he ex])ounds the Arminian doctrine of the Gospel in opposition to a semi-Pelngian tendency on one hand, and in opposition to Calvinistic Antinomianism on the otiier, must be both care- fully weighed by the student in the study of the sermon before us. He may very profitably read in this connection the Doctrinal Minutes and Wesley's Appeal." SERMON V. 1. How a sinner may be justified before God, the Lord and Judge of all, is a question of no common importance to every child of man. It contains the foundation of all our liope, inasmuch as while we are at enmity with God, there can be no true peace, no solid joy, either in time or in eternity. What peace can there be, while our own heart condemns us ; and much more, He that is " greater than our Iieart and knoweth all things?" What solid joy, either in this world or that to come, while " the wraih of God abideth on usl" JERMON V. we have a 'ominatioii 3t believe, be clone." ■ion to tlie le best he f the first to Men of somewhat stillcation Trent in ctiliciition ceeptanco ication of •ractice of le to con- iclusively p reached, J'^ngland, doctrine ;ifi cation. ad deatli on this I" ontend- tion by II L,' very 1th,'"' so )iny all I'll!, and n man ; ternate of the and in 111 care- 19. He j tes and •tKMON V.J JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH. 43 idge of It are at her in heart lieart •Id or 2. And yet how little hath this important question been itndersijud ! What contused notions have many had concerning it! Indeed, nol only confused, but often utterly false; contrary to the truth, as light tu darkness; notions absolutely inconsistent with the oracles of God, and with the whole analogy of faith. And hence, erring concerning the very foundation, they could not possibly build thereon ; at least, not '• gold, silver, or precious stones," which would endure when tried as by fire ; but only " hay and stubble," neither acceptable to God, nor profitable to man. 3. In order to do justice, as far as in me lies, to the vast importance jtthe subject, to save those tliat seek the truth in sincerity from " vain (angling and strife of words," to clear the confusedncss of thought into which so many have already been led thereby, and to give them true iiid just conceptions of this great mystery of godliness, 1 shall endea- .oiii to show, l-'irst, What is the general ground of this whole doctrine of justifi- cation : Secondly. Whiit justification is : Thirdly, Who are they that are justified : and Fourthly, On what terms they are justified. I. I am first to show, What is the general ground of this whole doctrine of justification. 1. In the image of God was man made, holy as he that created him i.s holy ; merciful as the Author of all is merciful ; perfect as iiis Father ill heaven is perfect. As God is love, so man dwelling in love, dwelt ill God, and God in him. God made him to be an " image of his own eternity," an incorruptible picture of the God of glory, lie was ac- cordingly pure, as God is pure, from every spot of sin. He knew not evil in any kind or degree, but was inwardly and outwardly sinless and tiiidefiled. He " loved the Lord his God with all his heart, and with all his mind, and soul, and strength." 2. To man thus upright and perfect, God gave a perfect law, to which he required full and perfect obedience. He required full obe- dience in every point, and this to be performed without any intermis- sion, from the moment man became a living soul, till the time of his trial should be ended. No allowance was made for any falling short. As, indeed, there was no need of any ; man being altogether e(|ual to the task assigned, and thoroughly furnished for every good word and work. ■i. To the entire law of love which was written in his heart, (against wiiich, perhaps, he could not sin directly,) it seemed good to the sove- reign wisdom of God to superadd one positive law : " Thou shalt not eat of the fruit of the tree that groweth in the midst of the garden ;" annexing that penalty thereto, " In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die." 4. Such then was the state of man in paradise. By the free, unmerit- ed love of God, he was holy and happy : he knew, loved, enjoyed God, which is, in substance, life everlasting. And in this life of love he was to continue for ever, if he continued to obey God in all things; but, if he disobeyed in any, he was to forfeit all. " In that day," said God, " thou shalt surely 44 JUSTIFICATION IIY FAITH. [sermon V.lggj^^oj, v.] was condemned by the rigliteoiis judgment of God. Then also ;h« sentence, u hereof he was warned before, began to take place upon hiin, Por, the moment he tasted that fruit he died. His aoul died, was sepa- rated from God ; separate from whom the soul lias no more life than the body has when separate from the soul. His body, likewise, became corruptible and mortal ; so that death then took hold on this also. Aud being already dead in spirit, dead to God, dead in sin, he hastened un to death everlasting; to the destruction both of body and soul, in the lire never to be quenched. 6. Thus " by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sm. And so death passed upon all men," as being contained in him who v\ a:. the common father and representative of us all. Thus, " through thr offence of one," all are dead, dead to God, dead in sin, dwelling in a corruptible, mortal body, shortly to be dissolved, and under the sentenr«' of death eternal. For as," by one man's disobedience," all " were matlt- sinners;" so, by that offence of one, "judgment came upon all men ii, condemnation," Rom. v, 12, t and rightl ieyree the ir liiu t gill of whit God "dJ in us" by his| found, wherei gciise as to ill ■^ sutiiciently di! othrr inspired] 2 Neither us from accusl , cl' ir text of ll ■ tcr, as above hi| to We at all tal cu^it" of men thai the great lip hath writt( i (ialatians. :\. It is also dear Scripturt Hiiisation bro I natural way of I «»• have transg I Hon of hell, G( nuMit wliich til 4. Least of i w'noni he justify that he accoui nii'aiis imply, t of tilings; thai riifliloous whei all-uise God is vvitli his unerr am rigliteous c iiiaiiiier, confo any man to w l)r(:iudice ; an tioii is neither 5. The plai noss of sins. tlio propitiatio ritjliteousness 'I'liis is theeai whole epistle. in the followii " lUessed are sins are cover sin." To him Ins condemna in this world, in ihouffht. w [«™°'^*-|sEKMOXV.] JUHTIFKATION UY KAITU. ■i;» what has been already observed, that it is not the being made actually just and righteous. This is sanctitication ; which is, indeed, in some deyree the immediate fruit of justification ; but, nevertheless, is a dis- tiiK t gift of God, and of a totally different nature. The one implies, wliit God " does for us" through his Son ; the other, what he " works in lis" by his Spirit. So that, although some rare instances may be found, wherein the term justified or justification is used in so wide a sense as to include sanctification also ; yet, in general use, they are gulliciently distinguished from each other, both by St. Paul and the otln!r inspired writers. 2 Neither is that far-fetched conceit, that justification is the clearing us from accusation, particularly that of Satan, easily provable from any clear text of Holy VVrit. In the whole scriptural account of this mat- ter, as above laid down, neither that accuser, nor his accusation, app^-ars to be at all taken in. It cannot indeed be denied, that he is the " ac- ciiyrr" of men, emphatically so called. But it does in no wise a})pear, thai the great apostle hath any reference to this, more or less, in all that lie hath written touching justification, either to the Romans or the Galatians. 'A. It is also far easier to take for granted, than to prove from any clear Scripture testimony, that justification is the clearing us from the accusation brought against us by the law : at least, if this forced, un- natural way of speaking mean either more or less than this, that whereas we iiave transgressed the law of God, and thereby deserved the damna- tion of hell, God does not inflict on tiiose who are justified the punish- ment which they had deserved. 4. Least of all does justification imply, that God is deceived in those whom he justifies ; that he thinks them to be what in fact they are not ; that Ik; accounts them to be otherwise than they are. It does by no means imply, that God judges concerning us contrary to the real nature of things; that he esteems us better than we really are, or believes us righteous when we are unrighteous. Surely no. The judgment of the all-wise God is always according to truth. Neither can it ever consist with his unerring wisdom to thiiiK that I am innocent, to judge that 1 am righteous or holy, because another is so. He can no more, in this manner, confound me with Christ, than with David or Abraham. Let any man to whom God hath given understanding, weigh this without |irini 46 JUSTIFICATION BY FAITU. [SKHMON V. SK.RMON V. reineml)cred or niRiitioned aj^aiiist him, any more tliaii if tlicy hud not liceii. Ciod will not iiitlict on that sinner what he d(;.>4crved to sufl'er, because the Son of his love hath sutfered for him. And from the time we are " accepted through the beloved," " reconciled to G«)d through his blood," he loves, and blesses, and watches over us for good, even as if wc had nevt^r sinned. Indeed the apostle in one place seems to extend the meaning of the word nuich fartlier, where he says, " Not the hearers of the law, but I he doers of the law, shall be justitied." Here he appears to refer our justification to the sent(!nce of the great day. And so our Ix)rd himself un(|uestionably doth, when he says, " By thy words thou shult be justi- fied ;" proving thereby, that " for every idle word men shall speak, they shall give an account in the day of judgment." But |)erhaps we can hardly produce another instance of St. Paul's using the word in that distant sense. In the general tenor of his writings, it is evident he doth not ; and least of all in the text before us, which undeniably speaks, not of those who have already " finished their course," but of those who are now just setting out, just beginning to " run the race which is set before them." III. 1. Bill this is the third thing which was to be considered, namely, Who are they that are justified ? And the apostle tells us expressly, the ungodly : " He (t)iat is, God,) jiistifieth the ungodly :" the ungodly of every kind and degree ; and none but the ungodly. As " they that are righteous need no re|)entance," so they need no forgiveness. It is only sinners that have any occasion for pardon : it is sin alone which admits of being forgiven. Forgiveness therefore has an immediate reference to sin, and, in this respect, to nothing else. It is our itnn'ghtfousness to which the pardoning God is merciful : it is our iniquity which he " remembereth no more." 2. This seems not to be at all considered by those who so vehemently contend that a man must be sanctified, that is, holy, before he can be justified'; especially by such of them as affirm, that universal holiness or obedience must precede justificat'"n : (unless they mean, that justi- fication at the last day, which is u Molly out of the present question.) So far from it, that the very supposition is not only H;Uly impossible, (for where there is no loveof God, there is no holiness, and there is no love of God but from a sense of his loving us,) but also grossly, intrin- sically absurd, contradictory to itself. For it is not a saint but a sinner that is forgiven, and under the notion of a sinner. God justifieth not the godly, but the ungodly ; not those that are holy already, but the unholy. Upon what condition he doth this, will be considered quickly . but whatever it is, it cannot be holiness. To assert this, is to say, the Lamb of God takes away only those sins which were taken away before. 3. Does then the good Sheplierd seek and save only those that are found already? No: He seeks and saves that which is lost. He pardons those who need his pardoning mercy. He saves from the guilt of sin, (and, at the same time, from the power,) sinners of every kind, of every degree ; men, who, till then, were altogether ungodly , in whom the love of the Father was not ; and, consequently, in whom dwelt no good thing, no good, or truly Christian temper ; but all such as were evil and abominable, pride, anger, love of the world, the genuine frtiiis of that caruni tninil which is " enmity against God." i .\ The»€ lUey that ik wrath of G(| iilnadfi, luil thousand w| iihI work, rc(lemption| not;'* that that is truly! IS necessarj therein, fvil tree caJ 5. If it I) r*>cd the huJ ;inswer is e; these are, ii to men." Ill themselv use the wor therefore go out of a tru htforejustiji /lift/ sftring of faith in t (lone as Got! not" (how si nature of sin G. Perhap weighty rea |iistification runs thus : No worki (■ommanded But no W( iiud cominai Therefore The first ilone before lliem to be ( consider, G( (lone in chat love to all n while the lo this love cai in our hear uusodli/y ar lied in vair justified. IV. 1. B tini^odli/, ar 'H'th : he " iliai o«',iieve SKRMON V, JUSTIKKATION DY KAITU. 47 i> 4 Thcue who arc sick, the burden of whosu hiiih :a iiitoirrahlu, U0 i!ii>y thut iieetl n physiciuii ; these who are guilty, who groiiii iiiuierthe wrath ot'God, are they that iieejl a pardoii. Tliese who ar«? loitdtinntd n/rtfidi/, not only by God, but also by their own conscience, as by a ilioiisand witnesses, of all their ungodliness, both in thought, and word, itid work, cry aloud for him that "justifieth the ungodly," through the redemption that is in Jesus; — the ungodly, and " him that worketh not ;" that worketh not before he is justihed, any thing that is good, that is truly virtuous or holy, but only evil continually. For his heart IS necessarily, essentially evil, till the love of (Jod is shed abroad therein. And while the tree is corrupt, so are tlie fruits; "for an evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit." 5. if it be objected, " Nay, but a man, before he is justified, may feed the hungry, or clothe the naked ; and these are good works ;" the ;inswer is easy, lie may do these, even before he is justihed. And th(!se are, in one sense, " g(»od works ;" they are " good and |)r<)fitable to men." But it does not loliow, that they are, strictly speaking, good III themselves or good in the sight of God. Ail tru\y ^ood irorks (to use the words of our chxircU) follow after ji/stijitntioii. And they are therefore good and " acce))tal)lc to God in Christ," bc^cause they '* spring out of a true and living faith." By a parity of reason, all wor/xs done hrfore jiistijicotion are not good, in the Christian sainiCyJhrasinitrtt as fhri/ gprinif not of faith in Jesus Christ; (though often fron» sonn,' kind (if faith in Gtui they may spring;) "yea, rather, for that tliey are not (lone as God hath willed and commanded them to be done, we dcuin not" (how strange soever it may appear to some) " but they have the nature of sin." G. Perhaps those who doubt of this, have not duly considered the weighty reason which is here assigne;), why iu» works done before liistihcation can be truly and properly good. The argument plainly runs thus : No works are good, wliich are not done as God hath willed and ('ommaiided them to be done : But no works ro|)itiatioi), through faiih in his l)lo(>d ; that ne miglil be just, and (conHistently with his justice) the justificr of him which believeth in Jesus ;" •' Thereforj!, we conclude, th'it a man is justified by faith, without the deeds of the law :" without previous ohedi«!nce to the moral law, which, indeed, he could not, till now, perforin. That it [f the moral law, and that alone, which is here intended, ap|)ears evidently from the words that follow. *' Do we then make void the law througli faith? God forbid! Yea, we establish the law." What law do we establish by faith? Not the ritual law: not the ceremonial law ol Moses. In no wise ; but the great unchangeable law of love, the holy love of God, and of our neighbour. 2. Faith in general is a divine, supernatural f>Sj)(oc, evulvinror con- viction, " of things not seen," not (liscoverable by our bodily senses, as being cither past, future, or spiritual. .Justifying faith implies, not only a divine evidence or conviction that " God was in Christ reconciling the world unio himself," but a sure trust and confidence that Christ died for ;/(// sins, that he loved me, and gave himself for w/r. And at what time soever a sinner thus believes, be it in early childhood, in the strength of his years, or when lie is old and hoary haired, God justifieth that ungodly one : God for the sake of his Son, pardoneth and 'ibsolveth him, who had in him, till then, no good thing. Repentance, indeed, God had given him before; but that repentance was neither more nor less than a deej) sense of the want of all good, and the pre- sence of all evil. And whatever good he hath or doth from that hour, when he first believes in God through Christ, faith does not Jind, but hrinff. This is the fruit of faith. First the tree is good, and then the fruit is good also. 3. I cannot describe the nature of this faith better, than in the words of our own church. " The only instrument of salvation," (whereof justification is one branch,) " is faith : that is, a sure trust and confi- dence that God both hath and will forgive our sins, that he hath accepted us again into his favour, for the merits of Christ's death and passion. — Ihit here we must take heed that we do not iialt with God, through an inconstant, wavering faith. Peter coming to Christ upon the water, because ho fainted in faith, was in danger of drowning. So we, if we betrin to waver or doubt, it is to be feared that we shall sink as Peter di(f, not into the water, but into the bottomless pit of hell fire." Second sermon on the. passion. " Therefore, have a sure and constant faith, not only that the death of Christ is available for all the world, but that he hath made a full and sudicient sacrifice for t/iee, a perfect cleansing of tin/ sins, so that thou inayest say, with the apostle, he loved t/ie.c, and gave himself for t/iee. For this is to make Christ thine own, and to apply his merits unto thiisdfy Sermon on the sacrament, Jirst part. 4. By affirming that this faith is the term or condii.on of justification, I mean, first. That there is no justification without it. " lie that believeth not, is condemned aheady ;" and so long as he believeth not, that con- demnation cannot be removed, but " the wrath of God abideth on him " As " there is no other name given under heaven," than tfial of .ic.'iis of Nrtzurelh. no other merit wnereby a condemned sinner can ever De HERMON \\ nved froiij share in hi ire without A'e are "alii world." \l 'iiose un'o I'ldge theiiil lie may do, i tirsc, till hi 5. Faith,! iuid the onl tarefully to it is the f(ijt\ \^ counted t<| ;uitecedent t| Ihit " faith III' believeth l)t' what he i treated him riirliteous, fr( lis for our sii G. Surely ttie onl If com We mean tin no one is ju^ absolutely rc< man should li tied ; so on tl vpt if he hatl of any kind < titter inability tor hell fire ; himself wholl ill) but by the moment 1 W before that s I Now, if t)i world ; (and tiMi thousand sole conditio! 7. It does •ioever blessir tongue, to th< t";»vour, and n is not meet to none of hi flition, the on He that belie o'l which St. VIZ. That the nut Oil him tl ii) fixihf; his i SERMON V JU8TIKICATI0N DY rAITU, 49 t.-ived from the (juilt of .siii ; so there is no other way of obtaining i siiare in his merit, than hif faith in his name. So that an long as vi'i ire without this faith, W(! art; " strangers to the covenant of promise,"' we are " aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and without God in the world." Whatsoever virtues (so called) a man may have, — I spouk of •liose un'o whom the gospel is |)reaclied ; for " what have 1 to do to ludge thein that are without!" — Whatsoever good works (so accounted) lie may do, it profiteth not ; he is still a child of wrath, Htiil under the • iirsc, till he believes in Jesus. 5. Faith, therefore, is the ncressari/ condition of justification. Yea, iiid the on/i/ nedssary condition thereof. This is the second point < Mrefully to he oi)!wrved ; that, the very moment God giveth faith (for it is the frift of God) to the " ungodly," that " worketh not," that " faith IS counted to him for (ightcousness." He hath no righteousness at all, iiitecedent to this, not so much as negative righteousness, or innocence. But " faith is imputed to him for righteousness" the very moment that ho helieveth. Not tliat God (as was observed before) thinketh him to lie what he is not. But as " he made Christ to be sin for us," that is, treated him as a sinner, punishing him for our sins; so he countcth us riirhteous, from the time we believe in him : that is, he doth not |)unish lis for our sins, yea, treats us as though we were guiltless and righteous. G. Surely the ditncuity of assenting to the proposition. That faith is tiie onlfi condition of justification, must arise from not understanding it. Wo mean thereby thus much, Tliat it is the only thing, without which no one is justified ; the only thing that is immediately, indispensably, absolutely reipiisite in order to pardon. As on the one hand, though a man should have every thing else without faith, yet he cannot be justi- tind ; so on the other, though he be supposed to want every thing else, yet if he hath faith, he cannot but be justified. For suppose a sinner of any kind or degree, in a full sense of his total ungodliness, of his tiitcr inability to think, speak, or do good, and his absolute meetjiess ti)r hell fire ; suppose, I say, this sinner, helpless and hopeless, casts himself wholly on the mercy of God in Christ, (which indeed he cannot (l(» but by the grace of God,) who can doubt but he is forgiven in that moment ? Who will affirm, that any more is indispensably required, before that sinner can be justified ? iNow, if tliere ever was one such instance from the beginning of the W(»rld ; (and have there not been, and are there not, ten thousand times till thousand ?) it plainly follows, that faith is, in the above sense, the sole condition of justification. 7, It does not become poor, guilty, sinful worms, who receive what- •ioever blessings they enjoy, (from the least drop of water that cools our tongue, to the immense riches of glory in eternity,) of grace, of mere favour, and not ol" debt, to ask of God the reasons of his conduct. It is not meet for us to call him in question, " who giveth account to none of his ways ;" to demand. Why didst thou make faith the con- flition, the only condition of justification 1 Wherefore didst thou decree He that believeth, and he only, shall be saved? This is the very point '>'» which St. Paul so strongly insists in the ninth chapter of this epistle, VIZ. That the terms of pardon and acceptance must depend not on us, nut Oil him that calleth us ; that there is no unrighteousness with God, in fixing his own terms, not according to ours, but his own good plea* i o CO !3 60 JUSTIFICATION BY FAIXa. [sKRUON V. sure ; wno may justly say, " I will have mercy on whom I will havf mercy," namely, on him who believeth in Jesus. " So then it is not o) him that willeth, nor of him that runneth," to choose the condition on which he shall find acceptance ; " but of God that showeth mercy ;" that accepteth none at all, but of his own free love, his unmerited good- ness. " Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy," viz. on those who believe on the Son of his love; "and whom he will," that is, those who believe not, " he hardeneth :" leaves at last to the hardness of their hearts. 8. One reason, however, we may humbly conceive, of God's fixing this condition of justification, " If thou believest in the Lord Jesus Christ, tliou shalt be saved," was to hide pride from man. Pride had already destroyed the very angels of God, had cast down " a third part of the stars of heaven." It was likewise in great measure owing to this, when the tempter said, " Ye shall be as gods," that Adam fell from his own steadfastness, and brought sin and death into the world. It was therefore an instance of wisdom worthy of God, to appoint such a condition of reconciliation for him and all his posterity, as might effectually humble, might abase them to the dust. And such is faith It is peculiarly fitted for this end : for he that cometh unto God by thi? faith, must fix his eye singly on his own wickedness, on his guilt and helplessness, without having the least regard to any supposed good in himself, to any virtue or righteousness whatsoever.. He must come as a vien sinner, inwardly and outwardly, self destroyed and self con demnod, bringing nothing to God but ungodliness only, pleading nothing '>f his own but sin and misery. Thus it is, and thus alone, when his mouth is stopped, and he stands utterly guilty before God, that he can look unto Jesus, as tlie w'lole and sole propitiation for his* Bins. Thus only can he be " found in him," and receive the " right- eousness which is of God by faith." 9. Thou ungodly one, who heares . or readest these words, thou vile, helpless, mis«rable sinner, I charge thee before God, the Judge of all, go straight unto him, with all thy uiigodliness. Take heed thou destroy not thy own soul by pleading thy righteousness more or less. Go as altogether ungodly, guilty, lost, destroyed, deserving and dropping into hell ; and thou shalt then find favour in his sight, and know that he justifieth the ungodly. As such thou shalt be brought unto the blood of sprinkling, as an undone, helpless, damned sinner. Thus look unto Jesus ! There is the Lamb of God, who taketh away thy sins ! Plead thou no works, no righteousnesa of thine own ! No humility, contrition, sincetity ! In no wise. That were, in very deed, to deny the Lord that bought thee. No : plead thou, singly, the blood of the covenant, the ransom paid for thy proud, stubborn, sinful soul. Who art thou, that now seest and feelest both thine inward and outward ungodliness ! Thou art the man ! I want thee for my Lord ! I challenge thee for a child of God by faith ! The Lord hath need of thee. Thou who feelest thou art just fit for hell, art just fit, fo advance his glory ; the glory ol Ilia free grace, justifying the ungodly and him that worketh not. Oh come quickly ! Believe in the Lord Jesus ; and thou, even thou, art reconciled to God. KKMON V, n to do, but t SEKMON VI. J TUK KIOUTKU USN£S8 OF FAITH. 01 SEUMON YL— The liiyhfeouHneas of Faith. '•Moses describcth the righteousness which is of the law, thnt the nan (hat doeth these things shall live by them. " But the rigliteousness which is of faith sjirakt-th on this wisp, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven ? (that is to bring (.'hiist down from above :) "Or who shall descend into the Jeop ? (that is to bring up Christ Again fi om the dead. ) •'But what saith it? The word is ni„'h thee, evon in tliy mouth, and in tliiue heart : that is, the word of faith, which wc [iiuacli." Kum. x. 5-8. oa This text does not contrast tlie covenant ^nven by Moses \¥ith the covenant of rjrace by Christ. Christ's covcnnnt of prace covers all ages since the Fall. But the Jews, ignorant of the gracious character of the Mosaic covenant, went about to establish a legal righteousness of their own. Le''al riirht- eousness was given, not to Moses, but to Adam. So now many men refuse to submit to the rightiMjusness of faith, and are seeking a legal righteousness. I. The contrast of the two ri;4hteousnesse8. That of the Law demands obedience, universal, perfect, uninterrupted. That of faith is given, not to man in inno- cence but to fallen man ; and demands not unsinning obedi- ence, or any other impossibility. It does not command us to do, but to believe. The one finds man holy and in God's favour, and pre- scribes, (what is now far off from man,) universal, perfect, uninterrupted obedience, as the condition of continuance in God's favour. The other finds man fallen under God's wrath, and prescribes faith as the condition of recovery of God's favour. s CCL UJ \— >- CO UJ 6'Ji TUK KlUHTEOUSNESS OF FAITU. [SKKMON VI. II. The Application. 1. Thp folly of tlio.se seeking legal righteousness. They begin wrong, for they are not now innocent. They under- take, what they are not able to perform, ])erfect obedience. They presume to meet God, not as a God of mercy, but of rigid justice. 2. The wisdom of those who seek the righteousness of faith. They acknowledge their true condition, both past, present, and future ; and they humbly and thankluUy come to God in God's way of mercy. III. The K.xhortation. Say not, I must first do this, conquer sin, use means ; nor, I am not good enough, contrite enougli, or sutliciently sensible of sin ; nor yet, I must do something or be more sincere. But "at this present moment, in thy present state, just as thou art," believe the Gospel. INTRODUCTORY NOTES. This sermon is complementary to the preceding, but more contro- vei-flial in its character. It presents the Ooapel in its opposition to the prevailing legality of the Anglican preaching of that timt • and very well illustrates Mr. Wesley's own minutes by coming to the very edge of Calvinism. It shows us that the Wesleyan theology admits of that earnest, unqualified, proclamation of salvation by faith now, and exhor- tation to present belief, which is so powerful of immediate results in aeasons of great awakening. The theology to which this sermon is opposed is not the theology which preaches repentance to the unawakened sinner ; but it is the theology which says with Bishop Bull, " That all good works, and not faith alone, are the neceswary previous condition of justitication." " That SERMON VI. THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF FAIIIl. 63 tology Is th«) |d noi i ' That t'iiitli alone is the condition of justification," for it " means all inwanl ami cutward good works," " That there are two justitications, and that only inward good works necessarily precede the former, but both inward and ntward the latter." Wesley's Works, Vol. III., p. 214. SERMON VI 1. The apostle does not here oppose the covenant given by Moses to he covenant given by Christ. If we ever imagined this, it was for whiit of observing, that the latter, as well as the former part of these words, were spoken hy Mosfs himself to the people of Israel, and thai •oncerning the covenant which then was, Deut. xxx, 11, 12, 14. But I is the covenant of grace, which God, through Christ, hath established Mth men in all ages, (as well before, and under tiie Jewish dispensa- tion, as since God was manifest in the fleph,) which St. Paul here ijjposes to the covenant of works, made with Adam, while in paradise, Hilt commonly supposed to be the only covenant which God had made with man, particularly by those Jews of whom the ^x^stie writes. 2. Of these it was that he so affectionatel} speaks, in the beginning nf this chapter; "My heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they may be saved. For I bear them record, that they have a zeal lor God, but not according to knowledge. For they bring ignorant of (iod's righteousness," (of the justification that flowa from his mere L'race and mercy, freely forgiving our sins, through the Son of his love, through the redemption which is in Jesus,) "and seekirig to establish their own righteousness," (their own holiness, antecedent to faith in " him that justifieth the ungodly," as the ground of their pardon and ;icceptancc,) "have not sulmiitted themselves unto the righteousness ol (Jod," and consequently seek death in the error of their life. 3. T'ley were ignorant, tliat "Christ is the end of the law for right- (ousness to every one that believeth ;" — that hy the oblation of himself once offend, he had put an end to the first law or covenant, (which, indeed, was not given by God to Moses, but to Adam in his state oi innocence,) the strict tenor whereof, without any abatement, was, "Do this and live ;" and, at the same time, purchased for us 'hat better covenant, " Believe and live ;" believe, and thou shalt be saved ; now >aved, both from the guilt and power of sin, and, of consequence, from the wages of it. 4. And how many are equally ignorant now, even among those who are called by the name of Christ ! How many who have now a zeal for (iod, yet have it not according to knowledj;e ; but are still " seeking to establish their own righteousness," as the ground of their pardon and an cpptance ; and, therefore, vehemently refuse to " submit themselves unto the righteousness of God !" Surely my heart's desire, and prayer to God for you, brethren, is, that ye may be saved. And, In order to lemove this grand stumbling block out of your way, I will endeavour to show , first, what the righteousness is which is of the law, and what the righteous t\ess which is of faith : secondly, the folly of trusting in the righteonsnest «»f"the law, ami the wisdom of submitting t( that which is of faith. I — >- CO en LU 54 THK KlGHTKUUSNkSS OF FAITh. [SERMON VI. 1. 1. And, first, " llie righteousness which is of the law saith, The man wliich doeth these things shall live by them." Constantly and perfectly observe all these things to do knem, and then thou shalt live for ever. This law, or covenant, (usually called the covenant of works.) given by God to man in paradise, required an obedience perfect in all Its parts, entire and wanting nothing, as the condition of his eteinal continuance in the holiness and happiness wherein he was created. 2. It required, that man should fulfil all righteousness, inward and outward, negative and positrve : that he should not only abstain from every idle word, and avoid every ev.l work, but should keep every atfeciion, every desire, every thought, in obedience to thi will of God : that he should continue holy, as he which had created him was holy, both in heart, and in all manner of conversation ; that he should be (>ure in heart, even as God is pure ; perfect as his Father in heaven was perfect : that he should love the Lord his God, with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his mind, and with all his strength; thcit he should love every soul which God had made, even as God had loved him: that by this universal benevolence, he should dwell in God, (who is love,) and God in him : that he should serve the Lord his God with all his strength, and in all things singly aim at his glory. 3. 'I'hese were the things which the righteousness of the law required, thut he who did them might live thereby. But it farther required, that this entire obedience to God, thi« inward and outward holiness, this conformity both of heart and life to his will, should be perfect ui deirrec. No abatement, no allowance, could possibly be made, for falling short in any degree, as to any jot or tittle, either of the outward or the inward law. If every commandment, relating to outward things, was obeyed, yet that was not suHicient, imless every one was obeyed with all the strength, in the highest measure, and most perfect n inner. Nor did it answer tli'j demand of this covenant, to love God with every jK)wer and faculty, unless he were loved with the full capacity of each, with the whole possibility of the soul. 4. One thing more was indispensably required by the righteousness of the law, namely, that this universal obedience, this perfect holiness both of heart and life, should be perfectly uninterrupted also, should continue without any intermission, from the moment wherein God created man, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, until the days of his trial should be ended, and he should be confirmed in life everlastinsi. 5. The righteousness, then, which is of the law, speaketh on this wise: " Thou, oh man of God, stand fast in love, in the image of God wherein thou art made. If thou wilt remain in life, keep the command- ments, which are now written in thy heart. Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart. Love, as thyself, every soul that he halh made. Desire nothing but God. Aim at God in every thought, in every word and work. Swerve not, in one motion of body or soul, from him, thy mark, and the prize of thy high calling. And let all that is in thee praise his holy name, every power and faculty of thy soul, in every kind, in every degre , and at every moment of thine existence. ' Thiw do. and thou shalt live :' thy light shall shine, thy love shall flame more Hnd more, till thou art received up into the house of God in the heavens, »o reisn with him for ever and ever." ^KRM »N VI. J TIIK KlfiHTKt)L'SNb:SS OK KAITH. 55 )iisnesB iness Mould (Jod il iho n life every more vens. ^ 6. " But the righteousness wluch is of faith speakclh on thia wise : Kiiy not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? that is, to bring down Christ from above;" (as though it weie some ini|>ossil)le task, which God required thee previously to perform, in order to tl ine accept- ince;) " or, VVho shall descend into the deep, that is, to brni up Christ from the dead ?" (as though that were still remaining to bt done, for ihe sake of which thou wert to be accepted ;) " but what saitli it ? The word," according to the tenor of which thou mayest now be accepted an an heir of life eternal, " is nigh thee, even in tliy mouth, and in thy heart, tiiat is, the word of faith, which we |)reach ;" the new covenant which God hath now established with sinful man, through Christ Josus. 7. By " the righteousness which is of faith," is meant, tnat condition of justification (and, in conse(jue:icc, of present and final salvation, if sve endure therein unto the enti,) which was given by God, to fallen man, through the merits and mediation of his only begotten Son. This was in part roveaied to Adam, soon after his fall, being contained in the origmal promise, made to him and his seed, concerning the seed of the womaw, who should " bruise the seri)ent's head," Gen. iii, 15. It was a little more clearly revealed to Abraham, by the angel of God, from heaven, saying, " By myself have I sworn, saith the Lord, that in iliy seed shall all the nations of the world be blessed," Gen. xxii, \o, 18. It was yet more fully nu. 'f* known to INloses, to David, and to the pro- phets that followed; and, through them, to many of the people of God, \\\ their respective generations. But still the bidk even of these were iirnorant of it; and very few understood it clearly. Still " life and munortality" were not so " brought to light" to the J(;ws of old, as they arc now unto us " l)y the gospel." H. iNow this covenant saith not to sinful man, " Perform imsiiining iibedience, and live." If this were the term, he would h" „■ no more henefit by all which Christ hath done and sutlered for him, than if he was re(|uired, in order to life, to " ascend into heaven, and bring down I'lirist from above ;" or, to " descend mto the deep," itito the invisible world, and " bring up Christ from the dead." It doth not require- any unpossibility to be done: (altliough to mere man, what it requires would l;e impossible; but not to man assisted by the Spirit of God :) this were only u) mock human weakness. Indeed, strictly speaking, the cove- nant oi'frrace doth not require us to do any thing at all, as absolutely ami indispensably necessary, in order to our justification; but only to Ut'ce III liim, wl :, for the sake of his Son, and the propitiation which he hath made, justifielh tho tmgodly, that worketh not," and imputes his faith to hii« for -ighteoui-ness. Even so Abraham " believed in the Loid, and he coinued it to >iim for righteousnc!-.-!," Gen. xv. G. " And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of faitii, — that he might be the father of all thern that believe, — that fighteousn<'ss might be imputed unto them also," Rom. iv, 11. " Now It was not written for liis sake alone, that it [i. e. faith] was imputed to him, but for us ilso, to whom it shall be imputed," to whom faith -hall be imputed for righteousnoss, shall stand in the stead of j)erfect olw (lience, in order to our acceptance with God, ** if we believe on him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead : who was delivered [to ieath] for our otTences. and was raised again for our iustification." O >- CO ' '"9^~T- * 56 UK llMiHTKOL'SNESS OF KaITH (SKUMON \t •^KRMON VI Rom. iv, 23-25 : for the assurance of the remission of our sins, and of a second life to come, to tliem that believe. 9. What saith then the covenant of forgiveness, of unmerited love, of pardoning mercy ? " Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shah be saved." In the day thou believest, thou shalt surely live. Thou ■halt be restored to the favour of God ; and m his pleasure is life. Thou shalt be saved from the curse, and from the wrath of God. Thou shall be quickened, from the death of sin, into the life of righteousness. And if thou endure to the end, believing in Jesus, thou shalt never taste the second death ; but, having suffered with thy Lord, shalt also live, and reign with him for ever and ever. 10. Now " this word is nigh thee." This condition of life is plain, eapv, always at hand. " It is in thy mouth, and in thy heart," through the operation of the Spirit of God. The moment " thou believest in thine heart" in him whom Goich obedience ? Or, conse- quently, to live thereby ? Who among you fulfils every jot and tittle, even of the outward commandments of God ? Doing nothing, great or small, which God forbids ? Leaving nothing undone which he enjoins ? Speaking no idle word? Having your conversation always " meet to minister grace to the hearers?" And, " whether you eat or drink, or wh.atcver you do, doing all to the glory of God ?" And how much less arc you able to fulfil all the inward commandments of God ! Those which require, that every tem|)er and motion of your soul should be holiness unto the Lord ! Arc you able to " love God with all your heart T" To love all mankind as your own soul ? To " pray without ceasing ? In every thing to give thanks?" To have God always before you ! And to keep every affection, desire, and thought, in obedience to his law ? 3. You should farther consider, ih.at the righteousness of the law re<]uires, not only the obeying every comman«l of God, negative and positive, internal and extern J, but likewise in the perfect degree. In every nistance whatever, ti>e voice of the law is. Thou shalt serve the Lord thy God with all thy strength. It allow? no abatement of any kind : it excuses no defect : it condemns every coming short of the full measure of obedience, and imiTiediately pronounces a curse on the ofTender : it regards only the invariable rules of justice, and saith " I know not to show mercy." 4. Who then can appear before such a Judge, who is " exirernc to mark what is done amiss ?" How weak are they who desire to be A» nil': ItKiHTKOUSNESS OV KAtTM. [SllRMUN VI tried al llie bar, where *' no Hesh living can be jiistilicd ?" — none of ihe ortspriiig of Adam. For, suppose we did now keep every command- ment willi all our strength ; yet ono single breach, which ever was, utterly destroys our whole claim to life. If we have ever offended in any one point, this righteousness is at an end. For the law condemns all who (lo not j)erform uninterrupted as well as perfect obedience. So that, according to the sentence of this, for him who hath once sinned, in any degree, " there remaineth only a fearful looking for of fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries" of God. fi. Is it not then the very foolishness of folly, for fallen man to seek life by this righteousness ? For man, who was " shapen in wickedness and in sin did his mother conceive him ?" Man who is, by nature, all ** earthly, sensual, devilish ;" altogether '* corrupt and abominable ;" in wh(»?n, till he find grace, " dwelleth no good thing;" nay, who cannot of himself think one good thought ; who is indeed all sin, a mere lump of ungodliness, and who commits sin in every breath he draws; whose actual transgressions, in word and deed, are more in mmil)er than the hairs of his head ! What stupidity, what senselessness must it be I'nr such an unclean, guilty, helpless worm as this, to dream of seeking ac- ceptance; by " his own righteousness," of living by the righteousnes^ which is of the law ! 6. Now, whatsoever considerations prove tne folly ot trusting in tht " righteousness which is of the law," prove equally the wiudom of sub- mitting to the " righteousness which is of God by faith." This were easy to be shown with regard to each of the preceding considerations. But to waive this, the wisdom of the first step hereto, the disclaiming our own righteousness, |)laiidy appears from hence, that it is acting according to truth, to the real luiture of things. For, what is it more, than to acknowledge with our heart, as well as lips, the true state wherein we are ? To acknowledge that we bring with us into the world, a corrujjt, sinfiil nature ; more corrupt, indeed, than we can easily con- ceive, or find words to express ? That hereby we are prone to all thai is evil, and averse from all that is good ; that we are fiill of pride, self- will, unruly passions, foolish desires, vile and inordinate atfections ; lovers of the world, lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God ? That our lives have been no better than our liearts, but many ways ungodly aiui unholy ; insomuch, that our actual sin.^, both in word and deed, have been as the stars of heaven for multitude ; that, on all these ac- counts, we are displeasiiig to. Him, who is of purer eyes than lo behold ini<|uity ; and deserve nothing from him, but indignation, and wrath, Hiid death, the due wages of sin ? That we cannot, by any of our right- eousness, (for, indeed, we have none at all,) nor by any of our works, (for they are as the tree upon which they grow,) appease the wrath oJ God, or avert the punishinent we have justly deserved ; yea, that, if left lo ourselves, we shall oidy wax worse and worse, sink deeper and deeper into sin, offend God more and more, both v.ith our evil works, and with the evil tempers of our carnal mind, till we fill up the measure of our iniquities, and bring upon ourselves swift destruction l And is not tins' the very state wherein by nature we are ? To acknowledge this then, both with our heart and lips, that is, to disclaim our own righteousness, •* the righteousness which is of the law," is to act according to the real nature of things, and consequently, i» an instance of true wisdom I 7. I larther, fi mean herj .•ho>en ail wisdom, ll ^very cret] say unto understani whose kill sound un(l in this, asl good." 8. It ml love, of uii| way of re( hand, and I'ver met In rited go'id him, so liii in his sigh 9. Ton the best eii can pursiiu can pursue l)(!st, indee may regait image of (i " righteous Son of God III. 1. and reconc first do this and work, receive the Alas, my b " ignorant thy own ric thou not, tl (i.)d ? Wh( and then I Jesus Chri first be lai( 2. NeitI not good e acceptanct for this ? C liiee, thou And thou find thysel order to be art. and th dclav not. ■•KKMON VI. J THE HKSHTKOUSNKSS OK KAITH. 59 U)l(i atli, ght- )rks, nil oi k-fl our lOII, t'SS, roal I I 7. The wisdom of submitting to ** the rightuousncsa of fuith," appears larlher, from this consideration, That it is the righteousness of God : I nwMi here, it is that method of reconciliation with Uod which hath been iliosen and established by God himself, not only as he is the God of v\'isdom, but as he is the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth, and of ^very creature which he hath made. Now, as it is not nieot for man to say unto God, What doest thou ? — as none, who is not utterly void of understanding, will contend with one that is mightier than he, with Him whose kingdom ruleth over all; so it is true wisdom, it is a mark of sound understanding, to accjuiesce in whatever he hath chosen -, to say m this, as in all things, " It is the I^ord : let him do what seemeth him 1,'ood." 8. It may be farther considered, that it was of mere grace, of free love, of undeserved mercy, that God hath vouchsafed to sinful man any way of reconciliation witli himself, that we were not cut away from his haiul, and utterly blotted out of his remembrance. Therefore, what- t'ver methiKl he is pleased to appoint, of his tender mercy, of his unme ritod goodness, whereby his enemies, who have so deeply revolted from liim.so long and obstinately rebelled against him, may still find favour ui his sigtit, it is doubtless our wisdom to accept with all thankfulness. 9. To mention but one consideration more. It is wisdom to aim at tlic best end by the best means. Now the best end which any creature »:;iu i)ursuL', is happiness in God. And the best end a fallen creature can pursue is, the recovery of the favour and image of God. Hut the best, indeed the only means uiuler heaven given to man, whereby he may regain the favour of (lod, which is better than life itself, or the linage of God, which is the true lite of the soul, is the submitting to the " righteousness which is of faith," the believing in the only l)egotlen Sou of God. III. 1. Whosoever, therefore, thou art, who desirest to be forgiven and reconciled to the favour of God ; do not say in thy heart, " I must first do this ; I must Ars' con(|uer every sin : break otf every evil word and work, and do all good to all men; or, I nuisty/rs/ go to church, receive the fiord's supper, hear more sermons, and say more prayers." Alas, my brother ! thou art clean gone out of the way. Thou art still " ignorant of the righteousness o." God," and art " seeking to establish thy own righteousness," as the ground of thy reconciliation. Kiiowe.^t iliou not, that thou canst do nothing but sin, till thou art reconciled to God ? Wherefore, then, dost thou say, " I must do this and this^r.s7, arid then I shall believe." Nay, hwi first believe! Believe in the Lord .lesus Christ, the propitiation for thy sins. Let this good foundation first be laid, and then thou shalt do all things well. 2. Neither say in thy heart, " I cannot be accepted yet, because I am not good enough/* Who is good enough, — who ever was, — to merit acceptance at God's hands ? Was ever any child of Adam good enough for this? Or, will any, till the consummation of all things ! And, as for liiee, thou art not good at all : there dwelleth in thee no good thing. And thou never wilt be, till thou believe in Jesus. Rather thou wilt find thyself worse and worse. But is there any need of being worse, in order to be accepted ? A^rt thou not had enough already l Indeed thou in. and that God knoweth. And thou thyself canst not deny it. Then delay not. All things are now ready. " Arise, and wash away thv sins.*' o a: o >- CO 2: I > 60 THE HIGHTEUUSNESV 0> lAITH. tSKRMON V), .KKMON V The foiiiitniii is open. Now is the time to wash thee white in the blood of the Lamb. Now he shall purge thee as with hysHop, and thou shalt be clean : lis shall wash tliec, and thou shall be whiter than snow." 3. Do not say, *'Uut 1 am not curArite enMifjh: 1 am not aensibU enough of my sins." I know it. I would to Um\ thou wert luore sen- iibU of them, more contrite a thoutiand fold than thou art. But do not stay for this. It may be God will make thee so, not before thou bclievest, but by believing. It may be, thou wilt fiot weep nuich, till iliou lovest much, because thou hast had much forgiven. In the mean time, look unto Jesus. Behold, how he lovcth thee ! What could he have done more for thee which he hath not done I " O Lamb of God, was ever piiin, Was ever love hke thine !" liOok steadily upon him, till he looks on thee, and breaks thy hard heart. Then shall thy head l>e waters, and thy eyes fountains of tears. 4. Nor yet do thou say, " I nuist do something more before I con»e to Christ." I grant, supposing thy Lord should delay his coming, it were meet and right to wait for his appearing, in doing, 8o far as thou hast power, whatsoever he huth commanded thee. But there is no necessity for making such a supposition. How knowest thou that he will delay ? Perhaps he will appear, as the day-spring from on higli, before the morning light. Oh do not sot him a time ! Expect him every hour. Now he is nigh ! Even at the door! 5 And to what end wouldst thou wail for more sincerity, before thy sins are blotted out 1 To make thee more worthy of the grace of God ? Alas, thou art still " establishing thy own righteousness." He will have mercy, not because thmi art worthy of it, but because his compassion^; fail not ; not because thou art righteous, but because Jesus Christ hath atoned for thy sins. Again, if there be any thing good in sinreritij, why dost thou expect it before thou hast faith? — seeing faith itself is the only root of whatever is really good and holy. Above all, how long wilt thou forget, that whatsoever thou dost, or whatsoever thou hast, before thy sins are forgiven thee, it avails nothing with God, towards the procuring of thy forgiveness ? Yea, and that it must all be cast behind thy back, trampled under foot, made no account of, or thou wilt never find favour in God's sight; because, until then, thou canst not ask it, as a mere sinner, guilty, lost, undone, having no- thing to plead, nothing to ofler to God, but only tlie merits of his well beloved Son, tolio loved thee, and gave himself for thee. 6. To conclude. Whosoever thou art, oh man, who hast the sentence of death in thyself, who feelest thyself a condemned sinner, and hast the wrath of God abiding on thee : unto thee saith the Lord, not, " Do this," — perfectly obey all my commands, " and live ;" but, " Believe on the Lord Jesus Clwist, and thou shalt be saved." The word of faith is nigh unto thee: now, at this instant, in the present moment, and in thy present state, sinner as thop. art, jus-t as thou art, believe the gospel ; and *' I will be merciful unto thy unrighteousness, and thy iniquities will I 'emembei no inorfi." S "The kiJ NUrk i. l.'>| % I. The Defined ii meat and! the Holy 1. Not tiie Jewis ward acts II um of — 2. The iieif;hl)Our: joy III the does God 1 IL The 1. Repei of inward exposure t to amend I for sin anc 2. To tl Gospel." to save si with sure God. Th( This seriT religious lif( act toward \ eouaness ; 3 KKMON VII.] THE WAY TO THi; KIN'IIiOM. ei SEKMON VII.— 77/c Wa>, to thv Kimjilom. "The kingiluin of (]o- 1 1 CO UJ V i I -r INTRODUCTORY NOTES. This sermon presents salvation to us as a subjective experience of religious life. The three sermons form a progressive series. 1. God's act toward us — Ju'-'^ication ; 2. Our new relation before God — Right- eousness ; 3. The inwu d experience of this relation — The kingdom of IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 1.0 [f "^ i I.I 1.25 2.5 1^ 1^ 2.2 lyuu 1.8 U ill 1.6 V] /^ ^>. Photographic Sciences Corporation ^•^ \ ^> V \\ % V \ S^ n> 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 k <^ r O 62 THE WAY TO THE KINGDOM. [sermon VII. SKItMON \ God. As the preceding sermon guarded us against legality, so this one preserves us from Antinomianism, by insisting on the fulness of this experience, — in its preliminaries of thorough conviction of sin and repentance ; as well as in the subsequent blessings of peace, joy, and love. In Mr. Wesley's view, these three aspects of salvation were inseparably concomitant — God's act, our new state, and our inward experience. It will be seen presently how, out of the last, he deduces the assurance of the first. In the present sermon the important subject of Repentance is pre- sented at full length, but not yet from the controversial point of view. In fact, Mr. Wesley's exposition of repentance here may be regarded as defensive. Except in the case of the Moravians, from whom he had recently separated, he had not yet to contend with Calvinistic Antino- mianism. But the solifidian tendency which ignored or depreciated the doctrine of Repentance had been characteristic of an extreme form of evangelical doctrine in the age preceding that of Wesley. When, therefore, he preached salvation by faith with the Calvinistic evangeli- cals, he was at once identified with them by the high church sacra- mentarians as denying the necessity of repentance, and teaching doctrines contrary to those of the Church of England. The reply to this charge is found in his " Appeals to Men of Reason and Religion." The charge was a general one — that his doctrine was opposed to prac- tical holiness or good works. To this Mr. Wesley replied, first, by urging, in the language of the twelfth article of the Church of England, that, "Albeit good works which are the fruits of faith, and follow after Justification, cannot put away our sins, yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily of a true and lively faith ; insomuch that by them a lively faith may be as evi- dently known as a tree may be known by its fruit." He replied, secondly, by insisting upon the true place of Repentance. In his " Farther Appeal " he says : " It is allowed also that repentance and fruits meet for repentance go before faith : Mark i. 15 ; Matthew iii. 8. Repentance absolutely must go before faith ; fruits meet for it, if there be opportunity. By repentance I mean conviction of sin producing real desires and sincere resolutions of amendment ; and by fruits meet for repentance, forgiving our brother : Matt. vi. 14, 15 ; ceasing from evil, doing good : Luke iii. 4, 9, etc. ; using the ordinances of God, and in general obeying him according to the measure of grace which we have ireceived : Matt. vii. 7 ; xxv. 29. But these I cannot as yet term good works ; because they do not spring from faith and the love of God." It is in harmony with this controversial position tnal the present sermon deals so thoroughly with the inward or subjective aspect of repentance, and more briefly with its outward fruits. SKItMON VII.] TiiE WAY TO THE KIN01>0M. 88 SERMON VIL '1 HESE woros naturally lead us to consider, first, The nature of true religion, here termed by our Lord, " the kingdom of God ;" which, saith he, " is at hand :" and, secondly, the way thereto, which he points out in those words, " Repent ye, and believe the gospel." 1. 1. We are, first, to consider the nature of true religion, here termed by our Lord, " the kingdom of God." The same expression the great apostle uses m his epistle to the Romans, where he likewise explains his Lord's words, saying, " The kingdom ofGod is not meat and drink : but righteousness, and peace, and joy in thf^ Holy Ghost," Rom. xiv, 17. 2. " The kingdom of God," or true religion, " is not meat and drink." It is well known, that not only the unconverted Jews, but great numbers of those who had received the faith of Christ, were, notwithstanding, " zealous of the law," Acts xxi, 20, even the cere- monial law of Moses. Whatsoever therefore they found written therein, either concerning meat and drink offerings, or the distinction between clean and unclean meats, they not only observed themselves, but vehe- mently pressed the same, even on those " among the Gentiles (or hea- thens) who were turned to God ;" yea, to such a degree, that some of them taught, wheresoever they came among them, " Except ye be cir- cumcised, and keep the law, (the whole ritual law,) ye cannot be saved," Acts XV, 1, 24. 3. In opposition to these, the apostle declares, both here and in many other places, that true religion does not consist in meat and drink, or in any ritual observances ; nor, indeed, in any outward thing whatever : in any thing exterior to the heart ; the whole substance thereof lying in " righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." 4. Not in any outward thing ; such as forms or ceremonies, even of the most excellent kind. Supposing these to be ever so decent and significant, ever so expressive of inward things : supposing them ever so helpful, not only to the vulgar, whose thought reaches little farther than their sight ; but even to men of understanding, men of stronger capacities, as doubtless they may sometimes be : yea, supposing them, as in the case of the Jews, to be appointed by God himself; yet even during the period of time wherein that appointment remains in force, true religion does not principally consist therein ; nay, strictly speaking, not all. How much more must this hold concerning such rites and forms as are only of human appointment ! The religion of Christ rises infinitely higher, and lies immensely deeper, than all these. These are good in their place ; just so far as they are in fact subservient to true roligion. And it were t'uperstition to object against them, while they '.re applied only as occasional helps to human weakness. But let no •n%n carry them farther. Let no man dream that they have any intrin- W3 worth ; or that religion cannot subsist without them. This were to niake them an abomination to the Lord. 6. The nature of religion is so far from consisting in these, informs of wo.'ship, or rifes and ceremonies, that it does not properly consist in any outward actions, of what kind soever. It is true, a man cannot 64 THr, WAT TO THE KINO POM. [SKKMOV V" have any religion who is guilty of vicious, immoral actions; or who does to others, what he would not they should do unto him, if he were in the same circumstances. And it is also true, that he can have no real religion, who " knows to do good, and doeth it not." Yet may a man both abstain from outward evil, and do good, and still have no religion. Yea, two persons may do the same outward work ; supjiose, feeding the himgry, or clothing the naked ; and, in the mean time, one of these may be truly religious, and the other have no religion at all : for the one may act from the love of God, and the other from the love ol praise. So manifest it is, that although true religion naturally leads to every good word and work, yet the real nature thereof lies deeper still, »»ven in " the hidden man of the heart." 6. I S9.y of the heart. For neither does religion consist in orMorfoi^y, or right opinions; which, although they are not properly outward things, are not in the heart, but the understanding. A man may be orthodox in every point ; he may not only espouse right opinions, but zealously defend them against all opposers ; he may think justly concerning the incitrnation of our Lord, concerning the ever blessed Trinity, and every other doctrine, contained in the oracles of God ; he may assent to all the tnree creeds, — that called the Apostles', the Nicene, and the Atha- nasian ; and yet it is possible he may have no religion at all, no more than a Jew, Turk, or Pagan. He may be almost as orthodox, — as the devil; (though indeed, not altogether; for every man errs in something ; whereas we cannot well conceive him to hold any erroneous opinion ;) and may, all the while, be as great a stranger as he to the religion of the heart. 7. This alone is religion, truly so called : this alone is in the sight of God of great price. The apostle sums it all up in three particulars , " righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." And, first, righteousness. We cannot be at a loss concerning this, if we remem- ber the words of our Lord, describing the two grand branches thereof, on which " hang all the law and the prophets :" " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy mind, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength. This is the first and great command- ment," Mark xii, 30, the first and great branch of Christian righteous- ness. Thou shalt delight thyself in the Lord thy God ; thou shalt seek and find all happiness in him. He shall be " thy shield, and thy ex ceeding great reward," in time, and in eternity. All thy bones shall say, " Whom have I in heaven but thee ? And there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee !" Thou shalt hear, and fulfil his word, who saith, '* My son, give me thy heart." And, having given him thy heart, thy inmost soul, to reign there without a rival, thou mayest well cry out, in the fulness of thy heart, " I will love thee, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my strong rock, and my defence ; my Saviour, mv God, and my might, in whom I will trust ; my buckler, the horn also of my salvation, and my refuge." 8. And the second commandment is like unto this ; the second great branch of Christian righteousness is closely and inseparably connected therewith ; even *' Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Than shalt love, — Thou shalt embrace with the most tender good will, the most'earnest and- cardial affection, the most inflamed desires of pre- venting; or removing all evil, and of procuring for him every possible ?RRMON VW.] THE WAY TO THE KINGDOM. 65 srood, — Th}f neighbour ; — that is, not only thy friend, thy kinsman, or tiiy acquaintance : not only the virtuoiis, the friendly, him that loves tiiee, ihat prevents or returns thy kindness ; but every child of man rvery liuman creature, every soul which God hath made ; not excepting 1,1m whom thou never hast seen in the flesh, whom thou knowest not, either by face or name ; not excepting him whom thou knowest to be evil and unthankful, him that still despitefully uses and persecutes thee : him tliou shalt love as thyaelf ; with the same invariable thirst after his happiness in every kind ; the same unwearied care to screen him from whatever might grieve or hurt, either his soul or body. 9. Now is not this love " the fulfilling of the law ?" The sum of all Christian righteousness ? — Of all inward righteousness ; for it necessa- rily implies " bowels of mercy, humbleness of mind." seeing " love is not puffed up,") " gentleness, meekness, long suffering ; (for love " is not provoked ;" but " believeth, hopeth, endureth all things:") and of all outward righteousness ; for " love worketh no evil to his neighbour," either by word or deed. It cannot willingly either hurt or grieve any one. And it is zealous of good works. Every lover of mankind, as he hath opportunity, " doeth good unto all men," being (without partiality, and without hypocrisy) " full of mercy, and good fruits. 10. But true religion, or a heart right towards God and man, implies happiness, as well as holiness. For it is not only righteousness, but also " peace and joy in the Holy Ghost." What peace ? The peace oj God, which God only can give, and the world cannot take away ; the peace which " passeth all understanding," all (barely) rational concep- tion ; being a supernatural sensation, a divine taste of'' the powers of the world to come ;" such as the natural man knoweth not, how wise soever in the things of this world, nor, indeed, can he know it, in his present state, '* because it is spiritually discerned." It is a peace that banishes all doubt, all painful imcertainty ; the Spirit of God bearing witness with the spirit of a Christian, that he is a child of God. And it banishes fear, all such fear as hath torment ; the fear of the wrath of God ; the fear of hell ; the fear of the devil ; and, in particular, the fear of death : he that hath the peace oi God, desiring, if it were the will of God, " to depart, and to be with Christ." 11. With this peace of God, wherever it is fixed in the soul, there is also "joy in the Holy Ghost ;" joy wrought in the heart by the Holy Ghost, by the ever blessed Spirit of (rod. He it is that worketh in us that calm, humble rejoicing in God, through Christ Jesus, " by whom we have now received the atonement," xaraXXayiov, the reconciliat*ion with God ; and that enables us boldly to confirm the truth of the royal psalmist's declaration, " blessed is the nian,"(or rather Aa/>py,) tS'Ti 'irx, " whose unrighteousness is forgiven, and whose sin is covered." He !♦ is that inspires the Christian soul with that even, solid joy, which aiises from the testimony of the Spirit that he is a child of God ; and that gives him to " rejoice with joy unspeakable, in hope of the glory of God :" hope both of the glorious image of God, which is in part, and shall be full " revealed in him ;" and of that crown of glory which fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for him. 12. This holiness and happiness, joined in one, are sometimes styled, in the inspired writings, " the kingdom of God," (as by our Lord in lh«i text,; and sometimes "the kingdom of heaven."' It is termed " tw? c::> o — I 5C CD >- CO cc UJ (IG THE WAY TO I'UE KINGDOM. [SEUMON VII kitigdoin of God," because it is the immediate fruit of God's reignli'.p ill tiie soul. So soon as ever he takes unto himself his mighty power, and sets ,ip his throne in our hearts, they are instantly tilled with thi.>- " righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." It is called " the kingdom of heaven," because it is (in a degree) heaven opened in the soul. For whosoever they are that experience tliis, they can aver brfore angels and men, " Everlasting life is won : Glory is on eartii bejrun :'' According to the constant tenor of Scripture, which every where bears recoid, God " hath given unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son" (reigning in his heart) " hath life," (even life everlasting,) 1 John v, 11^ 12. For " this is life eternal, to know thee; the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent," John xvii, 3. And they, to whom this is given, may confidently address God, though tliey were in the midst of a tiery furnace, " Thee, — Lord, safe shielded by thy power, Thee, Son of God, Jkuovaii, we adore ; In form of man, descending to appear : To tliee be ceaseless hallelujahs given. Praise, as in heaven thy throne, we offer here ; For where thy presence is display d, is heaven." 13. And this kingdom of God, or of heaven, is at haiuL As these words were originally spoken, they implied, that the. time was then ful- filled, God being " made manifest in the tiesh," when he would set up his kingdom among men, and reign in the hearts of his people. And is not the time now fulfilled ? For, " Lo ! (saith he) I am with you always," you who preach remission of sins in my name, "even unto the end of the world," Matt, xxviii, 20. Wheresoever, therefore, the gospel of Christ is preached, this his " kingdom is nigh at hand." It is n(it far from every one of you. Ye may this hour enter thereinto, if so he ye hearken to this voice, " Repent ye, and believe the gospel." II. 1. This is the way : walk ye in it. And, first, " Repent ;" thai is, know yourselves. This is the first repentance previous to faith ; even conviction, or self knowledge. Awake then, thou that sleepest. Know thyself to be a sinner, and what manner of sinner thou an. Know that corruption of thy inmost nature, whereby thou art very far gone from original righteousness, whereby " the Hesh lusteth" always "contrary to the Spirit," through tiiat "carnal mind" which "is enmity against God," which " is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be." Know that thou art corrupted in every power, in every faculty of thy soul; that thou art totally corrupted in every one of these, all the foundations being out of course. The eyes of thine understaiid- mg are darkened, so that they cannot discern God, or the things n( God. The clouds of ignorance and error rest upon thee, and co\u Ihee with the shadow of death. Thou knowest nothing yet as thou oughtest to know, neither God, nor the world, nor thyself. Thy will is no longer the will of God, but is utterly perverse and distorted, averse from all good, from all which God loves, and prone to all evil, to every abomination which God hateth. Thy affections are alienated from God, and scattered abroad over all the earth. All thy passions, both tny deBires and aversions thy joys and sorrows thy hopes and fears, SRRMOK vri.] THE WAV TO THE KINODOK. o: i>.re out of frame, are either undue in their degree, or placed on undue )l)jccts. So that there is no soundness in tiiy soul ; but " from the trovvn of tlve head to the sole of the foot," (to use the strong ex|)ression ;-t"the ])rophet,) there are oidy "wounds, and bruises, and putrefying SI ires." 2. Such is the inbred corruption of tliy heart, of thy very inmost iKitiire. And what manner of l)ranches canst thou expect to grow I'rom such an evil root? Hence springs unbelief ; ever departing from tlie living God ; saying, '• VVlio is the Lord, that 1 should serve him I Tush ! Thou, God, carest not for it :" hence independence ; affecting to be like the Most High : hence pride, in all its forms ; teaching thee to say, " I am rich, and increased in goods, and have need of nothing " From this evil fountain How forth the bitter streams of vanity, thirst o( ;.iraise, ambition, covetousness, tlie lust of the tlesh, the lust of the eye, mid the pride of life. From this arise anjrer, hatred, malice, revenge, fiivy, jealousy, evil surmisings : from tliis, ali the fool'sh and hurtful lusts that now " pierce thee through with many sorrows," and, if not tiuuily prevented, will at length drown thy soul in everlaisting perdition. 3. And what fruits can grow on such branches as these I Oidy such as are bitter and evil continually. Of pride corneth contention, vain boasting, seeking and receiving praise of men, and so robbing God of that glory which he cannot give unto another : of the lust of the flesh, come gluttony or drunkenness, luxury or sensuality, fornication, un- cleanness; variously defiling that body which was designed for a temple of the Holy Ghost : of unbelief, every evil word and work. But the time would fail, shouldest thou Beckon up all ; all the idle words thou hast spoken, provoking the Most High, grieving the Holy One of Israel ; all the evil works thou hast done, either wholly evil in themselves, or at least not done to the glory of God. For thy actual sins are more liian thou art able to express, more than the hairs of thy head. Who can number the sands of^the sea, or the drops of rain, or thy iniquities? 4. And knowest thou not that " the wages of sin is death ?" — Deatit not only temporal, but eternal. " The soul that sinneth, it shall die :" for the moutli of the Lord hath spoken it. It shall die the second death. This is the sentence, to " be punished" with never ending death, "with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." Knowest thou not that every sinner, avoj^oj; ssi rrj vcswrj Tx iTvpog, not properly is in danger of helljirc; that expression is far too weak ; but rather, is under the sentence of hell fire ; doomed already, just dragging to execution. Thou art guilty of everlasting death. It is the jtist reward of thy inward and outward wickedness. It is just that the sentence should now take place. Dost thou see, dost thou feel this ? Art thou thoroughly convnicud that thou deservest God's wrath and everlasting damnation ? Would God do thee no wrong, if he now commanded the earth to open, and swallow thee up ? If thou wcrt now to go down quick into the pit, into the fire that never ■^liall be quenched ? If God hath given thee truly to repent, thou hast a deep sense that these things are so ; and that it is of his mere mercy thou art not consumed, swept away from the face of the earth. 0. And what wilt thou do to appease the wrath of God, to atone for ail thy sins, and to escape the punishment thou hast so justly de- served ? Alas, thou canst do nothing: nothing that will in any wisf OC. -.4 C8 TBB WAY TO THE KINGDOM. [SGBMON* VII. make amends to God for onp evil work, or word, or thought. If thou couldest now do all things well, if from this very hour, till thy soul thould return to God, thou couldest perform perfect, uninterrupted obedience, even this would not atone for what is past. The not increasing thy debt would not discharge it. It would still remain at great as ever. Yea, the present and future obedience of all the men upon earth, and all the angels in heaven, would never make satisfaction to the justice of God for one single sin. How vain, then, was th< thought of atoning for thy own sins by any thing thou couldest do ! It costeth far more to redeem one soul, than all mankind is able to pay. So that were there no other help for a guilty sinner, without doubt he must have perished everlastingly. 6. But suppose perfect obedience, for the lime to come, could atone lor the sins that are past, this would profit thee iiotliing; for thou an not able to perform it ; no, not in any one point. Begin now : make the trial. Shake off that outward sin that so easily besetteth thee. Thou canst not. How then wilt thou change thy life from all evil to all good ? Indeed, it is impossible to be done, unless first thy heart he changed. For so long as the tree remains evil, it cannot bring fortli good fruit. But art thou able to change thy own heart, from all sin to all holiness ? To quicken a soul that is dead in sin, dead to God, and alive only to the world ? No more than thou art able to quicken a dead body, to raise to life him that lieth in the grave. Yea, thou art not able to quicken thy soul in any degree, no more than to give any degree of life to the dead body. Thou canst do nothing, more or less, in this matter ; thou art utterly without strength. To be deeply sensible of this, how helpless thou art, as well as how guilty and how sinful, this is that " repentance not to be repented of," which is the forerunner of the kingdom of God. 7. If to this lively conviction of thy inward and outward sins, of thy utter guiltiness and helplessness, there be added suitable affections, — sorrow of heart, for having despised thy own mercies, — remorse, and self condemnation, having thy mouth stopped, — shame to lift up thine eyes to heaven, — fear of the wrath of God abiding on thee, of his curse hanging over thy head, and of the fiery indignation ready to devoiii those who forget God, and obey not our Lord Jesus Christ, — earnest desire to escape from that indignation, to cease from evil, and learn to do well ; — then I say unto thee, in the name of the Lord, " Thou art not far from the kingdom of God." One step more, and thou shalt enter in. Thou dost repent. Now, " believe the gospel.''^ 8. The gospel, (that is, good tidings, good news for guilty, helpiess sinners,) in the largest sense of the word, means, the whole revelation made to men by Jesus Christ ; and sometimes the whole accomit o* what our Lord did and suffered, while he tabernacled among men. The substance of all is, " Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners :' or, " God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, to tlie end we might not perish, but have everlasting life :" or," He was bruised for our transgressions ; he was wounded for our iniquities ; the chas- tisement of our peoce was upon him ; and with his stripes we are healed." 9. '* Believe" this, and the kingdom of God is thine. By faith thou attainest the promise. " He pardoneth and absolveth all that trulv or convict! ,KIIMON VII.] THE WAY TO THE KINGDOM. 6t •ing forth IS, of thy Jtions, — >rse, and up thine lis curse devoiii -earnest learn to 'hou art ^ou shait helpless tvelation iount 0* in. The iners :' to the j bruised te chas- we are |th thou It truly r -pent, and unfeignedly believe his holy gospel." As soon as ever God hath spoken to thy heart, " Be of good cheer, thy sins are forgiven thee," r is kingdom comes : thou hast " righteousness, and peace, and joy in tiie Holy Ghost." 10. Only beware thou do not deceive thy own soul, with regard to t';e nature of this faith. It is not, as some have fondly conceived, a I (ire assent to the truth of the Bible, of the articles of our creed, or of all that is contained in the Old and New Testament. The devils be- Icve this, as well as I or thou ! And yet they are devils still. But it is, over and above this, a sure trust in the mercy of God, through Christ Jesus. It is a confidence in a pardoning God. It is a divine evidence or conviction, that " God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not imputing to them their former trespasses ;" and, in particular, that the Son of God hath loved me, and given himself for vie, and that 1, even I, am now reconciled to God by the blood of the cross. 11. Dost thou thus believe 1 Then the peace of God is in thy heart, and sorrowing and sighing flee away. Thou art no longer in doubt oj tJie love of God ; it is clear as the noonday sun. Thou criest out, " My song shall be always of the loving kindness of the Lord : with my mouth will I ever be telling of thy truth, from one generation to another." Thou art no longer afraid of hell, or death, or him that had once the power of death, the devil ; no, nor painfully afraid of God himself; only tliou hast a tender, filial fear of offending him. Dost thou believe ? Then thy " soul doth magnify the Lord," and thy *' spirit rejoiceth in God thy Saviour." Thou rejoicest in that thou hast " redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins." Thou rejoicest in that " spirit of adoption," which crieth in thy heart, "Abba, Father!" Thou rejoicest in a " hope full of immortality ;" in reaching forth tinto the " mark of the prize of thy high calling ;" in an earnest expectation of all the good things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 12. Dost thou now believe 1 Then the love of God is now shed abroad in thy heart. Thou lovest him, because he first loved us. And, because thou lovest God, thou lovest thy brother also. And, being filled with " love, peace, joy," thou art also filled with " long suffering, gentleness, fidelity, goodness, meekness, temperance," and all the other fruits of the same Spirit ; in a word, with whatever dispositions are holy, are heavenly, or divine. For while thou beholdest with open, uncovered face, (the veil being now taken away,) " the glory of the Lord," his glorious love, and the glorious image wherein thou we ?, created, thou art " changed into the same image, from glory to glory, by the Spirit of the Lord." 13. This repentance, this faith, this peace, joy, love, this change from glory to glory, is what the wisdom of the world has voted to be madness, mere enthusiasm, utter distraction. But thou, oh man of God, regard them not ; be thou moved by none of these things. Thou know- est in whom thou hast believed. See that no man take thy crown. Whereunto thou hast already attained, hold fast, and follow, till thou attain all the great and precious promises. And thou who hast not yet known him, let not vain men make thee ashamed of the gospel of Christ. Be thou in nothing terrified by those who speak evil of the things which they know not. God will soon turn thy heaviness into joy. Oh let not thy hands hang down. Yet a little longer, and he will take aw.'ty — i CD CD —J 11^ CD CO ro TUB FIRST FRUITS OF TUB SPIRIT. [SERMON VIII. thy fears, and givo thee the spirit of a sound mind. He is nigh " that justifieth : who is he that oondemneth 1 It is Christ that died, yea rather, that roae again, who is even now at the right hand of God, making intercfession " for thee Now cast thyself on the Lamb of God, with all thy sins, how many soever they be; and "an entrance Hhall [now] he ministered unto thee, into the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ I" SERMON Ylll.^The First fruits of the Spirit. "There is therefore now no coudenuiation to tliem which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after t'le flesh, but after the Spirit." Rom. viii. 1. ANALYSIS. I. Those that are in Christ Jesus are distinguished : — i. By faith. 2. They do not sin. 3. They crucify the flesh. 4 They walk after the Spirit. 5. They exhibit its fruits. IL They are free from condemnation : — 1. For all past sin ; free before God and their conscience. 2. For all present sins; for they do not commit them. 3. They are not condemned for inward sin ; for though it remains, they do not yield themselves to it. 4. Nor for the sin which clbaves to all they do ; because they have constant union with Christ the intercessor. 5. Nor, for the same reason, are they condemned for infirmities. 6. Nor for any- thing which it is not in their power to help. 7. But sins of surprise bring condemnation, when there is neglect, but the watchful soul immediately returns to Christ. bKllMON VIII.] THE FIRST FKUITS OK THE 8PIH1T. III. Practical lessons. 71 1. Of encourajrement, to the W(!ak and tearfr.l. 2. Of warning, to the Christian who carelessly sins. 3. Of patient courage, to the one who struggles against inward sin. 4. Of support, to the one beset with infirmities and defects. 5. Of counsel, to the one overtaken by sudden temptation. INTRODUCTORY NOTES. This sermon brings ua into the very heart of the Methodist theology. The peculinrity of Methodisip lay not so much in its doctrines of Justi- fication, Regeneration, and Faitli. All tliese had been clearly defined and distinctly preached from tlie days of Luther and Calvin. But it lay in the concentration of all these into one experimental crisia of religious life, from which a consciously new life dated its beginning. For this crisis the name conversion was appropriated. In the New Testament this word denotes the act of freewill, by which man co-operates with God in the work of salvation. As, in the doctrine ot freedom, this act of man conditions the work of God, the word is not inappropriate to designate the great turning-point of spiritual life. In tlie great evangelical movements of the eighteent'.i and nineteenth century, this crisis of conversion has been peculiarly distinct, and is ])urely moral and religious in its character. In the light of our present knowledge of its nature, it is easy to trace the same crisis of experience in religious men in all ages. But at the era of the Reformation it was somewhat obscured by confusion with an intellectual change from error to truth. Its importance was never clearly apprehended in the Roman church on account of its sacramentarian views. Even in the patristic age the change from outward heathenism to Christianity obscured, and at last, when nations were converted by the will of their king, all but entirely supplanted the inward and moral change. It was thus in the providence of God reserved for the age of Methodism, not first to experience this form of religious life, but, for the first time since the days of the Apostles, to make it the central idea of a world-wide Gospel preaching. In the Apostolic age the spiritual crisis was quite as distinct, the moral power of the Holy Spirit overshadowing and throwing into the back-ground everything else. e> or: ^ ^ o CO cc rr) 72 TllK FlKaT FUU lift OK TllK Hl'lKlT. [SKKMON Vlll. In the eighteenth eentury God raised up many other proftchers of this present conscious wJvation besides the Weslcya. But in Metliodisni alone did tins fact of experimental crisis in the religious lile enter into the very heart of its standard the()h)gy, and exert a fnnntttive influence on its entire body of doctrine. In the iircsent sermon this experience is conscious freedom from condemnation ; in the next freedom from l)ond- age ; in the three following, conscious assurance of the favour of God and of inward ehauge. 4 SERMON VI IL 1. By *' them which are in Christ Jesus," St. Paul evidently means, those who truly believe in him ; those who, •* being justified by faith, have peace with God, through our Lord Jesus Christ." They who thus believe do no longer '* walk after the flesh," no longer follow the mo- tions of corrupt nature, but " after the Spirit ;" both their thoughts, words, and works, are under the direction of the blessed Spirit of God. 2. " There is therefore now no condemnation to" these. There is no condemnation to them from God ; for he hviihjustijied them " freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus." He hath forgiven all their iniquities, and blotted out all their sins. And there is no condemnation to them from within ; for they " have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God ; that they might know the things which are freely given to them of God," 1 Cor. ii, 12 ; which Spirit " beareth witness with their spirits, that they are the chil- dren of God." And to this is added the testimony of their conscience, " that in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, they have had their conversation in the world," 2 Cor. i, 12. 3. But because this scripture has been so frequently misunderstood, and that in so dangerous a manner; because such multitudes of "un- learned and unstable men," (oi ajxa^sig xa» asy]fixToi, men untaught ol God, and consequently unestablished in the truth which is after godli- ness,) have wrested it to their own destruction ; I propose to show, as clearly as I can, first, Who those are " which are in Christ Jesus, and walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit:" and, secondly. How" there is no condemnation to" these. I shall conclude with some practical inferences. I. 1. First I am to show. Who those are that " are in Christ Jesus." And are they not those who believe in his name 1 Those who are " foutjd in him, not having their own righteousness, but the righteous- ness which is of God by faith ?" These, who " have redemption through his blood," are properly said to be in Him. For they dwell in Christ, and Christ in them. They are joined unto the Lord in one Spirit. They are ingrafted into Him as branches into the vine. They are united as n embers to their Head, in a manner which words cannot express, nor could it before enter into their hearts to conceive SKUMON VIII. J THE FIRST FRUITS OP TUB SI'IKIT. 73 2. Now "whosoever abidcth in liim, sinn«tli not ;" " walkoth not after the flc^h." The tiesh, in tiic iiHual hmgiiagc of St. Paul, signifief corrupt niiturc. In this sense he uses the word, writing to theCialatinns, " The works of the lleslj are niunircst," Gul. v, 19 ; aiid a little before, " Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfd the lust (or desire) of the lleah," ch. v, 16. To prove which, namely, that those who *' walk hy tlie Spirit, do not fulfd the lusts of the Hesh,'* he iniiuediately adds, " l*'or the tlesh lusteth against the Spirit ; and the Spirit lusteth against the tlesh, (for these are contrary to each other,) that yc may not do the things which ye would." So the words are literally translated; (ivre |xt) a av 5«XT)Tf, TauT«, '?ro4*)T£') not " So that ye cannot do the things that ye would ;" as if the flesh overcame the Spirit : a transhuion which hath not only nothing to do with the original text of the apostle, biit likewise makes his whole argument nothing worth ; yea, asserts just ihe reverse of what he is proving. 3. They who are of Christ, who abide in him, '* have crucified the flesh with its aft'ections and lusts." They abstain from all those works of the flesh ; from " adultery and fornication ;" from " uncleanness and lasciviousness ;" from " idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance ;" from " emulations, wrath, strife, sedition, heresies, envyings, murders, drunk- enness, revellings;" from every de>ign, and word, and work, to which the corruption of nature leads. Although they feel the root of bitter- ness in themselves, yet are they endued with power from on high, to trample it continually under foot, so that it cannot " spring up to trouble them ;" insomuch, that every fresh assault which tliey undergo, only gives them fresh occasion of praise, of crying out "Thanks be unto God, who giveth us the victory, through Jesus Christ our Lord." 4. They now " walk after the Spirit," both in their hearts and lives. They are taughtof him to loveGod and their neighbour, with a love which is as " a well of water, springing up into everlasting life." And by him tlieyare led into every holy desire, into every divine and heavenly temper, till every thought which arises in their heart is holiness unto the Lord. 5. They who '• walk after the Spirit," are also led by him into all holiness of conversation. Their " speech is always in grace, seasoned with salt :" with the love and fear of God. " No corrupt communica- tion comes out of their mouth, but only that which is good ;" that which is " to the use of edifying ;" which is " meet to minister grace to the hearers." And herein likewise do they exercise themselves day and night, to do only the things which please God ; in all their outward be- haviour to fellow Him, "who left us an example that we might tread in his steps*," in all their intercourse with their neighbour to walk injustice, mercy, and truth ; and " whatsoever they do," in every circumstance of life, to " do all to the glory of God." 6 These are they who indeed " walk after the Spirit." Being filled with faith and with the Holy Ghost, they possess in their hearts, and show forth in their lives, in the whole course of ilieir words and actions, the genuine fruits of the Spirit of God, namely, " love, joy, peace, long suflering, gentleness, goodness, fidelity, meekness, temperance," and whatsoever else is lovely or praiseworthy. They " adorn in all things the gospel of God our Saviour ;" and give full proof to all mankind, that they are indeed actuated by the same Spirit " which raised up Jesus from the dead " :i THE FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT. [SERMON VIII. II. 1. I proposed to show, in the secona place, How " there is no con- demnation to them which are thus in Christ Jesus," and thus " walii, not aller the flesh, but after the Spirit." And, first, To believers in Christ, walking thus, " there is no con- dennation" on account of their past sins. God condemneth them not for any of these ; they are as though they had never been ; they are cast " as a stone into the depth of the sea, and he remembereth them no more. God having set forth his Son to he a propitiation" for them. " through faith in his blood," " hath declared unto them his righteous- ness, for the remission of the sins that are past." He layeth therefore none of these to their charge ; their memorial is perished with them. 2. And there is no condemnation in their own breast ; no sense ol guilt, or dread of the wrath of God. They " have the witness in them- sehes :" they are conscious of their interest in the blood of sprinkling. " They have not received again the spirit of bondage unto fear," unto doubt and racking uncertainty ; but they " have received the spirit of adoption," crying in their hearts, " Abba, Father." Thus being " justi- fied by faith," they have the peace of God ruling in their hearts ; flow- ing from a continual sense of his pardoning mercy, and " the answer ol a good conscience towards God." 3. If it be said, " but sometimes a believer in Christ may lose hia sight of the mercy of God ; sometimes such darkness may fall upon him that he no longer sees Him that is invisible, no longer feels that witness in himself of his part In the atoning blood ; and then he is inwardly condemned, he hath again the sentence of death in himself:" I answer, supposing it so to be, supposing him not to see the mercy of God, then he is not a believer : for faith implies light ; the light of God shining upon the soul. So far, therefore, as any one loses this light, he, for the time, loses his faith. And, no doubt, a true believer in Christ may lose the light of faith ; and so far as this is lost, he may, for a time, fall again into condemnation. But this is not the case of them who now " are in Christ Jesus," who now believe in his name. For so long as they believe and walk after the Spirit, neither God condemns them, nor their own heart. 4. They are not condemned, secondly, for any present sins, for now transgressing the commandments of God. For they uo not transgress them; they do not " walk after the flesh, but after the Spirit.'' This is the continual proof of their " love of God, that they keep his command- ments ;" even as St. John bears witness, " Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin. For his seed remaineth in him, ana he cannot sin, because he is born of God :" he cannot, so long as that seed of God, that loving, holy faith remaineth in him. So long as •' he keepeth him self" herein, " that wicked one toucheth him not.'' Now it is evident, he is not condemned for the sins which he doth not commit at all. They, therefore, who are thus " led by the Spirit, are not under the law," Gal. V, 18. Not under the curse or condemnation of it; for it condemns none but those who break it. Thus, that law of God, " Thou shah not steal," condemns none but those who do steal. Thus, " Re- member the sabbath day to keep it holy," condemns those only who do not keep it holy. But against the fruits of the Spirit, " there is no law," ch. V, 23 ; as the apostle more largely declares, m those memorable Aords of his former epistle to Timothy: " We know that the law is ^EIIMjN VIII.] THE FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT. 76 good, if a man use it lawfully ; knowing this," (if while he us^es the law of God, in order either to convince or direct, he know and remember this,) on 5ixaitf) vof/o<: ou xsirai; (not that the law is not made for a right eous man ; but) " that the law does not lie against a rightpon? :..an ;" it has no force against him, no power to condemn him ; " but against the lawless and disobedient, against the ungodly and sinners, against the unholy and profane ; according to the glorious gospel of the blessed God,"l Tim. i^ S, 9, 11. 5. They are not condemned, thirdly, for inward sin, even though it does now remain. That the corruption of nature does still remain, even in those who are the children of God by faith ; that they have in thorn the seeds of pride and vanity, of anger, lust, and evil desire, yea, sin of every kind ; is too plain to be denied, being matter of daily experience. And on this account it is that St. Paul, speaking to those whom he had just before witnessed to be " in Christ Jesus," 1 Cor. i, 2, 9, to have been " called of God into the fellowship (or participation) of his Son Jesus Christ ;" yet declares, " Brethren, I could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ ;" 1 Cor. iii, 1 ; " Babes in Christ ;" so we see they were " in Christ ;" they were believers in a low degree. And yet how much of sin remained in them ! Of that " carnal mind, which is not subject to the law of God !" 6. And yet, for all this, they are not condemned. Although they feel the flesh, the evil nature in them ; although they are more sensible, day by day, that their " heart is deceitful and desperately wicked ;" yet, so long as they do not yield thereto ; so long as they give no place to the devil ; so long as they maintain a continual war with all sin, with pride, anger, desire, so that the flesh hath not dominion over them, but they still " walk after the Spirit ;" there is " no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." God is well pleased with their sincere, though imperfectobedience: and they" have confidence towardsGod," knowing they are his, " by the Spirit which he hath given them," 1 John iii, 24. 7. Nay, fourthly, although they are continually convinced of sin cleaving to all they do ; although they are conscious of not fulfilling the perfect law, either in their thoughts, or words, or works; although they know they do not love the Lord their God with all their heart, and mind, and soul, and strength ; although they feel more or less of pride, or self will, stealing in and mixing with their best duties; although even m their more immediate intercourse with God, when they assemble themselves with the great congregation, and when they pour out their souls in secret to him who seeth all the thoughts and intents of the heart, - CO QC UJ 76 THE FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT. [SBRMON VIll, SERUd 8. They are not condemned, fifthly, for sins of infirmity, as they are usually culled. Perhaps it were advisable rather to call them infirmities, that we may not seem to give any countenance to sin, or to extenuate it in any degree, by thus coupling it with infirmity. But (if we must retain so ambiguous and dangerous an expression,) by sins of infirmity I would mean, such involuntary failings, as the saying a thing wc believe true, though, in fact, it prove to be false ; or the hurting our neighbour with out knowing or designing it, perhaps when we designed to do him good. Though these are deviations from the holy, and acceptable, and perfect will of God, yet they are not properly sins, nor do they bring any guilt on the conscience of " them which are in Christ Jesus." They separate not between God and them, neither intercept the light of his counte- nance ; as being no ways inconsistent with their general character ol ' walking not after the fiesh, but after the Spirit." 9. Lastly, " There is no condemnation" to them for any thing whatever, which it is not in their power to help ; whether it be of an inward or outward nature, and whether it be doing something, or leaving something undone. For instance, the Lord's supper is to be administered ; but you do not partake thereof. Why do you not 1 You are confined by sickness ; therefore, you cannot help omitting it ; and for the same reason you are not condemned. There is no guilt, be- cause there is no choice. As there " is a willing mind, it is accepted, according to that a man hath, not according to that he hath not." 10. A believer indeed may sometimes be grieved, because he cannot do what his soul longs for. He may cry out, when he is detained from worshipping God in the great congregation, " Like as the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, oh God. My soul is athirst for God, yea, even for the living God : when shall I come to appear in the presence of God ?" He may earnestly desire (only- still saying in his heart, " Not as I will, but as thou wilt") to " go again with the multitude, and bring them forth into the house of God." But still if he cannot go, he feels no condemnation, no guilt, no sense of God's displeasure ; but can cheerfully yield up those desires with, " Oh, my soul ! put thy trust in God. For I will yet give him thanks, who is the help of my countenance and my God." 11. It is more difficult to determine concerning those which are usually styled, sins of surprise : as when one who commonly in patience possesses his soul, on a sudden and violent temptation, speaks or acts in a manner not consistent with the royal law, " Thou shalt love thy neighbo'ur as thyself." Perhaps it is not easy to fix a general rule, concerning transgressions of this nature. We cannot say, either that men are, or that they are not condemned, for sins of surprise in general. But it seems, whenever a believer is by surprise overtaken in a fault, there is more or less condemnation, as there is more or less concurrence of his will. In proportion as a sinful desire, or word or dctiun. is more or less voluntary, so we may conceive God is more or less displeased, and there is more or less guilt upon the soul. 12. But if so, then there may be some sins of surprise, wnich bring much guilt and condemnation. For. in some instances, our being sur- prised is owing to some wilful and culpable neglect; or, to a sleepiness of soul which mignt have been preienved , or shaken off before the tempta. tion came. A man may be previously varned either of God or man that ti| little S suci ne mi^ have surpri^ such, own cd 13. world, which believe! a degre SERMON VIII.] THE FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT. that trials and dangers are at hand ; and yet may say in his heart, '' A little more slumber, a little more folding of the hands to rest." Now, if such a one afterwards fall, though unawares, into the snare which ne might have avoided, — that he fell unawares is no excuse ; he iQight have foreseen and have shunned the danger. The falling, even by surprise, in such an instance as this, is, in effect, a w dful sin ; and. as such, must expose the sinner to condemnation, both from God and hii own conscience. 13. On the other hand, there may be sudden assaults, either from the world, or the god of this world, and frequently from our own evil hearts, which we did not, and hardly could, foresee. And by these even a believer, while weak in faith, may possibly be borne down, suppose into a degree of anger, or thinking evil of another, with scarce any concur- rence of his will. Now, in such a case, the jealous God would undoubt- edly show him that he had done foolishly. He would be convinced of having swerved from the perfect law, from the mind which was in Christ, and consequently, grieved with a godly sorrow, and lovingly osltamed before God. Yet need he not come into condemnation. God layeth not folly to his charge, but hath compassion upon him, " even as a father pitieth his own children." And his heart condomneth him not ; in the midst of that sorrow and shame, he can ?till say, " I will trust and not be afraid ; for the Lord .lehovah is my strength and my song ; he also is become my salvation." HI. 1. It remains only to draw some practical inferences from the preceding considerations. And, first, if there be " no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, and walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit," on account of their past sin ; then, why art thou fearful, oh thou of little faith ? Though thy sins were once more in number than the sand, what is that to thee, now thou art in Christ Jesus ? " Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect ? It is God that justifieth ; who is he that condemneth ?" All the sins thou hast committed from thy youth up, until the hour when thou wast " accepted in the Beloved," are driven away as chaff, are gone, are lost, swallowed up, remembered no more. Thou art now " born of the Spirit :" wilt thou be troubled or afraid of what is done before thou wert born ? Away with thy fears ! Thou art not called to fear, but to the " spirit of love and of a sound mind." Know thy calling ! Rejoice in God thy Saviour, and give thanks to God thy Father through him I 2. "Wilt thou say, " 5ut I have again committed sin, since I had redemption through hi blood 1 And therefore it is, that ' I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.' " It is meet thou shouldest abhor thyself; and it is God who hath wrought thee to this self-same thing But,, dost thou now believe ? Hath he again enabled thee to say, " 1 know that my Redeemer liveth ;" " and the life which I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God ?" Then that faith again cancels all that is past, and there is no condemnation to thee. At whatsoever time thou truly believest in the name of the Son of God, all thy sins, antecedent to that hour, vanish away as the morning dew. Now then, " Stand thou fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made thee free." He hath once more made thee free from the power of sin, as well as from the guilt and punishment of it. Oh, " be not entangled again with tho -J c::> c:> \^ 5C CD CO QC 78 THE FIRST FRUITS OP THE SPIKIT. [sERMON VIII. yoke of bondage !" — neither the vile, devilish bondage of ?in, of evil desires, evil tempers, or words, or works, the most grievous yoke on this side hell ; nor the bondageof slavish, tormenting fear, of guilt and self condemnation. 3. But, secondly : Do all they which abide " in Christ Jesus, walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit ?" Then we cannot but infer, that whosoever now conunitteth sin, hath no part or lot in this matter. He is even now condemned by his own heart. But, " if our heart condemn us," if our own conscience beareth witness that we are guilty, undoubtedly God doth ; for ** he is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things ;" so tiiat we cannot deceive him, if we can ourselves. And think not to say, " I was justified once ; my sins were once forgiven me :" I know not that; neither will I dispute whether they were or no. Perhaps, at this distance of time, it is next to impossible to know with any tolerable degree of certainty whether that was. a true, genuine work of God, or whether thou didst only deceive thy own soul. But this I know, with the utmost degree of certainty," He that conmiitteth sin is of the devil." Therefore, thou art of thy father the devil. It cannot be denied : for the wrrks of thy fatlier thou doest. Oh flatter not tliy- self with vain hopes. Say not to thy soul. Peace, peace ! For there is no peace. Cry aloud ! Cry unto God out of the deep ; if haply he may hear thy voice. Come unto him, as at first, as wretched and poor, as sinful, miserable, blind, and naked ! And beware thou suffer thy soul to take no rest, till liis pardoning love be again revealed ; till he " heal thy backslidings," and fill thee again with the " faith that worketh by love." 4. Thirdly, Is there no condemnation to them which " walk after the Spirit," by reason of inward sin still remaining, so long as they do not give way thereto ; nor by reason of aiti cleaving to all they do. Then fret not thyself because of ungodliness, though it still remain in thy heart. Repine not, because thou still comest short of the glorious image of God ; nor yet because pride, self will, or unbelief, cleave to all thy words and works. And be not afraid to know all this evil ol thy heart, to know thyself as also thou art known. Yea, desire of God, that thou mayest not think of thyself more highly than thou oughtesi to think. Let thy continual prayer be, " Show me, as my soul can bsar, The deptii of inbred sin : AD the unbelief declare, Tlie pride that lurks witiiin." But when lie heareth thy prayer, and unveils thy heart ; when he shows thee thoroughly what spirit thou art of; then beware that thy faith fail thee not, that thou suffer not thy shield to be torn from thee. Be abased. Be humbled in the dust. See thyself nothing, less than nothiiig and vanity. But still " let not thy heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." Still hold fast, " I, even I, have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." " And as the heavens are higher than the earth, so is his love higher than even my sins." Therefoie, God i& merciful to thee a sinner ! Such a sinner as thou art ! God is love ; ana Christ hath died ! Therefore, the Father himself loveth thee ! Thou art his child ! Therefore he will withhold from thee no manner of thing that is good. Is it good, that the whole body of sin, which is now crucified in thee, should be destroyed f It shall be done I Thou shall be SEKMOX IX.J SPIltlT OF BONUAGi: AND ADOPTIJN. 7U • cleansed from all filthincss, both of flesh and spirit." Is it good, that nothing should remain in thy heart, but the pure love of God alone ? Be of good cheer ! " Thou shall love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and mind, and soul, and strength." " Faithful is he that hath promised, who also will do it." It is thy part, patiently to continue in the work of faith, and in the labour of love ; and in cheerful peace, in humble confidence, with calm and tesigned, and yet earnest expecta- tion, to wait till the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform this. 5. Fourthly, If tliey that " are in Christ, and walk after the Spirit," are not condemned for sins of infirtnity, as neither for iucolutitary failings, uor for any thing whatever which they are not able to help; then beware, oh thou that hast faith in his blood, that Satan herein " gain no advantage over thee." Thou art still foolish and weak, blind and ignorant ; more weak than any words can express ; more foolish than it can yet enter into thy heart to conceive ; knowing nothing yet as thou oughtest to know. Yet let not all thy weakness and folly, or any fruit thereof, which thou art not yet able to avoid, shake thy faith, thy filial trust in God, or disturb thy peace or joy in the Lord. The nde which some give, as to wilful sins, and which, in that case, may perhaps be dangerous, is undoubtedly wise and safe, if it be applied only to the case of weakness and infirmities. Art thou fallen, oh man of God ? Yet, do not lie there, fretting thyself and bemoaning thy weakness ; but meekly say, Lord, 1 shall fall thus every moment, unless thou up hold me with thy hand. And then arise ! Leap and walk ! Go on thy way ! " Run with patience the race set before thee." 6. Lastly. Since a believer need not come into condenmation, even though he be surpi'isvd into what his soul abhors ; (suppose his benig surprised is not owing to any carelessness or wilful neglect of his own ;) if tliou who believest, art thus overtaken in a fault, then grieve unto the Lord ; it shall be a precious balm : poijr out thy heart before him, and show him of thy trouble. And pray with all thy might to him wjio is " touched with the feeling of thy infirmities," that he would establish, and strengthen, and settle thy soul, and suflTer thee to fall no more But still he condemneth thee not. Wherefore shouldest thou fear ! Thou hast no need of any " fear that hath torment." Thou shalt love him that loveth thee, and it sufliceth: more love will bring more strength. And, as soon as thou lovest him with all thy heart, thou shalt be " per feet and entire, lacking nothing." Wait in peace for that hour, when * the God of peace shall sanctify thee wholly, so that thy whole spirit, and soul, and body, may be preserved blameless unto the coming of oui Lord Jesus Christ !" SERMON IX. — The Spirit of Bondage and Adoption. " Ye have not received the spirit of bondage again unto fear ; but ye have leceived the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." Rom. viii. 16. man. ANALYSIS. Three moral states are here implied. The natural the man under the law, and the man under grace. I. The natural man — is asleep ; secure ; ignorant of him- self ; walks in fancied joy and liberty ; is the willing servant of siu. cc: c::> c::> a:: 5 o CO GC iSM SPIKIT OF BOMMOE AND ADOPTION. [SKRMON IX. II. The man under the law — is av/akened ; sees the breadtli of God's law and his own sin ; feels the anguish of a wounded spirit ; struggles against his chains, but in vain ; and is described in tlie seventh chapter of Romans. III. The man under grace — has received the spirit of adoption ; sees God's love ; freed from the guilt and power of iin is become the servant of righteousness. SuMMAitY. — The first neither fears nor loves God, has false peace and fancied liberty, sins willingly, and neither fights nor conquers. The second fears but does not love God, walks in the painful liglit of hell ; has no peace, lives in bondage, sins unwillingly, and fights but does not conquer. The third loves God, walks in the light of heaven, has true peace, and liberty of God'schildren,sinnethnot,andismore than conqueror. Iv. Lessons. 1. Sincerity is not sufficient. 2. These states are sometimes mingled. 3. A man may go far and yet be only iu a legal state. 4. Let us not rest short of the best things. INTRODUCTORY NOTES. In this sermon we have very clearly presentcfl, the discriminating breadth of Mr. Wesley's analysis of the religious condition of mankind. While the classification of moal states is simple and exact, it recognize^;, in the ivohationary state, three forms of moral condition, not two only, as will be the case when probation is ended. And it still further recoijiiizeH the fact that a man's position may be so uncertainly defined, that he may vacillate between first and second, or between second and third, of these ihree. But the uncertainties and imperfections^f the human will lead him to preach no uncertain gospel. He preaches the lull standard of salvation, anl in the name of his Master summons all men to meet its full requirements. The special aspect of salvation presented in this sermon is the blessed privilege of freedom from the bondage of sin. Mr. Wesley understands this to be, not an imputed or ideal freedom, but a real and moral freedom. This is enlarged in a subsequent dis- course. This great truth he receivcMl from the Moravian church. He says, " Wheu Peter Bcehler, whom God had prepared for me as soon as I came to London, affirmed of true faith in Christ, that it had those two fruits inseparably attending it, ' Dominion over sin, and constant peace from a sense of lorgiveness,' I was quite amazed, and looked upon it as a new Gospel." But when he had verified it by the Word of God, and in his own experience, he held and preached it henceforth as the truth of God. We shall see, however, in the thirteenth and fourteenth sermons, how he guarded this important truth against one-sided inter- pretations put upon it by the Moravians. Except among a few of the profounder mystics, this truth had been lost to the view of the Christian Church ever since the Apostolic and primitive age, and Mr. Wesley regarded its restoration as one of the special ends for which God raised up Methodism SERMON IX. 1. St. Paul here speaks to those who are the children of God by faith. " Ye," saith he, who are indeed his children, have drank into his Spirit ; " ye have not received the spirit of bondage again unto fear:" " but, because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son were unc SERMON IX.j SPIRIT OF BONDAGE AND ADOPTION. 81 into your hearts." *' Ye received the spirit of adoption, wherehy wa cry, Abba, Father." 2. The spirit of bondage and fear is widely distant from this loving spirit of adoption : those who are inHuenced only by slavish ffear, cannot be termed " the sons of God ;" yet some of tliein may be styled his servants, and are " not far from the kingdom of heaven." 3. But it is to be feared, the bulk of mankind, yea, of what is called the ChrUtinn world, have not attained even this ; but are still afar off, " neither is God in all their thoughts." A few names may be found of those who love God ; a few more there are that fear him ; but the greater part have neither the fear of God before their eyes, nor the love of God in their hearts. 4. Perhaps most of you, who, by the mercy of God now partake of a better spirit, may remember the time when yo were as they, when ye were under the same condemnation. But at first ye knew it not, though ye were wallowing daily in your sins and in your blood ; till, in due time, ye " received the spirit of fear ;" {tje. received, for this also is the gift of God ;) and afterwards fear vanished away, and the spirit of love tilled your hearts. 5. One who is in the first state of mind, without fear or love, is in Scripture termed a natural man. One who is under the spirit of bond- age and fear, is sometimes said to be under the lata : (although that expression more frequently signifies one who is under the Jewish dis- pensation, or who thinks himself obliged to observe all the rites and ceremonies of the Jewish law :) but cue who has exchanged the spirit of fear for the spirit of love, is properly said to be under grace. Now, because it highly imports us to know what spirit we are of, I shall endeavour to point out distinctly. First, The state of a natural man : Secondly, That of one who is under the law : and. Thirdly, o( one who is under grace. 1. 1. And, first, the state of a natural man. This the Scripture repre- sents as a state of sleep: the voice of God to him is, "Awake, thou that sleepest." For his soul is in a deep sleep : his spiritual senses are not awake : they discern neither spiritual good nor evil. The eyes of his understanding are closed ; they are sealed together, and see not. Clouds and darkness continually rest upon them ; for he lies in the valley of the shadow of death. Hence, having no inlets for the knowledge of spiritual things, all the avenues of his soul being shut up, he is in gross, stupid ignorance of whatever he is most concerned to know. He is utterly ignorant of God, knowing nothing concerning him as he ought to know. He is totally a stranger to the law of God, as to its true, in- ward, spiritual meaning. He has no conception of that evangelical holi noss, without which no man shall see the Lord ; nor of the happiness, which they only find, whose " life is hid with Christ in God." 2. And for this very reason, because he is fast asleep, he is, in some sense, at rest. Because he is blind he is also secure : he saith " Tush, there shall no harm happen unto me." The darkness which covers him on every side, keeps him in a kind of peace ; so far as peace can consist with the works of the devil, and with an earthly, devilish mind He sees not that he stands on the edgie of the pit, therefore he fern s it not. He cannot tremble at the danger he does not knoio. He has not i>ndersian bins, and " counted the blood of the covenant an unholy," a ccmmoii, unsanctifying thing. 3. And as he knows, " all things are naked and open unto the eyi s of him with whom we have to do," so he sees himself naked, stri|)ped of all the fig leaves which he had sewed together, of all his poor pretences to religion or virtue, and his wretched excuses for sinning against God, lie now sees himself like the ancient sacrifices, Tfr^ap^igiKicrfjiEvov, cleft in simder, as it were, from the neck downward, so that all within him stands confessed. His heart is bare, and he sees it is all sin, " deceit- ful above all things, desperately wicked ;" that it is altogether corrupt and abominable, more than it is possible for tongue to express ; thai there dwelleth tlierein no good thing, but unrighteousness and ungod- linessonly; every motion thereof, every temper and thought, being ouly evil continually. 4. And he not only sees, but feels in himself, by an emotion of soul whioh he cannot describe, that for the sins of his heart, were his life without blame, (which yet it is not, and cannot be ; seeing " an evil tree cannot bring forth good fruit,") he deserves to be cast into the fire that never shall be quenched. He feels that the wages, the just reward of sifi, of his sin above all, is death ; even the second death ; the death which dieth not; the destruction of body and soul in hell. 5. Here ends his pleasing dream, his delusive rest, his false peace, his vam security. Flis joy now vanishes as a cloud ; pleasures, once loved, delight no more. They pall upon the taste : he loathes the nau- seous sweet ; he is weary to bear them. The shadows of happiness (lee aw^ay, and sink into oblivion : so that he is stripped of all, and wan- ders to and fro, seeking rest and finding none. 6. Tlie fumes of those opiates being now dispelled, he feels the anguish of a wounded spirit. He finds that sin let loose upon the soul (whether it be pride, anger, or evil desire, whether self will, malice, envy, revenge, or any other) is perfect misery. He feels sorrow of heart for the bless- ings he has lost, and the curse which is come upon him ; remorse for having thus destroyed himself, and despised his own mercies ; fear, from a lively sense of the wrath of God, and of the consequences of liis wrath, of the punishment which he has justly deserved, and which lie sees hanging over his head ; — fear of death, as being to him the gate ot hell, the entrance of death eternal ; — fear of the devil, the executioner of the wrath and righteous vengeance of God ; — fear of men, who, if they were able to kill his body, would thereby plunge both body and soul into hell ; — fear, sometimes arising to such a height, that the poor sinful, guilty soul, is terrified with everything, with nothing, with shades with a leaf shaken of the wind. Yea, sometimes it may even border upon distraction, making a man " drunken though not with wine," sus- |)6nding the exercise of the memory, of the understanding, of all the natural faculties. Sometimes it may approach to the very brink of de- spair ; so that he who trembles at the name of death, may yet be ready to plunge into it every moment, to " choose strangling rather than life." Well may such a rnan roar, like him of old, for the very disquietness oi his heart. Well may he cry out, " The spirit of a man may sustain liif infirmities ; but a wounded spirit who can bear 1" i IlMON IX. I SPIRIT OF BONDAGE AND ADOPTION. 8fi 7. Now he truly desires to break loose from sin, and begins to stiti^ iri>> wit!) it. But though he strive with all his might, he cannot conquer . ^iii is mightier than he. lie would lain utjcape ; but he is so fast in I ison, that he cannot get forth. lie resolves against sin, but yet sins II I : he sees the snare, and abhors, and runs into it. So much does hin li .isted reason avail, — only to enhance his guilt, and increase his mi M ry ! Such is the freedom of his will ; free oidy to evil ; free to " drink ii; iui(iuity like water ;" to wander farther and farther from the living (i 111, and do more " desi)ite to the Spirit of grace !" s. The more he strives, wishes, labours to be free, the more does he loci his chains, the grievous chains of sin, wherewith Satan binds and " leads him captive at his will :" his servant he is, though he repine ever <() much ; though he rebel, he cannot prevail, lie is still in bondage and fear, by reason of sin : generally, of some outward sin, to which he is peculiarly disjjosed, either by nature, custom, or outward circumstan- cis; but always, of some inward sin, some evil temper or unholy aH'ec- iimi. And the more he frets against it, the more it prevails; he mny liitc but cannot break his chain. Thus he toils without end, rej)enting and thinning, and repenting and sinning again, till at length, the poor, siiil'iil, helpless wretch, is even at his wit's end ; and can barely groan, " (Jh wretched man that I am ! who shall deliver me from the body oi I Ills death .'" !). This whole struggle of one who is midcr the. law, under the spirit of fear and bimdage, is beautifully described by the apostle in the fore- iroiiig chapter, speaking in the person of an awakened man. " I," saith he, " was alive without the law once," ver. 9 : I had much life, wisdom, strength, and virtue; so I thought: "but, when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died :" when the commandment, in its s|>irit- iial meaning, came to my heart, with the power of God, my inbred sin was stirrcii up, fretted, inflamed, and all my virtue died away. " And till! commandment which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slow me," ver. 10,11: it came upon me unawares ; slew all my hopes ; and plainly showed, in the midst of life J was in death. " Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just and good," ver. 12 : 1 no longer lay the blame on this, but on the corruption of my own heart. I acknowledge that " the law is spiritual : but I am carnal, sold under sin," ver. 14 : I now see both the spiritual nature of the law, and my own carnal, devilish heart sold under sin, totally enslaved : (like slaves bought with money, who were absolutely at their master's dispo sal :) " For that which I do, I allow not; for what I would, I do not; l)iit what I hate, that I do," ver. 15 : such is the bondage under which I groan ; such the tyranny of my hard master. " To will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good, I find not. For the good that I would, I do not ; but the evil which I would not, that I do, ver. 18, 19. "I find a law, [an inward constraining power,] that when I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in [or consent to] the law of God, after the inward man," ver. 21, 22 : in my mind so the apostle explains himself in the words that immediately follow : (and so o e'fu avQpwKos, the inward man, is understood in all other Greek writers :) " But I see another law in my members, [another constrain- ing power,] warring against the law of mv mind, or inward man. and ac: i — i c::> c:> CD 52 86 dPIBIT or BoNDAaR AND ADOPTIOK. [SEUMON IX briiif^ing me into captivity to tin; law [or powor] olsin," vcr. 23 ; drag- ginjj mn, as it were, at my conqueror's chariot vvlu-els, into the very llii«i}j which my soul abhors. '* i)\\ wretched man that 1 am ! who shall rnce or favour in the sight of God, even the Father; and who has \.\\c frrdcv. or power of the Holy Ghost, reigning in his heart: who has received, in the language of the apostle, the " S|)irit of adoption, whereby" he now cries," A bba. Father !" 2. " He cried unto the Lord in his trouble, and God delivers him out of his distress." His eyes are opened in (juite another manner than before, even to see a loving, gracious God. While he is calling, " I beseech thee, show me thy glory !" — he hears a voice in his inmost sonl, " I will make all my goodness pas? before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord : I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will sliow mercy to whom I will show mercy." And, it is not long before " the Lord descends in the cloud, and proclaims the name of the Lord." Then he sees, but not with eyes of flesh and blood, " The Lord the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long suflering, and abundant in goodness and truth ; keepiv;:; mercy for thousands, and forgiving iniqui ties, and transgressions, and sin." 3. Heaveidy, healing light now breaks in upon his soul. He " looks on him whom he had pierced ;" and " God, who out of darkness com- manded light to shine, shineth in his heart." He sees the light of the glorious love of God, in the face of Jesus Christ. He hath a divine " evidence of things not seen" by sense, even of" the deep things of God ;" more particularly of the love of God, of his pardoning lovo to him that believes in Jesus. Overpowered with the sight, his whole soit' cries out, " My Lord and my God !" For he sees all his iniquities laid on Him, who " bare them in his own body on the tree ;" he beholds the Lamb of God taking away his sins. How clearly now does he discern, chat " God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself; making him sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteous- ness of God through him ;" — and that he himself is reconciled to God, by that blood of the covenant ! 4. Here end both the guilt and power of sin. He can now say, " 1 am crucified with Christ ; nevertheless I live ; yet not 1, but Christ liveth in me : and the life which I now live in the .^esh, (even in this mortal Iwdy,) I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and jjfava > \ ^KRMON IX SrilUT or IKiNDAUK AND ADOPTION. 87 ' looks !ss corii- |ht of the divine lole sou' ■ties laid [olds the liscerii, Iniaking litcous- Ito God, Isay, "I Christ in this id >iavfl hiiurtcir for me." Here end remorse nnas no fear of death ; hy reason whereof he was in time past, fur iso many years, " std)ject to hondage." Rather, knowing that " if the eurlhly house of this taher- naclc be dissolved, he hath a IjuiUling <(f God, u houM- not made with hands, eternal in the heavens; li*" v;r(»anelh earnCvStly, desiring to be clothed upon with that house \t'hicli in from heaven." He groans to shake olVthis house; of earth, that mortaiir* may be swallowed ii|) of life ; knowing that Gos8 SPIRIT OK BONDAGE AND ADOPTION. (SERMON IX eiijoys the true glorious liberty of the sons of God. An unawakeiied child of the devil, sins willingly ; one tiiat is awakened, sins unwillingly ; a child of God sinneth not, hut " keepeth himself, and the wicked one toucheth him not." To conclude : the natural man neither conquers nor fighti3 ; the man under the law fights with sin, but cannot conquer *, the man under grace fights and conquers ; yea, is " more than con queror, through iiim that loveih him." iV. 1. From this plain account of the threefold state of man, the natural, the legal, and the evangelical, it appears that it is not sutHcient to divide mankind into sincere and in.. icere. A man may be sincere in Piiy of these states ; not only when he has the " spirit of adoption," but while he has the " spirit of bondage unto lear ;" yea, while he has neither this tear, nor love. For undoubtedly there may be sincere heathens, as well as sincere Jews, or Christians. This circumstance, then, does by no irieans prove that a man is in a state of acceptance with God. Examine yourselves, therefore, not only whether ye are sincere, " but whether ye be in the faith." Examine narrowly, (for it imports you much,) what is the ruling principle in your soul. Is it the love of God? Is it the fear of God \ or is it neither one nor the other? Is it not rather the love of the world ? the love of pleasure ? or gain ? of ease ? or reputation ? If so, you are not come so far as a Jew. You are but a heathen still. Have you heaven in your heart ? Have you the s|)irit of adoption, ever crying, Abba, Father ? Or do you cry unto God, as " out of the belly of hell," overwhelmed with sorrow and fear 1 Or are you a stranger to this whole affair, and cannot imagine v/hat I mean ? Heathen, pull ofi'the mask ! Thou hast never put on Christ! Stand barefaced ! Look up to 1 caven ; and own before Him that liveth f^jr ever and ever, thou hast no part, either among the sons or servants of God! Whosoever thou art : dost thou commit sin, or dost thou not ? If thou dost, is it willingly, or unwillingly \ In either case God hath told thee whose thou art : " He that committeth sin is of the devil." If thou committest it willingly, thou art his faithful servant : he will not fail to reward thy labour. If unwillingly ; still thou art his servant God deliver thee out of his hands ! Art thou daily fighting against all sin ? and daily more than con- queror ? I acknowledge thee for a child of God. Oh stand fast in thy glorious liberty ! Art thou fighting, but not conquering ? striving foi the mastery, but not able to attain ? Then thou art not yet a believer in Christ; but follow on, and thou shalt know the Lord. Art thou not ighting at all, but leading an easy, indolent, fashionable life ? Oh how hast thou dared to name the name of Christ, only to make it a reproach among the heathen ? Awake, thou sleeper ! Call upon thy God, before the '^'^ep swallow thee up ! 2. l*erhapp one reason why so many think of themselves more highly than they ought to think, why they do not discern what state they are in, is, because these several states of soul are often mingled together, and in some measure meet in one and the same person. Thus expe- rience? shows, that the legal state, or state of fear, is frequenJy mixed with the natural ; for few men are so fast asleep in sin, but they are eoipeliines, more or less, awakened. As the Spirit of God does not KUMON IX.] SITRIT OF BONDAGE AND ADOPTION. 89 '• wait for the call of man," so, ai, some times, he will be heard. He puts tliem ill foiir, so that, for a season at least, the heathen " know tliomselves to be but men." They feel the burden of sin, and earnestly ilisire to flee from' the wrath to come. But not long : they seldom suffei the arrows of conviction to go deep into their souls ; but (juickly stifle tiie grace of Ciod, and return to their wallowing in the mire. In like manner, the evangelical state, or state of love, is frequently mixed with the legal. For few of those who have the spirit of bondage and fear, remain always without hope. The wise and gracious God r.irely suffers this: " for he remembereth that we are but dust;" and he willeth not that " the flesh should fail before him, or the spirit which he hath made." Therefore, at such times as he seeth good, he gives a (i-.iwning of light unto them that sit in darkness. He causes a part of his goodness to pass before them, and shows that he is a " God that hcareth the prayer." Tiiey see the promise, which is by faith in Christ Jesus, though it be yet afar ofl"; and hereby they are encouraged to " run with patience the race which is set before them." 3. Another reason why many deceive themselves, is, because they do not consider how far a man may go, and yet be in a natural, or, at l)est, a legal state. A man may be of a compassionate and a benevo- lent temper ; he may be affable, courteous, getierous, friendly ; he may have some degree of meekness, patience, temperance, and of many other moral virtues. He may feel many desires of shaking off all vice, and of attaining higher degrees of virtue. He may abstain from much evil ; perhaps from all that is grossly contrary to justice, mercy, or truth. He may do much good, may feed the hungry, clothe the naked, relieve the widow and fatherless. He may lattend public worship, use prayer in private, read many books of devotion ; and yet for all this, he may be a mere natural man, knowing neither himself nor God ; equally a stranger to the s|)irit of fear and to that of love ; having neither repented, nor believed the gospel. But suppose there were added to all this a deep conviction of sm, with much fear of the wrath of God ; vehement desires to cast off everv sin, and to fulfil all righteousness; frequent rejoicing in hope, and touches of love often glancing upon the soid ; yet neither do these prove a man to be under grace, to have true, living, Christian faith, unless the Spirit of adoption abide in his heart, unless he can continually cry. " Abba, Father !" 4. Beware then, thou who art called by the name of Christ, that thou come not short of the mark of thy high calling. Beware thou rest not, either in a natural state, with too many that are accounted good Chrit ■ (inns ; or in a legal state, wherein those who are highly esteemed ot men, are generally content to live and die. Nay, but God hath prepared belter things for thee, if thou tbilow on till thou attain. Thou art not cidled to fear and tremble, like devils, but to rejoice and love, like the angels of God. " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength." Thou shalt " rejoice evermore ;" thou shalt " pray without ceasing ;" thou shalt " in every thing give thanks." Thou shalt do tht» wdl ol God on earth as it is done in heaven. Oh prove thou " what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God." Now present thyself " a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God." *' Whereunto thou hast oc: 90 WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. [sEKMO>S X AND XI. already attained, hold fast," by reaching forth unto those thinga which are before ; until " the God of peace make thee perfect in every good work, working in thee that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ ; to whom be glory for ever and ever ! Aiuen 1 " SERMONS X. AND XI.— The Witness of the Spirit. ANALYSIS r. The mistakes of enthusiasm on this subject. The mistakes of reason in the opposite direction. I. The nature of the witness. 1. Of our own spirit. It must not supphmt the testimony of God's Spirit. Its foundation is laid in the scriptural marks of the child of God. Conscience testifies that we have these marks. Hence assurance that we are cliildren of God. 2. Of God's Spirit. "An inward impression on the soul, whereby the Spirit of God directly witnesses to my spirit, that I am a child of God ; that Jesus Christ liath loved me, and jriven himself for me ; and that all my sins are blotted out, and I, even I, am reconciled to God." This testimony of God's Spirit precedes that of our own spirit. The Spirit of God opeiates, even in the testimony of our own spirit. The full assurance is as certain as the truth of Scripture, and the self-evidence of our own conscience ; but based upoD a divine evidence communicated supernaturally. II. How can this joint testimony be distinguished from the presumption of a natural mind, and from the delusion of the devil. 1. By its antecedents, conviction of sin, and repentance. 2. By the accompanying change. The true witness is followed by humility ; delusion by pride. The true brings fruits of holiness, the false indulges sin. 3. To conscience rightly disposed the true witness is self- evidencing. 8ERMUN X. AND XI. WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 91 4. The consciousness of the fruits in the testimony of our own spirit assures us that we have not mistaken the voice of the Divine Spirit. ANALYSTS II. I. The importance of the doctrine. Danger of enthusiasm and formality. The peculiar testimony of Methodism. II. What is the witness of the Spirit. A testimony ni the Liturgy and Homilies of the Church of England, as well as from iiijliop Pearson and others in defence of his docliine. These and other quotations will be found in full in Prests' Treatise on the Witness of the Spirit. These investigations made it evident to Mr. Wesley and to all his followers, that the doctrine of a direct witness of the Holy Spirit has been a part of the faith of the most holy of God's people in all ages. One of the most difficult points in the definition of the direct witnegs, is the distinction between the act of faith and the witness. Mr. Wesley held that faith had in itself something of the Divine assurance. All his definitions of faith given in the preceding sermons imply this. Yet, he admits in one of his controversial letters, that " a conviction that we are justified cannot be implied in justifying faith." Perhaps his clearest statement on this point is to be lound in the doctrinal minutes already quoted : " A sinner is convinced by the Holy Ghost, * Christ loved me, and gave himself for me.' This is that faith by which he is justified or pardoned, the moment he receives it. Immediately the same Spirit bears witness, * Thou art pardoned ; thou hast redemption in his blood.' And this is saving faith whereby the love of God is shed abroad in his heart." From this and other like passages we may deduce the following summary : 1. Faith has ia it divine assurance, and all assurance springs from God-given faith. 2. sal vat 3. salvai 4. justif "The of SERMONS X. AND XI.] WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 93 2. Ju8tifying faith is a piTsonal divine assurance of the provision of salvation in Clirist for me. 3. The witness is personal divine assurance of the possession of that salvation by me. 4. Abidiii;,' saving faith grows out of and includes the witness, as the justilyiny act ol faith preceilud it. DISCOURSE I. •' The Sjjirit itself heareth witness with our spirit, lliat we are the children of God." Rom. viil 16. 1. How many vain men, not understanding what they spake, ncithci whereof they affirmed, have wrested this scripture to the great loss, il not Uie destruction, of their souls 1 How many have mistaken the voice of thuir own imagination for this " wiiness of the Spirit of God," and thence idly presumed, they were the children of God, while they were doing the works of the devil ? These are truly and properly enthusiasts ; and, indeed, in the worst sense of the word. But with what difficulty are they convinced thereof, especially, if they have drank deep into that spirit of error ! All endeavours to bring them into the knowledge of themselves, they will then account fighting against God ; and that j^ehemence and impetuosity of spirit, which they call " contending earnestly for the faith," sets them so far above all the usual methods of conviction, that we may well say, " with men it is impossible." 2. Who can then be surprised, if many reasonable men, seeing the dreadful effects of this delusion, and labouring to keep at the utmost distance from it, should sometimes lean towards another extreme ? li they are not forward to believe any who speak of having this witness, concerning which others have so grievously erred ? If they are almost ready to set all down for enthusiasts, who use the expressions which have been so terribly abused ? Yea, if they should question, whether the witness or testimony here spoken of, be the privilege of ordinary Christians, and not rather, one of those extraordinary gifts, which they suppose belonged only to the apostolic age. 3. But is there any necessity laid upon us, of running either into one extreme or the other? May we not steer a middle course, — keep a sufficient distance from the spirit of eiror and enthusiasm, without denying the gift of God, and giving up the great privilege of his chil- dren ? Surely we may. In order thereto, let us consider in the presence and fear of God, First, Wh.it is this witness or testimony of our spirit ; what is the testimony of God's Spirit; and, how does he " bear witness with our si)irit that we are the children of God 1" Secondly, How is this joint testimony of God's Spirit and our own, clearly and solidly distinguished from the pre.-umption of a natural mind, and from the delusion of the devil ? I. 1. Let us first consider. What is the witness or testimotiy of oui spirit. But here I cannot but desire all those who are for swallowing up the testimony of the Spirit of God, in the rational testimony of our own s])irit, to observe, that in this text the apostle is so far from speak in^ of the testimony of our own spirit only, that it may be — i ccz CO 86 WlTNbSS or THE blMUT. [sKKMOMS X. AND XI. 8. Thai this testimony of the Spirit of God must needs, in the verj; nature of things, he antecedent to the testimony of our own spirit, may appear from tJiis single consideration : we must be holy of heart, and holy in life, before we can be conscious tluit we are so ; before we can have the testimony of our spirit that we are inwardly and outwardly holy. But we must love God. before A-e can be holy at all ; this bcinj; the root of all holiness. Now we cannot love God, till we know he love;- uirit of God does give a believer such atestintony of his adoption, that vviiile it is present to the soul, he can no more doubt the reality of his sonship, than he can doubt of the shining of tlie sun, while he stands In the full blaze of his beams. II. 1. How this joint testimony of God's Spirit and our spirit, may l)e clearly and solidly distinguished from the ])resiimpiion of a natural iniiid, and from the delusion of the devil, is tlie next ihing to be con bidered. And it highly imports all who desire the salvation of God, to consider it with the deepest attention, as they would not deceive their own souls. An error in this is generally observed to have the most fatal consequences ; the rather, because he that errs, seldom discovers his tinstake, till it is too late to remedy it. 2. And lirst, how is this testimony to be distinguished from the pre siiinption of a natural mind ? It is certain, one who was never con- vinced of sin, is always ready to flatter himself, and to think of himself, especially in spiritual things, more highly than he ought to think. And hence, it is in no wise strange, if one, who is vainly puffed up by liis fleshly mind, when he hears of this privilege of true Christians, among whom he undoubtedly ranks himself, should soon work himself up into a persuasion that he is already possessed thereof. Such in- stances now abound in the world, and have abounded in all ages, ilow then may the real testimony of the Spirit with our spirit, be distin guished from this damning presumption ] 3. I answer, the Holy Scriptures aoound with marks, whereby the one may be distinguished from the other. They describe, in the plainest manner, the circumstances which go before, which accompany, and which follow, the true, genuine testimony of the Spirit of God with tlie spirit of a believer. Whoever carefully weighs and attends to these will not need to put darkness for light. He will perceive so wide a difference, with respect to all these, between the real and the pretended witness of the Spirit, that there will be no danger, I might say, no pos- ?'il)ility, of confounding the one with the other. 4. By these, one who vainly presumes on the gift of God might surely know, if he really desired it, that he hath been hitherto " given up to a 4rong delusion," and suffered to believe a lie. For the Scriptures lay (luwn those clear, obvious marks, as preceding, accompanying, and following that gift, which a little reflection would convince him, beyond ail doubt, were never found in his soul. For instance, the Scripture describes repentance, or conviction of sin, as constantly going before this witness of pardon. So, "Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at liand," Matt, iii, 2. " Repent ye, and believe the gospel," Mark i, 15. " Kepent, and be baptized every one of you, for the remission of sins," Acts li. 38, '•' Repent ve therefore and be converted, that your isins cc: ccz I— ;§ to. CD CO ex: 98 WllNESa UF TUK SIMKIT. [sKKMUNS X. AND JCI. ShKMO.Nti may be tilotted out," Acts iii, 19. In contormity whereto, our churer aJso continually places repentance before pardon, or the witness of it. " He pardoneth and ahsolveth all them tiiat truly repent, and unfeign ediy believe his holy gospel." '* Almighty God — hath promised for- giveness of sins to all them, who, with liearty repentance and true faith, turn unto him." But he is a stranger even to this repentance: he hatli never known a broken and a contrite heart : " the remembrance of his sins" was never " grievous unto him," nor " the burden of theiii intolerable." In repeating those words, he never meant what he said ; he merely paid a compliment to God. And were it only from the want of this previous work of God, he hath too great reason to believe, that he hath grasped a mere shadow, and never yet known the real privilege of the sons of God. 5. Again, the Scriptures describe the being born of God, which must precede the witness that we are his children, as a vast and mighty change ; a change '• from darkness to light," as well as " from the power of Satan unto God ;" as a " passing from death unto life," a resurrection from the dead. Thus the apostle to the Ephesians ; " You hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins," chap, ii, 1 And agani, " When we were dead in sins, he hath quickened us together with Christ ; and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly |)laces in Christ Jesus," ver. 5, 6. But what knoweth he, concerning whom we now speak, of any such change as this T He is altogether unacquainted with this whole matter. This is a langua^^e which he does not understand. He tells you, " He always was a Chris tian. He knows no time when he had need of such a change.' By this alsiD, if he give himself leave to think, may he know, that he is not born of the Spirit ; that he has never yet known God ; but has mis^akcR the voice of nature for the voice of God. (i. But waiving the consideration of whatever he has or has not ex perienced in time past ; by the present marks may we easily distinguisi a child of God from a presumptuous self deceiver. The Scripturot describe that joy in the Lord which accompanies the witness of lus Spirit, as an humble joy, a joy that abases to the dust ; that makes a par- doned sinner cry out, " I am vile ! What am I, or v.y father's house ! Now mine eye seeth Thee, 1 abhor myself in dust and ashes!" And wherever lowliness is, there is meekness, patience, gentleness, long suffering. There is a soft, yielding spirit ; a mildness and sweetnesf, a tenderness of soul, which words cannot express. But do these fruits attend tliat supposed testimony of the Spirit, in a presumptuo-is man ! Just the reverse. The more confident he is of the favour of God, tlit more is he lilted up ; the more does he exalt himself; the more haughtv and assuming is his whole behaviour. The stronger witness he ima- gines himself to have, tiie more overbearing is he to all around him. the more incapable of receiving any reproof; the more impatient ol contradiction. Instead of being more meek, and gentle, and teachable. more " swift to hear, and slow to speak," he is more slow to hear, and swift to speak ; more unready to learn of any one ; more fiery and vehement in his temper, and eager in his conversation. Yea, perhaps, there will sometimes appear a kind of fierceness in his air, his manner ot speaking, his wliole deportment, as if he were just going to take the mailer out of (Jod's hands, and himself to "devour the adversaries. powers," er ShRMUNU X. AND XI.] WITNESS OF TUE SPIRIT. Is man fod, tlie lauglitv I o * jie inla- id iiiin. neat ol jhalile. ir, and Iry and ^rhaps, iHuner ike the 7. Once more : the Scriptures teach, " This is tlie love of CJod, < sure mark thereof, " that we lte«'|) his commandments," 1 John v, , And our Lord himself saith, " He that keepeth my commandments, hd it is that loveth me," John xiv, 21. Love rejoices to obey ; to do, in every point, whatever is acceptable to the Uelovid. A true lover ol (lod hastens to do his will on earth as it is done in heaven. But is this tin! character of the presumptuous pretender to the love of God ? Nay, liiit his love gives him a liberty to disobey, to break, not keep, the com- tnamlments of God. Perhaps, when he was in fear of the wrath of God, lie did labour to do his will. Bui now, looking on himself as " not under the law," he thinks ho is no longer obliged to observe it. He is iherefore less zealous of good works ; less careful to abstain from evil ; less watchful over his own heart ; less jealous over his tongue. He is less earnest to deny himself, and to take up his cross daily. In a word, the whole form of his life is changed, since he has fancied himself to be at libftrty. He is no longer " exercising himself unto godliness ;" " wrestling not only with flesh and blood, but with principalities and powers," enduring hardships, '* agonizing to enter in at the strait gate." No ; he has found an easier way to heaven ; a broad, smooth, flowery path ; in which he can say to his soul, *' Soul, take thy ease ; eat, drink, and be merry." It follows with undeniable evidence, that he has not the true testimony of his own spirit. He cannot be conscious of having those marks which he hath not ; that lowliness, meekness, and obedi- ence : nor yet can the Spirit of the God of Truth bear witness to a lie ; or testify that he is a child of God, when he is manifestly a child of tlio devil. 8. Discover thyself, thou poor self-deceiver ! — thou who art confident ofbeinga child of God ; thou who sayest, " I have the witness iu myself," and therefore defiost all thy enemies. Thou art weighed in the balaoce and found wanting ; even in the balance of the sanctuary. The word of the Lord hath tried thy soul, and proved thee to be reprobate silver. Thou art not lowly of heart ; therefore thou hast not received the Spirit ul' Jesus unto this day. Thou art not gentle and meek ; therefore thy joy is nothing worth : it is not joy in the Lord. Thou dost not keep his commandments ; therefore thou lovest him not, neither art thou par- taker of the Holy Ghost. It is consetjuently as certain and as evident as the oracles of God can make it, his Spirit does not bear witness with thy spirit that thou art a child of God. Oh cry unto him that the scales may fall ofl' thine eyes ; that thou mayest know thyself as thou art known; that thou mayest receive the sentence of death in thyself, till thou hear ilie voice that raises the dead, saying, " Be of good cheer : thy sins are forgiven ; thy faith hath made thee whole." 9. " But how may one who has the real witness in himself distinguish It from presumption ?" How, I pray, do you distinguish day from night? How do you distinguish light from darkness ; or the light of a star, or a glimmering taper, from the light of the noonday sun f Is there not an inherent, obvious, essential difl^erence between the one and the other ? And do you not immediately and directly perceive that difTerence, pro- vided your senses are rightly disposed ? In like manner, there is an inherent, essential diflTerence between spiritual light and spiritual dark- ness ; and between the light wherewith the Sun of righteousness shines upon our heart, and that glimmering ligJit which arises only from " sparks rr) 100 WITNR88 OF TliK 81'IRIT. [hKKMONS X, AMD XI. of our own kindling:" and this ditference also is immediately and di»ut thy lite, show forth his praise, lie hath sealed thcc for his own ; glorify him then in thy hody and thy spirit, which are his. Hrw loved, if thou hast this hope in thyself, purify thyself as he is pure. VVhiie thou heholdest what manner of love the Father hath given thee, that thou sliouldest he called a child of (Jod ; cl(!ansc thyself" from all filthincss ul llesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God ;" and let all thy thought^, words, and works he a spiritual sacrifice, holy, acceptable to Uod throMigh Christ Jesus ! DISCOURSE II. "The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, tliat wo are the children of lioil." Uom. viii. 10. 1 1. 1. NoNK who believe the Scriptures to be the word of (iod, can doubt the importance of such a truth as this ; — a truth revealed therein, not once only, not obscurely, not incidentally ; but frecjuently, and that in express ternis ; but solemnly and of set purpose, as denoting one of the pecidiar privileges of the children of God. 2. And it is the more necessary to explain and defend this truth, because there is a danger on the right hand and on the left. If we deny it, there is a danger lest our religion degenerate into mere formality: lest, " having a form of godliness," we neglect, if not " deny the power of it." If we allow it, but do not understand what we allow, we are liable to run into all the wildness of enthusiasm. It is therefore needful, in the highest degree, to guard those who fear God from both these dangers, by a scri|)tural and rational illustration and confirmation of this momentous truth. 3. It may seem, something of this kind is the more needful, because so little has been wrote on the subject with any clearness ; unless some discourses on the wrong side of the question, which explain it quite away. And it cannot be doubted, but these were occasioned at least iti a great measure, by the crude, unscrij)tural, irrational explication of others, who " knew not what they spake, nor whereof they affirmed." 4. It more nearly concerns the Methodists, so called, clearly to under- stand, explain, and defend this doctrine; because it is one grand part of the testimony, which God has given them to bear to all mankind. It is by his peculiar blessing upon them in searching the Scriptures, con- tirmod by the experience of his children, that this great evangelical truth has been recovered, which had been for many years well nigh lost and forgotten. II. 1. But what is the witness of the Spirit? The original word (AttpTupia, may be rendered either (as it is in several places) the witrmss, or less ambiguously, the testitnotii/, or the record : so it is rendered in our translation, 1 John v, 11, " This is the record," [the testimony, the «um of what God testifies in all the inspired writings,! " that jod hath CD CO 102 WITNESS OF TU£ SPIHIT. [SERHUNB X. AND XI. SEKMONSI given unto us eiernal I'fe, and this life is in his Son." The testimony now under consideration is given by the Spirit of God to and with our spirit : he is the person testifying. What he testifies to us is, " that we are the children of God." The immediate result of this testimony is, *' the fruit of tlie Spirit ;" namely, " love, joy, peace, long suffering, gen- tleness, goodness:" and without these, the testimony itself cannot con- tinue. For it is inevitably destroyed, not only by the commission of any outward sin, or the omission of known duty, but by giving way to any inward sin ; in a word, by whatever grieves the Holy Spirit of God. 2. I observed many years ago, " It is hard to find words in the lan- guage of men, to explain the deep things of God. Indeed there are none that will adequately express what the Spirit of God works in his children. But perhaps one might say, (desiring any who are taught of God, to correct, soften, or strengthen the expression,) by the testimony of the Spirit, I mean, an inward impression on the soul, whereby the Spirit of God immediately and directly witnesses to my spirit, that I am a child of God ; that Jesus Christ hath loved me, and given himsell for me ; that all my sins are blotted out, and I, even I, am reconciled to God." 3. After twenty years' farther consideration, I see no cause to retract any part of this. Neither do I conceive how any of these expressions may be altered, so as to make them more intelligible. I can only add, that if any of the children of God will point out any other expressions, which are more clear or more agreeable to the word of God, I will readily lay these aside.. 4. Meantime let it be observed, I do not mean hereby, that the Spirit of God testifies this by any outward voice ; no, nor always by an inward voice, although he may do this sometimes. Neither do I suppose, that ho always applies to the heart, (though he often may,) one or more texts of Scripture. But he so works upon the soul by his immediate influence, and by a strong, though inexplicable operation, that the stormy wind and troubled waves subside, and there is a sweet calm ; the heart resting as in the arms of Jesus, and the sinner being clearly satisfied that God is reconciled, that all his " iniquities are forgiven, and his sins covered." 5. Now what is the matter of dispute concerning this ? Not whether there be a witness or testimony of the Spirit ? Not whether the Spirit does testify with our spirit, that we are the children of God ? None can deny this, without flatly contradicting the Scriptures, and charging a lie upon the God of truth. Therefore that there is a testimony of the Spirit, is acknowledged by all parties. 6. Neither is it questioned, whether there is an indirect witness, or testimony, that we are the children of God. This is nearly, if not exactly, the same with the testimony of a good conscience towards God ; and is the result of reason, or reflection on what we feel in our own souls. Strictly speaking it is a conclusion drawn partly from the word of God, and partly from our own experience. The word of God says, every one who has the fruit of the Spirit is a child of God ; experience, or inward consciousness, tells me, that I have the fruit of the Spirit ; and hence I rationally conclude, therefore I am a child of God. This is likewise allowed on all hands, and so is no matter of controversy. 7. Nor do v " assert, that there can be any real testimony of the Spirit without the fruit of the Spirit. We assert, on the contrary, that thr I? SERMONS X, AND XI.] WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. 103 fruit of the Spirit immediately springs from tiiis testimony ; not always indeed in the same degree, even when the testimony is first given; and much less afterwards. Neither joy nor peace is always at one stay ; no, nor love; as neither is the testimony itself alwaysequallystrong and clear 8. But the point in question is, Whether there be any direct testimony of the Spirit at all? Whether there be any other testimony of the Spirit, tlian that which arises from a consciousness of the fruit ? III. 1. I believti there is ; because that is the plain, natural meaning ol I lie text, " The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are I he children of God." It is manifest, here are two witnesses mentioned, who together testify the same thing ; the Spirit of God, and our own spirit. The late Bishop of London, in his sermon on this text, seems asto- (lii-lied that any one can doubt of this, which appears upon the very face of the words. Now, "The testimony of our own spirit (says the Bishop) ia one, which is the consciousness of our own sincerity ;" or to express tlie same thing a little more clearly, the consciousness of the fruit of the Spirit. When our spirit is conscious of this, of love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, it easily infers from these premises, that we are the children of God. 2. It is true, that great man supposes the other witness to be, " The consciousness of our own good works." This, he affirms, is the testi rnony of God's Spirit. But this is included in the testimony of our own spirit ; yea, and in sincerity, even according to the common sense of the word. So the apostle, *' Our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our coi science, that in simplicity and godly sincerity we have had our conversation in the world :" where it is plain, sincerity refers to our words and actions, at least as much as to our inward dispositions. So that this is not another witness, but the very same that he mentioned before ; the consciousness of our good works being only one branch of the consciousness of our sincerity. Consequently here is only one witness still. If therefore the text speaks of two witnesses ; one of these is not the consciousness of our good works ; neither of our sin- cerity ; all this being manifestly contained in the testimony of our spirit. 3. What then is the other witness ? This might easily be learned, if the text itself were not sufficiently clear, from the verse immediately preceding: "Ye have received, not the spirit of bondage, but the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." It follows, " The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God." 4. This is farther explained by the parallel text, Gal. iv, 6, " Because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." Is not this something imviediate and direct, not the result of reflection or argumentation 1 Does not this Spirit cry, " Abba, Father," in our hearts the moment it is given, antecedently to any reflection upon our sincerity ; yea, to any reasoning whatsoever ? And is not this the plain natural sense of the words, which strikes any one as soon as he hears them ? All these texts then, in their most obvious meaning, describe a direct testimony of the Spirit. 5. That the testimony of the Spirit of God, must, in the very nature of things, be antecedent to the testimony of our own spirit, may anpear from this single consideration : We must be holy in heart and life, lieforp we can be conscious that we are so. But we must love God -its* TO to — i i[:x: iijj I— :^ l-L. >- CO UUJ 104 WITNESS OF TUF SPIRIT. [SEUMONS X. AND XL SERMOl before we can be holy at all, this being the root of all holiness. Now we cannot love God, till we know he loves us : " We love him because he first loved us :" and we cannot know his love to us, till his Spirit witnesses it to our spirit. Till then we cannot believe it ; we cannot Bay, " The life which I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for n^e." " Then, only then we feel Our interest in his blood, And cry with joy unspeakable, Thou art my Lord, my God." Since, therefore, the testimony of his Spirit must precede the love of God, and all holiness, of consequence it must precede our consciousness thereof. 6. And here propierly comes in, to confirm this scriptural doctrine, the experience of the children of God ; the ex])erience not of two or three, not of a few, but of a great multitude which no man can number. It has been confirmed, both in this and in all ages, by a cloud of living and dying witnesses. It is confirmed by your experience and mine. The Spirit itself bore witness to my spirit, that I was a child of God, gave me an evidence hereof, and I immediately cried, Abba, Father ! And this I did, (and so did you,) before I reflected on, or was conscious of, any fruit of the Spirit. It was from this testimony received, tha; love, joy, peace, and the whole fruit of the Spirit Howed. First I heard, " Thy sins are forgiven ! Accepted thou art ! — I listen'd, and heaven sprung up in my heart." 7. But this is confirmed, not only by the experience of the children of God ; thousands of whom can declare, that they never did know themselves to be in the favour of God, till it was directly witnessed to them by his Spirit ; — but by all those who are convinced of sin, who feel the wrath of God abiding on them. These cannot be satisfied with any thing less than a direct testimony from his Spirit, that he is ' mercifiil to their unrighteousness, and remembers their sins and ini- quities no more." Tell any of these, " You are to know you are a child, by reflecting on what he has wrought in you, on your love, joy, and peace ;" and will he not immediately reply, " By all this I know 1 am a child of the devil. I have no more love to God than the devil has : my carnal mind is enmity against God. I have no joy in the Holy Ghost: my soul ia sorrowful even unto death. I have no peace : my heart is a troubled sea: I am all storm and tempest." And which way can these souls possibly be comforted, but by a divine testimony (not that they are good, or sincere, or conformable to the Scripture in heart and life, but) that God justifieth the ungodly 1 — him that, till the moment he is justified, is all ungodly, void of all true holiness ; " him that worketh not," that worketh nothing that is truly good, till he is con- scious that he is accepted, " not for (any) works of righteousness which he hath done," but by the mere, free mercy of God ; wholly and solely, for what the Son of God hath done and suffered for him. And can it be any otherwise, if " a man is justified by faith, without the works of the law ;'" If so, what inward or outward goodness Cun he be conscious of, antecv^dent to his justification ? Nay, is not the having nothing to pay, that is, the being conscious that " there dwelleth in us no good thing," neither inward nor outward goodness, essentially, indispensably neces- sary, bJ in Jesu| world. SERMONS X. AND "! ] WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. lo; sary, before we can be " justified freely, through the redemption that it in Jesus (J)irist ?" Was ever any man justified since his coming into the world, or can any man ever be justified, till he is brought to that point, " I give up every plea beside — Lord, 1 am danin'd ; But thou has died ?" fi. Every one therefore who denies the existence o^ sucli a tostimouy, does in effect deny justification by faith. It follows, that either he never pxperienced this, either he never was justified, or that he has forgotten, ,13 St. Peter speaks, ts xaSa^ifffus - CO 106 WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. I SERMONS X. AND XI. favour of God, and not knowing it." True, not knowing it at that time any otherwise, than by the testimony which is given for that end. And this we do contend for ; we contend that the direci witness may sliine clear, even while the indirect one is under a cloud. 4. It is objected, secondly, " The design of the witness contended for, is to prove that the profession we make is genuine. But it does not prove this." I answer, the proving this is not the design of it. h is antecedent to our making any profession at all, but that of being lost, undone, guilty, helpless sinners. It is designed to assure those to whom It is given, that they are the children of God ; that they are " justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jesus Christ." And this does not suppose that their preceding thoughts, words, and actionn, are conformable to the rule of Scri])ture ; it supposes quite the reverse; namely, that they are sinners all over; sinners both in heart and life. Were it otherwise, God wou\d justify the ungodly; and theit own works would be counted to them for righteousness. And I cannot but fear that a supposition of our being justified by works, is at the root of all these objections ; for, whoever cordially believes, thai God imputes to all that are justified righteousness without works, will find no difficulty in allowing the witness of his Spirit preceding the fruit of it. 5. [t is objected, thirdly, " One evangelist says, ' Your heavenly Father will give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him.' The other evangelist calls the same thing ' good gifts ;' abundantly demonstrating that the Spirit's way of bearing witness is by giving good gifts." Nay, here is nothing at all about bearing witness, either in the one text or the other. Therefore till this demonstration is better demonstrated, I let it stand as it is. 6. It is objected, fourthly, " The Scripture says, ' The tree is known by its fruits. Prove all things. Try the spirits. Examine yourselves.' " Most true : therefore, let every man who believes he " hath the witnesa in himself," try whether it be of God ; if the fruit follow, it is ; other- wise it is not. For certainly " the tree is known by its fruit :" hereby we prove if it be of God. " But the direct witness is never referred to in the book of God." Not as standing alone ; not as a single witness; but as connected with the other ; as giving a. joint testimony ; testify- ing with our spirit, that we are children of God. And who is able to prove, that it is not thus referred to in this very scripture : ** Examine yourselves whether ye be in the faith ; prove your ownselves. Know ye not your ownselves, that Jesus Christ is in you ?" It is by no means clear, that they did not know this by a direct as well as a remote witness. How is it p'oved, that they did not know it, first, by an inward consciousness ; and then by love, joy, and peace ? 7. '• But the testimony arising from the internal and external change, is constantly referred to in the Bible." It is so: aiul we constantly refer thereto, to confirm the testimony of the Spirit. " Nay, all the marks you have given, whereby to distinguish the operations of God's Spirit from delusion, refer to the change wrought in us and upon us." This likewise is undoubtedly true. 8. It is objected, fifthly, that " The direct witness of the Spirit does not secure us from the greatest delusion. And is that a witness fit to be trusted, whose testimony cannot t)c depended on 1 that is forced to fly to something else, to prove what it asserts ?" I answer ; to secure iKRMONS X. AND XI.] WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. lo; as from all delusion, God gives us two witnesses that we are his chil- dren. And this they testify conjointly. Therefore, " what God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." And while they are joined, we cannot be deluded : their testimony can be depended on. They (ire fit to be trusted in the highest degree, and need nothing else lo prove what they assert. " Nay, the direct witness only asserts, but does not prove any thing." I?y two witnesses shall every word be cstablit,hed. And when the Spirit vitiiesses with our spirit, as God designs it to do, then it fully proves that we are children of God. 9. It is objected, sixthly, •* You own the change wrought is a suffi- rient testimony, unless in the case of severe trials, such as that of our Saviour upon the cross; but none of us can be tried in that manner " lint you or I may be tried in such a manner, and so may any other child of God, that it will be impossible for us to keep our filial confidence in God, without the direct witness of his Spirit. 10. It is objected, lastly, "The greatest contenders for it, are some ot ilie proudest and most uncharitable of men." Perhaps some of the hottest contenders for it are both proud and uncharitable ; but many ol \.\\% firmest contenders for it, are eminently meek and lowly in heart; and, indeed, in all other respects also, " True followers of their lamb-like Lord." The preceding objections are the most considerable that I have heard, and I believe contain the strength of the cause. Yet I appre- liend whoever calmly and impartially considers those objections and the answers together, will easily see, that they do not destroy, no, nor weaken tiie evidence of that great truth, that the Spirit of God does directly, as well as indirecfli/, testify that we are children (if God. V. 1. The sum of all is tnis : the testimony of the Spirit is an in- ward impression on the souls of believers, whereby the Spirit of God directly testifies to their spirit, that they are children of God. And it is not questioned, whether there is a testimony of the Spirit ; but whe- ther there is any direct testimony ? Whether there is any other than that which arises from a consciousness of the fruit of the Spirit ? We believe there is ; because this is the plain natural meaning of the text, illustrated both by the preceding words, and by the parallel passage in the epistle to the Galatians; because, in the nature of the thing, the testimony must precede the fruit which springs from it; and because this plain meaning of the word of God is confirmed by the experience of innumerable children of God ; yea, and by the experience of all who are convinced of sin, who can never rest till they have a direct witness , and even of the children of the world, who, not having the witness in iiiemselves, one and all declare none can know his sins forgiven. 2. And whereas it is objected, that experience is not sufficient to prove a doctrine unsupported by Scripture ; — that madmen and enthu- siasts of every kind have imagined such a witness ; — that the design of tlia» witness is to prove our profession genuine, which design it does not answer ; — that the Scripture says, " The tree is known by its fruit ;" " examine yourselves ; prove your ownselves ;" and, meantime, the direct witness is never referred to in all the book of God ; — that it does not secure us from the greatest delusions ; and, lastly, — that the change wrought in us is a sufficient testimony, unless in sncli trials as cac: r3 108 WITNESS OF THE SPIRIT. [SERMONS X. AND XI. Chrisi alone suffered : — we answer, I. Experience is sufficient to con/ir-it a d" '.fine wiiich is grounded on Scripture : 2. Though many fancy they experience what they do not, this is no prejudice to real expe- rience : 3. Tlie design of that witness is, to assure us we are children of God ; and this design it docs answer : 4. The true witness of the Spirit is known hy its fruit, " love, peace, joy;" notjndeed preceding, but following it: 5. It cannot be proved, that the direct, as well as tht indirect witness, is not referred to in that very text, " Know ye nol your ownselves that Jesus Christ is in you?" 6. The Spirit of God, witnessing with our spirit, does secure us from ail delusion : And, lastly, we are all liable to trials, wherein the testimony of our own spirit is not sufficient; wherein nothing less than the direct testimony of God's Spirit can assure us that we are his children. 3. Two inferences may be drawn from the whole : the first. Let none ever presume to rest in any supposed testimony of the Spirit, which is separate from the fruit of it. If the Spirit of God does really testify that we are children of God, the immediate consequence will be the fruit of the Spirit, even " love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentle- ness, goodness, fidelity, meekness, temperance." And however this fruit may be clouded for a while, during the time of strong temptation, so that it does not apj>ear to the tempted person, while Satan is sifting him as wheat ; yet the substantial part of it remains, even under the thickest cloud. It is true, joy in the Holy Ghost may be withdrawn, during the hour of trial ; yea, the soul may be " exce« ding sorrowful," while " the hour and power of darkness" continue ; but even this is generally restored with increase, till we rejoice " witi joy unspeakable and full of glory." 4. Tlie second inference is. Let none rest in anv supposed fruit of the Spirit without the witness. There may be foretastes of joy, of peace, of love, and those not delusive, but really from God, long before we have the witness in ourselves ; before the Spirit of God witnesses with our spirits that we have " redemption in the blood of Jesus, even the for- giveness of sins." Yea, there may be a degree of long suffering, ot gentleness, of fidelity, meekness, temperance, (not a shadow thereof, but a real degree, by the preventing grace of God,) before we "are accepted in the Beloved," and consequently, before we have a testi- mony of our acceptance : but it is by no means advisable to rest here ; it is at the peril of our souls if we do. If we are wise, wc shall be con- tinually crying to God, until his Spirit cry in our heart, Abba, Father! This is the privilege of all the children of God, and without this we can never be assured that we are hi? children. Without this we cannot retain a steady peace, nor avoid perplexing doubts and fears. But when we have once received this Spirit of adoption, this " peace which passes all understanding," and which expels all painfid doubt and fear, will ' keep our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." And when this has brought forth its genuine fruit, all inward and outwaid holiness, It is undoubtedly the will of Him that calleth us, to give us always what he has once given ; so that there is no need that we should ever more be deprived of either the testimony of God's Spirit, or the testimony of our own, the conscious^ness of our walking in all righteousness ami tnte holiness. IVi'tn-i/, Aiiril '\ 17fi7. ,ERMON XII ] WITNESS OP OUlt OWN SIM HIT. 109 SERMDX XIL— The Wifnrs.^ of ovr own Spirit. This is our rejoicing, the tcstiinoiiy of our uouscit'iu;!', tliat in simplicity and godly sincerity, not witli tlcsliiy wisdom, but by tlie giai.'i! of Goii^ we have had our conversation in the world." 2 Cor. i. 1"J. ANALYSIS. I. What is conscience ? Not mere consciousness. But onsciousness of right and wrong. Implanted \)\ (iod in tlie M)ul. Its rule is, generally the law written in the heart; pecially the Word of God. II. A good con.science inp/!ies: 1. A ritiht understanding of God's word. 2. A knowledge of ourselves, both inward lempers and outward conversation. 3. An agreement of hese with the rule. 4. An inward perception of thia iigreement. The foundation of this must be laid in faith in our Lord resus Christ. The Apostle's description of tlie good conscience. "Con- versation " includes all inward and outward life, " Sim- plicity" is right intention, "Sincerity," the faithful execu- tion of intention. Not a mere morality of nature; but wrought in us by the power of the Holy Ghost. III. The joy springing from this is — 1. Not a natural joy or mere exuberance of spirits. 2. Nor a mere blindness of conscience concealinsj sin. 3. Nor a callousness of. conscience, taking [tleasure in sin. 4. But a joy iu obedience; loving Goil, and keeping his (■ommands. INTRODUCTORY NOTES. This sermon was originally the supplement to tiie tenth, the eleventh liaving been interposed in 1771. It presents before us the continuous slate ot assurance vvhicli arises out ot" the initial experience of assur- ance there described. The first assurance is conditioned upon faith only ; this iipon the conscious obedience wliich faith enables us to render. Mr. Wesley grounds this assurance upon the testimony of • onscience. Hence we have here the ethical ^;ide of religion in which it manifests itself in good works, both inwanl and outward. But the rthical and the religious are inseparably one. Faith, hope, and love, are, iccording to Mr. Wesley, the essence of religion. But the very first I'lFect of faith is peace, or the relief of the moral nature from the sense of guilt. On the other liand good hope can only live by the side of a ^'ood conscience ; and love unites with conscience in bringing forth all good works. There is thus perlect unity and harmony of the moral and religious elements in the Christian experience. There is also a con- tinuity of this moral element with the preceding elements of Christian experience. Faith, the direct witness, the abiding faith, and the testi- mony of conscience follow in a natural order one from the other ; and are absolutely necessary one to the other. Mr. Wesley distinctly recog- nizes the presence and power of the Holy Ghost in every one of these lactors of the religious life, quite as much so in the last as in the first. Conscience, as well as fa'th, sees the things of Go,'., by the Spirit of God. cjc: c::> >- CO 11L> WlTNEyB OF OUK OWN SPIKIT. [SEHMON XII. Mr. We.sle.v's defiuitiun of conscience is worthy of the intuiUonal philo.sophy of his junior contemporary, Kant. Conscience is the soule consciousness of right ; a God-given laculty of direct perception of right or wrong, or moral quality ; having an ideal or rule of right m its own nature ; but needing to be perfected by the Word of God. SEEMON XII. 1. Such is the voice of every true believer in Christ, so long as he abides in faith and love. " He that followeth me," saith our Lord, " walketh not in darkness:" and while he hath the light, he rejoiceth therein. As he hath " received the Lord Jesus Christ," so he walketh in him : and wliile he walketh in him, the exhortation of tlie apostle takes place in his soul, day by day, " Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice." 2. But that we may noi build our house upon the sand, (lest when the rains descend, and the winds blow, and the floods arise and beat upon it, it fall, and great be the fall thereof,) I intend in the following discourse to show, what is the nature and ground of a Christian's joy. We know, in general, it is that happy peace, that calm satisfaction of spirit, which arises from such a testimony of his conscience, as is here described by the apostle. But, in order to understand this the more thoroughly, it will be requisite to weigh all his words; whence will easily appear, both what we are to understand by conscience, and what by the testimony thereof; and also, how he that hath this testimony rejoiceth evermore. 3. And, first, what are we to understand by conscience 1 What is the meaning of this word that is in every one's mouth 1 One would imagine it was an exceeding difficult thing to discover this, when we consider how large and numerous volumes have been from time to time wrote on this subject ; and how all the treasures of ancient and modern learning have been ransacked, in order to explain it. And yet it is to be feared, it has not received much light from all those elaborate inquiries. Rather, have not most of those writers puzzled the cause ; " darkening counsel by words without knowledge ;" perplexing a subject, plain in itself, and easy to be understood ? F'or, set aside but hard words, and every man of an horkest heart will soon understand the thing. 4. God has made us thinking beings, capable of perceiving what is present, and of reflecting or looking back on what is past. In particular, we are capable of perceiving whatsoever pa.sses in our own hearts or lives ; of knowing whatsoever we feel or do ; and that either while it passes, or when it is past. This we mean when we say, man is a conscious being : he hath a consciousness, or inward perception, both of things present and past, relating to himself, of his own tempers and oiitward behaviour. But what we usually term conscience, implies somewhat more than this. It is not barely the knowledge of our C resent, or the remembrance of our preceding life. To remember, to ear witness either of past or present things, is oidy one, and the least bttice of conscience: its main business is to excuse or accuse, to approve Dr disapprove, to acquit or condenm. 5. Some late writers indeed have given a now name to this, and have ehope to style it a moral sense. But the old word seems preferable to the hew, were it only on this account, that it is more common and familiar SERMON XII.] WITNESS OF OUR OWN SPIUIT. 11 : among men, and therefore easier to be understood. And to Cliristinna it is undeniably preferabio, on another account also; namely, because it is scriptural ; because it is the word whicn the wisdom of (jod hath chose to use in the inspired writings. And according to the meaning whenMii it is generally used there, particularly in the epistles of St. I'aul, we may understand by conscience, a faculty or power, im|)lanted by God in every soul that comes into the world, of perceivitjg what is right or wrong in his own heart or life, in his tempers, thoughts, words, and actions. 6. But what is the rule whereby men are to judge of right and wrong ? ivhereby their conscience is to be directed 1 The rule of heathens, as the apostle teaches elsewhere, is " the law written in their hearts." " These," saith he, " not having the [outward] law, are a law unto themselves : who show the work of the law [that whicii the outward law prescribes] written in their heart ; [by the finger of God ;] their conscience also bearing witness, [whether they walk by this rule or not,] and their thoughts the mean while accusing, or even excusing," acquitting, defending them ; r) xai aToXo^ ou|u.ivcv, Rom. ii, 14, 15. But the Christian rule of right and wrong is the word of God, the writings of the Old and New Testament ; all that the prophets and " holy men ol old" wrote " as they were moved by the Holy Ghost ;" all that Scripture which was given by inspiration of God, and which is indeed profitable for doctrine, or teaching the whole will of God ; for reproof of what i? contrary thereto ; for correction of error, and for instruction, or training us up in righteousness, 2 Tim. iii, 16. This is a lantern unto a Christian's feet, and a light in all his paths. This alone he receives as his rule of right or wrong, of whatever is really good or evil. He esteems nothing good, but what is here enjoined either directly or by plain consequence ; he accounts nothing evil but what is here forbidden, either in terms, or by undeniable inference. Whatever the Scripture neither fovbids nor enjoins, either directly oi by plain consequence, he believes to be of an indifferent nature ; to be in itself neither good nor evil ; this being the whole and sole outward rule whereby his conscience is to be directed in all things. 7. And if it be directed thereby, in fact, then hath he " the answer of a good conscience towards God." '* A gooil conscience" is what is elsewhere termed by the apostle, " a conscience void of offence." So, what he at one time expresses thus, " I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day," Acts xxiii, 1, he denotes at another, by that expression, " Herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence towards God and towards man," chap, xxiv, 16. Now in order to this there is absolutely required, first, a right understand niy of the word of God, of his " holy, and acceptable, and perfect will" concerning us, as it is revealed therein. For it is impossible we should walk by a rule, if we do not know what it means. There is, secondly, required (which how few have attained !) a true knowledge of ourselves; a knowledge both of our hearts and lives, of our inward tempers and outward conversation : seeing, if we know them not it is not possible that we should compare them with our rule. There is required, thirdly, an agreement of our hearts and lives, of our tempers and conversation, of our thoughts, and words, and works, with that rule, with the written Word of God. For. without this, if we have any conscience at all. it CO PC rr> iia WITNESS OF OUR OWN SPIRIT. [sermon XII. can be only an evil conscience. There is, fourthly, required, an inward perception of this agreement with our rule : anph}. The power of cuHtoin is not able to train us np to this, nor the most ex<|ui8it(! niies of human ochication. Niuther could I Paul ever attain hereto, notwithstanding all the advantages I enjoyed, so long as I was {'n thf flesh, in my natural state, and pursued it oidy hy^ 116 WITNESS OF OUR OWN SPIRIT. [SERMON XII. visible. Nor does he close the eyes of his conscience any mure : that sleep is departed from him. His soul is always broad awake : no more slumber or folding of the hands to rest ! He is always standing on the tower, and hearkening what his Lord will say concerning him ! and always rejoicing in this very thing, in " seeing Him that is inviuible." 19. Neither does the joy of the Christian arise, thirdly, from any d ill- ness or callousness of conscience. A kind of joy, it is true, may arise from this, in those whose *' foolish hearts are darkened ;" whose heart is callous, unfeeling, dull of sense, and, consequently, without spiritual understanding Because of their senseless, unfeeling hearts, they may rejoice even in committing sin ; and this they may probably call liberty! —which is indeed mere drunkenness of soul, a fatal numbness of spirit the stupid insensibility of a seared conscience. On the contrary, a Christian has the most exquisite sensibility ; such as he could not have conceived before. He never had such a tenderness of conscience as he has had since the love of God has reigned in his heart. And this also is his glory and joy, that God hath heard his daily prayer * " Oh that my tender soul iniglit fly The first abhorr'd approach of ill ; Quick, f he apple of an eye, Tl:' jlii itcst touch of sin to feel." 20. To conclude: . istian joy is joy in obedience; joy in loving God and keeping his commandments : and yet not in keeping them as if we were thereby to fulfil the terms of the covenant of works ; as if by any works or righteousness of ours, we were to procure pardon and acceptance with God. Not so : we are already pardoned and accepted, through the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. Not as if we were by our own obedience to procure life, life from the death of sin : this also we 'nave already through the grace of God. Us " hath he quickened, vvlio were dead in sins ;" and now we are " alive to God, through Jesus Christ our Lord." But we rejoice in walking according to the covenant of grace, in holy love and happy obedience. We rejoice in knowing that, " being justified through his grace," we have " not received that grace of God in vain ;" that God having freely (not for the sake of our willing or running, but through the blood of the Lamb) reconciled us to himself, we run, in the strength which he hath given us, the way of his commandments. He hath " girded us with strength unto the war," and we gladly " fight the good fight of faith." We rejoice, through Him who liveth in our hearts by faith, to "lay hold of eternal life." This is our rejoicing, that as our •• Father worketh hitherto," so (not by our own might or wisdom, but through the power of his Spirit, freely given in Christ Jesus) we also work the works of God. And may he work in us whatsoever is well pleasing in his sight ! To whom be the praise for ever and ever ! (t/** It may easily be observed, that the preceding discourse describes the experience of those that are strong in faith : but hereby those that are weak in faith may be discouraged ; to prevent which the following discourse may be of use. aiCHMOM XIII.j tilV IN BKLIEVliHH. 117 SERMON" XIII.— On Sin in Believers. ** If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature." 2 Cor. T. 17. ANALYSIS. I. Does, then, sin remain in the believer ? An important question, to which the ancient Christians, the Church of Eng- land, the Greek and Roman churches, and all the churches of the Reformation give substantially one answer. The Mor- avians alone affirm that sin no longer remains in the believer, or that, if it remains in the flesh, it does not in the heart. II. The persons described are called regenerate, justified, or believers as denoting actual change, relative change, or the means by which this is effected. This state is great and glorious, including regeneration, sonship, the indwelling of the Spirit, sanctifying grace, and power over sin. III. But it does not include freedom from all sin, as appears, 1. From Scripture ; Gal. v. 17 ; 1 Cor i. 2, compared with ch. iii. 1-3 ; Rev. ii. 2, 3, 4, 13, 16, and iii. 2, &c. ; 2 Cor. vii 1 2. From Christian experience. 3. From the universal testimony of the Church. IV. Answers to opponents. All arguments founded an absolute interpretation of Scripture terms. It is the fallacy of arguing from a particular to a general. V. Summary of Wesley's doctrine. There are even in the justified two contrary principles, nature and grace. Babes in Christ are sanctified, but only in part. They are sp ritual, but also to some extent carnal. Hence they need to watch against the flesh. The opposite doctrine is new and dangerous. ***"»«J lOc: I— CD >- tr CO 118 SIN IN BELIEVEUS. [sKRMON xnu INTRODUCTORY NOTES. The question between Mr. Wesley and the Moravians will be more fully understood from tlie following extract from liia diary under date of Dec. 31, 1739 : — "As to faith you believe, — 1. That there are no degrees of faith, and that no man has any degree of it, before all things in liim are become new, before lie has the full assurance of faith, the abiding witness of the Spirit, or the clear perception that Christ dwelleth in him. 2. Accordingly, you believe that there is no justifying faith, or state of justification short of this." * * ♦ ** Whereas I believe, — 1. That there are degrees in faith ; and that a man may have some degree of it before all things in him are become new ; before he has the full assurance of faith, the abiding witness of the Spirit, or the clear perception that Christ dwelleth in him. 2. Accordingly, I believe there is a degree of justifying faith (and, conse- quently, a state of justification) short of, and commonly antecedent to this." In the year 1741 Mr. Wesley held a conversation with Count Zinzendorf on the subject, in which they speak as follows : Z. " All our perfection is in Christ. All Christian perfection is, faith in the blood of Christ. The whole of Christian perfection is imputed not inherent. We are perfect in Christ in ourselves never." After several ineffectual attempts to show that this is a question of words, Mr. Wesley asks, W. " What ? Does not a believer, while he increases in love, increase equally in holiness ? " Z. " By no means. The moment he is justified, he is sanctified wholly. From that time, even unto death, he is neither more nor less holy."' It will be seen at once how alien these Aaews were from the strictly ethical view of Christianity held by Wesley. Here was an antinomian, imputed perfection or holiness, and a view of faith in harmony witli this. Every man has this faith in full perfection, or has it not at all. He has put on this perfect holiness, or he has no part in it. Mr. Wesley was no believer in the Romish doctrine of a gradual justification. We have seen how clearly he marks the great crisis of religious life, and how distinctly he brings justification to the moment of the exercise of con- Bcious faith. But with him the entire work of renewal was an inherent moral change, and not a mere imputation, and was wrought in time. This entire theology of impuiation is directly opposed to the Arminian responsibility which Mr, Wesley tauglit, whenever it substitutes im- puted for inwrought righteousness. It is the glory of the Wesleyau theology to present the righteousness of Christ in its true place as tlio meritorious ground of our justification, but just as s'Tenuously to contend against its being made a substitute for our regensratiou and sanctifioation. SERMON XlIl.J SIN IN BEI.IEVEUS. 119 SERMON XIII. 1. 1. Is there then sin in him that is in Christ ? Does sin remain in one *-hdt believes in him 1 Is tliere any sin in them that are born of God, or are they wholly delivered from it? Let no one imagine this to be a question of mere curiosity ; or, that it is of little importance whether it he determined one way or the other. Rather it is a point of the utmost moment to every serious Christian; the resolving of which very nearly concerns both his present and eternal happiness. 2. And yet I do not know that ever it was controverted in the primi- tive church. Indeed there was no room for disputing concerning it, as all Christians were agreed. And so far as I have ever observed, f.he whole body of ancient Christians, who have left us any thing in writing, declare with one voice, that even believers in Christ, till they are "strong in the Lord and in the power of his might," have need to " wrestle with (lesli and blood," with an evil nature, as well as " with principalities and powers." 3. And herein our own church (as indeed in most points) exactly copies after the primitive ; declaring in her ninth article, "Original sin is the corruption of the nature of every man, whereby man is in his own nature inclined to evil, so that the flesh lusteth contrary to the spirit. And this infection of nature doth remain, yea in them that are regene- rated ; whereby the lust of the flesh, called in Greek (pfovriiaa T'a^xog, is not subject to the law of God. And although there is no condemnation for them tha' '>- lieve, yet this lust hath of itself the nature of sin." ;• imony is given by all other churches; not only by 'i\ sh church, but by every reformed church in Europe, j.uination. Indeed some of these seem to carry the thing too far ; so describing the corruption of heart in a believer, as scarce to allow that he has dominion over it, but rather is in bondage thereto ; and, by this means, they leave hardly any distinction between a believer and an unbeliever. 5. To avoid this extreme, many well meaning men, particularly those under the direction of the late Count Zinzendorf, ran into another ; affirming, that " all true believers are not only saved from the dominion of sin, but from the being of inward as well as outward sin, so that it no longer remains in them." And from them, about twenty years ago, many of our countrymen imbibed the same opinion, that even the cor ruption is no more, in those who believe in Christ. 6. It is true that, when the Germans were pressed upon this head, they soon allowed, (many of them at least,) that " sin did still remain in the Jlesh, but not in the heart of a believer :" and after a time, when the absurdity of this was shown, they fairly gave up the point ; allowing that sin did still remain, though not reign, in him that is born of God. 7. But the English, who had received it from them, (some directly, some at second or third hand,) were not so easily prevailed upon to part with a favourite opinion : and even when the generality of them were convinced it was utterly indefensible, a few could not be persuadnil to ^ve it up, but maintain it to this day. 4. The mn the Greek ari of whatever c — I 120 SIN IN BELIEVERS. [sermon XIII. SbRMOf II. 1. For the sake of thiwe who really fear (iod, and desire lo know " the truth as it is in Jesus," it may not he amiss to consider the point with cahnness and impartiality. In doing this, I use indifferently the words regenerate, Justified, or believers ; since, though they have nor precisely the same meaning, (the 6rst implying an inward, actual change, the second a relative one, and the third, the means whereby both the one and the other arc wrought) yet they come to one and the same thing ; as every one that believes, is both justified and born of God. 2. By sin, I here understand inward sin ; any sinful temper, passion, or affection ; such as pride, self will, love of the world, in any kind or degree ; such as lust, anger, peevishness ; any disposition contrary to the mind which was in Christ. 3. The -question is not concerning outward siv : whether a child of God commit sin or no. We all agree and earnestly maintain, ** He that committeth sin is of the devil." We agree, " Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin." Neither do we now inquire, whether inward sm will always remain in the children of God ; whether sin will continue in the soul, as long as it continues in the body : nor yet do we inquire, whether a justified person may relapse either into inward or outward sin ; but simply this. Is a justified or regenerate man freed from all sin as soon as he is justified ? Is there then no sin in his heart 1 — nor ever after, unless he fall from grace ? 4. We allow that the state of a justified person is inexpressibly great and glorious. He is born again, " not of blood, nor of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." He 's a child of God, a member of Christ, an heir of the kingdom of heaven. " The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keepeth his heart and mind in Christ Jesus." His very body is a " temple of the Holy Ghost," and a " habitation of God through the Spirit." He is " created anew in Christ Jesus :" he is washed, he is santtijied. His heart is purified by faith ; he is cleansed " from the corruption that is in the world ;" " the love of God is shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost which is given unto him." And so long as he " walketh in love," (which he may always do,) he worships God in spirit and in truth. He keepeth the commandments of God, and doeth those things that are pleasing in his sight ; so exercismg himself as to " have a conscience void of offence, towards God and towards man ;" und he has power both over outward and inward sin, even from the moment he is justified. III. 1. But was he not then treed from all sin, so that there is no sm m his heart ? I cannot say this ; I cannot believe it ; because St. Paul says the contrary. He is speaking to believers, and describing the state of believers in general, when ho says, " The flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh : these are contrary the one to the other," Gal. v, 17. Nothing can be more express. The apostle here directly affirms that the flesh, evil nature, opposes the Spirit, even in l»elievcrs ; that even in the regenerate, there are two principles, " contrary the one to the other." 2. Again : when he writes to the believers at Corinth, to those who were sanctified in Christ Jesus, 1 Cor. i, 2, he says, " I, brethren, could not speak unto you, as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, as unto babes m (/hrist. Ye are yet carnal : for whereas there is among you envying strife, are ve not carnal ?" ch. iii. ver. 1—3. Now here the aposth speaks >ame bil nieasurt occasior tiun thai • had not (what is I in Christ! is (in a 3. Inc lielievers] epistles ol direction^ [tomting iiig, ackn| iirR contii of the fait 4. Anc of Ephesi labour, an hast labou mean time " Neverthi tirst love." accordmgl say, that e 5. Nay, repent, whi not denied Sardis, he to die." ' actually de him ; whic 6. Once selves from teaches, th Will yoi iloes ipso ft l''or instan( ofs|)irit: y of evil ;" bi experience 7. And { no bent to the experie hackslidin^ ■tnd cleave iDgin their !cak and same time lor a mome tliat they ar SKHMON Xlll.] SIN IN BELIKVURS. 121 speaks iinio those who wen unquestionably bchevers, — whom in the >ame breath he styles his brethren in Christ, — as being still, in a measure, carnal. He affirms, there was envying, (an evil temper,) occasioning strife among them, and yet does not give the least intima- tion that they had lost their faith. Nay he manifestly declares they • had not ; for then they would not have been babes in ChriSl. And (what is most remarkable of all) he speaks of being carnal, and babes ill Christ, as one and the same thing; plainly showing that every believer i«: (in a degree) carnal, while he is only a babe in Christ. 3. Indeed this grand point, that there are two contrary principles in believers, nature and grace, the flesh and the Spirit, runs through all the epistles of St. Paul, yea, through all the Holy Scriptures; almost all the directions and exhortations therein, are founded on this supposition ; pointing at wrong tempers or practices in those who are, notwithstand- ing, acknowledged by the inspired writers to be believers. And they iirp continually exhorted to fight with and conquer these, by the power of the faith which was in them. 4. And who can doubt, but there was faith in the angel of the church of Ephesus, when our Lord said to him, " I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience : thou hast patience, and for my name's sake hast laboured and hast not fainted," Rev. ii, 2, 3, 4. But was there, mean time, no sin in his heart ? Yea, or Christ would not have added, " Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love." This was a real sin which God saw in his heart ; of whicli, accordmgly, he is exhorted to ^epent : and yet we have no authority to say, that even then he had no faith. 5. Nay, the angel of the church at Pergamos, also, is exhorted to repent, which implies sin, though our Lord expressly says, " Thou hast not denied my faith," ver. 13, 16. And to the angel of the church in Sardis, he says, " Strengthen the things which remain, that are ready to die." The good which remained was ready to die ; but was not actually dead, chap, iii, 2. So there was still a spark of faith even in him ; which he is accordingly commanded to hold fast, ver. 3. 6. Once more : when the apostle exhorts believers to *' cleanse them selves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit," 2 Cor. vii, 1, he plainly teaches, that those believers were not yet cleansed therefrom. Will you answer, " He that abstains from all appearance of evil," iloes ipso facto " cleanse himself from all flllhiness." Not in any wise. For instance : a man reviles me : 1 feel resentment ; which is filthiness of spirit : yet I say not a word. Here 1 " abstain from all appearance of evil ;" but this does not cleanse me from that filthiness of spirit, as J experience to my sorrow. 7. And as this position, there is no sin in a believer, no carnal mind no bent to backsliding, is thus contrary to the word of God, so it is to the experience of his children. These continually feel a heart bent to hacksliding ; a natural tendency to evil ; a proneness to depart from God^ •uu\ cleave to the things of earth. They are daily sensible of sin remain- ing in their heart, pride, self will, unbelief; and of sin cleaving to all they .speak and do, even their best actions and holiest duties. Vet at the same time they " know that they are of God ;" tney cannot doubt of it lor a moment. 'JMiey feel his Spirit clearly " witnessing with their spirit, that they are the children of God." They "rejoice in God through Christ C5c: «c::> — i IJL. CD CO 122 SIN IN BELIEVERS. [sermon XUt. SERMOI iesu^, by whom they have now received the aloiieiiient." So that ihe\ are equally assured, that sin is in them, and that " Christ ia in tiium the hope of glory." 8. " But can Christ be in the same heart where sin is ?" Undoubtedly he can. Otherwise it never could be saved therefrom. Where the sickness is, there is the physician, " Carrying on his work within, Striving till he cast out sin." ('hrist indeed cannot reign, where sin reig?is ; neither will he dwell where any sin is ollowed. But he is and dwells in the heart of every believer, who xsjighting against all sin ; although it be not yet purified, according to the purification of the sanctuary. 9. It has been observed before, that the opposite doctrine, that there IS no sin in believers, is quite new in the church of Christ; that it wan never heard of for seventeen hundred years ; never till it was discovered by Count Zinzendorf. I do not remember to have seen the least inti- mation of it, either in any ancient or modern writer ; unless perhaps m some of the wild, ranting Antinomians. And these likewise say ami unsay, acknowledging there is sin in (heir flesh, although no sin in their heart. But whatever doctrine is new must be wrong ; for the old religion is the only true one ; and no doctrine can be right, unless it is the very same " which was from the beginning." 10. One argument more against this new, unscriptural doctrine, may be drawn from the dreadful consecjuences of it. One says, " I felt anger to day." Must I reply, " Then you have no faith ?" Another says, " 1 know what you advise is good, but my will is quite averse to it." Must I tell him, " Then you are an unbeliever, under the wrath and the curse of God ?" What will be the natural consequence of this 1 Why, if he believe what I say, his soul will not only be grieved and wounded, but perhaps utterly destroyed ; inasmuch as he will "castaway" that "con- fidence which hath great recompense of reward :" and having cast away his shield, how shall he " quench the fiery darts of the wicked one ?" How shall he overcome the world 1 — seeing " this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." He stands disarmed in the midst of his enemies, open to all their assaults. What wonder then if he be utterly overthrown ; if they take him captive at their will ; yea, if he fall from one wickedness to another, and never see good any more ? I cannot therefore by any means receive this assertion, that there is no sin in a believer from the moment he is justified ; first, because it is contrary to the whole tenor of Scripture ; — secondly, because it is con- trary to the experience of the children of God ; — thirdly, because it is absolutely new, never heard of in the world till yesterday ; — and, lastly, because it is naturally attended with the mosf fatal consequences ; not only grieving those whom God hath not grieved, but perhaps dragging thorn into everlasting perdition. IV. 1. However, let us give a fair hearing to the chief arguments of ihose who endeavour to support it. And it is, first, from Scripture they attempt to prove, that there is no sin in a believer. They argue thus : " The Scripture says, Every believer is born of God, is clean, is holy, is sanctified, is pure in heart, has a new heart, is a temple of the Holy Ghost. Now, as ' that which is born of the flesh is flesh,' is altogether r.vW, so 'that which is born of the Spirit is spirit,' is altogether goo'.l SERMON XIU.J BIN IN BELIEVEHS. 123 Again ; a piaii cannot be clean, sanctified, holy, and at the same time unclean, unsanctified, unholy. He cannot be pure and impure, or have a new and an old heart together. Neither can his soul be unholy, while it is a temple of the Holy Ghost." I have put this objection as strong as possible, that its Full weight may appear. Let vis now examine it, part by part. And, 1. " That which is born of the Spirit is spirit, is altogether good." 1 allow the text, but not the comment. For the text affirms this, and no mere, That every man who is " born of the Spirit," is a spiritual man. He it so. But so he may be, and yet not be altogether spiritual. The Chris- tians at Corinth were spiritual men ; else they had been no Christians It all ; and yet they were not altogether spiritual : they were still, in part, carnal. — " But they were fallen from grace." St. Paul says, no. They were even then babes in Christ. 2. " But a man cannot be clean, sanctified, holy, and at the same time unclean, unsanctified, unholy." Indeed he may. So the Corinthians were. " Ye are washed," says the apostle, " ye are sanctified ;" namoU' leansed from " fornication, idolatry, drunkenness," and all other ou,.,ard sin, 1 Cor. vi, 9, 10, 11 ; nnd yet, at the same time, in another sense of the word, they were im- sanctified ; they were not washed, not inwardly cleansed from envy, fvd surmising, partiality. — " But sure they had not a new heart and an old heart together." It is most sure they had ; for at that very time, their hearts were truly, yet not entirely renewed- Their carnal mind uas nailed to the cross ; yet it was not wholly destroyed. — " But could they be unholy, while they were ' temples of the Holy Ghost V " Yes ; tliat they were temples of the Holy Gliost is certain, 1 Cor. vi, 19; and It is equally certain, they were, in some degree, carnal, that is, unholy. 2. " However, there is one scripture more which will put the matter out of question : * If any man be [a believer] in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away ; behold all things are become new,' 2 Cor. v, 17. Now, certainly, a man cannot be a new creature and an old creature at once." Yes, he may : he may be partly renewed, which was the very case with those at Corinth. They were doubtless " renewed in the spirit of their mind," or they could not have been so iiuich as " babes in Christ ;" yet they had not the whole mind which was in Christ, for they envied one another. " But it is said expressly Old things are passed away : all things are become new." But wc must not so interpret the apostle's words, as to make him contradict himself. And if we will make him consistent with himself, the plain meaning of the words is this : His old jtidgment concerning justifica- tion, holiness, happiness, indeed concerning the things of God in gene- ral^ is now passed away : so are his old desires, designs, affections, tempers, and conversation. All these are undeniably become new greatly changed '"'•om what they were. And yet, though they are new. thi^y are not w' y new. Still he feels, to his sorrow and shame, remains of the oiu man, too manifest taints of his former tempers and iifTections, though they cannot gain any advantage over him, as long as he watches unto prayer. 3. This whole argument, " If he is clean, he is clean ;" * if he is holy, he is holy;" (and twenty more expressions of the same kind may easily be heaped together;) is really no better than playing upon words: it is the fallacy of arguinff from a particular to a general; of inferriiK* ex.: — i ;^ 1-1- CO ra 124 BIN IN BELIEVERS. [SEHUOM XIII. a general conclusion from particular premises. Propose the sentence entire, and it runs thus : " If he is holy at all, he is holy altogether.* That does not follow : every babe in Christ is holy, and yet not altoge- ther so. He is saved from sin ; yet not entirely : it reviains. though it does not reign. If you think it does not remain, (in babes at least, whatever be the case with young men, or fathers,) you certainly have not considered the height, and depth, and length, and breadth of the law of God ; (even the law of love, laid down by St. Paul in the thir- teenth of Corinthians ;) and that every (avofAia) disconformity to, or deviation from this law, is sin. Now, is there no disconformity to this in the heart or life of a believer? What may be in an adult Christian, is another question ; but what a stranger must he be to human nature, who can possibly imagine that this is the case with every babe in Christ ! 4. *' But believers walk after the Spirit,* Rom. viii, 1, and the Spirit of God dwells in them; consequently they are delivered from the guilt, the power, or in one word, the being of sin." These are coupled together, as if they were the same thing. But they are not the same thing. The guilt is one thing, the power another, and the being yet another. That believers are delivered from i\\e guilt and poicer of sin we allow ; that they are delivered from the being of it we deny. Nor does it in any wise follow from these texts. A man may have the Spirit of God dwelling in him, and may " walk after the Spirit," though he still feels " the flesh lusting against the Spirit." 5. " But the * church is the body of Christ,' Col. i, 24 ; this implies, that its members are washed from all filthiness ; otherwise it will follow that Christ and Belial are incorporated with each other." Nay, it will not follow from hence, " Those who are the mystical body of Christ, still feel the flesh lusting against the Spirit," that Christ has any fellowship with the devil ; or with that sin which he enables them to resist and overcome. 6. " But are not Christians ' come to the heavenly Jerusalem,' where • nothing defiled can enter V " Heb. xii, 22. Yes ; " and to an innu- merable company of angels, and to the spirits of just men made per- fect:" that is, " Earth and hoaven all agree ; All is one great family." And they are likewise holy and undefiled, while they " walk after the Spirit;" although sensible there is another principle in them, and that " these are contrary to each other." 7. " But Christians are reconciled to God. Now this could not be, H any of the carnal mind remained ; for this is enmity against God : con- sequently, no reconciliation can be effected, but by its total destruction." We are " reconciled to God through the blood of the cross :" and in that moment the (p^'ovr,|ULa roperties of sin ; therefore, where one is, all must be." No: in the instance before us, if the resentment I feel is not yielded to, even for a moment, there is no guilt at all, no condemnation from God upon that account. And in this case, it has no power : though it *' lusteth against the Spirit," it cannot prevail. Here, therefore, as in ten thousand in- stances, there is sin without either guilt or power. 11." Bu« the supposing sin in a believer is pregnant with every thing friglitful and discouraging. It implies the contending with a power that has the possession of our strength ; maintains his usurpation of our hearts ; and there prosecutes the war in defiance of our Redeemer." Not so : The supposing sin is in us, does not imply that it has the possession of our strength ; no more than a man crucified has the possession of those that crucify him. As little does it imply, that " sin maintains its usurpation of our hearts." The usurper is dethroned, lie remains indeed where he once reigned; but remains in chains. So mat he does, in some sense, " prosecute the war," yet he grows weaker and weaker; while the believer goes on from strength to strength, conquering and to conquer. 12. "I am not satisfied yet : he that hath sin in him, is a slave to (un. Therefore, you suppose a man to be justified, while he is a slave to hin. Now if you allow men may be justified while they have pride, anger, or anhelief in them ; nav, if you aver, these are (at least for a time) in all 126 BIN IN BKLIKVKK8. [sermon XIII. that are justified ; what wonder that we have so many proud, angry, unbelieving believers ?" 1 do not suppose any man who is justified is a slave to sin : yet I do suppose sin remains (at least for a time) in all that are justified. '• But, if sin remains in a believer, he is a sinful rnan : if pride, for mstance, then he is proud ; if self will, then he is self willed ; if unbe- lief, then he is an unbeliever ; consequently, no believer at all. How- then does he differ from unbelievers, from unregenerale men ?" This is still mere playing upon words. It means no more than, if there i« sin, pride, self will, in him, ilien — there is sin, pride, self will. Ami this no body can deny. In that sense then he is proud, or self willed. But he is not proud or self willed in the same sense that unbelievers are, that is, govtrnc.d by pride or self will. Herein he differs from unregeneratc men. They obey sin ; he does not. Flesh is in thein both : but they walk after the flesh ; he walks after the Spirit. "But how can unbclitf be in a believer 1" That word has two meanings. It means either no faith, or little faith ; either the absencf of faith, or the weakness of it. In the former sense, unbelief i.«» not in a believer ; in the latter, it is in all babes. Their faith is commonly mixed with doubt or fear, that is, in the latter sense, with unbelieii " Why are ye fearful, (says our Lord,) oh ye of little faith I" Agaiu, " Oh thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt ?" You see hero was unbelief ill believers; little faith and much unbelief. 13. " But this doctrine, That sin remains in a believer; that a maii may be in the favour of God, while he has sin in his heart; certainly tends to encourage men in sin." Understand the proposition right, and no such consequence follows. A man may be in God's favour though he feel sm ; but not if he yields to it. Having si«, does not forfeit the favour of God ; giving way to sin does. Though the flesh in you " lust against the Spirit," you may still be a child of God : but if you *' walk after the flesh," you are a child of the devil. Now this doctrine does not encourage to obey sin, but to resist it with all your might. V. 1. The sum of all is this : There are in every person, even after he is justified, two contrary principles, nature and grace, termed by Su Paul, the flesh and the Spirit. Hence, although even babes in Christ are sanctified, yet it is only in part. In a degree, according to the measure of their faith, they are spirittial ; yet, in a degree they are carnal. Accordingly, believers are continually exhorted to watch against the flesh, as well as the world and the devil. And to this agrees the constant experience of the children of God. While they fetl this witness in themselves, they feel a will not wholly resigned to the will of God. They know they are in him ; and yet find a heart ready to depart from him, a proneness to evil in many instances, and a back- wardness to that which is good. The contrary doctrine is wholly new ; never heard of in the church of Christ, from the time of his coming into liie world, till the time of Count Zinzendorf ; a.id it is attended with (he most fatal consequences. It cuts off all watching against our evil nature, against the Delilah which we are told is gone, though she i& still lying in our Dosom. It tears away the shield of weak beiieverf<. deprives them of their faith, and so leaves them exposed to all the assaults of the world, the flesh, and the devil. SERMOf 2. U the saiii succeet tied, sail then re| nature, So nuicl i)f faith, he eneil ' put onj " with fl| spirits ir and bavil 9ERM0N XIII.] BIN IN UKLIEVEHS. 197 2. Let us, tlierefore, hold fast tlie bound djctrinc " once dehverod lo ilie saints/' and delivered down by tliem, with the written word, to ail succeeding ccnerations ; that although we arc renewed, clean.sed, puri tied, sanctified, the moment we truly believe in Christ, yet we are not ihen renewed, cleansed, puritied altogether ; but the flesh, the evil nature, still retnains, (though subdued,) and wars against the Spirit. So much the more let us use all diligence in " tightipg the good light i)f faith." So much the more earnestly let us" watch and pray" against he enemy within. The more carefully let us take to ourselves, and ' put on the whole armour of God ;" that, althoi-gh " we wrestle" both " with flesh and blood, and with principalities, and powers, and wicked spirits in high places," we " may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." SERMON XIV.— The Bcpcntance of Believers. *' Rt'peut ye, and believe the Gospel." Aluik i. 15. 1 ANALYSIS. The primary meaning of repentance and faitli. A subse- quent repentauce and faith of somewhat dillerent nature, but related, necessary to our continuance and {growth in grace. I. The Eepentance of believers is self-knowledge. The lack of this in the young Christian. Experience shows him — 1. The remaining sin. (1) Of heart, pride, self-will, idolatrous love of the world in its threefold form ; affections contrary to love ; covetousness. Hence, sensible of these things, many apply the seventh of Romans to Christians. (2) Of words and acts (uncharitable and unprofitable conver- sation not here included) ; but useless discourse ; mingled motives ; spiritual pride. (3) Of omission. (4) Of defect. 2. The guiltiness of this. Were it not for the atoning blood, we must be condemned. 3. Our inability to remove either the sin or its desert before God. II. The faith of believers — is I. A faith in the ability of Christ to meet these conscious wants. 2. A faith iu the willingness of Christ to meet them now. 3. A coi>tiuuuuii faith, by which we feel the power of Christ resiing upon us every uiomeut. III. Lessons. 1. Danger of the opinion that we are wholly sanctified when we are justified. 2. The necessity of a further change 3. The cunscaub need of the atoning bluod. 4. The need of living upon Christ by faith. INTRODUCTORY NOTES. This is another of the supplementary sermons, added twenty years after the publication of the preceding, and putting the trutli idready defended into a practical form. Discarding the antinomian idea that we need not trouble ourselves about this inward sin, (because (1) it cannot be removed ; (2) it is not imputed to us ; and (3) our holinesa is com- plete in Christ without its removal) ; Mr. Wesley insists — 1. That a profound, searching, conviction of this inward sin is - 128 KKI'KNTANCK OF BKI.rKVKRS. [SEKMOM XIV. which we may find coinpetiHfttion in the tiiouRlit of a pprfoct iinpotc! riirliti'ou.siicHs '; l)iit a work ol '^vim'. lendiii- us to a real full Halvation. 2 Tiiat tliu abitlinK faitli hy wiiicjj th.* Cliristiau livea m Christ, u not a trust in an idoal, perfort imputed ri},diteon8ne8», hut a perception in Christ of saving power, able and willinf,' to meet all the deep Bmntuiil needs of our fallen nature. lleliKion is a real, moral healing ot the soul. Both Wesley and the Moravians had united mysticism with tin; evangelical doctrine of faith. lUit the Moravian mysticisin was Ou^d iiltroiid in OUT lie irt8, and Iuh kingdom sot np therein ; it is natiirnl to fliippoAe that vo are no Ioniser sinners, that all our sins arc not only covered hut il«!8troyed. As we do not then feel any evil in our hearts, we readily imagine none is there. Nay, some well meaning men have imagined this not only at thai lime, but ever after ; having persuaded themsekes, that when they were jnstifie(i, they were entirely sanctified : yea, they have laid it down as a general rule, in spite of Scripture, reason, an(i '■xperience. These sincerely believe, and earnestly maintain, that all sin is destroyed when we are justified ; and iha? there is no sin in the heart of a believer; but that it is altogether clean from tliat moment. lUit though we readily acknowle j rfspects he has thought of himself more highly tiia/i he ought to tl'i;»ii;, iMu! that he has taken to himself the praise of somut.iing hi. buu rtceivet!; ;in(l gloried in it as though he had not received it ; and j^\ he Ivnov. s h'; is in the favour of God. He cannot, and ought not, " to cast viwu v his ( onfidence." " The Spirit" still " witnesses with" his " ppisil. that iia n a child of God." 4. Nor is it long before he feels self will in his hep.'T; even o will contrary to the will of God. A will every man mus» inrv.iabiy hav«-. as long as he has an understanding. This is an es.-catial ptv:?. oniiuriun nature, indeed of the nature of every intelligent be'.ig. Our b!f -r.^eJ, Lord himself had a will as a rnan ; otherwise he had not bv-en a rnaa. Hut his human will was invariably subject to the will of liis Father, Ai all times, and on all occiisions, even in the deepest aflli«::i(in, ht; couhl say, " Not as I will, but as thou wilt." But this is not tlie c?>se at all times, even with a true believer in Christ. He fretpiently finds his wi'l more or less exalting itself against the will of God. He vtili^" somctl'ng, because it is pleasing to nature, which is not pleasing to Cior! ; tin':! hr wills (is averse from) something, because it is painful to nature, tvliich is the will of God concerning him. Indeed, suppose he continues in the faitn, he fights against it with aP his might : but this very thing implies that it really exists, and that he is conscious of it. 5. Now self will, as well as pride, is a species oi' vhlctri/ : and bolii are directly contrary to the love of God. The same observation may be made concerning the "Jove of the worhV^ But this li'tewibc ev* ii ?ru^ believers are liable to feel in themselves ; and every one ^^ theia do?^- feel it, more or less, sooner or later, in one branch or aiother. It is true, when he first " passes from death unto lifo," ne desires nothing more but God. He can truly say, " All my desirf «: unto ^hee, and unto tlie remembrance of thy name :" " Who-Ti '.aye. I in heaven but thee, und there is none upon earth that i desiic he:ade thee !" But it is not so always. In process of time he .vill feei again, though perhaps only foi a few moments, either " ihe desire of the flesh," or " the desire of the eye," or " the pride of life." Nay, if he does not continually watcii — J ccz ;^ rj.:: 130 REPENTANCE OF BELIEVERS. [SRRUOM XIT. and pray, he may find lust reviving ; yea, and thrusting sore at him that he may fall, till he has scarce any strength left in him. He may feel the assaults of inordinate affection ; yea, a strong propensity to " love the creature more than the Creator ;" whether it be a child, a parent, a husband or wife, or " the friend that is as his own soul." He may feel, in a thousand various ways, a desire of earthly things or pleasures In the same proportion he will forget God, not seeking his happiness in him, and consequently being a '* lover of pleasure more than a lover t.f(iod." 6. If he does not keep himself every moment, he will again feel the desire of the eye ; the desire of gratifying his imagination with some- thing great, or beautiful, or uncommon. In how many ways does this desire assault the soul ? Perhaps with regard to the poorest trifles, such as dress, or furniture ; things never designed to satisfy the appetite of an immortal spirit. Yet, how natur J is it for us, even after we have " tasted of the powers of the world to come," to sink again into these foolish, low desires of things that perish in the using ! How hard is it, even for those who know in whom they have believed, to conquer but one branch of the desire of the eye, curiosity ; constantly to trampl<' it under their feet ; to desire nothing, merely because it is new ! 7. And how hard is it even for the children of God wholly to conquer the pride of life ! St. John seems to mean by this nearly the same with what the world terms the sense of honour. This is no other than a desiro of, and delight in, " the honour that cometh of men ;" a desire and love of praise ; and, which is always joined with it, a proportionable ^ear of dispraise. Nearly allied to this is eriZ shame ; the being ashamed of that wherein we ought to glory. And this is seldom divided from the fear of man, which brings a thousand snares upon the soul. Now where ks he, even among those that se.>m strong in faith, who does not find in himself a degree of all these evil tempers ? So that even these are but in part "crucified to the world;" for the evil root still remains in their heart. 8. And do we not feel other tempers, which are as contrary to the love of our neighbour as these are to the love of God ? The love of our neighbour " thinketh no evil." Do not we find any thing of the kind .' Do we never find any jealousies, any evil surmisings, any groundless or unreasonable suspicions? He that is clear in these respects, let him cast the first stone at his neighbour. Who does not sometimes feel other tempers or inward motions, which he knows are contrary to brotherly love ? If nothing oi malice, hatred, or bitterness, is there no touch of envy? Particularly towards those who enjoy some real or supposed good which we desire but cannot attain? Do we never find any degree of resentment, when we are injured or affronted ; especially by those whom we peculiarly loved, and whom we had most laboured to help or oblige .' Does injustice or ingratitude never excite in us any desire of reucw^*;/' Any desire of returning evil for evil, instead of" overcoming evil witii good ?" This also shows how much is still in our heart which is contrary to the love of our neighbour. 9. Covetousness, in every kind and degree, is certainly as contrary to this as to the love of God ; whether ^i\apyvpta, the love of money, which is too frequently " the root of all evil ;" or tr^foccfta, literally, i-. desire of having more, or increasing in substance. And how few, ev» n of the real children of God. are entirely free from both ' Indeed, one ^real in hi But, womi «vas that it ma •iown self w 10. yea, SERMON XIV.] REPENTANCE OF BELIEVERS. 131 ^eat man, Martin Luther, used to say, He '• never had any covetousnosa in him (not only in his converted slate, but) ever since he was born." But, if so, I would not scruple to say, he was the only ftian born of a woman, (except him that was God as well as man,) who had not, who uas born without it. Nay, I believe, never was any one born of God, that lived any considerable time after, who did not feel more or less of it many times, especially in the latter sense. We may therefore set it •lown as an undoubted truth, that covetousness, together with pride, and self will, and anger, remain in the hearts even of them that are justified. 10. It is their experiencing this, which has inclined so many serious persons to understand the latter part of the seventh chapter to the Romans, not of them that are " under the law," that are convinced of sin, which is undoubtedly the meaning of the apostle, but of them that are " under grace;" that are "justified freely through the redemption that is in Christ." And it is most certain, they are thus far right : — there does still remain, even in them that are justified, a tnivd which is in some measure carnal; (so the aposlle tells even the believers at Corinth, " Ye are carnal ;") a heart bent to backsliding, still ever ready to " depart from the living God ;" a propensity to pride, self will, anger, revenge, love of the world, yea, and all evil ; a root of bitterness, which, if the restraint were taken off for a nionienl, would instantly spring up ; yea, such a depth of corruption, as, without clear light from God, w« cannot possibly conceive. And a conviction of all this sin remaining in their hearts, is the repentance which belongs to them that are justified. 11. But we should likewise be convinced, that as sin remains in our hearts, so it cleaves to all our words and actions. Indeed it is to be feared, that many of our words are more than mixed with sin ; that they are sinful altogether ; for such undoubtedly is all uncharitahle couvtrsa^ lion ; all which does not spring from brotherly love; all wMch does not agree with that golden rule, " What ye would that others should do to you, even so do unto them." Of this kind is all backbiting, all tale Itoaring, all whispering, all evil speaking, that is, repeating the faults ol absent persons ; for none would have others repeat his faults when he is absent. Now how few are there, even among believers, who are in no degree guilty of this ; who steadily observe the good old r\ile, "Of the dead and the absent — nothing but good !" And suppose they do, do they likewise abstain from unjtrojitahle conversation 1 Yet all this is unquestionably sinful, and " grieves the Holy Spirit of God :" yea, and " for every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account iu the day of judgment." 12. But let it be supposed that they continually "wa'ch and pray," and so do " not enter into this temptation ;" that they constantly set a watch before their mouth, and keep the door of their lips ; suppose they exer- cise themselves herein, that all their " conversation may be in grace, seasoned with salt, and meet to minister grace to the hearers ;" yet do they not daily slide into useless discourse, notwithstanding all their caution ? And even when they endeavour to speak for God, are their words jmre, free from unholy mixtures? Do they find nothing wrong in their very intention? Do they spealc merely to pleaee God, and not |)artly to please themselves ? Is it wholly to do thf? will of God, and not their own will also ? Or, if they begin with a single eye, do they go on '' looking unto Jesus," and talking with him all the time they are talk- trie! — J • I CO 132 REPENTANCE OF BELItVEUS. [sERMON XIV. ing with their neiglibour ? When they are reproving sin, do they feci no anger or unkind temper to tiie sinner ? When ihey are instructing the ignorant, do ti«ey not tind any pride, any sell" preference ? When they are comforting the afflicted, or provoliing one another to love and to goo labours for God, to cry out, almost with his dying breath, " Lord, for- give nne my sins of omission !" 15. But, besides these outward omissions, may they not find in them- ^elve8 inward defects without number 1 Defects of every kind : they have not the love, the fear, the confidence, they ought to have, towards God. They have not the love wiiich is due to their neighbour, to ever\ rhild of man ; no, nor even that which is due to their brethren, to every child of God. whether those that are at a distance from them, or thoxe SKF with the con£ am mvii 1( ancel undel condl and, Spirij be for] on al them thoroJ is heJ one h strike they SKRMON XIV.] REPENTANCE OP BELILVEItS. 133 mav isand and I the it k. ^' ! So I his , for- liem- Ithey [ards [ver\ Ivory IhoHe with wl'omtlievare immediately connected. They have no holy temper in the degree they ought ; they are defective in every thing ; — in a deep consciousness of which tliey are ready to cry out witli M. De Renty, " I am a ground all overrun with thorns ;" or with Job, " I am vile : I -bhor mvjeif, and r'ipent as in dust and ashes." 16. A conviction of their guiltiness is another branch of that repent- ance which belongs to the children of God. But this is cautiously to be understood, and in a peculiar sense. For it is certain, " there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus," that beliyve in him, and, in the power of that faith, " walk not after the fiesh, but after the Spirit." Yet can they no more bear the strict just, ce of God, now, than before they believed. This pronounces them to hv still worthy of death, on all the preceding accounts. And it would absolutely condemn them thereto, were it not for the atoning blood. Therefore they are thoroughly convinced, that they still deserve punishment, although it is hereby turned aside from them. But here there are extremes on one hand and on the other, and few steer clear of them. Most men strike on one or the other, either thinking themselves condemned when ihey are not, or thinking they deserve to be acquitted. Nay, the truth lies between : they still deserve, strictly speaking, only the damnation of hell. But what they deserve does not come upon them, because they " have an advocate with the Father." His life, and death, and interces- sion, still interpose between them and condemnation. 17. A conviction of thoir titter helplessness, is yet another branch ot this repentance. I mean hereby two things : First, that they are no more able now of themselves to think one good thought, to form one good desire, to speak one good word, or do one good work, than before they were justified ; that they have still no kind or degree of strength of their own; no power either to do good, or resist evil ; no ability to conquer or even withstand the world, the devil, or their own evil nature. They can, it is certain, do all these things ; but it is not by their own strength. They have power to overcome all these enemies; for " sin hath no more dominion over them :" but it is not from nature, either in whole or in part ; it is the mere gift of God : nor is it given all at once, as if they nad a stock laid up for many years ; but from momerAt to moment. 18. By this helplessness I mean, secondly, an absolute inability to deliver ourselves from that guiltiness or desert of punishmer.* whereof we are still conscious ; yea, and an inability to remove, by all the grace we have, (to say nothing of our natural powers,) either the pride, self will, love of the world, anger, and gei»eral proneness to depart from God, which we experimentally know to remain in the heart, even of them that are regenerate ; or the evil which, in spite of all our endeavours, clea\es to all our words and actions. Add to this, an utter inability wholly to avoid uncliaritable, and much more unprofitable, conversation ; and an inability to avoid sins of omission, or to supply the numberless defectn we are convinced of; especially the want of love, and other right tem pers, both to God and num. 19. If any man is not satisfied of this, if any believes that whoever is justified 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 expel pride, self will, or inbred sin in general. Let him try, whether he cnn clnnnse his words and actions from all mixture ^ ic:> — J cxz IIOJ 134 REPWNTANCE OF BELIEVERS. [SERMON ZIV. of evil ; whether he can avoid all uncharitable and unprofitable conver- sation, with all the sins of omission ; and, lastly, whether he can supply the numberless defects which he still finds in himself Lpt him not be discouraged by one or two experiments, but repeat the trial again and again ; and the longer he tries, the more deeply will he be convinced of his utter helplessness in all these respect*. 20. Indeed this is so evident a truth, that well nigh all the children of God, scattered abroad, however they differ in other points, yet gene- rallyagree inthis; that although we may," by the Spirit, mortify the deeds ol the body ;" resist and conquer both outward and inward sin ; although we may vmnke.n our enemies day by day ; — yet we cannot drive them out. By all the grace which is given at justification, we cannot extirpate them. Though we watch and pray ever so much, we cannot wholly cleanse either our hearts or hands. Most sure we cannot till it shall please our Lord to speak to our hearts again, to speak the second time, Bo clean : and then only the leprosy is cleansed. Then only, the evil root, the carnal mind, is destroyed ; and inbred sin subsists no more. But if there be no such second change, if there be no instantaneous deliverance alter justification, if there be ««//c but a gradual work of God, (that there is ".gradual work no"? denies,) thei. /ve must be con- tent, as well as we can, to remain full of sin till death ; and, if so, we must remain guilty till death, continually fksnrving punishment. For it is impossible the guilt, or desert of punishment, should be removed from us, as long as all this sin remains in our heart, and cleaves to our words and actions. Nay, in rigorous justice, all we think, and speak, v. d act, continually increases it. []. 1. In this sense we are to repent, after we are justified. And till we do so, we can go no farther. For, till we are sensible of our disease, it admits of no cure. But. supposing we do thus repent, then are we called to " believe the gospel," 2. And this also is to be understood in a peculiar sense, different from that wherein we believed in order to justification. Believe the glad tidings of great salvation, which God hath prepared for all peo- ple. Believe that he who is " the brightness of his Father's glory, the express image of his person," is " able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God through him." He is able to save you from all the sin that still remiins in your heart. He is able to save you from all the sin that cleaves to all your words and actions. He is able to save you from sins of omission, and to supply whatever is wanting in you. It is true, this is impossible with man ; but with God-man all things are possible. For what can be too hard for Him, who hath "all power in heaven and in earth?" Indeed his bare power to do this is not a sufficient foundation for our faith that he will do it, that he will thus exert his power, unless he hath promised it. But this he has done : he has promised it over and over, in the strongest terms. He has given us these " exceeding great and precious promises," both in the Old and the New Testament. So we read in the law, in the inost an- cient part of the oracles of God, "The Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart and with all thy soul," Deut. xxx, 6. So in the Psalms, " lie shall redeem Israel (the Israel of God) from all his sins." So in the prophci : " Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ycdIiHll SKHMON XIV.] Utl'tMANCIC OF BELIEVERS. 135 be clean : from all your iilthiness and from all your idols will I cleanse you. And I will put my Spirit within you, and ye shall keep my judg- ments and do them. I will also save you from all your uncleannesses," Ezek. xxxvi, 25, &,c. So likewise in the New Testament: " Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he hath visited and redeemed his peo- ple, and hath raised up a horn of salvation for us — to perform the oath which he sware to our father Abraham, That he would grant unto us, that we, being delivered out of the hands of our enemies, should serve him without fear, in holiness and rigliteousness before him, all the days of our life," Luke i, 68, &.c. 3. You have therefore good reason to believe, he is not only able, but willing to do this ; to cleanse you from all your filthiness of flesh and spirit ; to " save you from all your uncleannesses." This is the thing which you now long for ; this is the faith which you now parti- cularly need, namely, that the Great Physician, the Lover of my soul, is willing to make me clean. But is he willing to do this to morrow or to day ? Let him answer for himself. " To day, if ye will hear" my " voice, harden not your hearts." If you put it off till to morrow, you harden your hearts ; you refuse to hear his voice. Believe therefore that he is willing to save you to day. lie is willing to save you now. " Behold, now is the accepted time." He now saith, " Be thou clean!" Only believe; and you also will immediately lind, "All things are possible to him that believeth." 4. Continue to believe in Him that loved thee, and gave himself for thee ; that bore all thy sins in his own body on the tree ; and he saveth thee from all condemnation, by his blood continually a|)plied. Thus it is that we continue in a justified state. And when we go on " from faith to faith," when we have faith to be cleansed from indwelling sin, to be saved from all our uncleannesses, we are likewise saved from all that guilt, that destrt of punishment, which we fell before. So that then we may say, not only , " Kvery moineiit, Lord, I want TliR iiiorit oi'lliy death ;" but, likewise, in the full assurance of faith, " Every moment, Lord, I have The merit of thy death!" For, by that faith in his life, death, and intercession for us, renewed from moment to moment, we are every whit clean, and there is not only now no condemnation for us, but no such desert of punishment aa was before, the Lord cleansing both our hearts and lives. 5. By the same faith we feel the power of Christ every moment resting upon us, whereby alone we are what we are ; whereby we are enabled to continue in spiritual life, and without which, notwitlistand- ing all our present holiness, we shc"'d be devils the next moment. But as long as we retain our faith in him, we *• draw water out of the wells of salvation." Leaning on our beloved, even Christ in us the hope of glory, who dwelleth in our hearts by faith, who likewise is ever interceding for us at the right hand of God, we receive help from him to think, and speak, and act what is acce|)table in his sight. Thus does he " prevent" them that believe, in all their '* doings, and further them with his continual help," so that all their designs, conversations. «:sc: — J >- CO QC 130 REPENTANCE OK BELIEVERS. [SKBMOM ZIV. and actions are " begun, continued, and ended in liitn." Thus doth he •' cleanse the thoughts of tlieir hearts, by the inspiration of his lloiy Spirit, that they may perfectly love him. and worthily magnify his hol> name." 6. Thus it is, that in the children of God, repentance and faith exactly answer each other. By re|)enlance, we feel the sin remainini,' in our hearts, and cleaving to our words and actions : by faith wc receive the power of God in Christ, purifying our hearts, and cleansing? our hands. By repentance we are still sensible that we deserve pun- ishment for all our tempers, and words, and actions : by faith we ar»' conscious, that our Advocate with the Father is continually pleadini; for us, and thereby continually turning aside all condenniation and punishment from us. By repentance wc have an abiding conviction, that there is no help in us : by faith we receive not only mercy, " bui grace to help in uKry " time of need." Repentance disclaims the very possibility of any other help: faith accepts all the help we stan(i in need of, from him that hath all power in heaven and earth. Re- pentance says, "Without him I can do nothing:" Faith says, " I can do all things through Christ strengthening me." Through him I can not only overcome, but expel, all the enemies of my soul. Througli him I can *' love the Lord my God with all my heart, mind, soul, and strength;" yea, and "walk in holiness and righteousness before iniri all the days of my life." III. 1. From what has been said, we may easily learn the mischiev- ousness of that opinion, that we are wholli/ sanctified when we arc justified ; that our hearts are then cleansed from all sin. It is true, we are then delivered, as was observed before, from the dominion of out- ward sin ; and, at the same time, the power of inward sin is so broken, that we need no loiiger follow, or be led by it : but it is by no means- Irue, that inward sin is then totally destroyed ; that the root of pride, self will, anger, love of the world, is then taken out of the heart ; or that the carnal mind, and the heart bent to backsliding, are entirely extir- pated. And to suppose the contrary, is not, as some may think, an innocent, harmless mistake. No; it does imm^inse harm: it entirel) blocks up the way to any farther change : for it is manifest, " Tho\ that are whole do not need a physician, but they that are sick." It', therefore, we think we are quite made whole already, there is no room to seek any farther healing. On this supposition it is absurd to expect a farther deliverance from sin, whether gradual or instantaneous. 2. On the contrary, a deep conviction that we are not yet whole : that our hearts are not fully purified ; that there is yet in us a " carnal mind," which is still in its nature " enmity against God ;" that a whole body of sin remains in our heart, weakened indeed, but not destroyed ; shows, beyond all possibility of doubt, the absolute necessity of a farthei change. We allow, that at the very moment of justification, we arc born again : in that instant we experience that inward change, from " darkness into marvellous light ;" from the image of the brute and the devil, into the imago of God ; from the earthly, sensual, devilish mind, to the mind which was in Christ Jesus. But are we then entirely changed ? Are we wholly transformed into the image ot him that created us ? Far from it : we still retain a depth of sin : and it is the consciousness of this, which constrains us to groan for a full deliverance, SEKMON XIV ] REPKNTANCE OP BELrEVERS 137 (o him that is mighty to save. Hence it is, that those believers who ,ire not convinced of the deep corruption of their hearts, or but sliglitly, and as it were notionaily convinced, have little concern about etitire siinctijication. They may possibly hold the opinion, that such a thing IS to be, either at death, or some time, they know not when, before it. Mill they have no great uneasiness for the want of it, and no great iiunger or thirst after it. They cannot, until they know themselves tictter, until they repent in the sense above described, until God unveils the inbred monster's face, and shows them the real state of their souls. Then only, when they feel the burden, will they groan for deliverance from it. Then, and not till then, will they cry out, in the agony of tlicir soul, " Break off the yoke of inbi ed sin, And fully set my spir.i free ! I cannot rest, till pure within ; Till 1 am wholly lost in thee ' 3. We may learn from hence, secondly, that a deep conviction ol our demerit, after we are accepted, (which, in one sense, may be termed i,niiU,) is absolutely necessary, in order to our seeing the true value o\ (lie atoning blood ; in order to our feeling that we need this as nnich. after we are justified, as ever we did before. Without this conviction we cannot but account the blood of the covenant as a cutmuon iliins, something of which we have not now any great need, seeing all our past sins are blotted out. Yea, but if both our hearts and lives are thus unclean, there is a kind of guilt which we are contracting every mo- ment, and which, of consequence, would every moment expose us to fresh condemnation, but that " Ho ever lives above, For us to intercede, His all-atoning love, His precious blood to plead." It is this repentance, and the faith intimately connected with it, which are expressed in those strong lines, " I sin in every breath I draw. Nor do thy will, nor keep thy law, On earth, us anjrels do above : But still the fountain open stands. Washes my feet, my heart, my hands, Till I am perfected in love." 4. We may observe, thirdly, a deep conviction of our utter lufptesi- ness, of our total inability to retain any thing we have received, nnich more to deliver ourselves from the world of iniquity remaining both in our hearts and lives, teaches us truly to live upon Christ by faith, not only as our Priest, but as our King. Hereby we are brought to " mag- nify him," indeed ; to " give hirn all the glory of his grace ;" to make him a whole Christ, an entire Saviour ; and truly " to set the crown upon his head." These excellent words, as they have frccjuently been usod, have little or no meaning ; but they are fulfilled in a strong and deep sense, when we thus, as it were, go out of ourselves, in order to 1)0 swallowed up in him ; when we sink into nothing, that he may bu all in all. Then, his almighty grace having abolished " every high thing which exalted itself against him," every temper, and thought, and word, and work, " is brought to the obedience of Christ." Lnndondfrry, yipr it 24. 1767 — J CO QC 13B THE ORRAT ASSIZB. [sermon XV. SERMON SKliMON XV.^The Great Assize. Preached at the assizes held before the Honourable Sir Edward Clive, Knight, one of the Jvdgcs of His Majesty's Court of Common Fleas, in St. Paul's Church, Bedford, on Friday, March 10, 175S ; puhlished at Ui* request of IVilliam Cute, Esq., High HheiiJ}' of the county, and others. " We ahull nil stand before the judgiueut seat of Christ." lioiii. xiv. 1<>. ANALYSIS. The solemnity of the present occasion, and its ontwaid expression. The fur more awful solemnity of the linul judg- ment. The efl'ect whieh it should have on human society. I. The circumstances preceding the judgment. The pre- ceding signs. The general resurrection, which will bo uni- versal. The gathering of the elect, and of all nations. II. The judgment itself. The Son of God is the judge. The time called the day of the Lord, may be of long duration. The plan not detined. The persons judged; all mankind without exception, indi- vidually, and for all the acts, words and thoughts. Tlie righteous as well as the wicked impartially judged in light of all their deeds. The final sentences; iminulaOlc. IIL The circumstances which follow :— 1. The execution of the sentences. Tlic pas^^ing awny of the present order of things. This is not beyond ilie power of God. The new order of nature in which sin shall be aboli-shed with all its results, and holiness be universal. IV. Application. 1. To the Judge. The honour and responsibility of lu> office. 2. To the officers. Their duty to God, to the king, and to the i)rinciples of justice. o. To the entire assembly, solemnly calling them before the bar of God to meet the wit- ness of their own conscience. INTRODUCTORY NOTES. This 18 aiiotlier of the sermons added in Mr. Wesley '.s final edition of the standaid sermons. It is entirely free from duymatic controvers\ . and is an admirable example of Mr. Wesley's power to improve ppecial occasions for the purpose of inipressin<^ divine truth on tlie minds of tlif people. It contains many opinions and forms of exposition which the author himself would be far from pressing as autlioritative. It generally recites the language of Scrijjture, not therefore implying that this language is to be understood in a baldly Uteral sense ; but leaving the interpretation to the day when God .shall declare it. But this manner of preaching is of authority. And it evidently in- cludes the following fundamental elements of doctrine : — 1. An unequivocal belief ui a delinite final judgment at the end of the present world. 2. A universal resurrection both of the just and the unjust preceding this. 3. A final and irrevocable separation between the righteous and the wicked. 4. That the basis of these sentences wil) be the (1 will be II To chti •'ntire sij (l>»gmas el than thej really fix^ uuiversalil 1. Ho^ present sc rank, and| not only s|)eedily tJ waiting iriven ; an highly revi adds not a .•very kind ii(l)ends nc iiity ! It M tilings, anc loreiathers stances of' may more trumpets, si si-rvient, in 2. But, s For yet a H (if Christ." me, and ev( one of US si 3. Had£ the interesl ceived to tl virtue, and could stren evil, like a door ;" and 4. It ina the present I. The c the judgme II. The MI. A f« I. Let u! will preced" And, 1st particularly shall reel tc tage," Isa. d'vers only SERMON XV.] TIIK OREAT ASSIZE. 139 he the deeds of this lilu. 5. That will be immutable and eternal. the final eutates tliUH deterniineii To cliange any one of these nro^o8ition.«i would bo to destroy the -ntire significance and force of Mr. Wesley's preaching. In fact these dogmas enter into the very essence of his doctrine tar more profoundly tliiin they can in any system in which nn antowdent decree of God really Hxes the linal estates. In such a system there might be room for uiiiversalism or reatorationism, but here none. SERMON XV. 1. How many circumstances concur to raise the awf'ulness of the prpsent solemnity ! — The general amriuirse of people of every age, sex rank, and cotidition of life, willingly or unwillingly gathered together. not only from the neighbouring, but from distant parts ; criminals sjx'edily to be brought forth, and having no way to escape ; officers, w;iiting in their various posts, to execute the orders which shall ht irivfMi ; and the rcpreseutntire of our gracious sovereign, whom we so hiixliiy reverence and honour. The occasion likewise of this assembly, ailils not a little to the solemnity of it : to hoar aiul determine causes ol .•very kind, some of which are of the most important nature ; on which depends no leas than life or death, death that uncovers the face of eter- nity ! It was, doubtless, in order to increase the serious sense of thesf things, and not in the minds of the vulgar only, that the wisdom of out forefathers did not disdain to appoint even several minute circum- stances of this solemnity. For these also, by means of the eye or ear may more deeply affect the heart : and when viewed in this light trumpets, staves, apparel, are no longer trifling or insigniticant, but sub si'rvient, in their kind and degree, to the most valuable ends of society 2. Uut, as awful as this solemnity is, one far more awful is at hand For yet a little while, and, " we shall all stand before the judgment sea. (il (Jlirist." " For, as I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to mo, and every tongue shall confess to God." And in that day, " every one of us shall give account of himself to God." ■i. Had all men a deep sense of this, how eflectualiy would it secure the interests of society ! For what more forcible motive can be con- ceived to the practice of genuine morality, to a steady pursuit of solid virtue, and a uniform walking in justice, mercy, and truth ? What could strengthen our hands in all that is good, and deter us from all evil, like a strong conviction of this, " The Judge standeth at the door ;" and we are shortly to stand before him ? 4. It may not therefore be improper, or unsuitable to the design ot the present assembly, to consider, I. The chief circumstances which will precede our standing before the judgment seat of Christ : II. The judgment itself : and, III. A few of the circumstances which 'viH follow it. I. Let us, in the first place, consider the chief circumstances nhich will precede our standing before the judgment seat of Christ. And, 1st, "God will show signs in the earth beneatn," Acts u, 19 particularly he will " arise to shake terribly the earth." " The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a coi- tai/e," Isa. xxiv, 20. " There shall be earthquakes, " xara roirsc:, (not in d'vers only, but) " in nil places ;" not in one only, or a few. but in 140 TUi£ UllKAT ASSIZE. [SKRMON X\ i^'UMON every part of the habitable world, Luke xxi, 1 1 ; even *' 9\ich as wore not since men were upon the earth, so mighty eartlupiakes aii palms in the of all natioi sprung from no more ! I ii)surd, thai millions of lion must al for seven tl i^'UMON XV ] TUB QllRAT A8SIZE. 141 anfrpls" \viti(i«<. elf shall er, with it upon nations, sheo[> e left," jelovod ] siiiail figiira- aniong written Fillier " hath committed nil jiulgmorit, beciiuse lif i.s llio Sou of man ,*' J'llin V, '2'2, 27; becinise, thoiiirli he wiis " in ilie lorm of (j(mI, ami t''i."i death of the cross. Wherefore God hath highly exalted him," even III his hmnan nature, and " ordained him," as man, to try the children ()!' men, " to be the judge, both of the quick and dead ;" b(»lh of tliose who shall be found alive at his coming, and of those who were before jitliored to their fathers. 2. The time, termed by the prophet, " The great ami the terrible (i;iy," is usually, in Scripture, styled The dai/ of the Lonl. The s|)ace from the creation of man upon the earth, to the end of all things, is Ihr daif of the sons of' men ; the time that is now passing over us, is properly our rlai/ ; when this is enero8, furtu istutuii initni, Di.stulit in Hernni conunissa pianula inortoin."* Nor will all the actions alone of every child of man be then brought lo open view, but ail their words ; seeing " every idle word which men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment,' Matt, xii, 36, 37 ; so that " by thy words," as well as works, " thou shalt be justified : and by thy words thou shalt be condemned." Will not God then bring to light every circumstance also, that accompanied every word or action, and if not altered the nature, yet lessened or increa.se