Wesley Corpus

He that was a drunkard, is a drunkard still; he that was filthy, is filthy still; therefore neither are they ‘assisted’ by him; so they and their flocks wallow in sin together: Consequently, (whatever may be the case of some particular souls,) it must be said, if your own marks be true, the Roman Catholics in general are not ‘the people of God.’” It may be proper to add here the second section, which is all I had leisure to write, though it was not published till the following week:-- “‘The Methodist’ (Protestant) ‘Teachers are not the true Ministers of Christ; nor are they called or sent by him.’ (P.6.) “‘This appears from what has been already demonstrated. For if the Protestants are not the true people of Christ, their Ministers cannot be the true Ministers of Christ.” (Ibid.) “Farther, ‘The true Ministers came down by succession from the Apostles. But the Protestant Teachers do not. There fore they are not the true Ministers of Christ.” (Ibid.) “‘All power in the church of Christ comes from him; so that whoever, without a commission from him, intrudes into the pastoral office, is a thief and a robber. Now, the commission can be conveyed but two ways; either immediately from God 44 REv. J. WESLEY’s [Feb. 1761. himself, as it was to the Apostles, or from men who have the authority handed down to them from the Apostles. “‘But this commission has not been conveyed to Protestant Preachers either of these ways. Not immediately from God himself; for how do they prove it? By what miracles? Neither by men deriving authority from the Apostles, through the channel of the Church. And they stand divided in communion from all Churches that have any pretensions to antiquity. Their doctrine of justification by faith alone, was anathematized at its first appearance, by the undoubted heirs of the Apostles, the Pastors of the Apostolic churches; consequently they are sent by no other but him who sent all the false prophets from the beginning.” (Pp. 8, 9.) “I answer, ‘from what has been already demonstrated,’ that nothing will follow; for you have demonstrated just nothing. “Now for your ‘farther’ proof. ‘The true Ministers came down by succession from the Apostles.’ So do the Protestant Ministers, if the Romish do; the English in particular; as even one of yourselves, F. Courayer, has irrefragably proved.