Wesley Corpus

‘are alienated from the life of God; that ‘every one of us,’ by the corruption of our inmost nature, ‘is very far gone from original righteousness;’ so far, that ‘every person born into the world, deserveth God’s wrath and damnation ;’ that we have by nature no power either to help ourselves, or even to call upon God to help us: all our tempers and works, in our natural state, being only evil continually. So that our coming to Christ, as well as theu's, must infer a great and mighty change. It must infer not only an outward change, from stealing, lying, and all corrupt communication; but a thorough change of heart, an inward renewal in the spirit of our mind. Accordingly, ‘ the old man’ implies infinitely more than outward evil conversation, even ‘an evil heart of unbelief,’ corrupted by pride and a thousand deceitful lusts. Of consequence, the ‘new man’ must imply infinitely more than outward good conversation, even ‘a good heart, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness; a heart full of that faith which, working by love, produces all holiness of conversation. “4. The change from the former of these states to the latter, is what I call The New Birth. But you say, I am not content with this plain and easy notion of it; but fill myself and others with fantastical conceits about it. Alas, sir, how can you prove this? And if you cannot prove it, what - amends can you make, either to God, or to me, or to the world, for pub- licly asserting a gross falsehood?