Wesley Corpus

W. I thought we ought to grow in grace! Z.. Certainly. But not in holiness. As soon as any one is justified, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, dwell in his heart: and in that moment his heart is as pure as it ever will be. A babe in Christ is as pure in heart as a father in Christ. There is no difference. W. Were not the Apostles justified before the death of Christ ? Z. They were. W. But were they not more holy after the day of Pentecost, than before the death of Christ ? 7. Not in the least. W. Were they not on that day filled with the Holy Ghost? Z. They were. Put that gift of the Spirit had no reference to their holiness. It was the gift of miracles only. W. PerhapsI do not understand you. Do we not, while we deny ourselves, more and more die to the world and live to God ? Z. We spurn all [self] denial: we trample it under foot. Being believers, we do whatever we will, and nothing more. We ridicule all mortification. No purification precedes perfect love. W. What you have said, God assisting me, I will thoroughly consi ‘er.--Am. Ep.] *In the answer to this letter, which I received some weeks after, this is explained as follows :--“ All things which are a commandment to the natural man, are a promise to all that have been justified--The thing itself is not lost, but the notion which people are wont to have of commandments, duties,” &ce. I reply, 1. If this be all you mean, why do you not say so explicitly to all men? 2. Whether this be all, let anv reasonable man judge, when he has read what is here subjoined. Sept. 1741.] REV. J. WESLEY’S JOURNAL. 223