02 To Thomas Church
| Author | John Wesley |
|---|---|
| Type | letter |
| Year | None |
| Passage ID | jw-letter-1746-02-to-thomas-church-040 |
| Words | 255 |
You remark: (3) ‘His intentions must be good; but his actions will be most abominable.’ I answered, ‘What actions of mine are most abominable’ You reply, ‘The world must be judge whether your public actions have not been in many respects abominable.’ I am glad the charge softens. I hope by-and-by you will think they are only abominable in some respects.
You remark: (4) ‘Instead of making the Word of God the rule of his actions he follows only secret persuasion or impulse.’ I answered: ‘I have declared again and again that I make the Word of God the rule of all my actions, and that I no more follow any secret impulse instead thereof than I follow Mahomet or Confucius.’ You reply: ‘You fall again into your strain of boasting, as if declarations could have any weight against facts; assert that “you make the Word of God the rule of all your actions,” and that I “perhaps do not know many persons - ”’ (page 121). Stop, sir: you are stepping over one or two points which I have not done with.
You remark: (5) ‘Instead of judging of his spiritual estate by the improvement of his heart, he rests only on ecstasies, &c.’ I answered: ‘Neither is this my case. I rest not on them at all. I judge of my spiritual estate by the improvement of my heart and the tenor of my life conjointly.’ To this I do not perceive you reply one word. Herein, then, I am not an enthusiast.