Wesley Corpus

9. It quickly appeared that their thus uniting together answered the end proposed therein. In a few months the far greater part of those who had begun to 'fear God and work righteousness,' but were not united together, grew faint in their minds, and fell back into what they were before. Meanwhile the far greater part of those who were thus united together continued 'striving to enter in at the strait gate' and to 'lay hold on eternal life.' 10. Upon reflection, I could not but observe, This is the very thing which was from the beginning of Christianity. In the earliest times those whom God had sent forth 'preached the gospel to every creature.' And the oiJ ajkroataiv 'the body of hearers,' were mostly either Jews or heathens. But as soon as any of these were so convinced of the truth as to forsake sin and seek the gospel salvation, they immediately joined them together, took an account of their names, advised them to watch over each other, and met these kathcouvmenoi, 'catechumens' (as they were then called), apart from the great congregation, that they might instruct, rebuke, exhort, and pray with them and for them according to their several necessities. 11. But it was not long before an objection was made to this, which had not once entered into my thought: 'Is not this making a schism Is not the joining these people together gathering Churches out of Churches'