Wesley Corpus

If you ask, ‘How can this be How can one do good, of whom men say all manner of evil’ I will put you in mind (though you once knew this--yea, and much established me in that great truth), the more evil men say of me for my Lord's sake, the more good will He do by me. That it is for His sake I know, and He knoweth, and the event agreeth thereto; for He mightily confirms the words I speak, by the Holy Ghost given unto those that hear them. O my friend, my heart is moved toward you. I fear you have herein ‘made shipwreck of the faith.’ I fear ‘Satan, transformed into an angel of light,’ hath assaulted you, and prevailed also. I fear that offspring of hell, worldly or Mystic prudence, has drawn you away from the simplicity of the gospel. How else could you ever conceive that the being reviled and ' hated of all men ' should make us less fit for our Master's service How else could you ever think of ' saving yourself and them that hear you ‘without being’ the filth and offscouring of the world' To this hour is this scripture true. And I therein rejoice--yea, and will rejoice. ‘Blessed be God, I enjoy the reproach of Christ! Oh may you also be vile, exceeding vile, for His sake! God forbid that you should ever be other than generally scandalous; I had almost said universally. If any man tell you there is a new way of following Christ, ‘he is a liar, and the truth is not in him.’ --I am, &c. To George Whitefield [5] LONDON, March 20, 1739.