Wesley Corpus

This is right pleasing to flesh and blood; and I could most easily believe it if I did not believe the Bible. But that teaches me inwardly to worship God, as at all times and in all places, so particularly on His own day, in the congregation of His people, at His altar, and by the ministry of those His servants whom He hath given for this very thing, ‘for the perfecting of the saints,’ and with whom He will be to the end of the world. Extremely dangerous, therefore, is this other gospel, which leads quite wide of the gospel of Christ. And what must the consequence be if we thus ‘break,’ yea, ‘and teach men so,’ not ‘one’ only, neither ‘the least,’ of ‘His commandments’ Even that we ‘shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.’ God grant this may not fall on you or me! 7. However, whether we have a place in heaven or not, you are very sure we shall have none in hell. For there is no hell in rerum natura, ‘no such place in the universe.’ You declare this over and over again in great variety of expressions. It may suffice to mention two or three: ‘Hell is no penalty prepared or inflicted by God’ (Spirit of Prayer, Part II. p. 33). ‘Damnation is only that which springs up within you’ (Spirit of Love, Part II. p. 47). ‘Hell and damnation are nothing but the various operations of self’ (Spirit of Prayer, Part I. p. 79). I rather incline to the account published a few years ago by a wise and pious man (the late Bishop of Cork [Dr. Peter Browne's Procedure (or Progress), Extent, and Limits of Human Understanding, pp. See letter of Feb. 18, 1756, to Samuel Furly.]), where he is speaking of the improvement of human knowledge by revelation. Some of his words are,--