Wesley Corpus

But you go on: ‘They who partake of Christ’s joy receive the highest evidence that He is the Christ. Thus, then, faith is greatly confirmed by a kind of presence of its object. Their love is joyfully inflamed, and they obtain the assurance of hope, by having in themselves an experimental foretaste of their eternal enjoyment.’ (Page 415.) Why, then, what are we disputing about, seeing you are now so kind as to allow, not only the possibility, but the real existence of all that we contend for ‘Oh, but this is not faith. Faith is quite another thing.’ What is it Let us hear your account of it. ‘The essence of true faith is the eternal God’ (page 288). ‘What is faith It is the blood of Christ.’ (Page 330.) Stark, staring nonsense! Sir, you can talk sense if you please. Why should you palm upon your readers such stuff as this Very little better than this is your third definition: ‘The truth which a man believes is his faith’ (page 301). No it is not; no more than the light which a man sees is his sight. You must therefore guess again. ‘To believe this fact, Christ rose from the dead, is faith’ (page 169). ‘Ask a man, Is the gospel true or not If he holds it to be true, this is faith.’ (Page 296.) But is this saving faith ‘Yes, every one that believes the Gospel history shah be saved’ (page 333). This is flat and plain. And if it is but true, every devil in hell will be saved. For it is absolutely certain every one of these believes this fact -- Christ rose from the dead. It is certain every one of these believes the Gospel history. Therefore this is not saving faith; neither will every one be saved who believes this fact -- Christ rose from the dead. It follows that, whatever others do, you know not what faith is. I object thirdly, (1) That you yourself ‘shut up our access to the divine righteousness’; (2) that you vehemently contradict yourself, and do the very thing which you charge upon others.