Wesley Corpus

Again: ‘Men are justified by a knowledge of the righteousness of Christ' (page 406). And yet again: ‘The sole requisite to acceptance is divine righteousness brought to view’ (page 291). So you have brought matters to a fine conclusion; confuting an hundred of your own assertions, and doing the very thing for which you have been all along so unmercifully condemning other. You yourself here teach another ‘requisite to our acceptance beside the bare work of Christ’ -- namely, the knowing that work, the finding it true. Therefore by your own word ‘Christ shall profit you nothing.’ In one page you say, ‘Nothing is required in order to our acceptance with God’; in another, ‘Divine righteousness brought to view is requisite to our acceptance.’ ‘Brought to view’! What self-righteousness is this! Which of ‘the popular preachers’ could have done worse ‘Men are justified by a knowledge of the righteousness of Christ.’ ‘Knowledge’! What! our own knowledge! Knowledge in us! Why, this is the very thing which we call faith. So you have fairly given up the whole question, justified your opponents, and condemned yourself as ‘damnably criminal’! I object, fourthly, that you have no charity and that you know not what charity is. That you know not what it is manifestly appears from the wonderful definition you give of it. (1) ‘Charity,’ you say, ‘is fellowship with God in His blessedness’ (page 453). Muddy, confused, ut nihil sgpra! [“So as nothing can exceed it.] We know he that loveth hath fellowship with God. But yet the ideas of one and of the other are widely different. We know ‘God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him.’ But yet loving Him is not the same thing with dwelling in Him. If it were, the whole sentence would be flat tautology. You say (2): Charity is ‘the love of the truth’ (page 456). Not at all; no more than it is the love of the sun. It is the love of God, and of man for God’s sake; no more and no less. You say (3): ‘Christ is known to us only by report.’ That is not granted. ‘And charity is the love of that report’ (page 455). Every intelligent reader will want no farther proof that you know not what chatty is.