Wesley Corpus

18. How then can it be, that, after so many warnings, you persist in the same folly Is it not hence There are still among you, some that neither profit themselves by all they hear, nor are willing that others should: And these, if any of you are almost persuaded to dress as Christians, reason, and rally, and laugh you out of it. O ye pretty triflers, I entreat you not to do the devil's work any longer! Whatever ye do yourselves, do not harden the hearts of others. And you that are of a better mind, avoid these tempters with all possible care; and if you come where any of them are, either beg them to be silent on the head, or quit the room. 19. Sixthly. The putting on of costly apparel is directly opposite to what the Apostle terms, "the hidden man of the heart;" that is, to the whole "image of God" wherein we were created, and which is stamped anew upon the heart of every Christian believer; -- opposite to "the mind which was in Christ Jesus," and the whole nature of inward holiness. All the time you are studying this outward adorning, the whole inward work of the Spirit stands still; or, rather, goes back, though by very gentle and almost imperceptible degrees. Instead of growing more heavenly-minded, you are more and more earthly-minded. If you once had fellowship with the Father and the Son, it now gradually declines; and you insensibly sink deeper and deeper into the spirit of the world, -- into foolish and hurtful desires, and grovelling appetites. All these evils, and a thousand more, spring from that one root -- indulging yourself in costly apparel. 20. Why then does not everyone that either loves or fears God, flee from it, as from the face of a serpent Why are you still so conformable to the irrational, sinful customs of a frantic world Why do you still despise the express commandment of God uttered in the plainest terms You see the light: Why do not you follow the light of your own mind Your conscience tells you the truth: Why do you not obey the dictates of your own conscience