Wesley Corpus

The soul that sinneth, it shall die; ” shall die the second death. “The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son. The righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O Israel. Is not my way equal?” (equitable, just?) “Are not your ways unequal? When a righteous man turneth away from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, and dieth in them, for his iniquity that he hath done shall he die. Again, when the wicked man turneth away from his wickedness that he hath committed, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall save his soul alive. Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord God. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions. So iniquity shall not be your ruin.” (Ezek. xviii. 2, &c.) Through this whole passage God is pleased to appeal to man himself touching the justice of His proceedings. And well might he appeal to our own conscience, according to the account of them which is here given. But it is an account which all the art of man will never reconcile with uncon ditional reprobation. 23. Do you think it will cut the knot to say, “Why, if God might justly have passed by all men,” (speak out, “If God might justly have reprobated all men,”--for it comes to the same point,) “then he may justly pass by some : But God might justly have passed by all men?” Are you sure he might? Where is it written? I cannot find it in the word of God. Therefore I reject it as a bold, precarious assertion, utterly unsupported by Holy Scripture. If you say, “But you know in your own conscience, God might justly have passed by you:” I deny it. That God might justly, for my unfaithfulness to his grace, have given me up long ago, I grant : But this concession supposes me to have had that grace which you say a reprobate never had. But besides, in making this supposition, of what God might have justly done, you suppose his justice might have been separate from his other attributes, from his mercy in particular.