Wesley Corpus

Surely no one can conceive it does. It only makes Christianity stink in their nostrils. Does it answer any good end with regard to those on whom this worthy name is called? I fear not; but rather an exceeding bad one. For, does it not keep multitudes easy in their heathen practice? Does it not make or keep still greater numbers satisfied with their heathen tempers? Does it not directly tend to make both the one and the other imagine, that they are what indeed they are not; that they are Chris tians, while they are utterly without Christ, and without God in the world? To close this point: If men arenot Christians till they are renewed after the image of Christ, and if the peo ple of England in general are not thus renewed, why do we term them so? The god of this world hath long blinded their hearts. Let us do nothing to increase that blindness; but rather labour to recover them from that strong delusion, that they may no longer believe a lie. 4. Let us labour to convince all mankind, that to be a real Christian, is, to love the Lord our God with all our heart, and to serve him with all our strength; to love our neighbour as ourselves; and therefore do unto every man as we would he should do unto us. Nay, you say, “Had you confined your selves to these great points, there would have been no objeetion against your doctrine. But the doctrines you have distin guished yourselves by, are not the love of God and man, but many false and pernicious errors.” (Page 104.) I have again and again, with all the plainness I could, declared what our constant doctrines are; whereby we are dis tinguished only from Heathens, or nominal Christians; not from any that worship God in spirit and in truth. Our main doctrines, which include all the rest, are three,--that of repent ance, of faith, and of holiness. The first of these we account, as it were, the porch of religion; the next, the door; the third, religion itself.