Wesley Corpus

The Consequence Proved Source: The Works of John Wesley, Volume 10 (Zondervan) Author: John Wesley --- 1. MR. ToPLADY, a young, bold man, lately published a pamphlet, an extract from which was soon after printed, concluding with these words: “The sum of all is this: One in twenty, suppose, of mankind are elected; nineteen in twenty are reprobated. The elect shall be saved, do what they will: The reprobate shall be damned, do what they can.” 2. A great outcry has been raised on that account, as though this was not a fair state of the case; and it has been vehemently affirmed, that no such consequence follows from the doctrine of absolute predestination. I calmly affirm, it is a fair state of the case; this conse quence does naturally and necessarily follow from the doctrine of absolute predestination, as here stated and defended by bold Mr. Augustus Toplady. Indeed, I have not leisure to consider the matter at large: I can only make a few strictures, and leave the young man to be farther corrected by one that is full his match, Mr. Thomas Olivers. 3. “When love is predicated of God, it implies, (1.) His everlasting will, purpose, and determination to save his people.” (Mr. Toplady’s Tract, chap. 1.) I appeal to all men, whether it is not a natural consequence, even of this, that “all these shall be saved, do what they will.” You may say, “O, but they will only do what is good.” Be it so: Yet the consequence stands. “Election signifies that sovereign, unconditional, immu table act of God, whereby he selected some to be eternally saved.” Immutable, unconditional / From hence then it undeniably follows, “these shall be saved, do what they will.” “Predestination, as relating to the elect, is that irreversible act of the divine will, whereby God determined to deliver a certain number of men from hell:” Ergo, a certain number shall infallibly be saved, do what they will. Who can deny the consequence? “Not one of the elect can perish, but they must all necessarily be saved.” (Chap. 3.) Can any assert this, and yet deny that consequence,--“therefore all the elect shall be saved, do what they will?” unless you would say, it is the proposition itself, rather than a consequence from it. 4.