Wesley Corpus

Toplady says, “God has a positive will to destroy the reprobate for their sins.” (Chap. 1.) For their sins ! How can that be? I positively assert, that (on this scheme) they have no sins at all. They never had; they can have none. For it cannot be a sin in a spark to rise, or in a stone to fall. And the spark or the stone is not more necessarily determined either to rise or to fall, than the man is to sin, to commit that rape, or adultery, or murder. For “God did, before all time, determine and direct to some particular end, every person or thing, to which he has given, or is yet to give, being.” God himself did “predestinate them to fill up the measure of their iniquities;” such was his sovereign, irresist ible decree, before the foundation of the world. To fill up the measure of their iniquities; that is, to commit every act which they committed. So “God decreed the Jews to be the crucifiers of Christ, and Judas to betray him.” (Chap. 4.) Whose fault was it then? You plainly say, It was not his fault, but God's. For what was Judas, or ten thousand repro bates besides? Could they resist his decree? No more than they could pull the sun out of the firmament of heaven. And would God punish them with everlasting destruction, for not pulling the sun out of the firmament? He might as well do it for this, as for their not doing what (on this supposition) was equally impossible. “But they are punished for their impenitency, sin, and unbelief.” Say unbelief and impeni tency, but not sin. For “God had predestinated them to continue in impenitency and unbelief God had positively ordained them to continue in their blindness and hardness of heart.” Therefore their not repenting and believing was no more a sin, than their not pulling the sun from heaven. 7. Indeed Mr. T. himself owns, “The sins of the repro bate were not the cause of their being passed by ; but merely and entirely the sovereign will and determinating pleasure of God.” “O, but their sin was the cause of their damnation though not of their preterition;” that is, God determined they should live and die in their sins, that he might after wards damn them ! Was ever anything like this?