Wesley Corpus

In what do you trust for justification and salvation? Friend.--In the alone merits of Christ, which are mine, if I truly believe that he loved me, and gave himself for me. Ant.--If! So you make salvation conditional ! Friend.--And do not you? Else you make God a liar: For his express words are, “He that believeth shall be saved; he that believeth not shall be damned.” What is this but to say, If thou believest, (there is the condition,) thou shalt be saved ? Ant.--But I do not like that word, condition. Friend.--Then find a better, and we will lay it aside. Ant.--However, I insist upon it, “nothing else beside faith is required” in order to justification and salvation. Friend.--What do you mean by nothing else is required? Ant--I mean, “there is but one duty, which is that of believing. One must do nothing, but quietly attend the voice of the Lord. The gates of heaven are shut upon workers, and open to believers. If we do nothing for heaven, we do as much as God requires.” Friend.--Do you really mean, we are to do nothing, in order to present or final salvation, but “only to believe?” Ant.--Do not I tell you so? “To believe certainly, that Christ suffered death for us, is enough; we want no more. We are justified by our submitting in our judgments to the truth of God’s grace in Christ Jesus. It is not neces sary that a man do any works, that he may be justified and saved. God doth not require thee to do anything, that thou mayest be saved or justified. The law sets thee to work; but the gospel binds thee to do nothing at all. Nay, the works are not only not required, but forbidden. God forbids us to work for justification. And when the Apostle Paul presses men to believe, it is as much as if he had bid them not to work.” Friend.--Let Paul be permitted to answer for himself.