Wesley Corpus

If not, spare your labour; for they are quite foreign to the present question. Ant.--However, that is not foreign to the present ques tion, which you said the other day; viz., that “Christ has only redeemed us from the punishment due to our past transgressions.” (Ibid.) Friend.--I neither said so, northought so. You either care lessly or wilfully misrepresent my words. On your quoting that text, “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law,” I replied in these terms: “What is this to the pur pose? This tells me that Christ hath redeemed us (all that believe) from the curse or punishment justly due to our past transgressions of God's law. But it speaks not a word of redeeming us from the law, any more than from love or heaven.” (First Dialogue, page 271.) Ant.--Past transgressions ! “Then who must redeem us from those which are to come, since there remains no more sacrifice for sin?” (Cudworth’s Dialogue.) Friend.--The same Jesus Christ, by the same merit of that one sacrifice, then applied to the conscience when we believe, as you yourself have often asserted. But whatever punish ment he redeems us from, that punishment supposes sin to precede; which must exist first, before there is any possibility of its being either punished or pardoned. Ant.--You have a strange way of talking. You say, “We are forgiven for the sake of the blood of Christ.” (Ibid., page 5.) Friend.--And do not you? Ant.--No ; I say, “We have forgiveness in his blood, and not merely for the sake of it.” Friend.--You are perfectly welcome so to say. Ant.--Well, enough of this. Let me ask you another question. Do you affirm, that salvation is “conditional?” (Ibid.) Friend.--I affirm, “He that believeth shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned.” And can you or any other deny this? If not, why do you fight about a word? especially after I have told you, “Find me a better, and I will lay this aside.” Ant.--“Then this faith leaves you just in the same state it found you; that is, still having the condition to perform.” (Ibid., page 5.) Friend.--Not so; for faith itself is that condition. Ant.--Nay, “faith is only necessary in order to receive forgiveness or salvation; not to procure it by way of condi tion.” (Ibid.) Friend.--Enough, enough. You grant all that I desire.