Wesley Corpus

I own, and thank you for correcting, my mistake: But in correct ing one you make another; for the decrees of the Sixth Session were not published on the thirteenth of January; but the Session itself began on that day. I cannot help reciting your next words, although they are not exactly to the present question: “The words of the Twelfth Canon of the Council of Trent are,-- “‘If any man shall say that justifying faith is nothing else but a confidence in the divine mercy, remitting sins for Christ's sake, and that this confidence is that alone by which we are justified, let him be accursed.’” You add,-- “This, Sir, I am sure is true doctrine, and perfectly agree able to the doctrine of our Church. And so you are not only anathematized by the Council of Trent, but also condemned by our own Church.” “Our Church holds no such scandalous and disgraceful opinion.” According to our Church, no man can have “the true faith who has not a loving heart. Therefore, faith is not a confidence that any man’s sins are actually forgiven, and he reconciled to God.” (What have the premises to do with the conclusion?) 4. To decide this, let our Church speak for herself whether she does not suppose and teach, that every parti cular believer knows that his sins are forgiven, and he him self is reconciled to God. First, then, our Church supposes and teaches every parti cular believer to say concerning himself, “In my baptism I was made a member of Christ, a child of God, and an inher itor of the kingdom of heaven. And I thank God who hath called me to that state of salvation. And I pray to God that I may continue in the same to my life's end.” Now, does this person know what he says to be true? If not, it is the grossest hypocrisy. But if he does, then he knows that he in particular is reconciled to God. The next words I shall quote may be a comment on these: May God write them in our hearts | “A true Christian man is not afraid to die, who is the very member of Christ, the temple of the Holy Ghost, the son of God, and the very inheritor of the everlasting kingdom of heaven.