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this is the whole of what I have said,--this is the eternal and unchangeable will of God. Every one that truly believeth shall have everlasting life," (and he adds in the same note,)

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as this is the will of Him that sent me, I will perform it effectually." Wesley farther says, "He who hath begun to sanctify you, will carry on this work until it issue in glory."* And he also tells us, that Christ is able to do this work.

Clay. The General Conference say of decrees—“ It is a doctrine full of blasphemy; of such blasphemy as I should dread to mention, but that the honour of our gracious God, and the cause of truth, will not suffer me to be silent. In the cause of God then, and from a sincere concern for the glory of his great name, I will mention a few of the horrible blasphemies contained in this horrible doctrine."t Wesley reprobates the same doctrine in some of his notes on the New Testament, although he is a little more mild.

Iron. The Bible says, Acts iv. 27, "For of a truth, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and people of Israel, were gathered together, to do whatsoever thy hand

*See his notes on John vi. 40, also on Phil. i. 6, and on Jude xxiv.

Doct. tracts, page 37.

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and thy counsel determined before to be done." Wesley explains it thus." The sense is, but they could do no more than thou wast pleased to permit, according to thy determinate counsel to save mankind by the sufferings of thy Son. And what was needful for that end, thou didst before determine to permit to be done." Again, the Bible says, Acts ii. 23," Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and with wicked hands have crucified and slain.' Wesley explains it-" The apostle here anticipates an objection: why did God suffer such a person to be so treated? Did he not know what wicked men intended to do? had he not power to prevent it? Yea. knew all those wicked men intended to do, and he had power to blast all their designs in a moment; but he did not exert that power, because he so loved the world; because it was the determinate counsel of his love, to redeem mankind from eternal death, by the death of his only begotten Son." Here we understand, (if words are of any use by which to understand a meaning,) that Mr. Wesley has plainly declared, that God determined to permit the greatest of evil; and to overrule that evil for good; and at the same time he considered the men guilty who did the act.

He

It appears, that Wesley saw no other method of getting along with these texts; he was not willing to risk his scholarship in twisting the

word, as some have done; and there was too much of it to slip out of sight, as he often does, in other cases, when it does not agree with his scheme.

But to return. We have here placed some of the Methodist doctrines beside each other; and they are not selected from the writings of private individuals, but from their standard writers. Let it also be observed, that some of these flat contradictions are taken from Wesley's own writings; and although in the others we have only quoted the words of the General Conference, yet we presume it will not be denied but that Wesley in his writings hath taught the same doctrines. Besides, in the first contradiction, both the Iron and the Clay are taken from the discipline itself; and if it would be of any service to the reader, we will present him with one or two more contradictions, found in the same book.

Clay. Wesley says in his discipline-" But even babes in Christ are so far perfect as not to commit sin."*

Again" In conformity therefore both to the doctrine of Saint John, and the whole tenor of the New Testament, we fix this conclusion, a Christian is so far perfect as not to commit sin.t

* Dis. Section 5. par. 2.

+ Ditto.

Iron. He also says " Yet even in this case* there is not a full conformity to the perfect law; so the most perfect in love do on this very account, need the blood of atonement, and may properly for themselves, as well as for their brethren, say, forgive us our trespasses."

Again--he says, "The best of men need Christ as their priest, their atonement, their advocate with the Father; not only as the continuance of their every blessing depends on his death and intercession, but on account of their coming short of the law of love. For every man living does so."

+

Concerning the non-perseverance of the saints, Wesley says-" They made shipwreck of the faith, which necessarily implies the total and final loss of it; for a vessel once wrecked, can never be recovered. It is totally and finally lost."

Can

Clay. He likewise says--" Quest. 31, those who fall from this state recover it?|| Ans. Why not? we have instances of this also. Nay, it is an exceeding common thing for persons to lose it more than once, before they are established therein."T

*After making the Clay assertion, he endeavours to explain himself to mean the law of love.

+ Sec. 5. Question 13.

Quest. 10.

This faith is not the faith of God's elect; but if they fall from it, there is no proof that they can ever be recovered. The Bible says, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance. Heb. vi.

Section 4, par. 9.

T Section 5.

The Bible teaches, that the saints are to be saved through a belief of the truth: and here is a book presented to dying men, for a standard of faith, which we are told contains a system of truth. But, brethren, truth has always got at least one strait edge. There are many things which are incomprehensible to the human mind; but truth never contradicts itself in this manner. If it did, it would be needless for a court of justice ever to examine a witness, to ascertain how his story agreed with itself, that they might know whether or not they could rely on his testimony. If these expressions of the discipline can be made to agree with each other, it is equally useless for them ever to indict a witness for perjury, because he has told a crooked story, or contradicted himself.

Besides, these are not all the contradictions The General Con

to be found in the scheme. ference have made some as gross blunders as Wesley. In their book of doctrinal tracts, they say of the grace of God--" It is free in all to whom it is given. It does not depend on any power or merit in man, no not in any degree, neither in whole nor in part. It does not in any wise depend either on the good works or righteousness of the receiver: not on any thing he has done, or on any thing he is. It does not depend on his endeavours. It does not depend on his good temper, or good desires, or good purposes and intentions. For all these flow from the free grace of God: they

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