scheme, which we have shown you already, is dangerous both to yourselves and others. If you have a good hope, in consequence of having been well tinctured with our protestant doctrines in your youth, we still wish to show you the evil of the freewill scheme, that while building upon the good foundation, you may not use wood, hay, and stubble, which the Lord will consume; and that you may not lend the weight of your pious example in building up a system, so fraught with danger and evil consequences.

8th. The truly pious man, who is humble, and willing that the Lord should reign, will gain nothing to himself by embracing the freewill scheme; but, on the contrary, he will lose much. Because, if he will be consistent in his plan, he must lose all that consolation which the thought of an overruling providence yields him in the time of darkness. For if the Lord

reigns, he does, or permits to be done, whatsoever he pleases; this idea acknowledges his determination or decrees. But in addition to this loss, the Methodist (or freewill scheme) is erowned with an awful doctrine. Wesley's discipline says, *The love of God is everlasting life. It is, in substance, the life of heaven. Now every one that believes, loves God, and therefore hath everlasting life." This we consider truth, thus far. But Wesley tells

*Section 4, part 11.

U

us in the same book, "that these believers may lose this life of heaven." If then a believer can lose the life of heaven; why can he not as well lose it in the world above, as in this? According to the foundation of the freewill scheme,* (if it were true,) we should say that he can, and is in more danger of doing So. Because we all grant that there are thousands of angels, who once loved God, and consequently had the life of heaven, but they are now, and ever will be in chains of darkness. While on the other hand, if it could even be proven, that any ever had the life of heaven here on earth, by virtue of the covenant of grace, and had lost it, it must be granted, that, according to the bible, such instances are but few. But there are multitudes, who have lost the life of heaven when they had it in the world above. Therefore, according to the Methodist doctrine, (if they will be consistent,) the believer is no safer in heaven than what he is here on earth; for if he can lose the life of heaven in one place, he can in another; and God has given him no more promises for the security of this life, in the other world, than he has in this, and not so many. If it be said, God promises that he that endures to the end shall be saved, we answer, so he likewise much oft

* The will is one of the faculties of the soul, and if it has a self-determining power, so that it can, and does, determine itself, to both good and evil in this world, we have no evidence to believe that this power will either be taken away from it, or altered beyond the grave.

ener promises that "he that believes shall be saved." And if men will add an if to the one promise, they may also to the other. Besides, if we were disposed to pervert the scripture, we might say, that the text meant "he that endureth to the end of eternity shall be saved." And we appeal to every candid reader, whether this would be any more of an unnatural understanding of the word than Wesley gives, when the Lord says, "that his people were chosen from the beginning?" Wesley explains it, "from the beginning of their hearing the gospel."*

When men undertake to depart from the truths of God's word, (because it does not suit their feelings,) and invent a scheme of religion for themselves, they seldom fare better than the Methodists have done. They commonly flee from a lion and bear. This may be exemplified by another remark. The General Conference (these persecuted people) abuse us in a most dreadful manner, and very often indirectly call us blasphemers, because we hold to the doctrine of reprobation. They likewise indirectly accuse us of endeavouring to conceal the fact, that this is one of our doctrines, notwithstanding we have written it in our confession of faith, and published it to the world for the space of nearly two hundred years.

It is in these words, "By the decree

* See his notes on 2 Thes. ii. 13.

of God, for the manifestation of his glory, some men and angels are predestinated unto everlasting life; and others are foreordained unto everlasting death." And we say further

that he ordains them to dishonour and wrath for their sins."

Mr. Wesley, in his discipline, and the General Conference in their book of doctrinal tracts, both say, "He (God) predestinates, or foreappoints, all disobedient unbelievers to damnation, not without, but according to his foreknowledge of all their works, from the foundation of the world."*

Now according to our words, it appears that the only difference between us and them in the doctrine of reprobation, is this: we say that God has predestinated some sinners to everlasting death for their sins; but they say that he has predestinated them all to damnation. And then they abuse us, and say, (and say truly) that God's predestination is a decree that cannot be altered; and they themselves have used the same word, and applied it to all the human family; for the scripture hath concluded all under sin.

The

*Section 3, part 11, Doct. Tract 1st, page 8. discipline from which this is taken was the same used on the day of debate, and said, by the Methodist preachers present, to be the right book. Besides, there were two disciplines present, and it was tacitly acknowledged to read the same in them both. There is, however, a smaller discipline in use, which does not contain all these absurdities. The larger kind is not always put into the hands of new beginners.

In one of their wild rants they tell us, that the devil and all the sons of hell would shout for joy at our doctrine. But does it not appear more likely that he and his would shout for joy at theirs?--because we say that some sinful unbelievers are predestinated to become believers, and enjoy eternal life. The Father promised the Son, that because he had poured out his soul unto death, he would divide him a portion with the great, and he should divide the spoil with the strong.* But, according to them, the Son will get neither portion nor spoil-but the devil will keep the whole human family-for the Lord hath predestinated them all to damnation. And the preaching of the gospel would be almost useless, because the Lord hath principally appointed that as a means in his hand to gather in his elect from among sinful fallen men, and bring them to a knowledge of the truth. But if it be as these Methodists say, that God has predestinated all disobedient unbelievers to damnation, then there can be none of them elected to salvation; consequently, according to their doctrine, wel cannot expect that any inner will ever be brought to repentance and salvation by means of the gospel, or in any other way-because they are all predestinated to damnation. Such are the absurdities and difficulties into which

*See Isa. iii.