THE DOCTRINE
OF
PARTICULAR ELECTION
AND
FINAL PERSEVERANCE
EXPLAINED AND VINDICATED
By Isaac Backus,
PASTOR OF A CHURCH IN MIDDLEBOROUGH.
Yea, let God be
true, but every Man a Liar. -
The Election obtained it, and the Rest were blinded.
Rom. iii 4; xi 7.
BOSTON:
Printed and sold by SAMUEL H ALL at No. 53, Cornhill.
MDCCLXXXIX.
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Teachers who turn grace into lasciviousness have men's persons in admiration because of advantage, Jude 4, 16. With such, nothing can be too bad to say of any who expose their darling errors, while they will not allow us to be charitable if we cannot think them all to be good men, whom they admire. But in what follows I have endeavored to open principles and facts plainly and to leave every reader to judge of men by their fruits and not by their plausible pretences.
Middleboro, July 25, 1789.
PARTICULAR
ELECTION
and
FINAL PERSEVERANCE
Vindicated
Controversy is generally complained of and peace is earnestly sought, but often in
a way which denies to all others the liberty we claim for ourselves. The revealed will of
God is the only perfect law of liberty, but how little is it believed and obeyed by
mankind. Both the Hebrew and Christian churches were to be wholly governed by it, and when
the first King of Israel presumed to violate a plain command of God, and then thought to
atone for it by acts of worship, he was guilty of rebellion, which is as the sin of
witchcraft, 1. Sam. xv, 23. And in like way Mystery Babylon by her sorceries
has deceived all nations, and in her was found the blood of prophets, and of
saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth, Rev. xviii, 23, 24. Yet these
extensive terms are so limited by carnal reasoners that none of them, in any nation, will
allow themselves to be of that bloody city. And at the same time they are for extending
general words of grace beyond any limits and are ready to accuse us with making God
deceitful if we hold that he did not design the merits of his Son equally for all mankind.
If we inquire then, why all are not saved? the general answer is that they would not
receive that salvation, or if they did for awhile, and then turned away from it, God
rejects and destroys them therefor. We readily grant that God always rewards the righteous
and never destroys any for anything but sin and iniquity, but this cannot content many
without we will allow that grace hath put power into the wills of all mankind to become
righteous and to obtain salvation when they shall please to set about it in earnest. The
fruit of which is that men neglect the great salvation because they love darkness
rather than light. Yea, everyone that doeth evil hateth the light, Heb. ii, 3; John
iii, 19, 20. And when any are brought to obey the truth and so come to the light,
every art is made use of to get them into darkness again if possible.
This has been
remarkably the case in the southern parts of America. Many of their teachers were so dark
as to swear profanely, drink to excess, and follow gaming and at the same time to preach
up do and live to their people. But the light of the pure Gospel produced some
reformation among them above forty years ago, and it has greatly increased since 1768, as
I was well informed when I was called to travel and preach in Virginia and North Carolina
last winter. But after this reformation had spread extensively, the followers of Mr. John
Wesley introduced his writings against particular election and final perseverance and
thereby greatly obstructed the work. I was therefore requested to publish a brief answer
thereto. His first piece on that subject was published above fifty years ago under the
title of Free Grace, and it was closed with a hymn called Universal Redemption, and
therein he says,
Thine eye surveyed the fallen race,
When sunk in sin they lay,
Their misery called for all thy grace,
But justice stopped the way.
Mercy the fatal bar removed,
Thy only Son it gave,
To save a world so dearly loved,
A sinful world to save.
For every man he tasted death,
He suffered once for all,
He calls as many souls as breathe,
And all may hear the call.
A power to choose, a will t' obey,
Freely his grace restores;
We all may find the living way,
And call the Savior ours.
He denied that man had any natural liberty of will justify after the fall until it
was restored by grace. This he more explicitly did in a pamphlet on predestination,
election, and reprobation published in 1776; and said upon it, "We believe, that in
the moment Adam fell he had no freedom of will justify but that God, when of his own free
grace he gave the promise of a Savior to him and his posterity, graciously restored to
mankind a liberty and power to accept of proffered salvation," p. 16. But if the fall
took all natural liberty of choice from man until grace restored it, then the fall
released him from the authority of the law of God as it was first given to him, and he
never hath been under it since, but under grace. The beasts are not under that law because
they never had the powers of thinking and choice as rational creatures have, and if men
are not under that law, what are they better than beasts? Yea, do they not corrupt
themselves more than brute beasts that know and obey their owners? Jude 10; Isai.
i, 2-4. And if all freedom of will is from grace, then it is only by grace that any
have power to sin against God, as none can sin against him who have no natural liberty of
will. This opinion is most plainly confuted by the case of the fallen angels who never had
any grace revealed to them. Yet the Devil sinneth from the beginning, and all
wilful sinners are children of the Devil in opposition to all those who are born
of God, John iii, 8-10. In the same book Mr. Wesley says, "1. God's love was the
cause of his sending his Son to die for sinners. 2. Christ's dying for sinners is the
cause of the Gospel's being preached. 3. The preaching of the Gospel is the cause (or
means) of our believing. 4. Our believing is the cause or condition of our justification.
5. The knowing ourselves justified through his blood is the cause of our love to Christ.
6. Our love to Christ is the cause of our obedience to him. 7. Our obedience to Christ is
the cause of his becoming the author of eternal salvation to us," p. 8.
And is not this going
about to establish our own righteousness? For Moses describeth the righteousness which is
of the law, That the man who doth those things, shall live by them. This is a zeal
of God but not according to knomledge, Rom. x, 2-5. Mr. Wesley goes on to say, "I
shall now briefly show the dreadful absurdities that follow from saying Christ died
only for the elect. If Christ died not for all, then unbelief is no sin in them that
finally perish, seeing there is not anything for those men to believe unto salvation for
whom Christ died not. 2. If Christ died not for all men then it would be a sin in the
greatest part of mankind to believe he died for them, seeing it would be to believe
a lie. 3. If Christ died not for those that are damned, then they are not damned for
unbelief, otherwise you say, that they are damned for not believing a lie. 4. If Christ
died not for all, then those who obey Christ by going and preaching the Gospel to every
creature as glad tidings of grace and peace, of great joy to all people, do sin
thereby, in that they go to most people with a lie in their mouth. 5. If Christ
died not for all men, then God is not in earnest in calling all men everywhere to
repent, for what good could repentance do those for whom Christ died not? 6. If Christ
died not for all, then why does he say, He is not willing that any should perish? Surely
he is willing, yea, resolved that most men should perish, else he would have died for them
also. 7. How shall God judge the world by the man Christ Jesus if Christ did not die for
the world or how shall he judge them according to the Gospel when there was never any
Gospel or mercy for them?" p.14.
Answer. If Christ
died with a design to save all men, why are not all saved? Can the Devil cheat him of a
great part of his purchase? Or can men defeat his merciful designs? No, say many, he died
for all, and he will finally save all. Others go farther and conclude that a God of
infinite goodness could not give existence to any creature that shall be miserable without
end, but that he will finally deliver every child of Adam from Hell, though many of them
will be tormented therein for ages of ages. But how is their deceit here
discovered? Fallen angels were as really the creatures of God as fallen men, yet no
salvation was ever revealed for them, but they are reserved in everlasting chains under
darkness unto the judgment of the great day. And this is a clear evidence against ungodly
men who turn grace into lasciviousness, Jude 4, 6. God was so far from ever
proclaiming atonement to all men, without any exception, that he said, The soul that
doth ought presumptuously, the same reproacheth the Lord and that soul shall be cut of
from among his people. And for such presumption, Korah and his company perished most
terribly, Num. xv, 30; xvi, 1-3, 31-34. And teachers who privily brought damnable
heresies into the Christian Church were presumptuous and self-willed under
the name of liberty. They despised government and perished in the
gainsaying of Core, 2 Pet. ii, 1, 10, 19; Jude 11. For if the inability
of debtors and criminals could release them from the authority of the laws, until rulers
would give them power to bring the government to their own terms, how would all dominion
be despised! These filthy dreamers have now filled the world with Babylonian
confusion, Jude 8. The Jews called it heresy in Paul to believe in and obey
Jesus as a lawgiver above Moses, Acts xxiv, 14 And this is the first place where
the word heresy is used in the Bible, and if we observe what is said in the last chapter
in it of every man who shall add to or take from its words, must we not conclude that all
men who do so and violently impose their inventions upon others are guilty of heresy? The
head of the Church of Rome assumed God's place in the Church, and exalted himself above
God, who never could violate his promise or his oath or entice any
into sin, and how justly are all those given up to strong delusion who practice either of
these evils? 2 Thess. ii, 3-12; Heb. vi, 18; James i, 13-15. And how
happy should we soon be if these iniquities were excluded from our land?
True believers are so
far from presuming upon the secret designs of God that when the same are revealed, they
dare not make his designs but his laws the rule of their conduct. Though his design of
removing Saul and making David King over Israel was clearly revealed, yet David refused to
kill Saul when greatly provoked thereto because he had no direction to do it. Neither did
David assume the regal power over Israel until each tribe freely received him as their
King by a solemn covenant. But the envious Jews no sooner had it declared to them that
Jesus was to die for that nation than from that day forth they took counsel together for
to put him to death, John xi, 53. Hereby we may see the plain difference between
true believers and reprobates. For unto the pure all things are pure but unto the defiled
and unbelieving is nothing pure but even their mind and conscience is defiled. They
profess that they know God, but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient
and unto every good work reprobate, Titus i, 15, 16. In this way, teachers who turn
grace into lasciviousness deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ, Jude 4.
But many are deceived by them because in words they profess to know him. Since Christ
was exalted to the right hand of the Father his only priests upon earth are elect according
to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit unto
obedience, and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Being born again, not of
corruptible seed but incorruptible, by the Word of God which liveth and abideth forever.
These are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar
people, that they should show forth the praises of him who hath called them out of
darkness into his marvelous light, 1 Pet. i, 2, 23; ii, 5, 9. But Mr. Wesley, in
his piece on predestination, election, and reprobation, says, "They were chosen
through belief of the truth and called to believe it by the Gospel; therefore they were
not chosen before they believed, much less before they had a being," p. 5. And in his
sermon from Rom. viii, 29, 30, he says, "God looking on all ages from the
creation to the consummation as a moment and seeing at once whatever is in the hearts of
all the children of men knows every one that does or does not believe in every age or
nation. Yet what he knows, whether faith or unbelief, is in no wise caused by his
knowledge. Men are as free in believing or not believing, as if he did not know it
at all," p. 6.
I readily grant that
his knowledge does not cause any sin, which is altogether of the creature. The angels who
fell kept not the first estate but justify their own habitation, Jude 6. And those
who stood were elect angels, i Tim. v, 21. And sin came into human nature by
violating a known command. And Adam was a figure of Jesus Christ, and therefore
death reigned over all his posterity, many of whom never committed any actual
transgression, as he did. And the word as, so often used in this affair, cannot be
true in any sense if both Adam and Christ were not heads and representatives of all the
seed of each. It is certain that Adam was not a figure of Christ, as he conveyed death and
ruin to his posterity by a just sentence of law; for Christ conveys life and
salvation to souls by a free gift of grace. Neither could Adam be a figure of
Christ in the great things that he did by one offence, for Christ atoned for many
offences; therefore where sin abounded, grace did much more abound, Rom. v,
12-21. Even to the resurrection of the dead, i Cor. xv, 21, 22. I say the
word as cannot be true in all these places unless those two men acted for all their
seed. Many would have it, that this word cannot be true unless Christ atoned for as many
as fell in Adam, but certain death came upon all Adam's race while multitudes hold that
salvation by Christ is uncertain and depends upon the wills of individuals. In this
view they would make Christ vastly inferior to Adam whose doings were efficacious, and the
doings of Christ exceeding precarious, upon their plan. And they who hold that Christ will
finally save all the race of Adam from Hell yet imagine that the creature's suffering must
save them and not the efficacy of the death and grace of Christ. Or if they hold that he
will save all from future sufferings, they hold also that he hath now saved them from the
authority of the law of God, which Adam never did. By the sentence of it every child of
Adam returns to the dust, the righteous as well as the wicked, so that if the doings of
Christ are not efficacious for the final salvation of his seed, it cannot truly be said
that as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. Adam was
made upright, but Solomon could not tell how many inventions his children
would seek out, Eccl. vii, 29. A darling one in our day is that a man cannot be
worthy of reward or punishment unless he hath power in his will to become righteous when
he pleaseth. And if so, then faith would be of himself and not the gift of God, directly
against the truth of his Word, Eph. ii, 8. Boasting could not be excluded in such a
case, as it is by the law of faith, Rom. iii, 27. So that this controversy is not
with poor worms but with the eternal God. His will was as really exercised in
raising up Pharaoh and others and suffering them to go far in their rebellion and in
oppressing the saints, as it was in finally destroying the former and saving the latter.
But the objection against this doctrine was and is, Why doth he yet find fault? for who
hath ever resisted his will? This was the language of those who followed after the law
of righteousness but did not attain to it because they sought it not by faith but as it
were by the works of the law, Rom. ix, 16-32. Yea, and those who do so are
exceeding partial in the law.
Mr. Wesley in his book
called Predestination Calmly Considered says, "I believe election to be
conditional, as well as the reprobation opposite thereto. I believe the eternal decree
concerning both is expressed in those words, He that believeth shall be saved; he that
believeth not, shall be damned. And this decree without doubt God will not change, and
man cannot resist," p. 10. But where did he make any such decree? In the Gospel
commission, he says, He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, Mark xvi,
16. But men have presumed to alter that decree ever since the third century, before which
no man hath proved that infant baptism was ever named in the world. By baptism believers put
on Christ, Gal. iii, 27. Which no one can do for another any more than one can be
saved or damned for another in eternity. Christ is the only lawgiver to his Church, and
when Kings shall become nursing fathers to her they will bow down to his authority
therein, Isai. xlix, 23. And how great is the difference betwixt a nurse and
a whoremaster. The good tidings to Zion is, Thy God reigneth. And with the heart
man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation,
Isai. iii, 7; Rom. x, 10, 15. And none will be owned by him in the last day who
are now ashamed to confess him before men, Matt. x, 32, 33. And if God
looked on all ages as a moment, how could he elect persons and then reject them again in
that moment? Yet Wesley says, "One who is a true believer or, in other words, one who
is holy or righteous in the judgment of God himself, may nevertheless finally fall from
grace," p. 49.
His first argument to
prove this assertion is taken from God's saying, When the righteous turneth away from his
righteousness and committeth iniquity, in his trespass that he hath trespassed and in his
sin that he hath sinned, in them shall he die, Ezek. xviii, 24. From whence Wesley says,
"One who is righteous in the judgment of God himself may finally fall from
grace," p. 51. Answer, God never promised to support any one in an unrighteous way,
neither will he destroy any true penitent for his own sins or for the iniquity of his
fathers. And if God cannot speak of these things in a conditional way without having the
final event uncertain in his own infinite mind until the creature decides it, then this
argument may stand, and not else. And if the creature could disappoint the Creator, then
we should fear man more than God. A horrible evil! A second argument is drawn from 1
Tim. i, 18, 19, from whence it is said, "Observe, 1. These men had once the faith
that produceth a good conscience, which they had or they could not have put it
away. 2. They made shipwreck of the faith, which necessarily implies the
total and final loss of it," p. 51. But in the same chapter it is said, "The end
of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience, and of faith
unfeigned; from which some having swerved, have turned aside unto vain jangling, desiring
to be teachers of the law, understanding neither what they say nor whereof they
affirm." And if men cannot be greatly enlightened and reformed by the Spirit of truth
and yet afterwards swerve from it and put it away, without ever being born again, then
this argument may stand and not otherwise. His third argument is framed from Rom. xi,
17, etc. Upon which he says, "Those who are grafted into the spiritual, invisible
church may nevertheless finally fail," p. 53. To which I reply that the unbelieving
Jews failed from the visible church, and saving faith was necessary to graft the Gentiles
into it, who ought not to be high-minded but fear, as is very evident from this passage,
and God says, I will put my fear in their hearts that they shall not depart from me, Jer.
xxxii, 40. And who will dare to contradict him! Mr. Wesley takes his fourth argument
from John xv, 1-6, from whence he infers, "That true believers, who are
branches of the true vine, may nevertheless finally fail," p. 55. But as Christ is
the only head of the true church, many may be visible branches in him and yet be cast into
the fire for their unfruitfulness while living branches are purged and made more fruitful.
And to such Christ said in the same chapter, Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen
you, and ordained you, that you should go and bring forth fruit and your fruit should
remain. Afterwards he said to the Father, Of them which thou gavest me have I lost
none, John xviii, 9. Yet, fifthly, Mr. Wesley brings 2 Pet. ii, 20, 21, to
prove that "Those who by the inward knowledge of Christ have escaped the pollutions
of the world, may yet fall back into those pollutions and perish everlastingly," p.
56. But all ought to know that the dog who returns to his vomit again, and the sow that
was washed to her wallowing in the mire, never had their natures changed, though their
behavior was so for awhile. Therefore we are warned against giving the holy things of the
church to dogs, swine, or wolves as far as we can discover them by their fruits, Matt. vii,
6, 15. His sixth argument is taken from Heb. vi, 4-8, p. 56. But we may see that
the persons here spoken of are like ground which beareth thorns and briars and
are entirely distinct from souls who receive the seed into good ground, Matt. xiii,
23. Our author takes his seventh argument from Heb. x, 38, which he says, if
rightly translated, is, "If the just man that lives by faith draws back, my soul
shall have no pleasure in him," p. 58. But we ought to know that living by faith and
drawing back are two opposite things, and the first is here urged as an effectual guard
against the last. Eighthly, our opponent brings Heb. x, 26-29, to prove "That
those who are sanctified by the blood of the new covenant may yet perish
everlastingly," p. 62. But though persons who sin willfully against the laws,
blood, and Spirit of Christ will have a much sorer punishment than they who died without
mercy under the law of Moses, yet this cannot prove that any such person was ever truly
regenerated. However, after quoting many more Scripture warnings against disobedience and
apostasy, Mr. Wesley lets us know that he would not have us consider this doctrine by
itself "but as it stands in connection with unconditional reprobation, that millstone
which hangs about the neck of your whole hypothesis," p. 65.
From whence we may see
that the plain language of revelation is of no avail with him against his horrid ideas of
reprobation. When any try to put that terrible word out of their minds, he says, "To
think about a certain number of souls, whom alone God hath decreed to save,
in that very thought reprobation lurks; it entered your heart the moment that entered; it
stays as long as that stays, and you cannot speak that thought, without speaking
reprobation. True, it is covered with fig leaves so that a heedless eye may not observe it
to be there. But if you narrowly observe, unconditional election cannot appear without the
cloven foot of reprobation," p. 9. Answer, we well know that the doctrine of
particular election implies that the rest of mankind are justify to perish in their sins
as God might justly have dealt with us all. But this idea is rejected by Mr. Wesley. And
when it was said, "You know in your own conscience that God might justly have passed
by you," he said, "I deny it. That God might justly, for my
unfaithfulness to his grace, have given me up long ago, I grant, but this
concession supposes me to have had that grace which you say a reprobate never had,"
p. 18. Answer, We are far from believing that all the natural liberty of men is by
grace, as he hath asserted, for God says, In the last days perilous times shall come, for
men shall be lovers of their ownselves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers,
disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, truce-breakers,
false accusers, incontinent, fierce despisers of those that are good, traitors, heady,
high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, having a form of Godliness, but
denying the power thereof. From such men turn away. These resist the truth; reprobate concerning
the faith, 2 Tim. iii, 1-8. This is a most exact description of the reprobates of
our day. But I am far from thinking that grace gave them a power to love themselves above
God and their neighbors and to run into all this wickedness under a form of Godliness,
while they deny the power thereof. Yea, do not all those deny the power of it who deny
particular election and final perseverance? Mr. Wesley says, "I have heard that God
the Father made a covenant with his Son before the world began wherein the Son agreed to
suffer such and such things and the Father to give him such and such souls for a
recompense; that in consequence of this those souls must be saved, and those only,
so that all others must be damned." This idea of the covenant he rejects and
says, "The tenor of it is this, Whosoever believeth unto the end, so as to show his
faith by his works, I the Lord will reward that soul eternally. But whosoever will not
believe, and consequently dieth in his sins, I will punish him with everlasting
destruction," pp. 44, 45. And what difference is there between this and saying, The
man that doth them shall live in them? They who turn the Gospel into this sense are bewitched,
Gal. iii, 1, 12. As to the covenant, Jesus said, I lay down my life for the sheep.
Ye believe not because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me; and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall
never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand. My Father who gave them me is
greater than all, and none is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. Jesus lifted up
his eyes to Heaven and said, Father, the hour is come, glorify thy Son, that thy Son also
may glorify thee. As thou hast given him power over all flesh that he should give eternal
life to as many as thou hast given him, John x, 15, 26-29; xvii, 1, 2.
If particular election and final perseverance are not contained in these passages, I know
not what can be intended therein. And as Mr. Wesley and his followers are so vehement
against that doctrine and tell of showing their faith by their works, it is needful to
examine some of their works concerning America.
In November 1763, Mr.
Wesley said in his Journal, "Many have been convinced of sin, many justified,
and many backsliders healed. But the peculiar work of this season has been what St. Paul
calls The perfecting of the saints. Many persons in London, in Bristol, in York,
and in various parts both of England and Ireland have experienced so deep and universal a
change as it had not before entered into their hearts to conceive. After a deep conviction
of inbred sin, of their total fall from God, they have been so filled with faith and love
(and generally in a moment) that sin vanished, and they found from that time no pride,
anger, desire or unbelief. They could rejoice evermore, pray without ceasing, and in
everything give thanks. Now whether we call this the destruction or suspension of
sin, it is a glorious work of God. Such work as considering both the depth and extent of
it, we never saw in these kingdoms before. It is possible some who spoke in this manner
were mistaken, and it is certain some have lost what they then received." That many
of them were mistaken can easily be believed; much easier than to believe that any of them
were perfect and then fell from it. For as long as their controversy in Britain about
taxing America was carried on by words Mr. Wesley openly appeared in our favor, but when
they came to blows, he shifted sides and exerted all his extensive influence in that bloody
cause, and so did Mr. John Fletcher, an author much esteemed by that sect. Mr. Wesley
was in the city of Bristol in September 1774, and highly recommended to his friends a
pamphlet wrote by M. P. entitled An Argument in Defence of the Exclusive Right Claimed
by the Colonies to Tax Themselevs. But when the sword was drawn the next year, Mr.
Wesley took out the substance of a piece wrote by Dr. J. entitled, Taxation no Tyranny and
added some warm reflections of his own and published the whole as his own to inflame all
his followers against us. Therefore a Baptist minister in Bristol published a brief answer
to him with a mention of these facts under the name of Americanus. Hereupon Wesley
reprinted his pamphlet, with a preface in which he said, "The book which this writer
says I so strongly recommended, I never yet saw with my eyes. The words which he
says I spoke never came out of my lips." Two of his friends in Bristol each
wrote to him that they knew he herein wronged the truth, yet he refused to make any public
retraction until Mr. Caleb Evans, the said Baptist minister, published a letter to him in
a newspaper, and then he said,
Rev. Sir,
You affirm, 1. That I once doubted whether the measures taken in respect to America could be defended either on the foot of law, equity, or prudence. I did doubt of this five years, nay indeed five months ago. You affirm, 2. That I declared last year the Americans were oppressed, injured people. I do not remember that I did, but possibly I might. You affirm, 3. That I then strongly recommended an argument for the exclusive right of the colonies to tax themselves. I believe I did, but I am now of another mind. You affirm, 4. You say in the preface I never saw that book. I did say so; the plain case was I had so entirely forgotten it that even when I saw it again I recollected nothing of it till I had read several pages. If I had, I might have observed that you borrowed more from Mr. P. than I did from Dr. J. If you please to advance any new arguments (personal reflections I let go) you may perhaps receive a further reply from your humble servant,
JOHN WESLEY.
London, December 9, 1775.
But did he let go personal reflections? Mr. Evans' reply is before me wherein he says, "Your insinuating that I have taken more from Mr. P. than you have from Dr. J. is an artifice to cover your own plagiarism, too thin not to be seen through by the most superficial. It is not fact. I have not taken a line from that or any other author without acknowledging it. But when you published your address you gave not even a hint of having taken any part of it from Dr. J. or any other writer." Thus did Mr. Wesley exert all his influence to assist Great Britain in her attempts to bind us in all cases whatever. And had they succeeded therein we should have been in as bad a case as he says Adam was before a Savior was revealed to him. Yea, as much worse as falling into the hands of unmerciful men is worse than being in the hands of a merciful God. And these men are still pursuing us with attempts to rob us of our only hope in Christ and also of the liberty wherewith he hath made us free. For in 1784 Mr. Wesley and his followers published a book in England, which they call, The Sunday Service in North America. Three orders of ministers are prescribed therein who are to have the whole power of receiving and excluding church members without calling any vote of the brethren. And when the lowest order of those ministers is to be ordained they say to him, "Will you reverently obey them to whom the charge and government over you is committed, following with a glad mind and will their Godly admonitions? Answer, I will endeavor so to do, the Lord being my helper," p. 283. Soon after which they published a pamphlet entitled, "A Form of Discipline for the Ministers, Preachers, and Members of the Methodist Episcopal Church in America Considered and Approved at a Conference held at Baltimore in the State of Maryland, on Monday the 27th of December 1784, in which the Reverend Thomas Coke, LL.D. and the Reverend Francis Asbury presided." In their first section they say,
Question 1. What was the rise of Methodism, so called, in Europe? Answer. In 1729 two young men, reading the Bible, saw they could not be saved without holiness, followed after it, and incited others so to do. In 1737 they saw likewise that men are justified before they are sanctified, but still holiness was their object. God then thrust them out to raise an holy people. Question 2. What was the rise of Methodism, so called, in America? Answer. During the space of thirty years past, certain persons, members of the society, emigrated from England and Ireland, and settled in various parts of this country. About twenty years ago Philip Embary, a local preacher from Ireland, began to preach in the city of New York and formed a society of his own countrymen and the citizens. About the same time Robert Strawbridge, a local preacher from Ireland, settled in Frederick County in the State of Maryland, and preaching there, formed some societies. In 1769 Richard Boardman and Joseph Pilmoor came to New York who were the first regular Methodist preachers on the continent. In the latter end of the year 1771, Francis Asbury and Richard Wright of the same order came over. Question 3. What may we reasonably believe to be God's design in raising up the preachers called Methodists? Answer. To reform the continent and spread Scripture holiness over these lands. As a proof hereof we have seen in the course of fifteen years a great and glorious work of God from New York through the Jerseys, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North and South Carolina, even to Georgia.
And before they admit any man to preach in their society, they say to him, "Have you faith in Christ? Are you going on to perfection? Do you expect to be made perfect in love in this life?" After which they say, "We are all agreed, that we may be saved from all sin before death," pp. 13, 30. Thus a society, many of whose laws are contrary to the laws of Christ and whose head is in Great Britain are spreading their influence in America and have already tried to get some of their leaders elected into the State Legislature in Virginia, if not in other States.
AMEN.
NOTES
1
Stiles's election sermon, May 8, 1783, p. 61.
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2
Huntington's address, p. 23.
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3
Pattillo's Sermons, 1788, pp. 47, 48
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5 Phipps
against Newton; reprinted at Philadelphia, 1783, pp. 191, 203.
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