PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The works of the Rev. John Wesley, Vol. 03 (of 32)
Wesley, John, 1703-1791 · 88,317 words · 128 reading sections
Part 1
The Works of the Rev. JOHN WESLEY, M.A.…
9 wordsSECTION 2VOLUME III.
┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ │ │ Transcriber’s Notes │ │ │ │ …
257 wordsSECTION 3VOLUME III.
BRISTOL: Printed by WILLIAM PINE, in _Wine-Street_ MDCCLXXI. THE CONTENTS Of the THIRD VOLUME. SERMONS on several Occasions.…
18 wordsSECTION 4SERMON XXXIV. The Origin, Nature, Property, and Use of the Law.
Rom. vii. 12. _Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just and good._…
17 wordsSECTION 5SERMON XXXVII. The Nature of Enthusiasm.
Acts xxvi. 24. _And Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, Thou art beside thyself._…
16 wordsSECTION 6SERMON XXXVIII. A Caution against Bigotry.
Mark ix. 38, 39. _And John answered him saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. And Jesus said, Forbid him not._…
35 wordsSECTION 7SERMON XXXIX. Catholic Spirit.
2 Kings x. 15. _And when he was departed thence, he lighted on_ Jehonadab, _the son of_ Rechab _coming to meet him. And he said, Is thine heart right as my heart is with thy heart? And_ Jehonadab _answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand._…
49 wordsSECTION 8SERMON XL. Christian Perfection.
Phil. iii. 12. _Not as tho’ I had already attained, either were already perfect._ THE PROMISE of SANCTIFICATION. EZEK. xxxvi. 25, &c. By the Rev. Mr. CHARLES WESLEY.…
29 wordsSECTION 9SERMON XLI. Wandering Thoughts.
2 Cor. x. 4. _Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ._…
15 wordsSECTION 10SERMON XLII. Satan’s Devices.
2 Cor. ii. 11. _We are not ignorant of his devices._…
12 wordsSECTION 11SERMON XLIII. The Scripture Way of Salvation.
Eph. ii. 8. _Ye are saved thro’ faith._…
9 wordsSECTION 12SERMON XLIV. Original Sin.
Gen. vi. 5. _And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually._…
31 wordsSECTION 13SERMON XLV. The New Birth.
John iii. 7. _Ye must be born again._…
9 wordsSECTION 14SERMON XLVI. The Wilderness State.
John xvi. 22. _Ye now have sorrow: but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you._…
27 wordsSECTION 15SERMON XLVII.
1 Pet. i. 6. _Now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations._ Illustration: (‡ decoration)…
21 wordsSECTION 16DISCOURSE XI. MATT. vii. 13, 14.
_Enter ye in at the strait gate; for wide is the gate, and broad is the way which leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it._ 1. OUR Lord having warned us of the dangers, which easily beset us…
686 wordsSECTION 17Part 17
4. O! who is able to reckon up their accursed fruits? To count all the sins, whether against God or our neighbour, not which imagination might paint, but which may be matter of daily, melancholy experience? Nor need we range over all the earth to find them. Survey any one kingdom, any single country, or city or town, a…
804 wordsSECTION 18Part 18
2. This is an inseparable property of the way to heaven. So narrow is the way that leadeth unto life, unto life everlasting; so strait the gate, that nothing unclean, nothing unholy can enter. No sinner can pass thro’ that gate, until he is saved from all his sins, not only from his outward sins; from his evil _convers…
757 wordsSECTION 19Part 19
7. O how can unlearned and ignorant men, maintain their cause against such opponents! And yet these are not all with whom they must contend, however unequal to the task. For there are many mighty, and noble, and powerful men, as well as wise, in the road that leadeth to destruction. And these have a shorter way of conf…
814 wordsSECTION 20Part 20
4. Therefore, _strive_ ye now, in this your day, _to enter in at the strait gate_. And in order hereto, settle it in your heart, and let it be ever uppermost in your thoughts, that if you are in a broad way, you are in the way that leadeth to destruction. If many go with you, as sure as God is true, both they and you a…
553 wordsSECTION 21DISCOURSE XII. MATT. vii. 15‒20.
_Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheeps cloathing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit: but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring f…
867 wordsSECTION 22Part 22
Now the way to heaven pointed out in the preceding sermon, is the way of lowliness, mourning, meekness, and holy desire, love of God and of our neighbour, doing good, and suffering evil for Christ’s sake. They are therefore false prophets, who teach as the way to heaven, any other way than _this_. 5. It matters not, w…
871 wordsSECTION 23Part 23
2. Upon all occasions you may easily apply this rule. In order to know whether any who speak in the name of God, are false or true prophets, it is easy to observe, first, What are the fruits of their doctrine, as to themselves? What effect has it had upon their lives? Are they holy and unblamable in all things? What ef…
681 wordsSECTION 24Part 24
6. But perhaps you will ask, If there is such danger in hearing them, ought I to hear them at all? It is a weighty question, such as deserves the deepest consideration, and ought not to be answered, but upon the calmest thought, the most deliberate reflection. For many years, I have been almost afraid, to speak at all …
847 wordsSECTION 25Part 25
10. I cannot conclude, without addressing a few plain words, to those of whom we have now been speaking. O ye false prophets, O ye dry bones, hear ye for once the word of the Lord. How long will ye lie in the name of God? Saying God hath spoken: and God hath not spoken by you. How long will ye pervert the right ways of…
806 wordsSECTION 26DISCOURSE XIII. MATT. vii. 21‒27.
_Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name have cast out devils? And in thy name done many wonderful works? And then …
813 wordsSECTION 27Part 27
2. The _saying, Lord, Lord!_ may, secondly, imply, the doing no harm. We may abstain from every presumptuous sin, from every kind of outward wickedness. We may refrain from all those ways of acting or speaking, which are forbidden in holy writ. We may be able to say to all those among whom we live, Which of you convinc…
894 wordsSECTION 28Part 28
II. 1. I am, secondly, to shew the wisdom of him that doth them, that _buildeth his house upon a rock_. He indeed is wise, _who doth the will of my Father which is in heaven_. He is truly wise, whose _righteousness exceeds the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees_. He is poor in spirit; knowing himself even as al…
738 wordsSECTION 29Part 29
4. Yet let not such an one think, That he shall not see war any more, that he is now out of the reach of temptation. It still remains, for God to prove the grace he hath given: he shall be tried as gold in the fire. He shall be tempted not less, than they who know not God: perhaps abundantly more. For Satan will not fa…
785 wordsSECTION 30Part 30
4. *Over and above all this, are you zealous of good works? Do you, as you have time, do good to all men? Do you feed the hungry and cloath the naked, and visit the fatherless and widow in their affliction? Do you visit those that are sick? Relieve them that are in prison? Is any a stranger and you take him in? Friend,…
787 wordsSECTION 31Part 31
9. *Now do thou hunger and thirst, not for _the meat that perisheth, but for that which endureth unto everlasting life_. Trample under foot the world and the things of the world: all these riches, honours, pleasures. What is the world to thee? Let the dead bury their dead: but follow thou after the image of God. And be…
587 wordsSECTION 32SERMON XXXIV.
THE ORIGINAL, NATURE, PROPERTY AND USE OF THE LAW. ROM. vii. 12. _Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good._ 1. PERHAPS there are few subjects within the whole compass of religion, so little understood as this. The reader of this epistle is usually told, by _the law_, St. _Paul_ means _Je…
848 wordsSECTION 33Part 33
I. 1. I shall, first, endeavour to shew the original of the moral law, often called _the law_, by way of eminence. Now this is not, as some may possibly have imagined, of so late an institution as the time of _Moses_. _Noah_ declared it to men long before that time, and _Enoch_ before him. But we may trace its original…
825 wordsSECTION 34Part 34
II. 1. The nature of that law which was originally given to angels in heaven and man in paradise, and which God has so mercifully promised to write afresh, in the hearts of all true believers, was the second thing I proposed to shew. In order to which I would first observe, that altho’ _the law_ and _the commandment_ a…
850 wordsSECTION 35Part 35
2. In this expression the apostle does not appear to speak of its effects; but rather of its nature: as St. _James_ speaking of the same thing under another name, says, _The wisdom from above_ (which is no other than this law, written on our heart) _is first pure_, chap. iii. 17. ἁγνὴ, chaste, spotless, internally, and…
853 wordsSECTION 36Part 36
8. *Again; if the law, the immutable rule of right and wrong, depends on the nature and fitnesses of things, and on their essential relations to each other: (I do not say, their eternal relations; because the eternal relation of things existing in time, is little less than a contradiction:) if, I say, this depends on t…
700 wordsSECTION 37Part 37
IV. 1. It remains only, to shew, in the fourth and last place, the uses of the law. And the first use of it without question is, to convince the world of sin. This is indeed the peculiar work of the Holy Ghost: who can work it without any means at all, or by whatever means it pleaseth him, however insufficient in thems…
858 wordsSECTION 38Part 38
5. How clearly does this agree with the experience of every true believer! While he cries out, _O what love have I unto thy law! All the day long is my study in it_; he sees daily in that divine mirror, more and more of his own sinfulness. He sees more and more clearly, that he is still a sinner in all things; that nei…
742 wordsSECTION 39Part 39
10. And if thy Lord hath already fulfilled his word, if he hath already _written his law in thy heart_, then _stand fast in the liberty, wherewith Christ hath made thee free_. Thou art not only made free from _Jewish_ ceremonies, from the guilt of sin and the fear of hell: (these are so far from being the whole, that t…
267 wordsSECTION 40DISCOURSE I. ROM. iii. 31.
_Do we then make void the law thro’ Faith? God forbid. Yea, we establish the law._ 1. SAINT _Paul_ having in the beginning of this epistle, laid down his general proposition, namely, That _the gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation, to every one that believeth_: the powerful means, whereby God makes every…
869 wordsSECTION 41Part 41
2. All this proceeds from the deepest ignorance of the nature, properties and use of the law: and proves that those who act thus, either know not Christ, are utter strangers to living faith: or at least, that they are but babes in Christ, and as such _unskilled in the word of righteousness_. 3. Their grand plea is thi…
788 wordsSECTION 42Part 42
8. To the jailor indeed, when _he sprang in and came trembling, and fell down before_ Paul _and_ Silas, _and said, Sirs, What must I do to be saved_, he immediately said, _Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ_. (ch. xvi. ver. 29, &c.) And in the case of one so deeply convinced of sin, who would not have said the same? But …
753 wordsSECTION 43Part 43
2. *All those are drawn into this by-way, who if it be not their settled judgment, that faith in Christ intirely sets aside the necessity of keeping his law, yet suppose either, 1. That holiness is less necessary now than it was before Christ came: or, 2. That a less degree of it is necessary; or, 3. That it is less ne…
687 wordsSECTION 44Part 44
This, it must be acknowledged, comes home to the point, and is indeed the main pillar of Antinomianism. And yet it needs not a long or laboured answer. We allow, 1. That God _justifies the ungodly_, him that till that hour is totally ungodly, full of all evil, void of all good. 2. That he justifies _the ungodly that wo…
887 wordsSECTION 45Part 45
6. *You was once scrupulous too of commending any to their face, and still more, of suffering any to commend _you_. It was a stab to your heart: you could not bear it: you sought the honour that cometh of God only. You could not endure such conversation: nor any conversation which was not good, to the use of edifying. …
676 wordsSECTION 46DISCOURSE II. ROM. iii. 31.
_Do we then make void the law thro’ faith? God forbid! Yea, we establish the law._ 1. IT has been shewn in the preceding discourse, which are the most usual ways of _making void the law thro’ faith_: namely, first, The not preaching it at all, which effectually makes it all void at a stroke: and this under colour of _…
693 wordsSECTION 47Part 47
3. And indeed this we do the more diligently, not only because it is of the deepest importance; inasmuch as all the fruit, every word and work, must be only evil continually, if the tree be evil, if the dispositions and tempers of the heart, be not right before God: but likewise, because as important as these things ar…
733 wordsSECTION 48Part 48
6. It is our part, thus to _preach Christ_, by preaching all things whatsoever he hath revealed. We may indeed without blame, yea, and with a peculiar blessing from God, declare the love of our Lord Jesus Christ. We may speak, in a more especial manner, _of the Lord our righteousness_. We may expatiate upon the grace o…
886 wordsSECTION 49Part 49
“For then his reason’s eye was strong and clear, And as an eagle can behold the sun, Might have beheld his Maker’s face as near, As th’ intellectual angels could have done.” He was then able to talk with him face to face, whose face we cannot now see and live. And consequently had no need of that faith, whose office i…
736 wordsSECTION 50Part 50
3. And by faith, taken in its more particular meaning, for a confidence in a pardoning God, we establish his law in our own hearts, in a still more effectual manner. For there is no motive which so powerfully inclines us to love God, as the sense of the love of God in Christ. Nothing enables us like a piercing convicti…
843 wordsSECTION 51SERMON XXXVII.
THE NATURE OF ENTHUSIASM. ACTS xxvi. 24. _And Festus said with a loud voice, Paul, Thou art beside thyself._ 1. AND so say all the world, the men who know not God, of all that are of _Paul_’s religion; of every one who is so a follower of him, as he was of Christ. It is true, there is a sort of religion, nay and it i…
882 wordsSECTION 52Part 52
9. Others take the word in an indifferent sense, such as is neither morally good nor evil. Thus they speak of the _Enthusiasm_ of the poets; of _Homer_ and _Virgil_ in particular. And this a late eminent writer extends so far as to assert, there is no man excellent in his profession, whatsoever it be, who has not in hi…
787 wordsSECTION 53Part 53
15. *There are many other _Enthusiasts_ of this sort. Such, for instance, is the fiery zealot for religion; or (more probably) for the opinions and modes of worship, which he dignifies with that name. This man also strongly imagines himself, to be a believer in Jesus, yea, that he is a champion for the faith, which was…
686 wordsSECTION 54Part 54
19. To the same class belong those, who in preaching or prayer, imagine themselves to be so influenced by the Spirit of God as in fact they are not. I am sensible indeed, that without him we can do nothing; more especially in our public ministry: that all our preaching is utterly vain, unless it be attended with his po…
934 wordsSECTION 55Part 55
25. *Meantime, the assistance of his Spirit is supposed, during the whole process of the inquiry. Indeed ’tis not easy to say, in how many ways, that assistance is conveyed. He may bring many circumstances to our remembrance, may place others in a stronger and clearer light; may insensibly open our mind to receive conv…
803 wordsSECTION 56Part 56
30. Against every sort of this, it behoves us to guard, with the utmost diligence: considering the dreadful effects it has so often produced, and which indeed naturally result from it. Its immediate offspring is pride; it continually increases this source from whence it flows, and hereby it alienates us more and more, …
801 wordsSECTION 57Part 57
38. Beware you do not fall into the second sort of _Enthusiasm_, fancying you have those _gifts_ from God which you have not. Trust not in visions or dreams; in sudden impressions, or strong impulses of any kind. Remember, it is not by these you are to know, what is _the will of God_ on any particular occasion; but by …
272 wordsSECTION 58SERMON XXXVIII.
A CAUTION AGAINST BIGOTRY. MARK ix. 38, 39. _And John answered him saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. And Jesus said, Forbid him not._ 1. IN the preceding verses we read, that after the twelve had been disputing, _which of them should be the gre…
789 wordsSECTION 59Part 59
4. Yet, if we may credit Historians, there are countries even now, where he works as openly as aforetime. “But why in savage and barbarous countries only? Why not in _Italy_, _France_ or _England_?” For a very plain reason: he knows his men. And he knows what he hath to do with each. To _Laplanders_, he appears barefac…
816 wordsSECTION 60Part 60
11. These monsters might almost make us overlook the works of the devil that are wrought in our own country. But alas! We cannot open our eyes even here, without seeing them on every side. Is it a small proof of his power, that common swearers, drunkards, whoremongers, adulterers, thieves, robbers, sodomites, murderers…
790 wordsSource & rights
Public domain in the USA; original historical text digitized by Project Gutenberg.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.