《A Christian Library (Vol. 18)》(John Wesley)
TABLE OF CONTENTS
A Vindication of Godliness, Discourse IA Vindication of Godliness, Discourse II
A Vindication of Godliness: The Application of the Whole, Part I
A Vindication of Godliness: The Application of the Whole, Part II
A Rebuke to Backsliders, Part I
A Rebuke to Backsliders, Part II
A Rebuke to Backsliders, Part III
The Necessity of Godly Fear
The Necessity of Godly Fear: The Application, Part I
The Necessity of Godly Fear: The Application, Part II
A Vindication of Godliness, Discourse I
A VINDICATION OF GODLINESS
DISCOURSE 1. EPHES. 5: 15.
See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise.
In the first verse of this chapter, the Apostle exhorts to the whole duty of Christians,” Be ye followers of GOD.” The same exhortation he gives in other terms,” Walk as children of the light: “ (ver. 8:) both which exhortations are comprehensive of the whole duty of Christians.In the following verses he gives particular directions respecting the particular duties of religion: As, 1. Walk in love. (ver. 2.) 2. Flee all iniquity: both (1.) Greater iniquities; fornication and all uncleanness, and covetousness: (2.) Smaller iniquities; such as the evils of the tongue; both filthiness, that is, filthy talking, and foolish talking, and jesting, which are not convenient. 3. Be not partakers of, other men's sins: (ver. 7:) which he further dehorts from, (ver. 11,) charging them to have no communion with them, and to be guilty of no connivance at them, but rather to reprove them.
Of the strict rules in the text, he presses the strict observation;” See that ye walk circumspectly,” with an eye to every duty, to every direction; not only the greater and more weighty duties of religion, but the smaller parts of it, even to all that the LORD requires.
In the words you may observe,
1. A strict charge;” See,” or look diligently and carefully to it.
2. The matter given in charge,” Walk circumspectly,” which some render, walk warily; others, accurately, exactly; others, walk precisely,-and that, a learned critic affirms, the word;xgi,3,os most properly signifies.
3. A commendation of this circumspect walking; this is wise walking: “ not as fools, but as wise;” intimating, that to walk loosely is to walk foolishly; to walk circumspectly is to walk wisely.
The observations from these words are chiefly these two:
1. Christians must be Precisians.
2.. Precisians are no fools:, or Christians of an exact, and circumspect life are, whatever the world accounts them, truly wise men. This latter observation it is which I intend to insist upon.
Beloved, I am, entering upon a discourse on a sort of people, of whom we may say, with those Jews,” Concerning this sect, we know that it is every where spoken against; (Acts 28: 22;) and who, with the Apostle,” are made a spectacle to the world, to angels, and -to men;” (1 Cor. 4: 9;) concerning whom, heaven and earth are divided, and the world is divided within itself; of whom God says,” the world is not worthy;” of whom the world say, they are not worthy to live; of whom GOD says, they are the “apple of mine eye;” of whom the world say, “they are a sore in our eye;” whom GOD accounts his jewels; whom men account” the filth of the world,” and” the offscouring of all things;” of whom GOD says, they are the “sons of wisdom,” but men say they are fools. And as God and men are thus divided, so are men no less divided among themselves. Some few say concerning these, as they of old concerning CHRIST,” They are good men;”_ others say,” No, but they are deceivers of the people.” A Precisian, with the most, is grown into a proverb of reproach, a mark of infamy. To be a drunkard, a fornicator, a swearer, is no reproach, in comparison of being noted for a Puritan.
Well, but let us inquire a little more narrowly into this sort of people, about whom the world is thus moved, and has been in all ages. In order hereunto, I shall show you,
First, What a Precisian is; and Secondly, prove to you, against all the world, that he is no fool, but a truly wise, yea, the only wise man.
Touching the former, What a Precisian is, a Scripture Precisian, let me first tell you, to prevent mistakes, who he is not.
1. Not a Pharisee, a painted sepulcher, whose religion is a mere show; who has the form of godliness without the power; who is pure in his own eyes, and yet not cleansed from his filthiness; who is exact about the punctilios of religion, and hath a great zeal about the lower and more circumstantial matters, and neglects the weightier things of the law. This is not be.
2. Not an Enthusiast, properly so called; (though that be a vizard put upon him by some, as the hides of beasts were put upon the Christians of old;) not an Enthusiast, I say, whose religion is all fancy, imagination, enthusiasm, the dreams and visions of his own heart. Neither is this he. Christianity is not a castle in the air, but is a building that has foundation.
3. Not a Phrenetick, no son of violence or contention, who, not knowing what spirit he is of, calls for fire from heaven, to set all in a combustion, if every thing be not exactly fashioned according to his own mind. Neither is this he.” The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable. The servant of the Lo RD must not strive, but be gentle.”
By a Precisian, I mean, a sincere, circumspect Christian; one whose care and endeavor it is” to walk uprightly, according to the truth of the Gospel;” who, withdrawing himself from the fellowship, fashions, and lusts of the world, and denying himself the sinful liberties thereof, does exercise himself to keep a good conscience towards GOD and men. This is the person against whom the great hate and envy, the severe censures and calumnies of ungodly men, are chiefly intended, under what color or disguise so ever they are carried. The enmity is not betwixt sinners and hypocrites, but betwixt the seed of the serpent, and the seed of the woman; not the pretended, but the true seed: Israelites indeed are the men whom the Ishmaelites persecute;” He that was born after the flesh persecuted him” not who pretended to be, but” who was born after the Spirit.” (Gal. 4: 29.) Of this sort of people I shall give you a more full description in these two particulars:-I. By their Make, or Constitution. 2: By their Way, or Conversation.
I. By their Constitution. They are made and cut out exactly according to the pattern; they are born of the SPIRIT, born of GOD, and they bear the express image of their Father upon them: “ Renewed after. the image of him that created him;” (Col. 3: 1O;) they are of a new make from what they were; there is a mighty change wrought in and upon them. * “We are changed into the same image.” (2 Cor. 3: 18.) In our first birth we were brought forth in the image of our first father: “ADAM begat a son in his own image;” (Gen. 5: 3;) that is, a fleshly and earthly image. The first man was of the earth, earthly; and such are all his natural progeny, an earthly seed, an earthly generation: he that is born of the SPIRIT is brought forth in a spiritual frame.” That which is born of the SPIRIT is spirit: “ (John 3: 6:) He that is born from above is of a heavenly nature, as well as original.' The change which religion makes on men is not such a low and inconsiderable thing as some men make it, standing only in some little reformation of the life; but it consists chiefly in the renewing of the soul after the image of GOD, the forming of CHRIST upon the heart. As that second change, which shall be at the resurrection, will be the transforming of our vile bodies into the likeness of CHRIST'S glorious body; so this first change is a transforming of our vile souls into the likeness of his glorious SPIRIT. Christians are the temples of the LORD; and as MOSES made the tabernacle exactly according to the pattern which was showed him in the Mount, so these spiritual temples are made as exactly according to their pattern;” They are the epistles Of CHRIST, written not with ink, but with the SPIRIT of the living GOD; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart.” (2 Cor. 3: 3.) Carnal men plead hard for their Christianity; they are all Christians, though they be ignorant, unbelieving, earthly, sensual; yet some kind of profession (such as it is) there is amongst them, a profession of faith, a profession of repentance, which though it amount to little more than the bare saying, ”I believe, I repent, I am sorry for my sins,” yet this must pass for Christianity. But ”whose is this image and superscription” Where is the divine stamp and impress Where is your likeness to CHRIST Is there not still the visage of the old man Are not the old pride, the old envy, the old enmity against holiness, the old guile, and falsehood, and lust, still spread over you Is this the image of CHRIST Christians, who are truly such, are precisely formed according to this pattern; they have face for face, limb for limb, grace for grace: all the grace that is in CHRIST is truly, though yet not perfectly, copied out upon them though the characters may be somewhat blotted and obscured, by reason of the remainders of corruption, yet there they are; the same mind, the same heart that was in CHRIST, is in them. A true Christian is a transcript of CHRIST: “ As lie is, so are we in this world.”
This inward change, this forming of CHRIST upon the heart, is the very soul and life of Christianity. You may as well call him a man whose soul is not in him, as you may call him a Christian who has not the SPIRIT of CHRIST in him. Let no man count himself a Christian from any outward privileges, much less from any outward paint of Christianity, but from the inward prints of it upon his heart. Thou hopes that thou art a Christian; but where is the image and does exercise himself to keep a good conscience towards GOD and men. This is the person against whom the great hate and envy, the severe censures and calumnies of ungodly men, are chiefly intended, under what color or disguise soever they are carried. The enmity is not betwixt sinners and hypocrites, but betwixt the seed of the serpent, and the seed of the woman; not the pretended, but the true seed: Israelites indeed are the men whom the Ishmaelites persecute;” He that was born after the flesh persecuted him” not who pretended to be, but” who was born after the Spirit.” (Gal. 4: 29.) Of this sort of people I shall give you a more full description in these two particulars:-I. By their Make, or Constitution. 2: By their Way, or Conversation.
I. By their Constitution. They are made and cut out exactly according to the pattern; they are born of the SPIRIT, born of GOD, and they bear the express image of their Father upon them: “ Renewed after the image of him that created him;” (Col. 3: 1O;) they are of a new make from what they were; there is a mighty change wrought in and upon them. *, “We are changed into the same image.” (2 Cor. 3: 18.) In our first birth we were brought forth in the image of our first father: “ADAM begat a son in his own image;” (Gen. 5: 3;) that is, a fleshly and earthly image. The first man was of the earth, earthly; and such are all his natural progeny, an earthly seed, an earthly generation: he that is born of the SPIRIT is brought forth in a spiritual frame. “That which is born of the SPIRIT is spirit: “ (John 3: 6:) He that is born from above is of a heavenly nature, as well as original.’ The change which religion makes on men is not such a low and inconsiderable thing as some men make it, standing only in some little reformation of the life; but it consists chiefly in the renewing of the soul after the image of GOD, the forming of CHRIST upon the heart. As that second change, which shall be at the resurrection, will be the transforming of our vile bodies into the likeness of CHRIST'S glorious body; so this first change is a transforming of our vile soul, into the likeness of his glorious SPIRIT. Christians are the temples of the LORD; and as Moses made the tabernacle exactly according to the pattern which was showed him in the Mount, so these spiritual temples are made as exactly according to their pattern;” They are the epistles of CHRIST, written not with ink, but with the SPIRIT of the living GOD; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart.” (2 Cor. 3: 3.) Carnal men plead hard for their Christianity; they are all Christians, though they be ignorant, unbelieving, earthly, sensual; yet some kind of profession (such as it is) there is amongst them, a profession of faith, a profession of repentance, which though it amount to little more than the bare saying,” I believe, I repent, I am sorry for my sins,” yet this must pass for Christianity. But” whose is this image and superscription” Where is the divine stamp and impress Where is your likeness to CHRIST Is there not still the visage of the old man Are not the old pride, the old envy, the old enmity against holiness, the old guile, and falsehood, and lust, still spread over you Is this the image of CHRIST Christians, who are truly such, are precisely formed according to this pattern; they have face for face, limb for limb, grace for grace: all the grace that is in CHRIST is truly, though yet not perfectly, copied out upon them though the characters may be somewhat blotted and obscured, by reason of the remainders of corruption, yet there they are; the same mind, the same heart that was in CHRIST, is in them. A true Christian is a transcript of CHRIST: “ As lie is, so are we in this world.”
This inward change, this forming of CHRIST upon the heart, is the very soul and life of Christianity. You may as well call him a man whose soul is not in him, as you may call him a Christian who has not the SP I R IT of CHRIST in him. Let no man count himself a Christian from any outward privileges, much less from any outward paint of Christianity, but from the inward prints of it upon his heart. Thou hopest that thou art a Christian; but where is the image and superscription of CHRIST upon thy heart Dost thou not find, not only an unlikeness to CHRIST, but a dislike of CHRIST, an inward loathing of the holiness of CHRIST, and a rising of heart against the strictness of that holy life which lie requires Dost thou not find a savor of earthliness and fleshliness bearing the sway in thine heart Is this thy likeness to CHRIST Dost thou not find an emptiness of the light, life, love, and grace of CHRIST in thy soul Whatever thou hast of CHRIST without, thou hast nothing of CHRIST within. Deceive not thyself; GOD is a spirit, and his eye is first upon the spirits and souls of men: he loves truth in the inward parts; he loves holiness in the inward parts. ”He is a Jew which is one inwardly,” and he is a Christian who is one inwardly: he is not a Christian who is only outwardly so. Nay further, as he is not a Christian who is not inwardly so; so neither is he who hath something of the inwards of a Christian, and hath not radically all the graces of CHRIST in him: he who hath faith, and hath not charity; he who hath the light of a Christian, and not the love; he who hath the desires of a Christian, and not the conscience of a Christian; he who wants any one of the vital parts of Christianity, hath nothing at all; a thorough Christian is throughout conformed to the pattern. And thus you have a description of Scripture Precisians by their make and constitution.
II. I shall describe them by their Conversation: and that, 1. By the End of their conversation. 2. By their Course or Motion to this end.
1. By the End of their conversation. What is it that these men would have, or whither are they bound They cannot be content to go along with their neighbors, to live and do as others: whither is it that they are going, or what is it that they would have Why this is it; they are traveling heaven-ward, and trading to another country; they are bound for the holy land, for the holy city; they are going towards Sion, or Jerusalem which is above: they are those strangers and pilgrims here on earth, mentioned in Heb. 11: 13, 14, that are seeking a country,-not an earthly, but a heavenly country. A traveler's eye is much towards his journey's end: Christians that are making heaven-ward are much and often looking heavenward: a Christian's heart is in his eye, and his eye is on his home.
And this is a further description of this sort of people; they are men for another country, men for another world; they are born from above, and they seek things above; they are risen with CHRIST, and they are ascending unto CHRIST; their treasure is above, and their hopes are above, and thither are they hastening. Whatsoever they have of this world's goods for the support of their life, yet these things are not the scope and end of their life: they seek that glory, honor, and immortality, which come from GOD; and they are going on from strength to strength, till they come and appear before GOD in Sion. Hearken, O you foolish worldings! You say, every one of you, that you hope for salvation; but which way are your faces set Whither are you going Is that way of carnal liberty, and covetousness, and sensuality, to which you give up yourselves, the way of life In this a sincere Christian is differenced from all others in the world; he fixes his heart, and his hope, and his aims, upon an eternal happiness; and he bends his course towards the obtaining of it.