St. Paul's doctrine. With the Ranter he says,

"God

has chosen you, you are elect;" but, as it is through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth,' with the disciples of Moses he infers, make your calling and election sure, for if ye do these things ye shall never fall.' Thus he presents his hearers with all St. Peter's system of truth, which the others had rent to pieces.

Again, according to the First Axiom, he says with the Perfect Preacher, All things are now ready;' but with Him he adds also, according to the Second, "Come, lest you never taste the gospel feast." Thinking it extremely dangerous not to divide the word of God aright, he endeavours to give to every one the portion of it that suits him, cutting according to times, persons, and circumstances, either with the smooth or the rough edge of his two-edged sword. Therefore, when he addresses those that are steady, and 'partakers of the gospel grace from the first day until now,' as the Philippians, he makes use of the First Principle, and testifies his confidence, 'that he who hath begun a good work in them, will perform it until the day of Christ.' But when he expostulates with persons,' that ran well, and do not now obey the truth,' according to his Second Axiom, he says to them, as St. Paul did to the Galatians,' I stand in doubt of you; ye are fallen from grace.'

In short, he would think that he mangled the gospel, and forgot part of his awful commission, if, when he has declared that he who believeth shall be saved,' he did not also add, that he who believeth not, shall be damned;' or, which is the same, that none perish merely for Adam's sin, but for their own unbelief, and wilful rejection of the Saviour's grace. Thus he advances God's glory every way, entirely ascribing to his mercy and grace, all the salvation of the elect, and completely freeing him from the blame of directly or indirectly hanging the millstone of damnation about the neck of the reprobate. And this he effectually does, by showing that the former owe all they are, and all they

have, to Creating, Preserving, and Redeeming Love, whose innumerable bounties they freely and continually receive; and that the rejection of the latter has absolutely no cause but their obstinate rejecting of that astonishing mercy which wept over Jerusalem; and prayed, and bled even for those that shed the atoning blood ;the blood that expiated all sin but that of final unbelief.

I have now finished my sketch of Mr. W.'s doctrine, so far as it has fallen under my observation during above sixteen years' particular acquaintance with him and his works. It is not my design, Sir, to inquire into the truth of his sentiments, much less shall I attempt to prove them orthodox, according to the ideas that some real Protestants entertain of orthodoxy. This only I beg leave to observe, suppose he is mistaken in all the scriptures on which he founds his doctrine of Christian Perfection and General Redemption, yet his mistakes seem rather to arise from a regard for Christ's glory, than from enmity to his offices; and all together do not amount to any heresy at all; the fundamental doctrines of Christianity, namely, the fall of man,justification by the merits of Christ, sanctification by the agency of the Holy Spirit, and the worship of the One true God in the mysterious distinction of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, as it is maintained in the three Creeds, not being at all affected by any of his peculiar sentiments.

But you possibly imagine, Sir, that he has lately changed his doctrine, and adopted a new system. If you do, you are under a very great mistake; and to convince you of it, permit me to conclude this letter by a paragraph of one which I received from him last Spring :

"I always did (for between these thirty and forty years) clearly assert the total fall of man, and his utter inability to do any good of himself: The absolute necessity of the grace and Spirit of God to raise even a good thought or desire in our hearts: The Lord's rewarding no works, and accepting of none, but so far as they proceed from his preventing, convincing, and con

verting grace, through the Beloved; the blood and righteousness of Christ being the sole meritorious cause of our salvation. And who is there in England that has asserted these things more strongly and steadily than I have done?"

Leaving you to answer this question, I remain, with due respect, Hon. and Rev. Sir,

Your obedient Servant,

In the bond of a peaceful gospel,

MADELEY, July 29th, 1771.

J. FLETCHER.

LETTER II.

HONOURED AND REVEREND SIR,

HAVING proved that Mr. W.'s doctrine is not heretical, permit me to consider the propositions which close the Minutes of his last Conference, on which, it seems, your charge of dreadful heresy is founded.

They wear, I confess, a new aspect; and such is the force of prejudice, and attachment to particular modes of expression, that at first they appear to be very unguarded, if not altogether erroneous. But when the din of the severe epithets bestowed upon them by some warm friends, was out of my ears; when I had prayed to the Father of Lights for meekness of wisdom, and given place to calm reflection, I saw them in quite a different light. Our Lord commands us not to judge according to the appearance, but to judge righteous judgment;' appearances, therefore, did not seem to me sufficient to condemn any man, much less an elder, and such an elder as Mr. W. I consider besides, that the circumstances in which a minister sometimes finds himself with respect to his hearers, and particular errors spreading among them, may oblige him to do or say things, which, though very right according to the time, place, persons, and juncture, may yet appear very wrong to those who do not stand just where he does. I

saw for example, that if St. Paul had been in St. James's circumstances, he would have preached justification in as guarded a manner as St. James; and that if St. James had been in St. Paul's place, he would have preached it as freely as St. Paul; and I recollected, that in some places St. Paul himself seems even more legal than St. James. (See Rom. ii. 7, 10, 14; Gal. vi. 7, &c. and 1 Tim. vi. 19.)

These reflections made me not only suspend my judgment concerning Mr. W.'s propositions, but consider what we may candidly suppose was his design in writing them for, and recommending them to, the preachers in connexion with him. And I could not help seeing, that it was only to guard them and their hearers against Antinomian principles and practices, which spread like wildfire in some of his Societies; where persons who spoke in the most glorious manner of Christ, and their interest in his complete salvation, have been found living in the greatest immoralities, or indulging the most unchristian tempers. Nor need f go far for a proof of this sad assertion. In one of his Societies, not many miles from my parish, a married man, who professed being in a state of justification and sanctification, growing wise above what is written, despised his brethren as legalists, and his teachers as persons not clear in the gospel. He instilled his principles into a serious young woman; and what was the consequence? Why, they talked about "finished salvation in Christ," and "the absurdity of perfection in the flesh," till a perfect child was conceived and born; and, to save appearances, the mother swore it to a travelling man that cannot be heard of. Thus, to avoid legality, they plunged into hypocrisy, foruication, adultery, perjury, and the depth of Ranterism. Is it not hard, that a minister should be traduced as guilty of dreadful heresy, for trying to put a stop to such dreadful practices? And is it not high time that he should cry to all that regard his warnings, Take heed to your doctrine? As if he had said,

"Avoid all extremes. While on the one hand you

keep clear of the Pharisaic delusion that slights Christ, and makes the pretended merit of an imperfect obedience the procuring cause of eternal life; see that on the other hand you do not lean to the Antinomian error, which, under pretence of exalting Christ, speaks contemptuously of obedience, and makes void the law through a faith that does not work by love.' As there is but a step between high Arminianism and selfrighteousness, so there is but one between high Calvinism and Antinomianism.

both; especially the latter.

I charge you to shun

"You know, by sad experience, that at this time we stand particularly in danger of splitting upon the Antinomian rock. Many smatterers in Christian experience talk of finished salvation in Christ, or boast of being in a state of justification and sanctification, while they know little of themselves and less of Christ. Their whole behaviour testifies, that their hearts are void of humble love, and full of carnal confidence. They cry, Lord! Lord!, with as much assurance and as little right, as the foolish virgins. They pass for sweet Christians, dear children of God, and good believers; but their secret reserves evidence them to be only such believers as Simon Magus, Ananias and Sapphira.

"Some, with Diotrephes, love to have the preeminence, and prate malicious words,' and, not content therewith, they do not themselves receive the brethren, and forbid them that would,' and even cast them out of the church as heretics. Some have 'forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; they are wells without water, clouds without rain, and trees without fruit' With Judas they try to load themselves with thick clay,' endeavour to lay up treasures on earth, and make provision for the flesh to fulfil the lusts thereof.' Some, with the incestuous Corinthian, are led captive by fleshly lusts, and fall into the greatest enormities. Others, with the language of the awakened publican in their mouths, are fast asleep in their spirits; you hear them speak of the corruptions of their hearts, in a VOL. I.

L