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From Here to Forever
Wesley declared the perfect harmony of the law and the gospel.
“On the one hand, the law continually makes way for, and points us
to, the gospel; on the other, the gospel continually leads us to a more
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exact fulfilling of the law. The law, for instance, requires us to love
God, to love our neighbor, to be meek, humble, or holy. We feel that
we are not sufficient for these things; ... but we see a promise of God
to give us that love, and to make us humble, meek, and holy: we lay
hold of this gospel, of these glad tidings; ... ‘the righteousness of the
law is fulfilled in us,’ through faith which is in Christ Jesus... .”
“In the highest rank of the enemies of the gospel of Christ,” said
Wesley, “are they who ... teach men to break ... not one only, whether
of the least or of the greatest, but all the commandments at a stroke.
... They honor Him just as Judas did when he said, ‘Hail, Master,
and kissed Him.’ ... It is no other than betraying Him with a kiss, to
talk of His blood, and take away His crown; to set light by any part
of His law, under pretense of advancing His gospel.
Harmony of Law and Gospel
To those who urged that “the preaching of the gospel answers
all the ends of the law,” Wesley replied: “It does not answer the
very first end of the law, namely, the convincing men of sin, the
awakening those who are still asleep on the brink of hell. ... It is
absurd, therefore, to offer a physician to them that are whole, or that
at least imagine themselves so to be. You are first to convince them
that they are sick; otherwise they will not thank you for your labor.
It is equally absurd to offer Christ to them whose heart is whole
having never been broken.
While preaching the gospel of the grace of God, Wesley, like his
Master, sought to “magnify the law, and make it honorable.”
Isaiah
42:21
. Glorious were the results he was permitted to behold. At
the close of above half a century spent in ministry, his adherents
numbered more than half a million. But the multitude that through
his labors had been lifted from the degradation of sin to a higher and
purer life will never be known till the whole family of the redeemed
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14
Wesley, Sermon 25.
15
Wesley, Sermon 35.