The works of the Rev. John Wesley, Vol. 03 (of 32)Wesley, John
Religion
The works of the Rev. John Wesley, Vol. 03 (of 32)
Wesley, John
Methodist Church; Theology -- Early works to 1800; Theology -- History -- 18th century
9. If you say, “But he _preached Christ_ in a different manner in
his epistles;” I answer, He did not there preach at all: not in that
sense wherein we speak: for _preaching_ in our present question, means,
speaking before a congregation. But waving this, I answer, 2. His
epistles are directed, not to unbelievers, such as those we are now
speaking of, but _to the saints of God in Rome, Corinth, Philippi_ and
other places. Now unquestionably he would speak more of Christ to these,
than to those who were without God in the world. And yet, 3. Every one
of these is full of the law, even the epistles to the _Romans_ and the
_Galatians_: in both of which he does what you term preaching the law,
and that to believers as well as unbelievers.
10. From hence ’tis plain, you know not what it is, to _preach Christ_,
in the sense of the apostle. For doubtless St. _Paul_ judged himself
to be _preaching Christ_, both to _Felix_, and at _Antioch_, _Lystra_,
and _Athens_. From whose example every thinking man must infer, That
not only the declaring the love of Christ to sinners, but also the
declaring that he will come from heaven in flaming fire, is, in the
apostle’s sense, _preaching Christ_. Yea, in the full scriptural
meaning of the word. To _preach Christ_, is, to preach what he hath
revealed, either in the old or new Testament: so that you are then
as really preaching Christ, when you are saying, _The wicked shall
be turned into hell, and all the people that forget God_, as when you
are saying, _Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the
world_!
♦10. Consider this well: that to _preach Christ_, is to preach all
things that Christ hath spoken; all his promises, all his threatnings
and commands; all that is written in his book. And then you will know
how to preach Christ, without making void the law.
11. “But does not the greatest blessing attend those discourses,
wherein we peculiarly preach the merits and sufferings of Christ?”
Probably, when we preach to a congregation of mourners or of believers,
these will be attended with the greatest blessing: because such
discourses are peculiarly suited to their state. At least, these will
usually convey the most comfort. But this is not always the greatest
blessing. I may sometimes receive a far greater, by a discourse that
cuts me to the heart and humbles me to the dust. Neither should I
receive that comfort, if I were to preach or to hear no discourses
but on the sufferings of Christ. These by constant repetition would
lose their force and grow more and more flat and dead: ’till at length
they would become a dull round of words, without any spirit or life or
virtue. So that thus _to preach Christ_, must in process of time, make
void the gospel as well as the law.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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