Christian perfection are Christians at all. Hence it follows, that the more earnestly you pursue it, the stronger will be your confidence that you are upright Christians; and when ye shall be perfected in love, ye shall have that evidence of your sincerity which will perfectly" cast out servile fear, which hath torment," and nourish the filial fear which has safety and delight. It is hard to conceive how we can constantly enjoy the full assurance of faith, out of the state of Christian perfection. For so long as a Christian inwardly breaks Christ's evangelical law, he is justly condemned in his own conscience. If his heart do not condemn him for it, it is merely because he is asleep in the lap of Antinomianism. On the other hand, says St. John, “If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things" that make for our condemnation. But if we "love in deed and in truth," which none but the perfect do at all times, "hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him," 1 John iii, 19, 20.

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2. The perfect Christian, who has left all to follow Christ, is peculiarly near and dear to God. He is, if I may use the expression, one of God's favourites; and his prayers are remarkably answered. This will appear to you indubitable, if ye can receive the testimony of those who are perfected in obedient love, Behold," say they, "whatsoever we ask, we receive of him; because we keep his commandments, and do those things which are pleasing in his sight;" that is, because we are perfected in obedient love, 1 John iii, 22. This peculiar blessing ye lose by despising Christian perfection. Nay, so great is the union which subsists between God and the perfect members of his Son, that it is compared to dwelling in God, and having God dwelling in us, in such a manner that the Father, the Son, and the Comforter, are said to make their abode with us. "At that day [when ye shall be perfected in one] ye shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. If a man love me, he will keep my words; and my Father will love him; and we will come to him, and make our abode with him," John xiv, 20, 23. Again: "He that keepeth God's commandments dwelleth in God, and God in him," 1 John iii, 24. "Ye are my [dearest] friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you," [i. e. if ye attain the perfection of your dispensation,] John xv, 14. Once more :-" Keep my commandments; and I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever," John xiv, 15, 16. From these scriptures it appears that, under every dispensation, the perfect, or they who keep the commandments, haye unspeakable advantages, from which the lovers of imperfection debar themselves.

3. Ye bring far less glory to God in the state of indwelling sin than ye would do if ye were perfected in love; for perfect Christians (other things being equal) glorify God more than those who remain full of inbred iniquity. Hence it is, that in the very chapter where our Lord so strongly presses Christian perfection upon his disciples, he says, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven," Matt. v, 16. For, "Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit," John xv, 8. It is true that the fruit of the perfect is not always relished by men, who judge only according to appearances; but God, who judges righteous judgment, finds it rich and precious; and therefore the two mites which

the poor widow gave with a cheerful and perfect heart, were more precious in his account, and brought him more glory, than all the money which the imperfect worshippers cast into the treasury, though some of them cast in much. Hence also our Lord commanded that the work of perfect love which Mary wrought when she anointed his feet for burial, "should be told for a memorial of her, wherever this [the Christian] Gospel should be preached in the whole world." Such is the honour which the Lord puts upon the branches in him that bear fruit to perfection! 4. The perfect Christian (other things being equal) is a more useful member of society than the imperfect. Never will ye be such humble men, such good parents, such dutiful children, such loving brothers, such loyal subjects, such kind neighbours, such indulgent husbands, and such faithful friends, as when ye shall have obtained the perfect sincerity of obedience. Ye will then, in your degree, have the simplicity of the gentle dove, the patience of the laborious ox, the courage of the magnanimous lion, and the wisdom of the wary serpent, without any of its poison. In your little sphere of action ye will abound in "the work of faith, the patience of hope, and the labour of love," far more than ye did before : for a field properly weeded, and cleared from briers, is naturally more fruitful than one which is shaded by spreading brambles, or filled with indwelling roots of noxious weeds; it being a capital mistake of the spiritual husbandmen who till the Lord's field in mystical Geneva, to suppose that the plant of humility thrives best when the roots of indwelling sin are twisted round its root.

5. None but "just men made perfect are meet to be made partakers of the inheritance among the saints in light;" an inheritance this, which no man is fit for, till he has "purified himself from the filthiness of the flesh and spirit." If modern divines, therefore, assure you that a believer, full of indwelling sin, has a full title to heaven, believe them not; for the Holy Ghost has said, that the believer who "breaks the law of liberty in one point, is guilty of all," and that no defilement shall enter into heaven and our Lord himself has assured us, that "the pure in heart shall see God," and that they who are ready for that sight, "went in with the bridegroom to the marriage feast of the Lamb." And who is ready? Undoubtedly the believer whose lamp is trimmed and burning. But is a spiritual lamp trimmed, when its flame is darkened by the black fungus of indwelling sin? Again: who shall be saved into glory, but the man whose "heart was washed from iniquity?" But is that heart washed, which continues full of indwelling corruption? Wo, therefore, be to the heathens, Jews, and Christians, who trifle away "the accepted time," and die without being in a state of heathen, Jewish, or Christian perfection! They have no chance of going to heaven, but through the purgatory preached by the heathens, the Papists, and the Calvinists. And should the notions of these purgatories be groundless, it unavoidably follows, that unpurged or imperfect souls must, at death, rank with the unready souls whom our Lord calls "foolish virgins," and against whom the door of heaven will be shut. How awful is this consideration, my dear brethren! How should it make us stretch every nerve till we have attained the perfection of our dispensation! I would not encourage tormenting fears in an unscriptural manner; but I should rejoice if all who call Jesus LORD, would mind his solemn declarations, "I say unto you,

my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, &c; but I will forewarn you whom you shall fear: fear Him, who after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell: yea, I say unto you, fear him," who will burn in the fire of wrath those who harbour the indwelling man of sin, lest he should be utterly consumed by the fire of love.

Should ye cry out against this doctrine, and ask if all imperfect Christians are in a damnable state? We reply, that so long as a Christian believer sincerely presses after Christian perfection, he is safe; be. cause he is in the way of duty: and were he to die at midnight, before midnight God would certainly bring him to Christian perfection, or bring Christian perfection to him; for we are confident of this very thing, that He who hath begun a good work in them, will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ, because they work out their salvation with fear and trembling." But if a believer fall, loiter, and rest upon former expe riences; depending upon a self-made, Pharisaical perfection, our chief message to him is that of St. Paul, ❝ Awake, thou that sleepest! Awake to righteousness, and sin not, for thou hast not the heart-purifying knowledge of God, which is eternal life. Arise from the dead;" call for oil; and Christ will give thee light." Otherwise thou shalt share the dreadful fate of the lukewarm Laodiceans, and of the foolish virgins, "whose lamps went out," instead of "shining more and more to the perfect day.

6. This is not all: as ye will be fit for judgment, and a glorious heaven, when ye shall be perfected in love; so you will actually enjoy a gracious heaven in your own souls. You will possess "within you the kingdom of God," which consists in settled "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." But so long as ye neglect Christian perfection, and continue sold under indwelling sin, ye not only risk the loss of the heaven of heavens, but ye lose a little heaven upon earth; for perfect Christians are so full of peace and love, that they "triumph in Christ, with joy unspeakable, and full of glory, and rejoice in tribulation with a patience which has its perfect work. Yea, they "count it all joy when they fall into divers trials ;" and such is their deadness to the world, that they "are exceeding glad when men say all manner of evil of them falsely for Christ's sake." How desirable is such a state! And who, but the blessed above, can enjoy a happiness superior to him who can say, "I am ready to be offered up. The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law; but, O death, where is thy sting?" Not in my heart, since "the righteousness of the law is fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Not in my mind, "for to be spiritually minded is life and peace.' Now this peculiar happiness ye lose, so long as ye continue imperfect Christians.

7. But supposing a Christian, who dies in a state of Christian imperfection, can escape damnation, and make shift to get to heaven; it is certain that he cannot go into the glorious mansion of perfect Christians, nor shine among the stars of the first magnitude. The wish of my soul is, that, if God's wisdom has so ordered it, imperfect Christians may one day rank among perfect Jews, or perfect heathens. But even upon this supposition, what will they do with their indwelling sin? For a perfect Gentile, and a perfect Jew, are " without guile" according to their light, as well as a perfect Christian. Lean not then to the doctrine of the

continuance of indwelling sin till death. A doctrine this, on which a Socrates, or a Melchisedec, would be afraid to mention his heathen perfection, and eternal salvation. On the contrary, by Christian perfec. tion ye may rise to the brightest crowns of righteousness, and "shine like the sun in the kingdom of your Father." O for a noble ambition to obtain one of the first seats in glory! O for a constant, evangelical striving to have the most abundant entrance ministered unto you into the kingdom of God!" O for a throne among these peculiarly redeemed saints, who "sing the new song, which none can learn" but themselves. It is not Christ's to give those exalted thrones out of mere distinguishing grace: no, they may be forfeited; for they shall be given to those for whom they are prepared; and they are prepared for them who, evan. gelically speaking, are worthy: "They shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy," says Christ: and they shall "sit at my right hand, and at my left in my kingdom," who shall be worthy of that honour : "For them that honour me,' says the Lord, "I will honour. Behold I come quickly: my reward is with me, and I will render to every man according to his works." And what reward, think ye, will Christ give you, O my dear, mistaken brethren, if he find you still passing jests upon the doctrine of Christian perfection, which he so strongly recommends? Still pleading for the continuance of indwelling sin, which he so greatly abhors?

8. Your whole system of indwelling sin and imputed perfection stands upon two of the most dangerous and false maxims which were ever advanced. The first, which begets Antinomian presumption, runs thus: "Sin cannot destroy us either in this world or in the world to come." And the second, which is productive of Antinomian despair, is, "Sin cannot be destroyed in this world." O how hard is it for those who worship where these syren songs pass for sweet songs of Zion, not to be drawn into one of these fatal conclusions! "What need is there of attacking sin with so much eagerness, since, even in the name of the Lord, I cannot destroy it? And why should I resist it with so much watchfulness, since my eternal life and salvation are absolutely secured, and the most poisonous cup of iniquity cannot destroy me, though I should drink of it every day for months or years?" If ye fondly think that ye can neither go backward into a sinful, cursed Egypt, nor yet go forward into a sinless, holy Canaan; how natural will it be for you to say, "Soul, take thine ease," and rest awhile in this wilderness on the pillow of self-imputed perfection? O! how many are surprised by the midnight cry in this Laodicean rest! What numbers meet death with a Solifidian “Lord! Lord!" in their mouths, and with indwelling sin in their hearts! And how inexpressible will be our horror, if we perceive our want of holiness and Christian perfection, only when it will be too late to attain them! To conclude :

9. Indwelling sin is not only "the sting of death," but the very hell of hells, if I may use the expression: for a sinless saint in a local hell would dwell in a holy, loving God; and, of consequence, in a spiritual heaven: like Shadrach in Nebuchadnezzar's fiery furnace, he might have devouring flames curling about him; but, within him, he would still have the flame of Divine love, and the joy of a good conscience. But so much of indwelling sin as we carry about us, so much of indwell.

ing hell; so much of the sting which pierces the damned; so much of the spiritual fire which will burn up the wicked; so much of the neverdying worm which will prey upon them; so much of the dreadful instru ment which will rack them; so much of Satan's image which will frighten them; so much of the characteristic by which the devil's children shall be distinguished from the children of God; so much of the black mark whereby the goats shall be separated from the sheep. To plead therefore for the continuance of indwelling sin, is no better than to plead for keeping in your hearts one of the sharpest stings of death, and one of the hottest coals in hell-fire. On the other hand, to attain Christian perfection is to have the last feature of Belial's image erased from your loving souls, the last bit of the sting of death extracted from your composed breasts, and the last spark of hell-fire extinguished in your peaceful bosoms. It is to enter into the spiritual rest which remains on earth for the people of God; a delightful rest this, where your soul will enjoy a calm in the midst of outward storm; and where your spirit will no longer be tossed by the billows of swelling pride, dissatisfied avarice, pining envy, disappointed hopes, fruitless cares, dubious anxiety, turbulent anger, fretting impatience, and racking unbelief. It is to enjoy that even state of mind in which all things will work together for your good. There your love will bear its excellent fruits during the sharpest winter of affliction, as well as in the finest summer of pros perity. There you will be more and more settled in peaceful humility. There you will continually grow in a holy familiarity with the Friend of penitent sinners, and your prospect of eternal felicity will brighten every day.*.

Innumerable are the advantages which established, perfect Christians have over carnal, unsettled believers, who continue sold under indwelling sin. And will ye despise those blessings to your dying day, O ye prejudiced imperfectionists? Will ye secure to yourselves the contrary curses? Nay, will ye entail them upon the generations which are yet unborn, by continuing to print, preach, or argue for the continuance of indwelling sin, the capital wo belonging to the devil and his angels? God forbid! We hope better things from you; not doubting but the error of several of you lies chiefly in your judgment, and springs from a misunderstanding of the question, rather than from a malicious opposition to that "holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." With pleasure we remember and follow St. Jude's loving direction: "Of some [the simple hearted, who are seduced into Antinomianism] have com. passion, making a difference; and others [the bigots and obstinate seducers, who wilfully shut their eyes against the truth] save with fear, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh :" although they will not be ashamed to plead for the continuance of a defiling fountain of car

*If the arguments and expostulations contained in these sheets be rational and Scriptural, is not Mr. Wesley in the right when he says, that "all preachers should make a point of preaching perfection to believers, constantly, strongly, and oxplicitly:" and that "all believers should mind this one thing, and continu ally agonize for it?" And do not all the ministers, who preach against Christian perfection, preach against the perfection of Christianity, oppose holiness, resist the sanctifying truth as it is in Jesus, recommend an unscriptural purgatory, plead for sin, instead of striving against it, and delude imperfect Christians into Laodicean ease?.