The Roanoke daily times. (Roanoke, Va.) 1895-1897, 1896-06-07

to dc? To give up doctrine that ave-
Me,hcaism her glory and revolution.
I'D the world? Would 1t not be OK =
pediens for Intelligent Methodists TO
ponder we'll before surrenderipQ anv OF
the great principles which brought us
into being as q church and has given
US q glorious history?
IL is easy to say 3 doctrine Is upscrip-
tural, but surely John Wesley and Adam
Clark were IS able interpreters of
Scripture as any OF our modern theo.
lCgisns.
When doctrine has stood for one
hundred and fifty years and all the on
position which has been brought against
it hiss been az stubble to the fro / con-
fess that 1 am 10th to believeit false.
In this connection quote from a pri-
vate letter now before me from ono OF
the leading men OF the Western North
Carolina Conference, man of deep
pie'y and long experience as munster
Of the gospel.
~ have for some time felt that the
theory OF our latter day Methodist
Church has grown out of her expert
ence or rather lack of experience on that
line. l believe we have departed from
the faith of Wesley because we have
lost this experience"
A leading member Of the Baltimore
Conference said to me recently in Wash.
ington City, after o careful study of
this question" he was convinced that
"the bitterness engendered by the agi-
tasion OF the slavery question and She
war following, caused the church, North
and South. to lose the experience to a
very large extens, hence the opposition
to the doctrine"
Both of these men were members of
the late General Conference. and
neither OF them had protested the
second blessing or are identified with
the holiness movement.
The true Wesleyan doctrine, as un.
derstand 1t. Is this: degeneration Is
specification Observation-Disclosures ia
regeneration completed" Then comes
growth, fertile growth and development
in all the Chriatian graces throughout
time and eternity. Sancsifcation Is
ore thing, maturity is quite another.
Neither Mr.. Wesley nor any Of the
modern advocates of any prominence
whatever OF the primitive Wesleyan
doctrine, so far as l know, or have rea-
son to believe, teach IAN arrested de-
velopment," nor DO they teach angelic.
physical or adamic perfection, nor do
they hold that one In the blessing can
not sin or will not be tempted. On tho
other hard they urge constant watch
fulness lest the experience be lost.
What they do claim Is that the "old
man Of sin" is destroyed, and that tho
temptation Is no longer from within,
but from without. They claim "a heart
from sin set free" "life hid with
Christ" that sanctifcation is the
"secret OF the Lord" revealed in the
inner life.
They believe in . second shir3 fourth,
yea hundredth blessing.
But they alao believe in and claim
the second blessing, distinctive
"c!eansing," "in6llinR" or baptism"
and the difference between the justified
and sancnfied experience is clearly set
forth in the two ways OF rendering the
old hymn:
The justified experience:
prone to wander, Lord. l feel it;
Prone 10 leave the God love-
The sAnctiaed experience:
prone TO love thee, Lord, feel It,
Prone to love thee and ADORE"
Shall the doctrine be preached, the
experience sought and professed? Mod
ern Methodism says No! Let unappeal
to the fathers and hear what they say.
We quote from letter Of Mr.. Wesley
to John King in 1887: at requires
great dc gree Of watchfulness to retain
peElcCb lON0 VI dOQ, buQ Ou0 RLGAE
means of retaining IL IS frankly to de-
clare what God has given you, and
earnestly to exhort all the believers
you meet with TO folio W after full saliva.
ton"
We quote again from Mr.. Wesley:
"Therefoie let all our preachers make
It . point TO preach perfection 10 be-
levers constantly, strongly and ex.
plicltly. l doubt not we are not explicit
enough in speaking on full sancufca-
ton, either in public or private"
We quote from D letter Of Mr. Wes-
ley's TO l.. Csugbland in 176s: blessed
be God, though 6e set hundred en-
thusiasts aside, we are SILL encompassed
with cloud OF Witnessed; who have
testified hud DO testify, IN life ard
death, that perfection which l have
taught these forty years. This perfec-
tion cannot be q delusion, unless the
Bible be a delusion too. l mean loving
GOD with Bill our heart and our neigh.
Dor as ourselves. pin down all its OPP
posers to this definition Of it. No eva
sion. No shifting the question. Where
ia the delusion Of this? Either you
have received this love or you have not.
If you did, dare you call 1t 3 delusion :?
You will not call 1t 30 for all the world.
If you received anything else, 1t does not
as all effect the question"
And from letter from Mr.. Wesley to
Miss Chapman in 1878: you can never
speak too strongly or explicislyupon the
head Of Christian perfection. If you
speak only family and indirectly, none
will be offended and none profIed; but
II you speak out, although some will
probably be angry, yet Others will soon
ind the power VI God unto salvation"
DR.. Adam Clark Gays: III men would
but spend As much time in fervently
calling upon Gcd to cleanse by the blood