I have missed a few of these Wesley Wednesdays, but today I wanted to post something from a sermon I recently read by Wesley. It is Sermon 2: The Almost Christian. In Kenneth Collins and Jason Vickers' The Sermons of John Wesley: A Collection for the Christian Journey, it is placed as number 10 in their arrangement of those sermons. - John Wesley says:
(III).7. But who are the living witnesses of these things? I beseech you, brethren, as in the presence of that God before whom 'hell and destruction are without a covering: how much more the hearts of the children of men!' - that each of you would ask his own heart, 'Am I of that number? Do I so far practise justice, mercy, and truth, as even the rules of heathen honesty require? If so, have I the very outside of a Christian? The form of godliness? Do I abstain from evil, from whatsoever is forbidden in the written Word of God? Do I, whatever good my hand findeth to do, do it with my might? Do I seriously use all the ordinances of God at all opportunities? And is all this done with a sincere design and desire to please God in all things?'
In the introductory comments, it is pointed out that Wesley, here, lifts up what would become the three basic counsels of the General Rules: "avoid evil, do good, and employ the means of grace." - I have long asserted that the so called Three Simple Rules as expressed by the late bishop Rueben Job, "Do no harm, do good, stay in love with God," is far too simplistic when compared to the actual General Rules. However, in addition to being far too simplistic, it simply falls short of accuracy. "Avoid evil" ("whatsoever is forbidden in the written Word of God") includes much more than "do no harm," and ("seriously") "employ the means of grace" ("at all opportunities") puts specific flesh on the bones of "stay in love with God."
So, if we must "simplify" the General Rules, let's follow Wesley's own example in doing so.
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