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Editorial Annotations |
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Cornwall was part of the
Oswegatchie circuit from 1792 until 1808, when it was
formed into a separate circuit by William Snow (Cornish
195). The assurance of salvation
Bangs discusses here is different than the doctrine of
assured salvation among Calvinists. Members of the
elect, according to Calvinism, were unable to lose their
salvation because they had been predestined
by the inexorable will of God to eternal life. Arminian
Methodists, on the other hand, held that salvation was
open to all and that, after a saving knowledge of Christ
was attained, individual believers were obliged to
strive toward God in holiness or else risk the loss of
their salvation. What Bangs is discussing here is not
his inability to backslide and lose favour with God, but
rather the ability of a Methodist believer to know, at
any particular point in time, the status of his or her
soul in the eyes of God. |
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Thursday Nov. 6 [Thursday 7 November 1805]
I preached at Cornwall and joined 6 in
Society all of whom professed to have found Justifying
Grace. May God defend and support them for Christ's sake.
Have taken some cold, I feel somewhat unwell in body but my
soul enjoys peace through Jesus Christ. But tho I have peace
yet I have powerful besetments from the Enemy. I find my
mind often led to meditate upon the immortality of the soul
and am sometimes exceedingly harisd [harassed] with the uncertainty
of it. (I mean Satan tempts me with it). The being of a God
is closely connected with the immortality of the soul, the
truth of scripture, and of course the whole of Christianity.
I sometimes try to combat the Enemy with reason, and find
the inherent testimony of Scripture['s] sacred & profane history doth
mightily confirm my faith herein. The Scripture informs me
of the miracles wrought by our Lord and his Apostles and
other histories corroborates their testimony. Josephus
relates that there appeared such a person as Jesus who was
much famed for his miracles, and seems to doubt the
propriety of calling him a mere man on that account.
This I take to be a collateral evidence at least of the
Divinity of our Lord and if that truth is established upon
undeniable premises, all the rest must of necessity be true
likewise. With such like reasonings I am greatly
strengthened in my faith. But this would be insufficient
were it not for the internal evidence of the Spirit of God
which tears down all opposition. This spirit opens and
applies the scripture to my soul, and makes me feel the necessity of
the merits of Jesus to wash away my pollution. However harsh
it may seem I conceive all unconverted sinners to be
Athiests, not
professedly, but practically. They deny in practice (and
most of them in principal) the very essence of Christianity
by rejecting the most convincing evidence which can be
adduced in favour of the authenticity of the
points of Revelation. If
there is no such thing as our being assured of the favour of
God, then scripture is false and our Lord and his Apostles
are found false witnesses before God. Now
my experience teaches me that we may obtain and retain the
assurance of God's favour. Scriptures teaches the same.
Reason teaches the same. For it would be unreasonable for
God to threaten us with Eternal Vengeance for not obtaining
his favour, and yet never let us know when we had that
favour. Hence then those who deny such knowledge to be
attainable on Earth deny the truth of scripture, and of
consequence the authority of our Lord and his Apostles, and
all who preach the truth as it is [since the time of] Jesus are found
false witnesses before God until this day. I believe there is
a possibility of deceiving ourselves herein, but if the
above arguments be fast there is such a thing as coming to a
certainty. If so we know when we obtain that certainty, and
such cannot be deceived. So then those who always
doubt of their acceptance with God cannot be right. I say
always for the best may doubt at sometimes,
but if they are faithful they shall not be held in suspense
long, for he that shall come, will come and will not tarry
and will bring his perfect reward with him, with a divine
conviction or evidence of his perfume to the soul. Faith is
the medium through which this blessing is conveyed. Now a
man cannot believe a thing which he knows nothing of. He
might inform his Judgement then of what is contained in the
sacred cannon [canon] according to the
best evidence he can collect. Then secondly he must examine
his heart to see if he has an experience of those things
contained in God's book. If he finds himself wanting he must
set himself carefully to seeking to the author of all
good things. If he is a rational being he will force his
reason (I mean contrary to his corrupt
inclination) to submit to evidence, and, as the
Kingdom of heaven suffereth
violence, he also must do violence to his evil passions, and
according to the evidence forced upon his Judgement place his faith
and force his passions to submit. If any man take this
method and, I think, he will not long remain in doubt
concerning the right way to happiness.
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