“Were I to conclude these strictures upon the dangerous tenets, inadvertently advanced and happily contradicted, in ‘The Christian World Unmasked,’ without professing my brotherly love and sincere respect for the ingenious and pious author, I should wrong him, myself, and the cause which I defend. I only do him justice when I say that few, very few, of our elders equal him in devotedness to Christ, zeal, diligence, and ministerial success. His indefatigable labours in the word and doctrine entitle him to a double share of honour; and I invite all my readers to esteem him highly in love for his Master’s and his work’s sake; entreating them not to undervalue his vital piety on account of his Antinomian opinions; and beseeching them to consider that his errors are so much the more excusable as they do not influence his moral conduct, and that he refutes them himself far more than his favourite scheme of doctrine allows him to do. Add to this that those very errors spring, in a great degree, from the idea that he honours Christ by receiving, and does God service by propagating them.
“The desire of catching the attention of his readers has made him choose a witty, facetious manner of writing, for which he has a peculiar turn; and the necessity I am under of standing his indirect attack[[299]] obliges me to meet him upon his own ground, and to encounter him with his own weapons. I beg that what passes for evangelical humour in him may not be called indecent levity in me. A sharp pen may be guided by a kind heart; and such, I am persuaded, is that of my much-esteemed antagonist, whom I publicly invite to my pulpit; protesting that I should be edified and overjoyed to hear him enforce there the guarded substance of his book, which, notwithstanding the vein of solifidianism I have taken the liberty to open, contains many great and glorious truths.”
In all his publications, Fletcher had not only Wesley’s approval, but his high commendation. In three several letters, written during the present year, 1774, Wesley thus expressed his opinion of Fletcher:—
“March 1, 1774.—He” [James Perfect], “preaches salvation by faith in the same manner that my brother and I have done; and as Mr. Fletcher (one of the finest writers of the age) has beautifully explained it. None of us talk of being accepted for our works; that is the Calvinist slander. But we all maintain we are not saved without works; that works are a condition (though not the meritorious cause) of final salvation. It is by faith in the righteousness and blood of Christ that we are enabled to do all good works; and it is for the sake of these that all who fear God and work righteousness are accepted of Him.”[[300]]
“May 2, 1774. Until Mr.” (Richard) “Hill and his associates puzzled the cause, it was as plain as plain could be. The Methodists always held, and have declared a thousand times, that the death of Christ is the meritorious cause of our salvation, that is, of pardon, holiness, and glory; loving, obedient faith is the condition of glory. This Mr. Fletcher has so illustrated and confirmed, as, I think, scarcely any one has done before since the Apostles.”[[301]]
“December 28, 1774. If we could once bring all our preachers, itinerant and local, uniformly and steadily to insist on those two points, ‘Christ dying for us,’ and ‘Christ reigning in us,’ we should shake the trembling gates of hell. I think most of them are now exceeding clear herein, and the rest come nearer and nearer; especially since they have read Mr. Fletcher’s ‘Checks,’ which have removed many difficulties out of the way.”[[302]]
Such was one of the services which Fletcher, “one of the finest writers of the age,” had rendered to Wesley’s preachers and people as early as the year 1774. They had been in danger of departing from the truth, or, at least, stumbling at it: by Fletcher’s help, they were confirmed in the Christian faith, and henceforth earnestly contended for it.
As already seen, in 1773 Mr. Richard Hill had extended to Fletcher the olive branch of peace; and now the Countess of Huntingdon seems to have done the same. Three years before, she had virtually dismissed him from her Calvinistic College at Trevecca, because he would not renounce what were called the “horrible and abominable” doctrinal “Minutes” of Wesley’s Conference in 1770. Since then, he had been incessantly employed in explaining and defending these “Minutes;” and, in every instance, had vanquished his opponents. Her ladyship, with her strong-mindedness, seemed to perceive this, and wished to have an interview with her disbanded president. She was staying at Bath, and through James Ireland, Esq., of Bristol, the intimate friend of both, her wish appears to have been conveyed to Fletcher; who, in reply, wrote to Mr. Ireland as follows:—
“Madeley, February 6, 1774.
“My Dear Friend,—In the present circumstances, it was a great piece of condescension in dear Lady Huntingdon to be willing to see me privately: but for her to permit me to wait upon her openly denotes such generosity, such courage, and a mind so much superior to the narrowness that clogs the charity of most professors, that it would have amazed me, if everything that is noble and magnanimous were not to be expected from her ladyship. It is well for her that spirits are imprisoned in flesh and blood, or I might by this time (and it is but an hour since I received your letter) have troubled her ten times with my apparition, to wish her joy of being above the dangerous snare of professors—the smiles and frowns of the religious world; and to thank her a thousand times for not being ashamed of her old servant, and for cordially forgiving him all that is past, upon the score of the Lord’s love, and of my honest meaning.