WesleyGospel Ministries

I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet,
and that I will not take any thing that is thine,
lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich.
–Genesis 14:23 (KJV)–

If anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.
–Matthew 10:42 (NIV)–

I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
–Jesus in John 14:6 (KJV)–

The devil that deceived them
was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone,
where the beast and the false prophet are,
and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
–Revelation 20:10 (KJV)–

Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging:
and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
–Proverbs 20:1 (KJV)–

Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts,
but rather that ye may prophesy.
–1 Corinthians 14:1 (KJV)–

Now bring me a minstrel.
And it came to pass, when the minstrel played,
that the hand of the Lord came upon him.
–2 Kings 3:15 (KJV)–

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There are people who do not accept the full Christian doctrine about Christ but who are so strongly attracted by Him that they are His in a much deeper sense than they themselves understand. There are people in other religions who are being led by God’s secret influence to concentrate on those parts of their religion which are in agreement with Christianity, and who thus belong to Christ without knowing it. For example, a Buddhist of good will may be led to concentrate more and more on the Buddhist teaching about mercy and to leave in the background (though he might still say he believed) the Buddhist teaching on certain other points. –C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, p. 178

I cannot give pederasty anything like a first place among the evils of the Coll. There is much hypocrisy on this theme. People commonly talk as if every other evil were more tolerable than this. But why? Because those of us who do not share the vice feel for it a certain nausea, as we do, say, for necrophily? I think that of very little relevance to moral judgment. –C. S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy, p. 109

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Dr. John Gerstner, Repent or Perish: With a Special Reference to the Conservative Attack on Hell (Soli Deo Gloria, 1997).

Dr. John R. Rice, The Double Curse of Booze (Sword of the Lord, 1960).

Dr. Jack Deere, Why I Am Still Surprised by the Power of the Spirit (Zondervan, 2020).

If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,¹⁰ The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:¹¹ And THE SMOKE OF THEIR TORMENT ASCENDETH UP FOR EVER AND EVER: AND THEY HAVE NO REST DAY NOR NIGHT, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.¹² Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.
–Revelation 14:9-12 (KJV)–

The devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.¹¹ And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.¹² And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.¹³ And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.¹⁴ And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. ¹⁵ And 
WHOSOEVER WAS NOT FOUND WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF LIFE
WAS CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE.
–Revelation 20:10-15 (KJV)–

The fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone:
which is the second death.   
–Revelation 21:8 (KJV)–

He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. 
–Revelation 22:11-12 (KJV)–

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John Wesley, “Letter to William Law.” Jews, Mohametans, Deists, Heathens, are all members of the Church of Christ! Should we not add devils too?…There can hardly be any doctrine under Heaven more agreeable to flesh and blood; nor any which more directly tends to prevent the very dawn of conviction…These are your arguments to prove that Christ is in every man — a blessing which St. Paul thought was peculiar to believers. He said, ‘Christ is in you except ye be reprobates,’ unbelievers (2 Cor. 13:5, KJV). You say, Christ is in you whether ye be reprobates or no. ‘If any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His,’ saith the Apostle (Romans 8:9, KJV). Yea, but ‘every man,’ saith Mr. Law, ‘hath the Spirit of God. The Spirit of Christ is in every soul’ (Spirit of Prayer, Part I. p. 63). ‘He that hath not the Son of God hath not life,’ saith St. John (1 John 5:12, KJV). But Mr. Law saith, ‘Every man hath the Son of God.’ Sleep on, then, ye sons of Belial, and take your rest; ye are all safe: for ‘he that hath the Son hath life.’

—. “Of Hell.”

Charles G. Finney, “Doubtful Actions Are Sinful.” Then the Universalist. Where is one who can say he has not so much as a doubt whether there is not a hell, where sinners go after death into endless torment. He is bound to stop and inquire, and search the Scriptures. It is not enough for him to say he does not believe in a hell. It may be there is, and if he rejects it, and goes on reckless of the truth whether there is or not, that itself makes him a rebel against God. He doubts whether there is not a hell which he ought to avoid, and yet acts as if he was certain and had no doubts. He is condemned. I once knew a physician who was a Universalist, and who has gone to eternity to try the reality of his speculations. He once told me that he had strong doubts of the truth of Universalism, and had mentioned his doubts to his minister, who confessed that he, too, doubted its truth, and he did not believe there was a Universalist in the world who did not…The hypocrite is unwilling to be enlightened, he does not wish to know the truth, because he don’t wish to obey the Lord, and so he hides behind his doubts, and turns away his eye from the light, and will not look or examine to see what his duty is, and in this way he tries to shield himself from responsibility. But God will drag them out from behind this refuge of lies, by the principle laid down in the text, that their very doubts condemn them.

—. “On Trusting In the Mercy of God.”

—. “The Wages of Sin.”

Drs. Joel Beeke and Paul Smalley, Reformed Systematic Theology: Church and the Last Things, Volume 4 (Crossway, 2024), ch. 39: “Eternal Punishment in Hell, Part 2: Objections and Applications.”

Drs. Christopher Morgan and Robert Peterson, Hell Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents Eternal Punishment (Zondervan, 2004), ch. 8: “Universalism: Will Everyone Ultimately Be Saved?” (J. I. Packer).

Dr. Robert Peterson, Hell on Trial: The Case for Eternal Punishment (P&R Publishing, 1995), ch. 8: “False Witnesses (1): Universalism.”

Dr. William G. T. Shedd, The Doctrine of Endless Punishment (Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1886), pp. 94-117. Addresses the universalists’ “Greek word translation” objection about for ever.

Dr. John R. Rice, Hell: What the Bible Says About It (Sword of the Lord, 1945).

Dr. John Walvoord, “The Literal View,” in Four Views on Hell (Zondervan, 1996).

Harry Buis, The Doctrine of Eternal Punishment (P&R Publishing, 1957), ch. 7: “Denials and Their Answers.”

Denny Burk, “Eternal Conscious Torment,” in Four Views on Hell (Zondervan, 2016).

And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money:
for Naboth is not alive, but dead.
–Queen Jezebel in 1 Kings 21:15 (KJV)–

Beware of false prophets,
which come to you in sheep’s clothing,
but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
–Jesus in Matthew 7:15 (KJV)–

The Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron.
–1 Timothy 4:1-2 (KJV)–

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GotQuestions, “What Is Machiavellianism?”

Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince, chs. 17-18.

C. K. Hillegass, Cliffs Notes on Machiavelli’s “The Prince”, chs. 17-18.

Many cessationist evangelicals with an anti-supernatural, if not a fully deist worldview, will counsel people to ignore what they think is the devil acting on their minds. They’ll even say things like, “We can’t see demons, because that’s from the occult. Dreams and visions are from the realm of the occult. Just read the Bible, ignore the supernatural, and live in the realm of the intellect.” The Bible doesn’t say to IGNORE the devil through anti-supernatural deism and science, which is unbelief. It says to RESIST him after you recognize his presence (James 4:7). Big difference! What does the Word of God say? And what should you do if you have a demonic experience? The answer: JESUS! JESUS! JESUS! Just say it…even in your nightmares, say it. Works every time (Mark 16:17). To consider a deliverance ministry to be in error because they have a theology informed by spiritual experience is neither consistent nor defensible. In the Bible, every time the devil is resisted or cast out, a spiritual experience of some type is assumed. Only a confused, deistic, anti-supernatural philosophical theologian would accept a demythologized view of the devil and spiritual warfare; and think they have arrived at the truth regarding this. Spiritual warfare and deliverance are related to miraculous gifts, plain and simple (1 Cor. 12:8-10). The moment that a cessationist tries to understand this subject without the involvement of miraculous gifts, is the moment they are in error, because they have started off on the wrong foot. –J.B.

¹⁹ Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, WHY COULD WE NOT CAST HIM OUT? ²⁰ And Jesus said unto them, Because of YOUR UNBELIEF: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. ²¹ Howbeit THIS KIND GOETH NOT OUT BUT BY PRAYER AND FASTING.
–Matthew 17:19-21 (KJV)–

I SAW THREE IMPURE SPIRITS THAT LOOKED LIKE FROGS; 
they came out of THE MOUTH of the dragon, 
out of THE MOUTH of the beast 
and out of THE MOUTH of the false prophet.
–Revelation 16:13 (NIV)–

I SAW SATAN FALL LIKE LIGHTNING FROM HEAVEN.
–Jesus in Luke 10:18 (NIV)–

The woman said unto Saul,
I SAW GODS ASCENDING OUT OF THE EARTH.
–The Witch of Endor in 1 Samuel 28:13 (KJV)–

RESIST THE DEVIL AND HE WILL FLEE FROM YOU.
–James 4:7 (NIV)–

These signs will accompany those who believe:
IN MY NAME THEY WILL DRIVE OUT DEMONS; 
they will speak in new tongues.
–Jesus in Mark 16:17 (NIV)–

Whenever the spirit from God came on Saul,
DAVID WOULD TAKE UP HIS LYRE AND PLAY.
Then relief would come to Saul; he would feel better,
AND THE EVIL SPIRIT WOULD LEAVE HIM.
–1 Samuel 16:23 (NIV)–

¹⁷ Then Micaiah answered, “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd, and the Lord said, ‘These people have no master. Let each one go home in peace.’” ¹⁸ The king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, “Didn’t I tell you that he never prophesies anything good about me, but only bad?” ¹⁹ Micaiah continued, “Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I SAW THE LORD sitting on his throne with all the multitudes of heaven standing around him on his right and on his left. ²⁰ And the Lord said, ‘Who will entice Ahab into attacking Ramoth Gilead and going to his death there?’ “One suggested this, and another that. ²¹ Finally, A SPIRIT CAME FORWARD, STOOD BEFORE THE LORD and said, ‘I will entice him.’ ²² “‘By what means?’ the Lord asked. “‘I will go out and be A DECEIVING SPIRIT IN THE MOUTHS of all his prophets,’ he said. “‘You will succeed in enticing him,’ said the Lord. ‘Go and do it.’ ²³ “So now the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of all these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you.”
–1 Kings 22:17-23 (NIV)–

¹ Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. ² After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. ³ THE TEMPTER came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” ⁴ Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” ⁵ Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ⁶ “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: “‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” ⁷ Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” ⁸ Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ⁹ “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” ¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “AWAY FROM ME, SATAN! FOR IT IS WRITTEN: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” ¹¹ Then THE DEVIL LEFT HIM, and angels came and attended him.
–Matthew 4:1-11 (NIV)–

Satan himself may put on
the appearance of an angel of LIGHT.
–2 Corinthians 11:14 (Mace’s NT)–

His appearance was like LIGHTNING,
and his clothes were white as snow.
–Matthew 28:3 (NIV)–

He makes his angels WINDS
and his ministers a flame of FIRE.
–Hebrews 1:7 (ESV)–

 To another discerning of spirits.
–1 Corinthians 12:10 (KJV)–

⁶ One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. ⁷ The Lord said to Satan, “Where have you come from?” Satan answered the Lord, “From roaming throughout the earth, going back and forth on it.” ⁸ Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil.” ⁹ “Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. ¹⁰ “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. ¹¹ But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.” ¹² The Lord said to Satan, “Very well, then, everything he has is in your power, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
–Job 1:6-12 (NIV)–

Certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities,
Mary called Magdalene, OUT OF whom went SEVEN DEVILS.
–Luke 8:2 (KJV)–

Take heed, brethren,
lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief,
in departing from the living God.
–Hebrews 3:12 (KJV)–

⁹ When you enter the land the Lord your God is giving you, do not learn to imitate the detestable ways of the nations there. ¹⁰ Let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire, who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in WITCHCRAFT, ¹¹ or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. ¹² Anyone who does these things is detestable to the Lord; because of these same detestable practices the Lord your God will DRIVE OUT those nations before you. ¹³ You must be blameless before the Lord your God.
–Deuteronomy 18:9-13 (NIV)–

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Athanasius, The Life of Antony (Paulist Press, 1979).

Gabriele Amorth, An Exorcist Tells His Story (Ignatius Press, 1999).

—. An Exorcist: More Stories (Ignatius Press, 2002).

Francis MacNutt, Deliverance from Evil Spirits (Chosen Books, 2009).

Herbert Thurston, Ghosts and Poltergeists (Burns Oates, 1953), “The Exorcism of Haunted Houses.”

John Wimber, Power Healing (HarperCollins, 1987), ch. 6: “Healing the Demonized.”

Daniel Jennings, The Supernatural Occurrences of John Wesley, ch. 2.

Pope Benedict XIV, Heroic Virtue, ch. 9: “Of Discerning of Spirits.”

James Beilby, ed. Understanding Spiritual Warfare: Four Views (Baker Academic, 2012).

Walter Martin, The Kingdom of the Occult (Thomas Nelson, 2008).

Bob Larson, Larson’s Book of Spiritual Warfare (Thomas Nelson, 1999).

Graham Twelftree, Jesus the Exorcist (Hendrickson Publishers, 1993).

—. In the Name of Jesus: Exorcism Among Early Christians (Baker, 2007).

Ruth Brown, Destroying the Works of Witchcraft…Fasting and Prayer (Impact, 1994).

Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.
–1 Corinthians 16:13 (ESV)–

The principles of the doctrine of Christ…the foundation of REPENTANCE FROM DEAD WORKS, and of FAITH TOWARD GOD, of the doctrine of BAPTISMS, and of LAYING ON OF HANDS, and of RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD, and of ETERNAL JUDGMENT.
–Hebrews 6:1-2 (KJV)–