Nathan Goldbloom
Seattle Pacific University
Theo 6402
1-27-11
Wesley Theology Paper:
It is fitting to convey John Wesley’s theology through the same medium he would, preaching. To translate these concepts for the modern audience through a sermon series will take a many considerations. The scope of the series needs to be narrowed to four of Wesley’s main theological points. I have chosen those that would take the congregation through the journey from the fallen sinful image back home to God. To do this I will stress assurance, justification, and sanctification.
I have added a rejected theological point of Wesley’s because of the current cultural emphasis. My local congregation has taken on the individualistic culture and returned unconsciously to need to earn salvation. This results from the focus our work and the modern self.[1] Works righteousness and assent to doctrine of the Church of England that Wesley adopts early on will be the focus of the first sermon in the series.
The fourth sermon, about assurance and prevenient grace, will function as a capstone sermon. This will allow for review the pervious topics and theological concepts. While assurance and grace will be present in previous sermons they will not be featured until the final sermon. The foundation provided in the first three sermons will aid in exploring these abstract concepts within the context of the established journey home to God and Wesley’s life.
The other reason for this decision is that the first sermon, sanctification leading to justification, is a theological position that Wesley ultimately rejects. This rejected theological idea will need to be separated out to stress this point. This also keeps Wesley’s life in chronological order making it easier for the congregation to follow.
All of the sermons will be tied to stories of Wesley’s life, and biblical stories, to tangibly illuminate the abstract topics. In each section of this paper I will explain what will be preached and flush out the theological concepts pertaining to that sermon.
Sermon 1: “Early Wesley and works righteousness”
In the first sermon, based on the Church of England theology that Wesley early on adopted, I will take a brief historical look at the Anglican views and Wesley’s upbringing. This will lead into the main thrust of the sermon dealing with what it means for us when we adopt the view righteousness leading to justification.
The Church of England had gone through a switch of identity several times as different kings and queens took over. With the Monarch as the head of the church, the beliefs of the church swung as a pendulum from Roman Catholic to a protestant view. The most influential protestant views that permeated England were a puritan view that stressed Calvinist views and pietism which stressed Lutheran views, especially sola scriptura.[2]
As time went on the church settled on a catholic leaning view of Archbishop William Laud.[3] Laud agrees with protestant views of salvation by faith, but he defines faith as an assent to correct doctrine and doing good deeds. [4]
In essence, we are not right with God. To become justified, or pardoned, in God’s sight we must become holy through good deeds and right doctrine. To better grasp this form of righteousness we can think of ourselves as empty vessels. The good deeds that are done will infuse our soul with righteousness, or fill up our vessel.[5] At the end of our life, if our vessel is full then we can be with God. The second half of this view is the right doctrine, which is viewed as: The Book of Common Prayer, 39 Articles of faith, and Book of Homilies.[6]
This is the doctrine that John Wesley adopts early on in life. This comes out in his journal writings and sermons, when he stresses our work in becoming renewed. “Let us then labour to be made perfectly whole.”[7] John Wesley is trying to live this out as he helps create a group called the Methodists. The group is so methodical at how they strive to earn their salvation through good deeds like (List prison, school, ect) and spiritual acts like prayer, scripture study, and fasting.[8]
Sermon 2: “Aldersgate and Justification”
The second sermon will focus on justification. The sermon will begin with an introduction of Moravians and the struggles Wesley had with works righteousness. This will allow for a recap and avenue to the Aldersgate experience to discuss justification. Through this discussion we will touch on the new birth, although for the current culture this language will be adjusted as I will not have to time to redefine the term Wesley uses.
As Wesley struggled with the Anglican view of salvation, he met a group of Moravians on a ship to America. This leads to two mentors that help Wesley ask a few very difficult questions like: is Jesus Christ your savior? Wesley notes in his journal after answer yes that he “’Do you know Jesus Christ?’...I said ‘I do.’ But I fear they were vain words”.[9] Wesley had yet to take ownership of his own faith. Peter Bohler then helps to guide Wesley as he begins to redefine his view on faith in four key areas: what faith is, the fruits of faith, faith can happen instantaneous, and the importance of mutual confession.[10] These shifts lead Wesley to experience justification at Aldersgate. In Wesley’s own detailed account we see several of these theological shifts present.
"About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation: And an assurance was given me, that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death."[11]
We see in the excerpt what will become the hallmarks of the Wesleyan view of justification. First is the instantaneous nature of justification is demonstrated since Wesley knew the time. Secondly, it happens in community, which would later be true for many others as a part of the Methodist societies. [12] The majority of the passage also shows of Wesley not doing the work. No longer was he working to his own salvation, but God had given it to him because of one simple thing, faith in Jesus. “What God does for us through his Son.”[13] The third piece is that Wesley was given the assurance he desired. He knew that God had personally justified him and covered him with grace. Finally, Wesley enters the gate way to sanctification as he experiences the new birth. “And at that same time that we are justified, yea, in that very moment, sanctification begins.”[14] We see this as he is strangely warmed.
Sermon 3: “Life and Sanctification”
Sanctification will be the focus of the third sermon as the congregation continues to follow the journey to renew the Imago Dei. To review the previous sermons we will utilize the journey that Wesley proposes we are all on. Beginning with the goodness we are created in, followed by the fallen state and the image of sin that we take. Then we will recap the repentance, justification, and new birth that is experienced as we journey towards home with God. We will pick up at this point Wesley’s understanding of sanctification and perfection.
The journey we find ourselves on is a dynamic journey that is made possible by God. Through God’s work we have been justified. This is what God does for us. Once justified, we become a new creation that the Holy Spirit enters and begins the work of purifying us. This is what God does in us. “We are inwardly renewed by the power of God.”[15] Purifying us is not necessarily instantaneous, but can and often is a long gradual process. “From the time of our being ‘born again’ the gradual work of sanctification takes place.”[16]
Wesley proposes we strive for perfection, “love filling the heart, taking up the whole capacity of the soul.”[17] This perfection was a source of controversy as many wrongly assumed Wesley was claiming that we could be perfect in things like: knowledge, infirmities, temptation, and never make a mistake.[18] “Indeed, it is only another term for holiness.”[19] Wesley is urging us to trust that God will fulfill the promise that is made to us by the work of the Spirit in us.
Tangibly, this will be holy and loving actions flowing from the love that we have for Christ and the Spirit in us. “But what good works are those, the practice of which you affirm to be necessary to sanctification? First, all works of piety…Secondly, all works of mercy.”[20] What springs forth will be the means of grace: acts of piety and acts of mercy. Through these means we are able to get entire sanctification. This is not an end point, but giving all that we know of ourselves to all that we know of God.[21] Our understandings of both will change over the days and years, but the goal will remain the same. In this sense there are no degrees of sanctification, only the need for continual increase.
Sermon 4: “Assurance and Grace”
The final sermon in the series will tie all the previous three sermons together through discussion on assurance and grace. Beginning with the assurance Wesley desired and why works righteousness did not provide him with assurance. Then I will discuss how he personally experienced the assurance given at Aldersgate. It is at this point that the stress becomes prevenient grace given to all. We will then shift to see how this assurance played out in the rest of his life. This progression will review, reinforce, and move forward with new theological understanding.
For Wesley to receive assurance that his sins were forgiven, he was dependent on what we would call Prevenient Grace. This is the grace that comes from God loving us first, so we are able to love God. Prevenient grace differs from irresistible grace, proposed by Calvin, because we are able to reject the gift of grace from God. It is important to note that this gift is offered to all humanity and not based on any merit. [22]
Wesley wanted to know that he was pardoned for his sins. As he worked tirelessly at making himself holy, he lacked the assurance that God had pardoned him and that he had was a “Child of God”. This assurance comes from the witness of the Holy Spirit directly to us. “The testimony of the Spirit is an inward impression on the soul, whereby the Spirit of God directly ‘witness to my spirit that I am a child of God.”[23] Wesley often summaries what the spirit testifies with the words of Thomas Cranmer that he has personalized; “It is a sure confidence which a man hath in God, that through the merits of Christ his sins are forgiven and he reconciled to the favor of God.”[24] It is then that we have received the spirit of adoption and know that we are in fact a child of God.[25]
Following this our own Spirit would testify to what God has done for us. Wesley often pointed at these “marks” as a way to know we are a true Christian. The main marks of this are joy, love, and peace.[26] Through these fruits we will be able to love God and neighbor. The work was no longer Wesley, or us, but the Spirit producing fruit in and through us. Our assurance then comes each day and moment when we experience this and ask “are we as close to Christ today as we can be?”[27] The journey is then dynamic and always changing. We are free to turn back at any moment or to continue home to God, resting in the assurance given.
Bibliography:
Christian, Charles. “Mentor Meeting.” Seattle Pacific University. Mosaic Café. February 10, 2011.
Collins, Kenneth J. The Theology of John Wesley: Holy Love and the Shape of Grace. (Nashville: Abingdon Press. 2007)
Ed. Outler, Albert C., Heitzenrater, Richard P. John Wesley’s Sermons: An Anthology. (Nashville: Abingdon Press. 1991)
Heitzenrater, Richard P. Wesley and the People Called Methodists. (Nashville: Abingdon Press. 1995)
Strong, Doug. “Wesley Lecture” Seattle Pacific University. Crawford Music Building. January 14, 2011.
Strong, Doug. “Wesley Lecture” Seattle Pacific University. Crawford Music Building. January 15, 2011.
Strong, Doug. “Wesley Lecture” Seattle Pacific University. Crawford Music Building. January 28, 2011.
Strong, Doug. “Wesley Lecture” Seattle Pacific University. Crawford Music Building. January 29, 2011.
Wesley, John. The Works of John Wesley: Vol 1-2. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books. 2007)
William Laud, Thomas Carwell, Edward Stillingfleet. “A rational account of the grounds of Protestant religion: being a vindication of the Lord Archbishop of Caterbury’s relation and conference, &c. from the pretened answer by T.C.” Vol. 3. (R. White. 1665) http://books.google.com/books?id=umlKAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA468&lpg=PA468&dq=william+laud+%22a+rational+account%22+citation&source=bl&ots=Mq9R3KDolV&sig=ksulkET6XUe60RET_GAFIVb1v5s&hl=en&ei=wzNTTdGLOI3AsAPuxom0Dg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&sqi=2&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false (Accessed February 24, 2011)
[1] Darrell L. Guder, Editor. Missional Church: A Vision for the Sending of the Church in North America (Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eedmans Publishing Company, 1998), 25-31.
[2] Richard P. Heitzenrater. Wesley and the People Called Methodists. (Nashville: Abingdon Press. 1995), 8, 19.
[3] Doug Strong, “Wesley Lecture” (Seattle Pacific University. Crawford Music Building. January 14, 2011)
[4] William Laud, Thomas Carwell, Edward Stillingfleet. Arational account of the grounds of Protestant religion: being a vindication of the Lord Archbishop of Caterbury’s relation and conference, &c. from the pretened answer by. Vol. 3. (R. White. 1665) 532.
[5] Doug Strong, “Wesley Lecture” (Seattle Pacific University. Crawford Music Building. January 15, 2011)
[6] Doug Strong, “Wesley Lecture” (Seattle Pacific University. Crawford Music Building. January 14, 2011)
[7]Ed. Albert C Outler, Richard P. Heitzenrater, John Wesley’s Sermons: An Anthology. (Nashville: Abingdon Press. 1991), 38.
[8] Richard P. Heitzenrater. Wesley and the People Called Methodists. (Nashville: Abingdon Press. 1995), 43-45.
[9] John Wesley. The Works of John Wesley: Vol 1-2. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books. 2007), 23.
[10] Doug Strong, “Wesley Lecture” (Seattle Pacific University. Crawford Music Building. January 28, 2011)
[11] John Wesley. The Works of John Wesley: Vol 1-2. (Grand Rapids: Baker Books. 2007), 103.
[12] Doug Strong, “Wesley Lecture” (Seattle Pacific University. Crawford Music Building. January 28, 2011)
[13] Ed. Albert C Outler, Richard P. Heitzenrater, John Wesley’s Sermons: An Anthology. (Nashville: Abingdon Press. 1991), 114.
[14]Ibid., 373.
[15]Ed. Albert C Outler, Richard P. Heitzenrater, John Wesley’s Sermons: An Anthology. (Nashville: Abingdon Press. 1991), 373.
[16] Ibid., 374.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Ibid., 73.
[19] Ibid.
[20] Ibid., 378.
[21] Doug Strong, “Wesley Lecture” (Seattle Pacific University. Crawford Music Building. January 29, 2011)
[22] Kenneth J. Collins. The Theology of John Wesley: Holy Love and the Shape of Grace. (Nashville: Abingdon Press. 2007), 74.
[23] Ed. Albert C Outler, Richard P. Heitzenrater, John Wesley’s Sermons: An Anthology. (Nashville: Abingdon Press. 1991), 149.
[24] Ibid., 42.
[25] Ibid., 43.
[26] Ibid., 154.
[27] Charles Christian. “Mentor Meeting.” (Seattle Pacific University. Mosaic Café. February 10, 2011).
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