OUR CHURCH AND OTHERS

OUR CHURCH AND OTHERS

2003

LESSON ELEVEN

I. Introduction

A. Five Points of Calvinism

1. Total depravity.

2. Unconditional election.

3. Limited atonement.

4. Irresistible grace.

5. Perseverance of the saints

B. Arminian’s Remonstrance

1. Predestinated those He foresaw.

2. Atonement for all men.

3. Man’s cooperation in his conversion.

4. Man may resist divine grace.

5. Man may fall from divine grace.

C. Scripture

1. Agrees with nos. 2, 4, 5.

2. Disagrees with nos. 1 and 3.

D. Wesley’s

1. Formal principle.

a. Scripture.

b. Reason.

c. Teachings of the ancient church.

d. “Subjective experience”.

2. Material principle

a. The “perfected” man.

b. Heart of Wesley’s theology best discussed under four points.

II. Heart of Wesley’s Theology – 4 points.

A. Universal salvation.

1. Has wider meaning than in original Arminian setting.

2. Arminianism used primarily to refute “limited atonement”.

3. Wesley:

a. Salvation not only procured for all.

b. Also actually offered to all.

c. Regardless of whether or not they hear the Gospel.

4. Wesley taught a threefold kingdom of God (like Origen, ca 185-254)

a. Father’s kingdom.

(1) Embraces all men.

(2) People guided by light of reason.

(3) People judged solely by use made of opportunities.

b. Son’s kingdom.

(1) The standard of judgment is the Gospel.

c. Spirit’s kingdom.

(1) Restricted to those who have had an “experiential knowledge” of Christ.

(2) Of these, God expects that they become sanctified or perfected believers.

5. From “threefold” kingdom, Wesley taught.

a. God never expects more of man than that he live according to measure of light given to him.

b. Therefore, per Wesley, even the heathen will be saved, with no knowledge of Christ, if they do as much as their natural knowledge permits them to do.

c. Makes “universal salvation” tantamount to “universal opportunity”.

6. Discussion Point:

a. Jn 8:24.

b. Ac 4:12.

c. 1Co 3:11.

B. Free Salvation.

1. Calvinistic overemphasis of God’s sovereignty foreign to Wesley.

2. Wesley found God’s goodness reflected everywhere in creation.

a. Particularly in man.

b. To Wesley, man still bears the image of his Maker.

c. And God still deigns to dwell in man.

d. Wesley emphasized the sovereignty and dignity of man.

e. Fallen man not totally dead in trespasses and sin.

3. Image of God to Wesley.

a. Image both a moral and natural endowment.

(1) Moral consisting in perfect righteousness – lost in Fall.

(2) Natural consisting in reason and free will – not lost in Fall.

b. Man’s will was weakened in the Fall.

c. Man incapable of making right choice unaided.

d. God approaches man with “prevenient grace”.

(1) No man totally devoid of this.

(2) Departure from original righteousness not truly sin and guilt.

e. Defines “sin” as a willful transgression of a known law.

4. Discussion Points

a. All sin flows out of original sin.

b. Original sin is the “capital” sin.

c. Mt 7:17 & 15:19.

d. Ro 8:6,7.

e. Jas 1:13-15.

f. (see C8 also)

C. Full Salvation

1. To Wesley, the doctrine of the perfected man “according to the stature of Christ” is the heart and core of the Gospel message.

2. He compared:

a. Repentance to the porch of a house.

b. Faith to the door of a house.

c. The house itself is Christian perfection.

3. He held that pure love,

a. Was the essence of perfection.

b. Was attainable, if not sooner, at least in the instant of death.

c. Wesley’s views on this point are very vague.

4. To Wesley, Christian perfection is both

a. An instantaneous act – the exact moment of which must be known.

b. And a progressive development.

5. He believed a regulated way of life is indispensable for attainment of Christian perfection.

a. He prescribed the “discipline” in every phase of life.

b. Held that religion must be a ruling habit of the soul.

c. To achieve the habit:

(1) Introduced the class system.

(2) Divided members into probationary and full members.

6. His teaching of “full salvation” paved the way for:

a. The Holiness churches.

b. Pentecostal churches.

7. Unclear as to whether Wesley believed that sin is

a. Merely suppressed or

b. Eradicated.

8. Discussion Points

a. In this life, we remain both just and sinful.

b. Constant conflict between “new” and “old” man.

c. Ro 7:14-25.

D. Sure Salvation

1. Based assurance of salvation on the inner witness of the spirit, a twofold witness.

a. That of God’s Spirit, which is objective and comes first.

b. And, man’s own spirit, which is immediate and a result of Spirit’s direct witness.

2. In final analysis, he rested his faith on his faith, a highly subjective procedure.

a. Lutheran: sinner directed to the objective and certain promises of God as the only basis of assurance.

b. Calvinism: assurance based on God’s unconditional decree and the elect’s perseverance in grace.

3. In effect, salvation must be felt.

a. Later contributed to emotional excesses of revivalism.

b. Though, he warned against excesses of going to point of nervous and physical collapse, then to state of ecstasy.

III. Arminian Characteristics

A. Latitudinarianism (from consuming interest in doctrine of perfection)

Definition of Latitudinarianism: It is a professed indifference to supposedly insignificant matters disputed between others; stressing Christian fundamentals rather than any professed ecclesiastical systems; tolerant toward dissenters [Lutheran Cyclopedia, p. 460]

B. Legalism

C. Emotional and “Enthusiasm”

a. Wesley denied regenerative power of means of grace.

b. Man able to attain mystic union with God without sacramental regeneration.

D. Social Consciousness

IV. Methodist church bodies

A. Have been severely affected by modern religious liberalism.

1. Religious experience as the standard.

2. In man, forces for good are stronger than for evil.

3. Responsibility to transform all social institutions.

4. Conservative Methodists resisting inroads to modernism.

B. Methodist discipline really applies no doctrinal test to its clergy.

C. Yet, Methodist polity grants almost unlimited powers to the episcopacy in dealing with dissenting members.

D. In recent years, has emphasized need for formal theological training of its ministers and a reaction against coarse liberalism.

E. Whole-hearted support of the social gospel.

F. Discussion Points

1. Mt 6:33.

2. Mt 28:18-20.

V. The Holiness Bodies

A. Those originating in Holiness Movement shortly after Civil War.

1. Profess loyalty to Wesley’s doctrine of the “perfected” man.

2. And those that hold that ordinarily the New Testament Baptism of the Spirit is accompanied by speaking in other tongues.

3. Roughly distinguished as perfectionist and Pentecostal bodies.

B. Distinctive Characteristics

1. Literalism: ignoring some of the simple principles of Biblical interpretation (e.g. literary forms).

2. Legalism.

3. Emotionalism.

C. Distinctive Doctrines

1. “Entire sanctification”.

a. Admit that it is only a relative experience.

b. An instantaneous experience.

c. Distinct from and subsequent to conversion and regeneration.

2. Baptism with the Holy Ghost and fire.

3. Pentecostals add.

a. Baptism with the Holy Ghost manifest in the Pentecostal signs and at least in speaking in an unknown tongue.

b. Christ’s provision for healing also of the body.

c. Many are premillennialists.

D. The Perfectionist Bodies include.

1. The Christian and Missionary Alliance.

2. The Church of the Nazarene.

E. The Pentecostal Churches, include

1. Most are members of the Pentecostal Fellowship of North America.

2. The General Council of the Assemblies of God, largest Pentecostal body.

3. The Churches of God.

4. Unitarian Pentecostals, who baptize in name of Jesus only on basis that the names of Father, Son and Holy Spirit are names of the Lord Jesus Christ.

5. The Evangelistic Associations (are only associations of congregations or individual members).

6. African-American Pentecostal Bodies

F. The Evangelical United Brethren Church.

G. The Salvation Army

H. Scandinavian Bodies

1. Evangelical Covenant Church of America.

2. Evangelical Free Church of America.