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Grace,
Faith, Sanctification and Perfection in Wesleyan Theology |
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for Prof. Hal Knight How does Wesley relate grace, faith, repentance, and works in Ephesians 2:1-9 (especially v. 8-9)? Ephesians 2:1-9 (KJV) And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: {2} Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: {3} Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. {4} But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, {5} Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) {6} And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: {7} That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. {8} For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: {9} Not of works, lest any man should boast. Wesley's bold interpretation of this passage, as preached in his first published sermon "Salvation By Faith," was termed his "new gospel." It comes on the heels of his Aldersgate experience. Such teaching of grace, faith, and salvation caused great controversy, and Wesley's banishment from a number of London churches. Grace is God's free and undeserved favor (Wesley), through which the first man was created - by which the image of God was instilled. Though this image was lost through disobedience, God's grace has since been found in abundance in this world, bestowing gifts on humanity. Any righteousness or worthiness that humanity might seem to have in its own right is actually the gift of God through grace. Such general righteousness may cause one to do what is right, but will never be sufficient to bring reconciliation with God. Since humanity is inherently, totally depraved and unworthy (inherently is the key word here [2:3b]), and is now (since Adam) found lacking that "image of God" which was "impressed" on the first man, a miserable sinner may only find reconciliation by way of the gift of God - grace. Though the world of the sinner is ruled by the prince and power of the air - the devil - who also works great wonders of sin in his/her disobedient brothers and sisters (2:2), there is a light which shines within such darkness (Isa 9:2), perceived by as many as are called (Matt 20:16), and all are called and must choose (Matt 9:13). Thy sovereign grace to all extends, Though universally available, this gift is not so freely bestowed as to be universally rendered, or "irresistible." Humankind may only receive the grace of reconciliation through a condition - that is, faith; not blind faith, or even applied faith, but specific faith in Christ, even "God through Christ." This faith is not assent to a creed, or simple acknowledgment of the accomplishments of Christ; rather, it is a "full reliance on the blood of Christ," a confident trust in Christ's deeds and merits, a blossoming assurance that Christ is given for the sinner, and thus will abide with the sinner. It means a changing of the mind, a conscientious turning away from "the course of this world (2:2a)" - it means a sinner must repent. This is the command of the one who saves: "Bring forth fruits worthy of repentance...(Luke 3:7b)." By no means can one be acceptable to God through any other source, condition, knowledge, or formula; One's personal abilities, goodness, or accomplishments are "as filthy rags (Is 64:6)" compared to the merit obtainable by God's own prescribed course of rescue. Thus grace is the source of atonement (reconciliation); faith is the condition - the fruit of faith is repentance. What is so fearful a fate that one might need rescue? Wesley would surely quote Christ in answer to this question: "O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come (Luke 3:7b)?" This speaks to the wrath of God, which those who are "saved" are rescued from. Such wrath will descend on those who are yet "dead in sins (2:5):" those unfortunates who are without faith in Christ, but bound up by the strong chain of guilt and blinded by the blanket of spiritual insecurity that are the fruits of sin. Furthermore, one is rescued from the remembrance of unloving acts of the past, and delivered from the iniquities of the present and future. One is rescued from wrath, saved from past deeds, and delivered up from present and future bondage. Specifically, one is saved from ungodly habitual behaviors, premeditated immorality, unwelcome desires of the body, and "infirmities" (inherent predisposition to un-Christlike behaviors, so I understand). In being saved from sin, one is saved to freedom. Indeed, one who has thus accepted the gracious gift of God through faith in God through Christ, and has repented from a life of sin and "dead works," that one no longer sins at all, nor is bound up by the guilt associated with inherently incorrect and regrettable behavior, nor cursed by the disobedience of Adam, nor is subject to the "Gehenna of fire" promised the unfaithful. Being saved, one is also "justified" before God; that is, made just or righteous before God through faith so that "with a true heart in full assurance of faith (Heb 10:22)," one might stand before God having experienced deliverance from sin, and having Christ "formed in heart." With the same assurance that fuels the new-born babe to cry out loudly at the surprise of the doctor's spanking, the babe in Christ who is "born again of the Spirit" may affirm his/her existence by crying out, "eternal life!" just as Bunyan's Christian cried as he flew from the City of Destruction. The babe in Christ longs for the "milk of the word," increasing faith, unceasing grace, until he/she is no longer a babe, but a perfect, mature, and fulfilled spirit-adam, unrecognizable from Christ himself. Having been redeemed by Christ, one might surely say that they have been brought to life from death; and not just life, but a life victorious in Christ, seated in heavenly places with him now ("though this world with devils is filled [Luther]"), and "unto the ages of the ages" (2:6). For, through death, Christ has conquered death, and the saint (once sinner) has likewise conquered death through him, and will partake of innumerable blessings in this life and throughout eternity. This seems to the finite mind a most incredible fiction. For in order to fulfill verse 9, it must be beyond all human ability, knowledge, and genius. Indeed, this miracle of salvation is from the invisible God, "not out of (a person's) deeds, so that nobody may boast of their own ability, wisdom, or power." This is not even accomplished through God's deeds, though God may be all-powerful. It is accomplished through Love, and her twin sisters, Kindness and Mercy, and through nothing else. Jesu, thou art all compassion, How has the understanding of sanctification changed from Wesley through the early holiness movement? What continuities do you see? How do you evaluate these changes? Sanctification in the Wesleyan sense can be well demonstrated in Charles Wesley's "God of All Power and Truth and Grace," verses 3-5: 3. Purge me from every evil blot; 4. Give me a new, a perfect heart, 5. O that I now from sin released, The seeker of sanctification cries out for mercy to God, knowing that he/she can by no means purge the soul. These deemed as sins and imperfections include the act of worshipping anything or anyone else but God (idols), thoughts that would provoke sin and guilt, and self-esteem. The first means of sanctification is the installation of a new heart (Ezek 36:26) as a gift of God. With the new heart comes the beginning of freedom from the manifestations of sin, which are doubt, fear, and the sorrow experienced from these two. The heart is perfected, and the intellect follows: the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16), a desirable gift, is imparted through time; this is the second means of sanctification. The cleaving of the spirits was spoken of by the prophet ("...a new spirit...my spirit [Ezek 36:26a, 27a]), and equated by the Wesleys with the Baptism of the Holy Ghost (Matt 3:11), and described in entirety and at timely completion as the act of "'full sanctification' as a 'second grace' by which believers are being made perfect, not only with 'holiness begun but finished holiness' [New Dictionary of Theology, p 615]." The seeker cries "O!" at the initial bestowal of the gift, as promised by "thy word," which in this case is the Holy Scripture and the Son of God (Acts 1:8). The promised rest is the rest of holiness, the Sabbath left for the believer (Heb 4:9-10). It is here typified as Canaan, the promised land; for Wesleyan sanctification is the promised rest, and the place of perfection and proximity to God's fullest expression of love. Having taken a page to define Wesleyan sanctification through a hymn, I will make it now cut and dried through my class notes: Sanctification, according to Wesley, was a gradual process of growth beginning with the new birth in which one might grow in love for God and neighbor. Actions deemed sinful were avoided. In fact, as I wrote in the previous question, one no longer sins at all. Although inward sin does remain in the flesh, in does not reign in the members. One who is sanctified acknowledges his/her propensity to "backslide," therefore he/she is continually working at holiness, partaking of the means of grace, and living in a mode of repentance and humility before God. Sanctification, when it has come to full fruition (in the course of time), brings forth "entire sanctification;" that is, perfect love, full redemption from the power of sin, and full salvation from the wrath to come. In addition, one is freed from the tendency to sin (the root of sin) - the image of God, dead in Adam, is restored - and love is perfected, not only for God, but neighbor. This perfect life, this "Christian Perfection," was thought by Wesley to come finally near the end of the pilgrim's life-long devotion, though Wesley left the possibility open an earlier perfection, God willing it. This is not to say that the perfected could not fall again to imperfection -they could indeed, and did. Nevertheless, there could be restitution through aesthetics, prayer, and self-mortification. From this first Wesleyan definition sprang, over the next hundred or so years, a panoply of sanctification teachings. Certain Methodists led by Maxfield and Bell formed what was almost a messianic sect within the church, teaching that perfection was a once-and-for-all experience, and that the perfect were indeed perfect; no further spiritual growth could take place. Furthermore, only the perfected could teach. The words of such were as scripture - even of a higher authority than scripture - since the teaching of the perfected came directly from the Holy Ghost. I believe that the most important aspects of this teaching include (1) the receipt of the gift by faith alone - name and claim - and (2) evidences of the gift include epiphanies and ecstasies. Both of these aspects we find later on. Since the perfect could neither backslide nor grow, there was no longer a need for sacraments or pietism. This sect flourished in Wesley's lifetime (c. 1762). His answer to it was that they exhibited "littleness of love, impatience of contradiction, elevation of visions over love." Wesley's "successor," John Fletcher, deviated from Wesley's teaching that sanctification began at the new birth. (Wesley taught that all received the Holy Ghost [baptism] at the time of the new birth.) Rather, Fletcher taught that one might be sanctified at once some time after the new birth, through the baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire as described by John the Baptist in Matt 3:11. This was indeed a second recognizable work of grace. Although one might receive many infillings, entire sanctification came instantly and perhaps unexpectedly. By and large, there was a loss of interest in the doctrine of sanctification in the first two decades of the 19th century (due to affluence and frontier exploration). But by 1826, Adam Clark, through his extraordinary commentary on the scripture, rekindled interest by affirming Fletcher's viewpoint: sanctification was immediate, and not a gradual process. On the other hand, three years later, Richard Watson affirmed the more Wesleyan view that entire sanctification comes through time as the pinnacle of Christian maturity. Timothy Merritt and other theologians and scholars also displayed a new interest. But it is at this juncture where the doctrine really begins to get out of the hands of the clergy and into the hands of the laity - especially in the matter of timeliness. This is graphical demonstrated by the sisters Lankford and Palmer. Sarah Lankford, having read Wesley and The Life of Hester Rogers, began to believe that if one would believe for the gift of sanctification, it would be bestowed with no uncertainty - one would of necessity receive some sensation of assurance. "The Baptism of the Holy Ghost (sanctification) came in its fullness," she writes, as an immediate gift. Her sister, Phoebe Palmer, envious of her sister's experience, did all the things prescribed, and executed every kind of surrender, yet did not receive the physical sensation of receiving as her sister did. After years of frustration, yet knowing that she had fulfilled all those perceived requirements for sanctification, finally devised the "shorter way," consisting of three steps: (1) fully surrender all to God, (2) have faith, do not expect a sign, then having done these, (3) testify that you have received, and thus you have! Yet, though there was no "sign" for Ms. Palmer, she believed that one could loss their gift through doubt of having received (not having received by faith alone)! Moreover, Palmer's Baptism of the Holy Ghost empowered the believer not only for personal holiness, but for witnessing to people, even to the ushering in of the Kingdom of God on to the earth. An important Methodist was so far left out of the classroom lecture: William Arthur, whose book on the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, The Tongue of Fire, was so influential (1855). Arthur emphasized not personal holiness so much as this latter power of Palmer's (who actually may have got the idea from Arthur): that the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire "is the one and only source of our power.... Let but this baptism descend, and thousands of us who...have been but commonplace or weak ministers...would then become mighty. Men would wonder at us, as if we had been made anew" (p 214). Arthur also fully expected that the same manifestations recorded in Acts 2:1-4 would soon be manifest in Holy Ghost baptized believers, and that prediction came true. Charles Finney experienced the Baptism of the Holy Ghost as "a wave of electricity going through me." I understand this, for I have heard many speak of this sensation, and I have experienced it in great measure myself. The "Father of Modern Revival" taught that one might be fully sanctified only as long as one's will is obedient to God. Thus, at the onset, Finney taught that entire sanctification was not necessarily permanent. After being influenced by Wesley's Account of Christian Perfection, he changed his mind. He also equated Baptism of the Holy Ghost with Christian Perfection - one could have many re-baptisms; like stair steps one climbed from baptism to baptism, on to perfection. The Baptism of the Holy Ghost also empowered on for ministry, as in Palmer and Arthur. I consider Finney to mark the end of the "early holiness movement." I believe that, by 1914, it either fizzled out or "became converted" to something quite different. Although there is a remnant of it in contemporary Christian praxis, and lip service is given to the Wesleyan concept of entire sanctification, by and large we are in a "new dispensation." Continuities: Wesley surely rediscovered this doctrine. That rediscovery, and the renewal of it, is in itself the main consistency through the first 100 years, and even to now. Sanctification and/or Baptism of the Holy Ghost is the power of ascension, as per our scripture above - in all cases - in one way or another or both ways. Through this lost (for ages) gift, one may indeed be "seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Discontinuities: (1) Is sanctification (entire) immediate or gradual? (2) Is sanctification to be equated with Holy Ghost baptism? (3) Is sanctification in close chronological proximity to the new birth? (4) Is there some immediate evidence? It is the nature of people to codify experience. Each of the early reformers we mention here codified their experiences to the exclusion of others who had experienced this power in different ways. There were probably hundreds more. As the experience spread, so did the "experiences," so did the writings on stones. I will probably deal with such codification in my paper; this has always fascinated me. Now we have perhaps 250,000 charismatic/Pentecostals claiming experiences and codifying them. Yet I believe that the charismatic movement is the direct descendant of Wesley's experience of entire sanctification - and a very good development in this present Kingdom of God. True charismatics in every religious sphere are trying hard not to be "hard-coded Pentecostals," but to allow God to do what it will with it's dear ones. Plug in the Christmas lights and see many different
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