Wesleyan theology explained

Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles Wesley. More broadly it refers to the theological system inferred from the various sermons (e.g. the Forty-four Sermons),[1] theological treatises, letters, journals, diaries, hymns, and other spiritual writings of the Wesleys and their contemporary coadjutors such as John William Fletcher, Methodism's systematic theologian.

In 1736, the Wesley brothers travelled to the Georgia colony in America as Christian missionaries; they left rather disheartened at what they saw. Both of them subsequently had "religious experiences", especially John in 1738, being greatly influenced by the Moravian Christians. They began to organize a renewal movement within the Church of England to focus on personal faith and holiness, putting emphasis on the importance of growth in grace after the New Birth.[2] Calling it "the grand depositum" of the Methodist faith, John Wesley taught that the propagation of the doctrine of entire sanctification—the work of grace that enables Christians to be made perfect in love—was the reason that God raised up the Methodists in the world.

Wesleyan–Arminian theology, manifest today in Methodism (inclusive of the Holiness movement), is named after its founders, John Wesley in particular, as well as for Jacobus Arminius, since it is a subset of Arminian theology. The Wesleys were clergymen in the Church of England, though the Wesleyan tradition places stronger emphasis on extemporaneous preaching, evangelism, as well as personal faith and personal experience, especially on the new birth, assurance, growth in grace, entire sanctification and outward holiness. In his Sunday Service John Wesley included the Articles of Religion, which were based on the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England, though stripped of their more peculiarly Calvinistic theological leanings.[3] Wesleyan theology asserts the primary authority of Scripture and affirms the Christological orthodoxy of the first five centuries of church history.

Background

Wesleyan–Arminianism developed as an attempt to explain Christianity in a manner unlike the teachings of Calvinism. Arminianism is a theological study conducted by Jacobus Arminius, from the Netherlands, in opposition to Calvinist orthodoxy on the basis of free will.[4] In 1610, after the death of Arminius his followers, the Remonstrants led by Simon Episcopius, presented a document to the Netherlands. This document is known today as the Five Articles of Remonstrance.[4] Wesleyan theology, on the other hand, was founded upon the teachings of John Wesley, an English evangelist, and the beliefs of this dogma are derived from his many publications, including his collected sermons, journal, abridgements of theological, devotional, and historical Christian works, and a variety of tracts and treatises on theological subjects. Subsequently, the two theories have joined into one set of values for the contemporary church; yet, when examined separately, their unique details can be discovered, as well as their similarities in ideals.[4]

In the early 1770s, John Wesley, aided by the theological writings of John William Fletcher, emphasized Arminian doctrines in his controversy with the Calvinistic wing of the evangelicals in England. Then, in 1778, he founded a theological journal which he titled the Arminian Magazine. This period, during the Calvinist–Arminian debate, was influential in forming a lasting link between Arminian and Wesleyan theology.[5]

Wesley's opposition to Calvinism was more successful than Arminius's, especially in the United States where Arminianism would become the dominant school of soteriology of Evangelical Protestantism, largely because it was spread through popular preaching in a series of Great Awakenings. Arminius's work was not a direct influence on Wesley. Yet, he chose the term "Arminianism" to distinguish the kind of Evangelicalism his followers were to espouse from that of their Calvinist theological opponents. Many have considered the most accurate term for Wesleyan theology to be "Evangelical Arminianism."

Wesley is remembered for visiting the Moravians of both Georgia and Germany and examining their beliefs, then founding the Methodist movement, which gave rise to a variety of Methodist denominations. Wesley's desire was not to form a new sect, but rather to reform the nation and "spread scriptural holiness" as truth.[6] However, the creation of Wesleyan–Arminianism has today developed into a popular standard for many contemporary churches.

Methodism also navigated its own theological intricacies concerning salvation and human agency. In the 1830s, during the Second Great Awakening, critics accused the Holiness Movement of Pelagian teaching. Consequently, detractors of Wesleyan theology have occasionally unfairly perceived or labeled its broader thought. However, its core is recognized to be Arminianism.

Its primary legacy remains within the various Methodist denominations and the Holiness movement (which includes Methodism, but spread to other traditions too) spearheaded by Phoebe Palmer of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and involved leaders such as Benjamin Titus Roberts (who founded the Free Methodist Church) and Phineas F. Bresee (who founded the Church of the Nazarene), among others (see ). A modified form of Wesleyan theology became the basis for other distinct denominations as well, e.g. the Holiness Pentecostal movement launched by William J. Seymour and Charles Parham, represented by denominations such as the Apostolic Faith Church and International Pentecostal Holiness Church.[7] [8]

Wesleyan distinctives

Definition of sin

See also: Christian views on sin. Methodist theology teaches:

Firstly, it categorizes sin as being original sin and actual sin:[9] Wesleyans have a distinct understanding of the nature of actual sin, which is divided into the categories of "sin proper" and "sin improper". As explained by John Wesley, "Nothing is sin, strictly speaking, but a voluntary transgression of a known law of God. Therefore, every voluntary breach of the law of love is sin; and nothing else, if we speak properly. To strain the matter farther is only to make way for Calvinism."[10] With this narrower understanding of sin, John Wesley believed that it was not only possible but necessary to live without committing sin. Wesley explains this in his comments on 3:8 NRSV "Whosoever abideth in communion with him—By loving faith, sinneth not—While he so abideth. Whosoever sinneth certainly seeth him not—The loving eye of his soul is not then fixed upon God; neither doth he then experimentally know him—Whatever he did in time past."[11]

Salvation

See also: Soteriology.

Atonement

Wesleyan–Arminian theology falls squarely in the tradition of substitutionary atonement, though it is linked with Christus Victor and moral influence theories.[12] John Wesley, reflecting on 1:14 NRSV, connects penal substitution with victory over Satan in his Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament: "the voluntary passion of our Lord appeased the Father's wrath, obtained pardon and acceptance for us, and consequently, dissolved the dominion and power which Satan had over us through our sins."[12] In elucidating 3:8 NRSV, John Wesley says that Christ manifesting himself in the hearts of humans destroys the work of Satan, thus making Christus Victor imagery "one part of the framework of substitutionary atonement."[12] The Methodist divine Charles Wesley's hymns "Sinners, Turn, Why Will You Die" and "And Can It be That I Should Gain" concurrently demonstrate that Christ's sacrifice is the example of supreme love, while also convicting the Christian believer of his/her sins, thus using the moral influence theory within the structure of penal substitution in accordance with the Augustinian theology of illumination.[12] Wesleyan theology also emphasizes a participatory nature in atonement, in which the Methodist believer spiritually dies with Christ and Christ dies for humanity; this is reflected in the words of the following Methodist hymn (122):[12] The Christian believer mystically draws themselves into the scene of the crucifixion in order to experience the power of salvation that it possesses.[12] In the Lord's Supper, the Methodist especially experiences the participatory nature of substitutionary atonement as "the sacrament sets before our eyes Christ's death and suffering whereby we are transported into an experience of the crucifixion."[12]

With regard to the fate of the unlearned, Willard Francis Mallalieu, a Methodist bishop, wrote in Some Things That Methodism Stands For:

Justification and sanctification

In Methodism, the way of salvation includes conviction, repentance, restitution, faith, justification, regeneration and adoption, which is followed by sanctification and witness of the Spirit. Being convicted of sin and the need for a saviour, as well as repenting of sin and making restitution, is "essential preparation for saving faith". Wesleyan theology teaches that the new birth contains two phases that occur together, justification and regeneration:

At the moment a person experiences the New Birth, he/she is "adopted into the family of God".[13] The Wesleyan tradition seeks to establish justification by faith as the gateway to sanctification or "scriptural holiness."[14] Wesleyans teach that God provides grace that enables any person to freely choose to place faith in Christ or reject his salvation (see synergism).[15] If the person accepts it, then God justifies them and continues to give further grace to spiritually heal and sanctify them.[15] In Wesleyan theology, justification specifically refers to "pardon, the forgiveness of sins", rather than "being made actually just and righteous", which Wesleyans believe is accomplished through sanctification,[16] [17] that is, the pursuit of holiness in salvation.[18] John Wesley taught that the keeping of the moral law contained in the Ten Commandments,[19] as well as engaging in the works of piety and the works of mercy, were "indispensable for our sanctification".

Wesley insisted that imputed righteousness must become imparted righteousness. He taught that a believer could progress in love until love became devoid of self-interest at the moment of entire sanctification.[20] Wesleyan theology teaches that there are two distinct phases in the Christian experience.[21] In the first work of grace (the new birth) a person repents of his/her sin that he/she confesses to God, places his/her faith in Jesus, receives forgiveness and becomes a Christian;[22] during the second work of grace, entire sanctification, the believer is purified and made holy.

Wesleyan Methodism, inclusive of the holiness movement, thus teaches that restitution occurs subsequent to repentance.[13] [22] Additionally, "justification [is made] conditional on obedience and progress in sanctification" emphasizing "a deep reliance upon Christ not only in coming to faith, but in remaining in the faith."[23] Bishop Scott J. Jones states that "United Methodist doctrine thus understands true, saving faith to be the kind that, give time and opportunity, will result in good works. Any supposed faith that does not in fact lead to such behaviors is not genuine, saving faith."[24] For Methodists, "true faith...cannot subsist without works".[25] (See .) Methodist evangelist Phoebe Palmer stated that "justification would have ended with me had I refused to be holy."[26] While "faith is essential for a meaningful relationship with God, our relationship with God also takes shape through our care for people, the community, and creation itself."[27]

First work of grace: new birth

John Wesley held that the new birth "is that great change which God works in the soul when he brings it into life, when he raises it from the death of sin to the life of righteousness" (Works, vol. 2, pp. 193–194).[14] In the life of a Christian, the new birth is considered the first work of grace.[28] The Articles of Religion, in Article XVII—Of Baptism, state that baptism is a "sign of regeneration or the new birth."[29] (See .) The Methodist Visitor in describing this doctrine, admonishes individuals: "'Ye must be born again.' Yield to God that He may perform this work in and for you. Admit Him to your heart. 'Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.'"[30] [31]

In congruence with the Wesleyan (Methodist) definition of sin:This is reflected in the Articles of Religion of the Free Methodist Church (emphasis added in italics), which uses the wording of John Wesley:After the New Birth, if a person commits sin, he/she may be restored to fellowship with God through sincere repentance and then "by the grace of God, rise[s] again and amend[s]" his/her life.[32] This concept is taught in the Methodist Articles of Religion, in Article XII.[33]

Second work of grace: Christian perfection

Methodists, following in John Wesley's footsteps, believe in the second work of grace— enabling entire sanctification, also called Christian perfection—which removes original sin (the carnal nature of the person) and makes the believer holy (cf. baptism with the Holy Spirit); Wesley explained: "Entire sanctification, or Christian perfection, is neither more nor less than pure love; love expelling sin, and governing both the heart and life of a child of God. The Refiner's fire purges out all that is contrary to love."[34] [35] [28] [36] Wesley taught both that sanctification could be an instantaneous experience,[37] and that it could be a gradual process.[38] [39] Before a believer is entirely sanctified, he/she consecrates himself/herself to God; the theology behind consecration is summarized with the maxim "Give yourself to God in all things, if you would have God give Himself to you."[40] [41]

The Methodist Churches teach that apostasy can occur through a loss of faith or through sinning (refusing to be holy).[42] [43] If a person backslides but later decides to return to God, he or she must confess his or her sins and be entirely sanctified again (see conditional security).[44] [45] [46]

Richard P. Bucher, contrasts this position with the Lutheran one, discussing an analogy put forth by Wesley:

Assurance of faith

John Wesley believed that all Christians have a faith which implies an "assurance" of God's forgiving love, and that one would feel that assurance, or the "witness of the Spirit". This understanding is grounded in Paul's affirmation, "...ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry Abba, Father. The same Spirit beareth witness with our spirits, that we are the children of God..." (8:15–16 , Wesley's translation). This experience was mirrored for Wesley in his Aldersgate experience wherein he "knew" he was loved by God and that his sins were forgiven.

"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 my sin, even mine." — from Wesley's Journal[47]

Conditional security

See main article: Conditional preservation of the saints.

John Wesley was an outspoken defender of the doctrine of conditional preservation of the saints, or commonly "conditional security". In 1751, Wesley defended his position in a work titled, "Serious Thoughts Upon the Perseverance of the Saints." In it he argued that a believer remains in a saving relationship with God if he "continue in faith" or "endureth in faith unto the end."[48] Wesley affirmed that a child of God, "while he continues a true believer, cannot go to hell."[49] However, if he makes a "shipwreck of the faith, then a man that believes now may be an unbeliever some time hence" and become "a child of the devil." He then adds, "God is the Father of them that believe, so long as they believe. But the devil is the father of them that believe not, whether they did once believe or no."[50]

Like his Arminian predecessors, Wesley was convinced from the testimony of the Scriptures that a true believer may abandon faith and the way of righteousness and "fall from God as to perish everlastingly."

Covenant theology

Methodism maintains the superstructure of classical covenant theology, but being Arminian in soteriology, it discards the "predestinarian template of Reformed theology that was part and parcel of its historical development."[51] The main difference between Wesleyan covenant theology and classical covenant theology is as follows:

As such, in the traditional Wesleyan view, only Adam and Eve were under the covenant of works, while on the other hand, all of their progeny are under the covenant of grace.[51] With Mosaic Law belonging to the covenant of grace, all of humanity is brought "within the reach of the provisions of that covenant."[51] This belief is reflected in John Wesley's sermon Righteousness of Faith:[51] "The Apostle does not here oppose the covenant given by Moses, to the covenant given by Christ. ... But it is the covenant of grace, which God, through Christ, hath established with men in all ages".[52] The covenant of grace was therefore administered through "promises, prophecies, sacrifices, and at last by circumcision" during the patriarchal ages and through "the paschal lamb, the scape goat, [and] the priesthood of Aaron" under Mosaic Law. Under the Gospel, the covenant of grace is mediated through the greater sacraments, baptism and the Lord's Supper.[53]

Ecclesiology

Methodists affirm belief in "the one true Church, Apostolic and Universal", viewing their Churches as constituting a "privileged branch of this true church".[54] [55] With regard to the position of Methodism within Christendom, the founder of the movement "John Wesley once noted that what God had achieved in the development of Methodism was no mere human endeavor but the work of God. As such it would be preserved by God so long as history remained."[56] Calling it "the grand depositum" of the Methodist faith, Wesley specifically taught that the propagation of the doctrine of entire sanctification was the reason that God raised up the Methodists in the world.[57] [58]

Eschatology

John Wesley described his eschatological views on the Book of Revelation in his Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament (1755). He struggled with how to interpret the middle of the book which describes heavenly and earthy conflict in very symbolic language. He relied heavily on the works of German theologian Johann Albrecht Bengel(1687-1752) for a mathematical interpretation of the numbers in the book to find a correspondence between church history and the events described in Revelation. For example, by Wesley's calculations, using Bengel's mathematical key, the story of the woman in the wilderness in Revelation 12 was the story of the Christian church in two overlapping periods of church history (847-1524 CE and 1058-1836 CE).

Wesley's primary concern, however, was not so much with prophecy or chronology, but rather with how to use Revelation to help believers have strength in times of trial.[59]

Evangelism and missions

Methodism has emphasized evangelism and missions. Wesleyan-Arminian theology stresses missional living as normative for Methodist Christians.[60] In particular, ordinands were asked by John Wesley "Will you visit from house to house?" with the assumed answer being "yes" as door-to-door evangelism was the expectation of Methodist clergy for the purpose of reaching people outside the walls of churches.[61]

Free will

Methodist theology teaches the doctrine of free will:

Four sources of theological authority

The 20th-century Wesley scholar Albert Outler argued in his introduction to the 1964 collection John Wesley that Wesley developed his theology by using a method that Outler termed the Wesleyan Quadrilateral.[62] The Free Methodist Church teaches:Likewise, the Methodist Church of Great Britain refers to the quadrilateral as "a fourfold approach" to learning and applying the Christian faith,[63] and the United Methodist Church asserts that:

Four Last Things

With respect to the four last things, Wesleyan theology affirms the belief in Hades, "the intermediate state of souls between death and the general resurrection," which is divided into Paradise (for the righteous) and Gehenna (for the wicked).[64] [65] After the general judgment, Hades will be abolished.[65] John Wesley "made a distinction between hell (the receptacle of the damned) and Hades (the receptacle of all separate spirits), and also between paradise (the antechamber of heaven) and heaven itself."[66] [67] The dead will remain in Hades "until the Day of Judgment when we will all be bodily resurrected and stand before Christ as our judge. After the Judgment, the Righteous will go to their eternal reward in Heaven and the Accursed will depart to Hell (see 25 NRSV)."[68] Wesley stated that: "I believe it to be a duty to observe, to pray for the Faithful Departed".[69] He "taught the propriety of Praying for the Dead, practised it himself, provided Forms that others might."[70] In a joint statement with the Catholic Church in England and Wales, the Methodist Church of Great Britain affirmed that "Methodists who pray for the dead thereby commend them to the continuing mercy of God."[71]

Sacraments and rites

Baptism

The Methodist Articles of Religion, with regard to baptism, teach:[72] While baptism imparts regenerating grace, its permanence is contingent upon repentance and a personal commitment to Jesus Christ.[73] Wesleyan theology holds that baptism is a sacrament of initiation into the visible Church.[74] Wesleyan covenant theology further teaches that baptism is a sign and a seal of the covenant of grace:[75] Methodists recognize three modes of baptism as being valid—immersion, aspersion or affusion—in the name of the Holy Trinity.[76]

Real presence of Christ in the Lord's Supper

The followers of John Wesley have typically affirmed that the sacrament of Holy Communion (the Lord's Supper) is an instrumental Means of Grace through which the real presence of Christ is communicated to the believer,[77] but have otherwise allowed the details to remain a mystery.[78] In particular, Methodists reject the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation (see "Article XVIII" of the Articles of Religion); the Primitive Methodist Church, in its Discipline also rejects the Lollardist doctrine of consubstantiation.[79] In 2004, the United Methodist Church affirmed its view of the sacrament and its belief in the real presence in an official document entitled This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion. Of particular note here is the church's unequivocal recognition of the anamnesis as more than just a memorial but, rather, a re-presentation of Christ Jesus and his love.[80]

Holy Communion is remembrance, commemoration, and memorial, but this remembrance is much more than simply intellectual recalling. "Do this in remembrance of me" (Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 11:24–25) is anamnesis (the biblical Greek word). This dynamic action becomes re-presentation of past gracious acts of God in the present, so powerfully as to make them truly present now. Christ is risen and is alive here and now, not just remembered for what was done in the past.

This affirmation of real presence can be seen clearly illustrated in the language of the United Methodist Communion Liturgy[81] where, in the epiclesis of the Great Thanksgiving, the celebrating minister prays over the elements:

Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gathered here, and on these gifts of bread and wine. Make them be for us the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood.

Methodists assert that Jesus is truly present, and that the means of his presence is a "Holy Mystery". A celebrating minister will pray for the Holy Spirit to make the elements "be for us the body and blood of Christ", and the congregation can even sing, as in the third stanza of Charles Wesley's hymn Come Sinners to the Gospel Feast:

Come and partake the gospel feast,

be saved from sin, in Jesus rest;

O taste the goodness of our God,

and eat his flesh and drink his blood.

The distinctive feature of the Methodist doctrine of the real presence is that the way Christ manifests his presence in the sacrament is a sacred mystery—the focus is that Christ is truly present in the sacrament.[82] The Discipline of the Free Methodist Church thus teaches:

Confession

Penance, including the practice of confessing sins, is defined by the Articles of Religion as one those "Commonly called Sacraments but not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel", also known as the "five lesser sacraments".[83] [84] John Wesley held "the validity of Anglican practice in his day as reflected in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer",[85] stating that "We grant confession to men to be in many cases of use: public, in case of public scandal; private, to a spiritual guide for disburdening of the conscience, and as a help to repentance."[86] Additionally, per the recommendation of Wesley, Methodist class meetings, as well as penitent bands, traditionally met weekly in order to confess sins to one another.[87]

Lovefeast

Lovefeasts (in which bread and the loving-cup is shared between members of the congregation) are a means of grace, a "converting ordinance" that John Wesley believed to be an apostolic institution.[88] One account from July 1776 expounded on the fact that people experienced entire sanctification at a Lovefeast:[88]

Footwashing

In certain Methodist connexions, such as the Missionary Methodist Church and the New Congregational Methodist Church, footwashing is practiced at the time that the Lord's Supper is celebrated.[89] [90] The Missionary Methodist Church states in its Book of Discipline:[90] In other connexions such as the United Methodist Church, footwashing is practiced especially on Maundy Thursday.[91]

Validity of Holy Orders

See also: Elder (Methodist), Bishops in Methodism and Ordination of women in Methodism. John Wesley held that the offices of bishop and presbyter constituted one order,[92] citing an ancient opinion from the Church of Alexandria;[92] Jerome, a Church Father, wrote: "For even at Alexandria from the time of Mark the Evangelist until the episcopates of Heraclas and Dionysius the presbyters always named as bishop one of their own number chosen by themselves and set in a more exalted position, just as an army elects a general, or as deacons appoint one of themselves whom they know to be diligent and call him archdeacon. For what function, excepting ordination, belongs to a bishop that does not also belong to a presbyter?" (Letter CXLVI).[93] John Wesley thus argued that for two centuries the succession of bishops in the Church of Alexandria, which was founded by Mark the Evangelist, was preserved through ordination by presbyters alone and was considered valid by that ancient Church.[94] [95] [96]

Since the Bishop of London refused to ordain ministers in the British American colonies,[97] this constituted an emergency and as a result, on 2 September 1784, Wesley, along with a priest from the Anglican Church and two other elders,[98] operating under the ancient Alexandrian habitude, ordained Thomas Coke a superintendent, although Coke embraced the title bishop.[99] [100]

Today, the United Methodist Church follows this ancient Alexandrian practice as bishops are elected from the presbyterate:[101] the Discipline of the Methodist Church, in ¶303, affirms that "ordination to this ministry is a gift from God to the Church. In ordination, the Church affirms and continues the apostolic ministry through persons empowered by the Holy Spirit."[102] It also cites Scripture in support of this practice, namely, 1 Timothy 4:14, which states: The Methodist Church also buttresses this argument with the leg of sacred tradition of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral by citing the Church Fathers, many of whom concur with this view.[103] [104]

In addition to the aforementioned arguments, in 1937 the annual Conference of the British Methodist Church located the "true continuity" with the Church of past ages in "the continuity of Christian experience, the fellowship in the gift of the one Spirit; in the continuity in the allegiance to one Lord, the continued proclamation of the message; the continued acceptance of the mission;..." [through a long chain which goes back to] "the first disciples in the company of the Lord Himself ... This is our doctrine of apostolic succession" [which neither depends on, nor is secured by,] "an official succession of ministers, whether bishops or presbyters, from apostolic times, but rather by fidelity to apostolic truth".[105]

Prayer

Methodism has heavily emphasized "offerings of extempore and spontaneous prayer".[106] To this end, many Methodist churches devote a portion of their Sunday evening service and mid-week Wednesday evening prayer meeting to having congregants share their prayer requests, in addition to hearing personal testimonies about their faith and experiences in living the Christian life.[107] After listening to various members of the congregation voice their prayer requests, congregants often kneel for intercessory prayer.[108]

Early Methodism was known for its "almost monastic rigors, its living by rule, [and] its canonical hours of prayer".[109] It inherited from its Anglican patrimony the rubrics of reciting the Daily Office, which Methodist Christians were expected to pray.[110] The first prayer book of Methodism, The Sunday Service of the Methodists with other occasional Services thus included the canonical hours of both Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer; these services were observed everyday in early Christianity, though on the Lord's Day, worship included the Eucharist.[111] [110] [112] Later Methodist liturgical books, such as The Methodist Worship Book (1999) provide for Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer to be prayed daily; the United Methodist Church encourages its communicants to pray the canonical hours as "one of the essential practices" of being a disciple of Jesus.[113] Some Methodist religious orders publish the Daily Office to be used for that community, for example, The Book of Offices and Services of The Order of Saint Luke contains the canonical hours to be prayed traditionally at seven fixed prayer times: Lauds (6 am), Terce (9 am), Sext (12 pm), None (3 pm), Vespers (6 pm), Compline (9 pm) and Vigil (12 am).[114] Some Methodist congregations offer daily Morning Prayer.[115]

Outward holiness

See main article: Outward holiness. Early Methodists wore plain dress, with Methodist clergy condemning "high headdresses, ruffles, laces, gold, and 'costly apparel' in general".[116] John Wesley recommended that Methodists annually read his thoughts On Dress;[117] in that sermon, John Wesley expressed his desire for Methodists: "Let me see, before I die, a Methodist congregation, full as plain dressed as a Quaker congregation".[118] The 1858 Discipline of the Wesleyan Methodist Connection thus stated that "we would ... enjoin on all who fear God plain dress".[119] Peter Cartwright, a Methodist revivalist, stated that in addition to wearing plain dress, the early Methodists distinguished themselves from other members of society by fasting on Fridays, abstaining from alcohol, and devoutly observing the Sabbath.[120] Methodist circuit riders were known for practicing the spiritual discipline of mortifying the flesh as they "arose well before dawn for solitary prayer; they remained on their knees without food or drink or physical comforts sometimes for hours on end".[121] The early Methodists did not participate in, and condemned, "worldly habits" including "playing cards, racing horses, gambling, attending the theater, dancing (both in frolics and balls), and cockfighting".[116]

Over time, many of these practices were gradually relaxed in mainline Methodism, although practices such as teetotalism and fasting are still very much encouraged, in addition to the current prohibition of gambling;[122] denominations of the conservative holiness movement, such as the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection and Evangelical Wesleyan Church, continue to reflect the spirit of the historic Methodist practice of wearing plain dress, encouraging members in "abstaining from the wearing of extravagant hairstyles, jewelry—to include rings, and expensive clothing for any reason".[123] [124] The Fellowship of Independent Methodist Churches, which continues to observe the ordinance of women's headcovering, stipulates "renouncing all vain pomp and glory" and "adorning oneself with modest attire."[125] The General Rules of the Methodist Church in America, which are among the doctrinal standards of many Methodist Churches, promote first-day Sabbatarianism as they require "attending upon all the ordinances of God" including "the public worship of God" and prohibit "profaning the day of the Lord, either by doing ordinary work therein or by buying or selling".[126] [127]

Teetotalism

John Wesley "laid foundations for Methodism's traditional call to abstain from beverage alcohol and its warnings about the use of drugs."[128] Wesley referred to liquors as "certain, though slow, poison" and condemned those who sold it of leading people to hell.[128] Methodist Churches are traditionally aligned with the temperance movement and its call for teetotalism.[129] In Great Britain, both Wesleyan Methodists and Primitive Methodists championed the cause of temperance;[130] the Methodist Board of Temperance, Prohibition, and Public Morals was later established in the United States to further the movement.[131] ¶91 of the 2014 Discipline of the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection summarizes the traditional practice of Methodists regarding their requirement of abstinence from alcohol and other drugs:[132]

Fasting

Fasting is considered one of the works of piety.[133] Methodism's principal liturgical book The Sunday Service of the Methodists (put together by John Wesley), as well as The Directions Given to Band Societies (25 December 1744) by John Wesley, mandate fasting and abstinence from meat on all Fridays of the year (in remembrance of the crucifixion of Jesus).[134] [135] [136] Wesley himself also kept the Eucharistic Fast, thus fasting before receiving Holy Communion "for the purpose of focusing his attention on God," and asked other Methodist Christians to do the same.[137]

Law and Gospel

John Wesley admonished Methodist preachers to emphasize both the Law and the Gospel:[138] Methodism makes a distinction between the ceremonial law and the moral law that is the Ten Commandments given to Moses. In Methodist Christianity, the moral law is the "fundamental ontological principle of the universe" and "is grounded in eternity", being "engraved on human hearts by the finger of God."[139] In contradistinction to the teaching of the Lutheran Churches, the Methodist Churches bring the Law and the Gospel together in a profound sense: "the law is grace and through it we discover the good news of the way life is intended to be lived."[139] John Wesley, the father of the Methodist tradition taught:[139]

Sunday Sabbatarianism

The early Methodists were known for "religiously keeping the Sabbath day".[140] They regarded "keeping the Lord's Day as a duty, a delight, and a means of grace". The General Rules of the Methodist Church require "attending upon all the ordinances of God" including "the public worship of God" and prohibit "profaning the day of the Lord, either by doing ordinary work therein or by buying or selling".[141] [127] The Sunday Sabbatarian practices of the earlier Wesleyan Methodist Church in Great Britain are described by Jonathan Crowther in A Portraiture of Methodism:[142]

Churches upholding Wesleyan theology

See main article: List of Methodist denominations. Methodism began as a reform movement within the Church of England, and, for a while, it remained as such. The movement separated itself from its "mother church" and became known as the Methodist Episcopal Church in America and the Wesleyan Methodist Church in Britain (as distinguished from Calvinistic Methodism). Many divisions occurred within the Methodist Episcopal Church in the 19th century, mostly over attitudes towards slavery (though doctrinally, opposition to slavery is one of the works of mercy).[143] [144] Some of these schisms healed in the early 20th century, and many of the splinter Methodist groups came together by 1939 to form the Methodist Church. In 1968, the Methodist Church joined with the Radical Pietist Evangelical United Brethren Church to form The United Methodist Church,[145] the largest Methodist church in America. Other groups include the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, the Congregational Methodist Church, the Evangelical Methodist Church, the Free Methodist Church, the Global Methodist Church, the Holiness Methodist Church, the Methodist Protestant Church, the Primitive Methodist Church, and the Southern Methodist Church. There are also various Independent Methodist associations, such as the Fellowship of Independent Methodist Churches.

In 19th-century America, a dissension arose over the nature of entire sanctification. Those who believed that entire sanctification could occur both instantaneously or could result from progressive sanctification culminating in Christian perfection, remained within the mainline Methodist Churches; others, however, heavily emphasized the instantaneous nature of entire sanctification. The latter line of thought came to be known as the holiness movement and while many of those who supported it remained in mainline Methodism (e.g. Asbury Theological Seminary),[146] others began the various holiness churches,[147] including the Free Methodist Church, Church of God (Holiness), the Church of God (Anderson), the Churches of Christ in Christian Union, and the Wesleyan Methodist Church, which later merged with the Pilgrim Holiness Church to form the Wesleyan Church, which is present today. Other holiness groups, which also rejected the competing Pentecostal movement, merged to form the Church of the Nazarene. The Salvation Army is another Wesleyan-Holiness group which traces its roots to early Methodism. The Salvation Army's founders Catherine and William Booth founded the organization to stress evangelism and social action when William was a minister in the Methodist Reform Church.

The conservative holiness movement, including denominations such as the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection, Bible Methodist Connection of Churches, Evangelical Methodist Church Conference, Evangelical Wesleyan Church and Fellowship of Independent Methodist Churches, emerged in the 19th and 20th centuries to herald many of the strict standards of primitive Methodism, including outward holiness, plain dress, and temperance.[148]

Relationship with other religions

See main article: Islam and Christianity. John Wesley's statements against the Islamic faith are well known. Wesley assumed the superiority of Christianity vis-a-vis to Islam, based on his commitment to the biblical revelation as "the book of God". His theologic interpretation of Christianity was seeking its imperative rather than considering other Abrahamic and Eastern religions to be equal. He often regarded the lifestyles of Muslims as an "ox goad" to prick the collective Christian conscience (cf. Acts 9 :5). Furthermore, his Anglo-centrism and common lay preaching had pulled future Methodist churches in conflict with other world religions.[149]

See also

Notes and references

Sources

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Wesley . John . John Wesley's Forty-Four Sermons . 11 May 2021 . WikiSource.
  2. Web site: Danker . Ryan N. . A Wesleyan Account of Sanctifying Grace . Seedbed . 1 July 2024 . 15 February 2024.
  3. Book: Melton, J. Gordon. Encyclopedia of Protestantism. 1 January 2005. Infobase Publishing. en . 9780816069835. 48. Among the items deleted by Wesley as unnecessary for Methodists were articles on "Of Works Before Justification," which in Calvinism are largely discounted, but in Methodism lauded; "Of Predestination and Election," which Wesley felt would be understood in a Calvinist manner that the Methodists rejected; and "Of the Traditions of the Church," which Wesley felt to be no longer at issue..
  4. Book: Stanglin . Keith D. . McCall . Thomas H. . Jacob Arminius: Theologian of Grace . 2012 . . 9780199755677 . 153 . en.
  5. Book: Stevens, Abel . en . The History of the Religious Movement of the Eighteenth Century, called Methodism . 1 . London . Carlton & Porter . 1858 . 155.
  6. Book: Thorsen, Don . en . The Wesleyan Quadrilateral: Scripture, Tradition, Reason, & Experience as a Model of Evangelical Theology. Lexington, Ky . Emeth Press . 2005 . 97.
  7. Web site: Dayton . Donald W. . The Holiness and Pentecostal Churches: Emerging from Cultural Isolation – . www.religion-online.org . Religion Online . 12 May 2021.
  8. Book: Knight III . Henry H. . From Aldersgate to Azusa Street: Wesleyan, Holiness, and Pentecostal visions of the new creation . 2010 . Eugene, Or. . 978-1630876562.
  9. Book: Rothwell . Mel-Thomas . Rothwell . Helen F. . A Catechism on the Christian Religion: The Doctrines of Christianity with Special Emphasis on Wesleyan Concepts . 1998 . Schmul Publishing Co. . 53 . en.
  10. John Wesley, The Works of John Wesley, Third Edition., vol. 12 (London: Wesleyan Methodist Book Room, 1872), 394.
  11. John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament, Fourth American Edition. (New York: J. Soule and T. Mason, 1818), 661.
  12. Wood. Darren Cushman. 2007. John Wesley's Use of Atonement. The Asbury Journal. 62. 2. 55–70. en.
  13. Book: Williamson . Edward W. . Trim . Peggy . The Evangelical Methodist Church Catechism . 2012 . 116. Evangelical Methodist Church.
  14. Book: Joyner, F. Belton. United Methodist Questions, United Methodist Answers: Exploring Christian Faith. 10 April 2014. 2007. Westminster John Knox Press. 9780664230395. 39. The new birth is necessary for salvation because it marks the move toward holiness. That comes with faith..
  15. Book: Fahlbusch, Erwin. The Encyclopedia of Christianity. 2008. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. 9780802824172. 272. Methodist 'synergism' is grounded in the conviction that in the justification begun in the new birth (the beginning of the divine work), there will have to be 'appropriate fruits.'.
  16. Book: Elwell, Walter A.. Evangelical Dictionary of Theology (Baker Reference Library). 1 May 2001. Baker Publishing Group. 9781441200303. 1268. This balance is most evident in Wesley's understanding of faith and works, justification and sanctification. ... Wesley himself in a sermon entitled "Justification by Faith" makes an attempt to define the term accurately. First, he states what justification is not. It is not being made actually just and righteous (that is sanctification). It is not being cleared of the accusations of Satan, nor of the law, nor even of God. We have sinned, so the accusation stands. Justification implies pardon, the forgiveness of sins. ... Ultimately for the true Wesleyan salvation is completed by our return to original righteousness. This is done by the work of the Holy Spirit. ... The Wesleyan tradition insists that grace is not contrasted with law but with the works of the law. Wesleyans remind us that Jesus came to fulfill, not destroy the law. God made us in his perfect image, and he wants that image restored. He wants to return us to a full and perfect obedience through the process of sanctification. ... Good works follow after justification as its inevitable fruit. Wesley insisted that Methodists who did not fulfill all righteousness deserved the hottest place in the lake of fire. .
  17. Web site: Meet a Reformed Arminian. Robinson. Jeff. 25 August 2015. TGC. en. 19 July 2017. Reformed Arminianism's understanding of apostasy veers from the Wesleyan notion that individuals may repeatedly fall from grace by committing individual sins and may be repeatedly restored to a state of grace through penitence..
  18. Book: Joyner, F. Belton. United Methodist Answers. 2007. Westminster John Knox Press. 9780664230395. 80. Jacob Albright, founder of the movement that led to the Evangelical Church flow in The United Methodist Church, got into trouble with some of his Lutheran, Reformed, and Mennonite neighbors because he insisted that salvation not only involved ritual but meant a change of heart, a different way of living..
  19. Book: Campbell, Ted A.. Methodist Doctrine: The Essentials, 2nd Edition. 1 October 2011. Abingdon Press. en. 9781426753473. 40, 68–69.
  20. Web site: Wesley on Faith, Love, and Salvation. Wagner. Amy. 20 January 2014. AFTE. en. 21 May 2018.
  21. Book: Synan, Vinson. The Holiness-Pentecostal tradition: Charismatic movements in the twentieth century. 5 March 2011. 1997. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. 978-0-8028-4103-2. 6–7.
  22. Book: Catechism of the Pillar of Fire Church . 1948 . Pillar of Fire Church . 39–40.
  23. Web site: Means of Grace: Why I am a Methodist and an Evangelical. Tennent. Timothy. 9 July 2011. Asbury Theological Seminary. en. 21 May 2018.
  24. Book: Jones, Scott J.. United Methodist Doctrine. 2002. Abingdon Press. 9780687034857. 190.
  25. Web site: Wesley on Faith and Good Works. Knight III. Henry H.. 9 July 2013. AFTE. en. 21 May 2018.
  26. Book: Sawyer, M. James. The Survivor's Guide to Theology. 11 April 2016. Wipf and Stock Publishers. en. 9781498294058. 363.
  27. Book: Langford. Andy. Langford. Sally. Living as United Methodist Christians: Our Story, Our Beliefs, Our Lives. 2011. Abingdon Press. 9781426711930. 45.
  28. Book: Stokes, Mack B.. Major United Methodist Beliefs. 1998. Abingdon Press. en. 9780687082124. 95.
  29. Web site: The Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church XVI-XVIII . https://web.archive.org/web/20060427002238/http://archives.umc.org/interior.asp?ptid=1&mid=1651 . dead . 27 April 2006 . 2004 . The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church . The United Methodist Church . 10 April 2014 . Article XVII—Of Baptism: Baptism is not only a sign of profession and mark of difference whereby Christians are distinguished from others that are not baptized; but it is also a sign of regeneration or the new birth. The Baptism of young children is to be retained in the Church. .
  30. Book: The Methodist Visitor. 1876. Elliot Stock, 62, Paternoster Row, E.C. . 137. "Ye must be born again." Yield to God that He may perform this work in and for you. Admit Him to your heart. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.".
  31. Book: Richey. Russell E.. Rowe. Kenneth E.. Schmidt. Jean Miller. Perspectives on American Methodism: interpretive essays. 10 April 2014. 19 January 1993. Kingswood Books. 9780687307821.
  32. Book: Long . D. Stephen . Keeping Faith: An Ecumenical Commentary on the Articles of Religion and Confession of Faith in the Wesleyan Tradition . 1 March 2012 . Wipf and Stock Publishers . 978-1-62189-416-2 . English.
  33. Web site: Articles of Religion . The Interactive Bible . 24 July 2024.
  34. Book: White . Charles E. . The Beauty of Holiness: Phoebe Palmer as Theologian, Revivalist, Feminist and Humanitarian . 2 September 2008 . Wipf and Stock Publishers . 978-1-7252-2173-4 . 121 . en . Wesley also taught that Christians experience several distinct acts of God's grace as they grow into the image of Christ. Two of these acts of grace are justification and entire sanctification. Justification occurs when a sinner is forgiven, regenerated, and made right with God. Entire sanctification happens when the carnal nature within a Christian is finally destroyed, and the believer is then enabled to love God with the whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. Entire sanctification makes Christians perfect in their love for God, but in now other way. Their hearts are so filled with the love of God that there is no room for a contrary affection. Hence they are sinless in that while in this state they do not willingly violate the known law of God. Although believers' hearts are filled with love and freed from sin, sanctified people still suffer the effects of sin on their minds and bodies. They are not free from errors in judgment or mistakes in action. Thus, they continually need the blood of Christ to cleanse them from these accidental "fallings short of the glory of God.".
  35. John Wesley, The Works of John Wesley, Third Edition., vol. 12 (London: Wesleyan Methodist Book Room, 1872), 432.
  36. Web site: Whidden . Woodrow W. . Adventist Theology: The Wesleyan Connection . Biblical Research Institute . 30 June 2019 . English . 18 April 2005. https://web.archive.org/web/20190630044749/https://adventistbiblicalresearch.org/es/node/203. 30 June 2019.
  37. Book: Alexander. Donald L.. Ferguson. Sinclair B.. Christian spirituality: five views of sanctification. registration. 5 March 2011. 1988. InterVarsity Press. 978-0-8308-1278-3. 97.
  38. Book: Curtis, Harold. Following the Cloud: A Vision of the Convergence of Science and the Church. 5 March 2011. 2006-09-21. Harold Curtis. 978-1-4196-4571-6. 86.
  39. Book: Southey, Robert. The life of Wesley: and the rise and progress of Methodism. 5 March 2011. 1820. Evert Duyckinck and George Long; Clayton & Kingsland, printers. 80.
  40. Book: Guidebook of the Emmanuel Association of Churches . 2002 . . . 8 . English.
  41. Web site: Ruth . C.W. . Consecration: The Human Side of Sanctification . . 19 May 2021 . English . 29 June 2017.
  42. Book: Pinson . J. Matthew . Four Views on Eternal Security . 2002 . Harper Collins . 9780310234395 . 18 . English . While for Arminius loss of salvation came only through ceasing to believe in Christ, Wesleyans held that it could result from eiter unbelief or unconfessed sin. ... Anabaptists (e.g., Mennonites, Brethren) and Restorationists (e.g., the Churches of Christ, Christian Churches, Disciples of Christ) have traditionally tended towards doctrines of salvation similar to that of Wesleyan Arminianism—without affirming a "second blessing" and entire sanctification. There have always been some in these groups, however, who has espoused a view more akin to Reformed Arminianism. Many traditional Lutherans also affirm the possibility of apostasy and reconversion..
  43. Web site: Robinson . Jeff . Meet a Reformed Arminian . . 16 June 2019 . English . 25 August 2016 . Reformed Arminianism's understanding of apostasy veers from the Wesleyan notion that individuals may repeatedly fall from grace by committing individual sins and may be repeatedly restored to a state of grace through penitence..
  44. Web site: Robinson . Jeff . Meet a Reformed Arminian . . 16 June 2019 . en . 25 August 2016 . Reformed Arminianism's understanding of apostasy veers from the Wesleyan notion that individuals may repeatedly fall from grace by committing individual sins and may be repeatedly restored to a state of grace through penitence..
  45. Book: Caughey . James . Allen . Ralph William . Methodism in Earnest . 1850 . Charles H. Peirce . en . She had lost the blessing of entire sanctification; but a few days after this she obtained it again..
  46. Web site: Brown . Allan P. . Questions About Entire Sanctification . God's Bible School & College . 17 June 2019 . en . 1 June 2008 . Does an entirely sanctified person who rebels against God but later comes back to Him need to be entirely sanctified again? We do know that a person can rebel against God and later turn back in repentance and then be "re-saved." Answer: Yes. To come back to God is the action of a backslider having his re in need of continual cleansing. The verb "cleanses us" is a present indica-relationship with God restored. After the restoration, one must walk in the light and obey Romans 12:1 and offer himself a living, holy, and acceptable sacrifice to God. This can be done only by a person in right relationship with God..
  47. http://www.ccel.org/ccel/wesley/journal.vi.ii.xvi.html "I Felt My Heart Strangely Warmed"
  48. The Works of John Wesley, 10:288. In his Sermon: "The Repentance of Believers," Wesley proclaimed, "For, by that faith in his life, death, and intercession for us, renewed from moment to moment, we are every whit clean, and there is ... now no condemnation for us ... By the same faith we feel the power of Christ every moment resting upon us ... whereby we are enabled to continue in spiritual life ... As long as we retain our faith in him, we 'draw water out of the wells of salvation'" (The Works of John Wesley, 5:167).
  49. The Works of John Wesley, 10:297.
  50. The Works of John Wesley, 10:298.
  51. Book: Rodes, Stanley J.. From Faith to Faith: John Wesley's Covenant Theology and the Way of Salvation. 25 September 2014. James Clarke & Co. en. 9780227902202. 7; 62–76.
  52. Web site: Sermon 6 – The Righteousness Of Faith. Wesley. John. The Wesley Center Online. en. 27 June 2017.
  53. Book: Crowther, Jonathan . A Portraiture of Methodism. 1815. en. 224.
  54. Book: Newton, William F. . The Magazine of the Wesleyan Methodist Church. 1863. J. Fry & Company. en. 673.
  55. Web site: Vatican stance "nothing new" say church leader. Bloom. Linda. 20 July 2007. The United Methodist Church. en. 10 June 2018. 31 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190531215408/http://www.umc.org/who-we-are/vatican-stance-nothing-new-say-church-leader. dead.
  56. Web site: The Birth Pangs of United Methodism as a Unique, Global, Orthodox Denomination. William J. Abraham. 25 August 2016. en. 30 April 2017. William J. Abraham.
  57. Book: Davies. Rupert E.. George. A. Raymond. Rupp. Gordon. A History of the Methodist Church in Great Britain, Volume Three. 14 June 2017. Wipf & Stock Publishers. en. 9781532630507. 225.
  58. Web site: Wesleyan Heritage Series: Entire Sanctification. Gibson. James. South Georgia Confessing Association. en. 30 May 2018. 29 May 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180529053529/http://ucmpage.org/sgca/wesley01.htm. dead.
  59. John Wesley on the Book of Revelation. Külli Tõniste. The Asbury Journal. 17. 2. 227-245. 2021.
  60. Web site: Dragos . Andrew . How Prevenient Grace Shapes Our Missional Presence . Seedbed . 24 February 2024 . 8 May 2012.
  61. Book: Torpy . Arthur Alan . The Prevenient Piety of Samuel Wesley, Sr. . 26 October 2009 . Scarecrow Press . 978-0-8108-7082-6 . 109 . en.
  62. Web site: en . Mellor . G. Howard . The Wesleyan Quadrilateral . Methodist Evangelicals Together . 2003 .
  63. Methodist Church of Great Britain, The Methodist quadrilateral, accessed 10 January 2023
  64. Book: Withington, John Swann . The country is called Hades. That portion of it which is occupied by the good is called Paradise, and that province which is occupied by the wicked is called Gehenna.. The United Methodist Free Churches' Magazine . 1878. Thomas Newton . London . 685.
  65. Book: Smithson, William T.. The Methodist Pulpit. 1859. H. Polkinhornprinter. 363. Besides, continues our critical authority, we have another clear proof from the New Testament, that hades denotes the intermediate state of souls between death and the general resurrection. In Revelations (xx, 14) we read that death and hades-by our translators rendered hell, as usual-shall, immediately after the general judgment, "be cast into the lake of fire: this is the second death." In other words, the death which consists in the separation of soul and body, and the receptacle of disembodied spirits shall be no more. Hades shall be emptied, death abolished..
  66. Book: Yrigoyen. Charles Jr.. Warrick. Susan E.. Historical Dictionary of Methodism. 16 March 2005. Scarecrow Press. 9780810865464. 107. Considering the question of death and the intermediate state, John Wesley affirmed the immortality of the soul (as well as the future resurrection of the body), denied the reality of purgatory, and made a distinction between hell (the receptacle of the damned) and hades (the receptacle of all separate spirits), and also between paradise (the antechamber of heaven) and heaven itself..
  67. Book: American Methodist Worship. 10 April 2014. 8 March 2001. Oxford University Press. 9780198029267. 202. Karen B. Westerfield Tucker. Decisions made during life were therefore inseparably connected to what came after life. Upon death, according to Wesley, the souls of the deceased would enter an intermediate, penultimate state in which they would remain until reunited with the body at the resurrection of the dead. In that state variously identified as "the ante-chamber of heaven," "Abraham's bosom," and "paradise"..
  68. Book: Swartz, Alan. United Methodists and the Last Days. 20 April 2009. Hermeneutic. Wesley believed that when we die we will go to an Intermediate State (Paradise for the Righteous and Hades for the Accursed). We will remain there until the Day of Judgment when we will all be bodily resurrected and stand before Christ as our Judge. After the Judgment, the Righteous will go to their eternal reward in Heaven and the Accursed will depart to Hell (see Matthew 25).. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120411115342/http://hermeneutic.org/2009/04/united-methodists-and-last-days.html. 11 April 2012.
  69. Book: Walker, Walter James. Chapters on the Early Registers of Halifax Parish Church. 1885. Whitley & Booth. en . 20. 9780665169434 . The opinion of the Rev. John Wesley may be worth citing. "I believe it to be a duty to observe, to pray for the Faithful Departed.".
  70. Book: Holden, Harrington William. John Wesley in Company with High Churchmen. 1872. J. Hodges. London . 84. Wesley taught the propriety of Praying for the Dead, practised it himself, provided Forms that others might. These forms, for daily use, he put fort, not tentatively or apologetically, but as considering such prayer a settled matter of Christian practice, with all who believe that the Faithful, living and dead, are one Body in Christ in equal need and like expectation of those blessings which they will together enjoy, when both see Him in His Kingdom. Two or three examples, out of many, may be given:--"O grant that we, with those who are already dead in Thy faith and fear, may together partake of a joyful resurrection.".
  71. Book: Gould, James B.. Understanding Prayer for the Dead: Its Foundation in History and Logic. 4 August 2016. Wipf and Stock Publishers. en . 9781620329887. 57–58. The Roman Catholic and English Methodist churches both pray for the dead. Their consensus statement confirms that "over the centuries in the Catholic tradition praying for the dead has developed into a variety of practices, especially through the Mass. ... The Methodist church ... has prayers for the dead ... Methodists who pray for the dead thereby commend them to the continuing mercy of God.".
  72. Book: Understanding Four Views on Baptism. 30 August 2009. Zondervan. en. 9780310866985. 92. Thomas J. Nettles, Richard L. Pratt Jr., Robert Kolb, John D. Castelein.
  73. Web site: By Water and the Spirit: A United Methodist Understanding of Baptism. The United Methodist Church. In United Methodist churches, the water of baptism may be administered by sprinkling, pouring, or immersion.. August 2, 2007.
  74. Book: Stuart. George Rutledge. Chappell. Edwin Barfield. What Every Methodist Should Know. 1922. Lamar & Barton. en . 83.
  75. Book: Summers, Thomas Osmond. Methodist Pamphlets for the People. 1857. E. Stevenson & F. A. Owen for the M. E. Church, South. en. 18.
  76. Book: The Discipline of the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection (Original Allegheny Conference). 2014. Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection. Salem. en. 140.
  77. Web site: This Holy Mystery: Part One . The United Methodist Church GBOD . 10 July 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070807115823/http://www.gbod.org/worship/thisholymystery/theologyofsacraments.html . 7 August 2007 . dmy .
  78. Web site: This Holy Mystery: Part Two . The United Methodist Church GBOD . 10 July 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20090707030906/http://www.gbod.org/worship/thisholymystery/parttwo.html . 7 July 2009 . dmy .
  79. Book: Discipline of the Primitive Methodist Church in the United States of America. Primitive Methodist Church. en. 2013. We reject the doctrine of transubstantiation: that is, that the substance of bread and wine are changed into the very body and blood of Christ in the Lord's Supper. We likewise reject that doctrine which affirms the physical presence of Christ's body and blood to be by, with and under the elements of bread and wine (consubstantiation)..
  80. http://gbod.org.s3.amazonaws.com/legacy/kintera/entry_8350/19/THM-BYGC.PDF This Holy Mystery: A United Methodist Understanding of Holy Communion
  81. for example, Web site: United Methodist Communon Liturgy: Word and Table 1. revneal.org. 2010. 23 September 2011. 17 April 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20090417073138/http://www.revneal.org/communionlit1.html. dead.
  82. Book: Neal, Gregory S.. Grace Upon Grace. 19 December 2014. WestBow Press. en . 9781490860060. 107.
  83. Book: Blunt, John Henry. Dictionary of Doctrinal and Historical Theology. 1891. Longmans, Green & Co.. 670.
  84. Web site: Where The Line Is Drawn: Ordination and Sexual Orientation in the UMC. Pruitt. Kenneth. 22 November 2013. Rethink Bishop. 27 April 2014. Sacraments for the UMC include both Baptism and Eucharist. The Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions count five more, which many Protestants, including the UMC, acknowledge as sacramental: Confession/Absolution, Holy Matrimony, Confirmation/Chrismation, Holy Orders/Ordination, and Anointing/Unction.. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20140428000914/http://rethinkbishop.com/tag/the-united-methodist-church/. 28 April 2014.
  85. Book: Underwood, Ralph L.. Pastoral Care and the Means of Grace. 1 October 1992. Fortress Press. 9781451416466. 76. The reason is simply that Wesley assumed the validity of Anglican practice in his day as reflected in the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. His later comments on the priestly office substantiate this. Just as preaching in the Methodist movement was not a substitute for Holy Communion, so for Wesley class meetings did not take the place of personal confession and absolution..
  86. Book: Morris, F.O. . The Ghost of Wesley [extracts from his writings]]. 27 April 2014. 1882. 10.
  87. Web site: Methodist Christianity . The Order of Saint Patrick . 31 May 2019 . en . 21 April 2017 . The society groups could be divided into smaller groups called "classes" that would provide for even more intimate spiritual support and nurture. These classes were composed of about a dozen people who met once a week for spiritual conversation and guidance. Members spoke about their temptations, confessed their faults, shared their concerns, testified to the working of God in their lives and exhorted & prayed for each other. Every Methodist was expected to attend class meetings..
  88. Book: Tovey, Phillip. The Theory and Practice of Extended Communion. 24 February 2016. Routledge. en. 9781317014201. 40–49.
  89. Book: Melton . J. Gordon . The Encyclopedia of American Religions . 1987 . Gale Research Company . 978-0-8103-2133-5 . 275 . English.
  90. Book: Discipline of the Missionary Methodist Church . 2004 . Missionary Methodist Church . 7.
  91. Book: Burns . Stephen . Cones . Bryan . Liturgy with a Difference: Beyond Inclusion in the Christian Assembly . 31 May 2019 . SCM Press . 978-0-334-05742-0 . English.
  92. Book: Cyclopædia of Biblical, theological, and ecclesiastical literature, Volume 6. Wesley had believed that bishops and presbyters constituted but one order, with the same right to ordain. He knew that for two centuries the succession of bishops in the Church of Alexandria was preserved through ordination by presbyters alone. "I firmly believe", he said, "I am a scriptural ἐπίσκοπος, as much as any man in England or in Europe; for the uninterrupted succession I know to be a fable which no man ever did or can prove;" but he also held that "Neither Christ nor his apostles prescribe any particular form of Church government." He was a true bishop of the flock which God had given to his care. He had hitherto refused "to exercise this right" of ordaining, because he would not come into needless conflict with the order of the English Church to which he belonged. But after the Revolution, his ordaining for American would violate no law of the Church; and when the necessity was clearly apparent, his hesitation ceased. "There does not appear," he said, "any other way of supplying them with ministers." Having formed his purpose, in February 1784, he invited Dr. Coke to his study in City Road, laid the case before him, and proposed to ordain and send him to America. . 10 June 2013. McClintock. John. 1894.
  93. Web site: Methodists and Apostolic Succession. Hixon. Daniel McLain. 5 September 2010. Gloria Deo. en. 8 May 2017. The succession normally proceeds from bishop to bishop, however, in certain instances where the death of a bishop made this impossible, groups of elders have consecrated new bishops, who in turn have been recognized as legitimate by the broader catholic Church. We read of one example of this in the Ancient Church in St. Jerome's Letter CXLVI when he describes the episcopal succession of the city of Alexandria. Thus, considering the unusual historical circumstances of Christians in the American colonies cut off from valid sacraments, Fr. John Wesley's action in consecrating Thomas Coke was irregular but not invalid, and the United Methodist Church enjoys a valid succession to this day..
  94. Book: The Cambridge Medieval History Series, Volumes 1–5. Plantagenet Publishing. 130. Severus of Antioch, in the sixth century, mentions that "in the former days" the bishop was "appointed" by presbyters at Alexandria. Jerome (in the same letter that was cited above, but independent for the moment of Ambrosiaster) deduces the essential equality of priest and bishop from the consideration that the Alexandrian bishop "down to Heraclas and Dionysius" (232–265) was chosen by the presbyters from among themselves without any special form of consecration..
  95. Book: Hinson, E. Glenn. The Church Triumphant: A History of Christianity Up to 1300. 1995. Mercer University Press. 9780865544369. 135. In Alexandria presbyters elected bishops and installed them until the fourth century. Throughout this critical era the power and importance of bishops increased steadily. At the beginning of the period Irenaeus, Tertullian, and Clement of Alexandria still thought of bishops as presbyters, albeit presbyters in a class by themselves..
  96. Book: McClintock. John. Strong. James. Cyclopaedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature. 6. 1894. Harper. 170. For forty years Mr. Wesley had believed that bishops and presbyters constituted but one order, with the same right to ordain. He knew that for two centuries the succession of bishops in the Church of Alexandria was preserved through ordination by presbyters alone..
  97. Book: Separated Brethren: A Review of Protestant, Anglican, Eastern Orthodox & Other Religions in the United States. the Methodists were directed to receive baptism and Holy Communion from Episcopal priests. They soon petitioned to receive the sacraments from the same Methodist preachers who visited their homes and conducted their worship services. The Bishop of London refused to ordain Methodist preachers as deacons and priests for the colonies, so in 1784 Wesley assumed the power to ordain ministers himself.. Our Sunday Visitor. 10 June 2013. 9781931709057. 2002.
  98. Book: The historic episcopate: a study of Anglican claims and Methodist orders. 145 . IN September, 1784, the Rev. John Wesley, assisted by a presbyter of the Church of England and two other elders, ordained by solemn imposition of the hands of the Rev. Dr. Thomas Coke to the episcopal office. . Eaton & Mains . 10 June 2013. 1896.
  99. Book: Appleton's cyclopædia of American biography, Volume 6. Being refused, he conferred with Thomas Coke, a presbyter of the Church of England, and with others, and on 2 Sept., 1784, he ordained Coke bishop, after ordaining Thomas Vasey and Richard Whatcoat as presbyters, with his assistance and that of another presbyter. . D. Appleton & Company . 10 June 2013. 1889.
  100. Book: A compendious history of American Methodism . Wesley referes(sic) to the ordination of bishops by the presbyters of Alexandria, in justification of his ordination of Coke.. Scholarly Publishing Office . 10 June 2013. 1885 .
  101. Web site: The Ministry of the Elder. United Methodist Church. 10 June 2013. 28 May 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20130528191618/http://www.gbhem.org/networking/ministry-elder. dead.
  102. Web site: Seven Days of Preparation – A Guide for Reading, Meditation and Prayer for all who participate in The Conversation: A Day for Dialogue and Discernment: Ordering of Ministry in the United Methodist Church . The Discipline affirms that "ordination to this ministry is a gift from God to the Church. In ordination, the Church affirms and continues the apostolic ministry through persons empowered by the Holy Spirit" (¶303). . . 31 December 2007 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20101226171839/http://www.gbhem.org/atf/cf/%7B0BCEF929-BDBA-4AA0-968F-D1986A8EEF80%7D/DOM7DaysofPreparation.pdf . 26 December 2010 .
  103. Book: The Methodist Ministry Defended, Or, a Reply to the Arguments in Favour of the Divine Institution, and the Uninterrupted Succession of Episcopacy. Even "after the introduction of the practice by which the epithet Bishop was generally confined to one person, the older writers who dwell upon this, occasionally use that epithet as synonymous with presbyter, it not having been till the third century, that the appropriation was so complete as never to be cast out of view.. General Books LLC . 10 June 2013. 1899.
  104. Book: Episcopal Methodism, as it was, and is;: Or, An account of the origin, progress, doctrines, church polity, usages, institutions, and statistics, of the Methodist Episcopal church in the United States. But if Scripture is opposed to modern high church claims and pretensions, so is history, on which successionists appear to lay so much stress.. Miller, Orton & Mulligan . 10 June 2013. 1852.
  105. Jay, Eric G. The Church: its changing image through twenty centuries. John Knox Press: 1980, p.228f
  106. Book: Nichols . Bridget . The Collect in the Churches of the Reformation . 12 May 2012 . SCM Press . 978-0-334-04207-5 . 85 . en.
  107. Book: Catechism of the Pillar of Fire Church . 1948 . Pillar of Fire Church . 39–40.
  108. Web site: Prayer . Wilmore Free Methodist Church . English . 2024 . We gather each Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. for singing, joyful thanksgiving, sharing, and prayer. Anyone is welcome to come and share a burden for us to bear together or a blessing for us to celebrate together..
  109. Book: Hurst, John Fletcher. The History of Methodism. 1902. Eaton & Mains. 310.
  110. Book: Jones . Susan H. . Everyday Public Worship . 30 April 2019 . SCM Press . 978-0-334-05757-4 . en.
  111. Book: Bercot . David W. . Dictionary of Early Christian Beliefs: A Reference Guide to More Than 700 Topics Discussed by the Early Church Fathers . 28 December 2021 . Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. . 978-1-61970-168-7 . English . Morning and Evening Prayer were liturgical services held each day at the local church, during which psalms were sung and prayers were offered to God..
  112. Book: Beckwith . Roger T. . Calendar, Chronology And Worship: Studies in Ancient Judaism And Early Christianity . 2005 . . 978-90-04-14603-7 . 193 . en.
  113. Web site: Praying the Hours of the Day: Recovering Daily Prayer . . 6 September 2020 . 6 May 2007.
  114. Book: The Book of Offices and Services. 6 September 2012. Order of St. Luke.
  115. Web site: Philosophy of St. Paul's . St Paul's Free Methodist Church . 17 May 2024 . en.
  116. Book: Lyerly, Cynthia Lynn. Methodism and the Southern Mind, 1770–1810. 19 June 2017. 24 September 1998. Oxford University Press. en. 9780195354249. 39.
  117. Journals of Wesley, Nehemiah Curnock, ed., London: Epworth Press 1938, p. 468.
  118. Web site: The Wesley Center Online: Sermon 88 – On Dress. Wesley. John. 1999. Wesley Center for Applied Theology. en. 19 June 2017.
  119. Book: The Discipline of the Wesleyan Methodist Connection, of America. 1858. Wesleyan Methodist Connection of America. en . 85.
  120. Book: Cartwright, Peter. Autobiography of Peter Cartwright: The Backwoods Preacher. 1857. Carlton & Porter. en . 74.
  121. Book: Bratt, James D.. By the Vision of Another World: Worship in American History. 2012. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. en . 9780802867100. 44. Methodist preachers, in particular, may have been tempted to take the elevation of the spirit and concomitant mortification of the body to extremes. Early circuit riders often arose well before dawn for solitary prayer; they remained on their knees without food or drink or physical comforts sometimes for hours on end..
  122. Book: Jones, Scott J.. United Methodist Doctrine: The Extreme Center. 2002. Abingdon Press. en. 9780687034857. 235.
  123. Book: Discipline of the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection. Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection. en. I. The Church. Should we insist on plain and modest dress? Certainly. We should not on any account spend what the Lord has put into our hands as stewards, to be used for His glory, in expensive wearing apparel, when thousands are suffering for food and raiment, and millions are perishing for the Word of life. Let the dress of every member of every Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Church be plain and modest. Let the strictest carefulness and economy be used in these respects..
  124. Book: The Discipline of the Evangelical Wesleyan Church . 2015. Evangelical Wesleyan Church. en. 41, 57–58.
  125. Web site: Brief Description . . 3 August 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220126234944/http://fimc.org.uk/about_us.htm . 26 January 2022 . English . 26 January 2022.
  126. Book: Tucker, Karen B. Westerfield. American Methodist Worship. 27 April 2011. Oxford University Press. en . 9780199774159. 46.
  127. Book: Abraham. William J.. Kirby. James E.. The Oxford Handbook of Methodist Studies. 24 September 2009. Oxford University Press. en. 9780191607431. 253.
  128. Book: Yrigoyen . Charles . John Wesley: Holiness of Heart and Life . 1 October 2010 . Abingdon Press . 978-1-4267-2945-4 . English . Wesley understood both the health and social issues related to the intemperate use of alcoholic beverages, especially liquors such as gin and brandy. He described distilled liquor as a "certain, though slow, poison," "liquid fire," prepared by the devil and his angels. Although he allowed for the use of liquor for "medicinal purposes," he cautioned against its consumption as a regular beverage and condemned those who sold it as "poisoners." About the "sellers of spirits" he stressed: "They murder His Majesty's subjects by wholesale, neither does their eye pity or spare [them]. They drive [their customers] to hell like sheep." Alcohol was not only a threat to good health, it was a menace to morality. Drunkenness affected the family and community, causing chaos in both. Wesley laid foundations for Methodism's traditional call to abstain from beverage alcohol and its warnings about the use of drugs (see United Methodism's Social Principles in The Book of Discipline)..
  129. Book: Whitaker, Sigur E.. James Allison: A Biography of the Engine Manufacturer and Indianapolis 500 Cofounder. 31 March 2011. McFarland. English. 9780786486397. 150.
  130. Book: Wheeler, Henry. Methodism and the Temperance Reformation. 1882. Walden and Stowe. English. 278.
  131. Book: Fowler, Robert Booth. Religion and Politics in America: Faith, Culture, and Strategic Choices. 4 April 2018. Taylor & Francis. English . 9780429972799. 213.
  132. Book: The Discipline of the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection (Original Allegheny Conference). 2014. Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection. Salem. en. 37.
  133. Web site: John Wesley and Spiritual Disciplines-- The Works of Piety . 2012 . The United Methodist Church . 5 April 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20141110150935/http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/wesley/disciple.stm . 10 November 2014 .
  134. Book: . . 1825 . J. Kershaw . 145 . English . Days of Fasting or Abstinence All the Fridays in the Year, except Christmas-Day.
  135. Book: McKnight . Scot . Fasting: The Ancient Practices . 2010 . Thomas Nelson . 9781418576134 . 88 . English. John Wesley, in his Journal, wrote on Friday, August 17, 1739, that "many of our society met, as we had appointed, at one in the afternoon and agreed that all members of our society should obey the Church to which we belong by observing 'all Fridays in the year' as 'days of fasting and abstinence.'.
  136. Book: Crowther, Jonathan. A Portraiture of Methodism: Or, The History of the Wesleyan Methodists. 1815. T. Blanshard. English. 251, 257.
  137. The spiritual discipline of fasting. Beard. Steve. 30 January 2012. United Methodist Church. Good News Magazine .
  138. Web site: Wesley on Preaching Law and Gospel . Seedbed . 25 August 2016.
  139. Dayton . Donald W. . Law and Gospel in the Wesleyan Tradition . Grace Theological Journal . 1991 . 12 . 2 . 233–243 .
  140. Book: Peter Cartwright. Autobiography of Peter Cartwright: The Backwoods Preacher. 1857. Carlton & Porter. en . 74. Peter Cartwright (revivalist).
  141. Book: Tucker, Karen B. Westerfield. American Methodist Worship. 27 April 2011. Oxford University Press. en . 9780199774159. 46, 117.
  142. Book: Crowther, Jonathan. A Portraiture of Methodism: Or, The History of the Wesleyan Methodists. 1815. T. Blanshard. en. 224, 249–250.
  143. Book: Smedley . R. C. . History of the Underground Railroad: In Chester and the Neighboring Counties of Pennsylvania . 2005 . Stackpole Books . 978-0-8117-3189-8 . xvi . English.
  144. Web site: Lawrence . William B. . Slavery and the founders of Methodism . United Methodist News Service . 15 May 2021 . en.
  145. The Constitution of The United Methodist Church, Preamble footnote, as found in The Book of Discipline of the United Methodist Church, 1984, p. 20.
  146. Book: Winn . Christian T. Collins . From the Margins: A Celebration of the Theological Work of Donald W. Dayton . 2007 . Wipf and Stock Publishers . 9781630878320 . 115 . en. In addition to these separate denominational groupings, one needs to give attention to the large pockets of the Holiness movement that have remained within the United Methodist Church. The most influential of these would be the circles dominated by Asbury College and Asbury Theological Seminary (both in Wilmore, KY), but one could speak of other colleges, innumerable local campmeetings, the vestiges of various local Holiness associations, independent Holiness oriented missionary societies and the like that have had great impact within United Methodism. A similar pattern would exist in England with the role of Cliff College within Methodism in that context..
  147. Web site: Holiness churches . www.oikoumene.org . World Council of Churches . 6 February 2021.
  148. Sidwell, Mark, "Conservative Holiness Movement: A Fundamentalism File Report". Retrieved 6 February 2021.
  149. Richie T. (2003). "John Wesley and Mohammed" core.ac.uk. Accessed 11 April 2023.

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