Wesley Center Online
Issue 2 Fall 2004 Volume 22
Issue 2 Fall 2004 Volume 22 ISSN 1085-2808
Contents | |
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| Is Perseverance in Faith Necessary to Obtain Final Salvation |
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| Twenty Years in the Dungeon of Doubt and How I Got Out The Heavenly Man |
Early Methodist Teaching on Water and Spirit Baptism
Joseph D. McPherson
During his short ministry, John the Baptist introduced Jesus as "he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit" (John 1:33). Before his ascension, Jesus himself promised his followers that they would "be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now" (Acts 1:5). "And so are all true believers, to the end of the world," responded John Wesley in his Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament.
What were the views of early Methodist leaders concerning the relationship of water baptism to Spirit baptism What did they consider to be the significance of these baptisms to both regeneration and Christian perfection It is hoped that by considering a sampling of the writings of John Wesley, Richard Watson, Adam Clarke, and John Fletcher concerning these issues we shall find some answers to these questions.
In Romans 8:9 Paul assures us that "anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him." Again in his Notes, Wesley comments thus: "If any man have not the Spirit of
Christ-dwelling and governing him. He is none of his-He is not a member of Christ; not a Christian; not in a state of salvation. A plain, express declaration, which admits of no exception. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."
For the founder of Methodism, all true believers were baptized with the Holy Spirit; not just those who had been entirely sanctified or perfected in love. In his written work entitled A Farther Appeal to Men of Reason and Religion, Wesley asks his readers the question: "Are you still a stranger to that inward baptism wherewith all true believers are baptized" [Works, 8:184].
In a letter to Rev. Potter, Wesley writes that "it does not appear that [St. Paul's] was a sudden conversion. It is true, 'a great light suddenly shone round about him;' but this light did not convert him. After he had seen this, 'he was three days without sight, and neither did eat or drink.' And probably, during the whole time, God was gradually working in his heart, till he 'arose and being baptized, washed away his sins, and was filled with the Holy Ghost'" [Works, 9:93]. Not only the washing away of his sins (plural), but the being "filled with the Holy Ghost," symbolized by water baptism were, for Wesley, important parts of the initial conversion experience of St. Paul.
In a December 1770 letter to Joseph Benson, Wesley gives a lengthy description of entire sanctification as a second definite "change" in the believer's heart. He then writes, "If they like to
call this 'receiving the Holy Ghost,' they may: Only the phrase, in that sense, is not scriptural,
and not quite proper; for they all 'received the Holy Ghost' when they were justified. God then,
'sent forth the Spirit of his Son into their hearts, crying 'Abba, Father'" [Works, 12:416].
Some may look upon Wesley's use of the word "received" as having a less significant meaning than the terms "baptized" and "filled." This, however, is easily settled when recalling that the Samaritans in Acts 8:17 "received the Holy Ghost" after Peter and John had prayed and laid hands upon them. Would any dare to deny that they were baptized with the Holy Spirit on that occasion simply because it is said that they received the Holy Ghost Various expressions for the baptism of the Holy Spirit were used interchangeably by New Testament writers to describe that great effusion of the Spirit upon new believers. We read that the Spirit fell on some, was sent, given, poured out, and shed forth on others. Believers are also said to receive, be endued, filled, and baptized with the Holy Spirit.
This great work of regeneration, Wesley believed, could be accomplished by nothing less than a powerful effusion or baptism of the Holy Spirit. Although water baptism was not synonymous with regeneration, yet it was to him an outward and visible sign of this inward work of grace [Works, 6:73]. This is supported by a Journal entry in which Wesley writes, "I baptized a gentlewoman at the Foundery; and the peace she immediately found was a fresh proof, that the outward sign, duly received, is always accompanied with the inward grace" [Works, 2:523].
To Wesley, the new birth was "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. It is the change wrought in the whole soul by the almighty Spirit of God when it is 'created anew in Jesus Christ'" [Works, 6:71].
In another place the founder of Methodism assures us that "It requires no less power thus to quicken a dead soul, than to raise a body that lies in the grave. It is a new creation; and none can create a soul anew, but He who at first created the heavens and the earth" [Works, 8:5].
Richard Watson was an able Bible scholar and theologian, who wrote the first systematic theology for early Methodism. His Theological Institutes, have been highly acclaimed by close
adherents of Wesleyan Arminianism, and it is from that work of his that we share the following.
By several passages of Scripture, Watson shows that water "baptism is to the new covenant what
circumcision was to the old, and took its place by the appointment of Christ" [2:620]. He further
states that "baptism [was] expressly made the initiatory rite, by which believers of 'all nations'
were to be introduced into the Church and covenant of grace; an office in which it manifestly took
the place of circumcision, which heretofore, even from the time of Abraham, had been the only initiatory rite into the same covenant" [2:620-621].
For Watson, baptism is not only "a sign of the new covenant, corresponding to circumcision," but "is the symbol of regeneration, the washing away of sin, and 'the renewing of the Holy Ghost'. which he shed, or poured out, 'on us abundantly through Jesus Christ.'. Of this great new covenant blessing, baptism was therefore eminently the sign; and it represented 'the pouring out' of the Spirit, 'the descending' of the Spirit, the 'falling' of the Spirit 'upon men'" [2:626-627].
Adam Clarke is well known for his excellent Commentary on the Bible. He was one of Wesley's itinerant preachers in early life and later proved himself to be an outstanding scholar and
master of Semitic languages.
In his comments on John 3:5, Clarke sees water in the baptismal rite as "an emblem of the Holy Spirit." Commenting on Acts 2:38 he continues to express this concept by explaining that "baptism [points] out the purifying influences of the Holy Spirit; and it is in reference to that purification that it is administered, and should in consideration never be separated from it. For [water] baptism itself purifies not the conscience; it only points out the grace by which this is to be done."
In Acts 10, we read that Peter was preaching, not a second work of grace, but Christ and the remissions of sins (plural), when the Holy Spirit fell upon Cornelius and those gathered with him to hear the word. Clarke has some interesting observations on verse 47, in which Peter asks, "Can anyone withhold water"
These had evidently received the Holy Ghost, and consequently were become members of the mystical body of Christ; and yet St. Peter requires that they shall receive baptism by water, that they might become members of the Christian Church. In other cases, they received baptism first, and the Spirit afterwards by the imposition of hands; see Acts 19:4-6, where the disciples who had received only the baptism of John were baptized again with water in the name of the Lord Jesus; and, after even this, the apostles prayed, and laid their hands on them, before they were made partakers of the Holy Ghost. So we find that Jesus Christ had his water baptism as well as John; and that even he who gave the baptism of the Holy Ghost required the administration of water baptism also. Therefore, the baptism of the Spirit did not supersede the baptism by water; nor indeed can it; as baptism, as well as the supper of the Lord, were intended, not only to be means of grace, but standing, irrefragable proofs of the truth of Christianity.
The Apostle Paul, writing to Titus assures him that he saved us, according to his mercy, "by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit" [3:5]. Clarke gives special consideration to the words "by the washing of regeneration." "Undoubtedly," says he, "the apostle here means baptism, the rite by which persons were admitted into the Church, and the visible sign of the cleansing, purifying influences of the Holy Spirit, which the apostle immediately subjoins. Baptism is only a sign, and therefore should never be separated from the thing signified; but it is a rite commanded by God himself, and therefore the thing signified should never be expected without it."
John Fletcher, the saintly Vicar of Madeley, became the celebrated apologist of early Methodist teachings. His Checks to Antinomianism display the masterful way in which he successfully vindicated Mr. Wesley's theological stance against Calvinism and the antinomianism naturally spawned by it. "One equal to him I have not known," writes Wesley, "one so inwardly and outwardly devoted to God."
In his Last Check to Antinomianism, Fletcher makes reference to the Apostles' manner of
preaching after Pentecost. He says that they began to preach "the full baptism of Christ which has
two branches, the baptism of water, and the baptism of the Spirit, or of celestial fire." For an illustration of this he refers to the responsive question given by penitent Jews to Peter's sermon, followed by the Apostle's answer. "They asked, 'Men and brethren, what shall we do' Peter answered, 'Be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost'" [Works, 2:525].
"But," cautions this good man, "how many learned men, to this day, see no difference between water baptism and spiritual regeneration, between the means of grace and grace itself, between 'the form' and 'the power of godliness!'" [Works, 3:280].
Referring to a page in his essay entitled Spiritual Manifestations of the Son of God, we see that this scholar and saint considered the being "baptized with the Holy Ghost and spiritual fire," as a "blessing which can alone make a man a Christian" [Works, 4:287]. Likewise, he shows in one of his sermon outlines the necessity of being baptized with the Holy Spirit for the accomplishment of the new birth [Works, 4:195].
In his Equal Check, he reminds his readers of St. Paul's statement in 1 Corinthians 12:13. Although the Corinthian believers were far from being entirely sanctified at the time Paul wrote, he assures them that "by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body . and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" [Works, 2:289]. Paul is not referring to those only who have had an advanced experience of grace. He is making the point that all members, without exception, had entered the body, or the invisible Church of Christ by Spirit baptism. It was an initiatory event and common experience for them all.
In his written work entitled The Portrait of St. Paul, Fletcher describes those who have not yet received a "spiritual baptism" as being "shut up in [a] state of weakness and doubt. But so
soon as they are born of the Spirit, they cry out no longer with trembling fear, 'Save us; we perish:' But they cry out, in transports of gratitude, 'God, according to his mercy, hath saved us, by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which he hath shed on us abundantly, through Jesus Christ our Savior'" [Works, 3:170-171].
In his "A Sermon on the New Birth," Fletcher contrasts the "difference between the reformation of a Pharisee and the regeneration of a child of God. Some degrees of preventing grace and of reason and reflection, suffice for the first," says he, "but nothing less can effect the second than a baptism of the Holy Ghost" [Works, 4:111-112].
Later in the same sermon, Fletcher speaks of the new birth as a spiritual resurrection. He assures the penitent seeker of a "balm in Gilead." Better yet, "Faith in the blood of Christ," says he, "can not only heal the wounds of a dying soul, but raise to life one that is spiritually dead" [Works, 4:112].
Finally, in this same "Sermon on the New Birth," we find Fletcher giving encouragement to a true penitent and seeker after the new birth. "Yes, you shall," says he, "be baptized by the Holy Ghost for the remission of sins, and justified freely by faith" [Works, 4:115].
We conclude from this short study, which is far from exhaustive, that each of these early Methodist leaders, in keeping with the Church historically, viewed both water and Spirit baptism as initiatory events. They understood that for lack of thorough repentance and a living faith, baptism of the Spirit did not always accompany water baptism at the same moment, though it often did.
None of them subscribed to what is termed "baptismal regeneration," though baptism by water was clearly held to be an outward symbol of that inward baptism of the Spirit which is received in regeneration.
A more extensive study of the writings of these men show that all clearly subscribed to the Holy Spirit's continued work in the believer's heart following regeneration, bringing about growth together with a perfection in divine love. The Holy Spirit's full cleansing of the believer's heart from inbred sin was viewed by all as taking place in an instantaneous experience of entire sanctification.
It is known that Fletcher, in other parts of his writings, applied the language of "baptism of the Holy Ghost" to the work of entire sanctification, as well. Some have mistakenly supposed that he used such language exclusively with reference to entire sanctification. Such is not the case, as proven by the quotations already cited. He, like the others, plainly referred to the baptism of the Holy Spirit with reference to regeneration. By using the same terminology for both regeneration and entire sanctification, he, however, differs from Wesley. He is seen as viewing the work of the Holy Spirit in a holistic sense. Surprisingly, Adam Clarke is also found in a place or two to speak of "another baptism" of the Spirit in the accomplishment of entire sanctification [Clarke's Christian Theology, p. 206].
Did Fletcher influence a change in Wesley's theology, as some claim, so as to alter the latter's views concerning the baptism of the Holy Spirit More particularly, did Wesley in his later writings use the terminology of "baptism of the Holy Ghost" in reference to entire sanctification A close reading of Wesley's sermons and writings produced in the last thirty years of his life will
convince any unbiased reader that the answer is No! The notion that Fletcher influenced a change
in Wesley's thinking in this way or in some measure "fine tuned" his theology is unsubstantiated.
While Fletcher's strengths are seen in his masterful confutation of the tenets of Calvinism and his
exceptionally holy life, Wesley was solidly scriptural in his theological teachings.
Early Methodists would have considered it a grave mistake to make the experience of the disciples prior to Pentecost the pattern for regeneration. One will search in vain to find an eighteenth century Methodist who equated or related the Baptism with the Holy Spirit solely to entire sanctification. They would have considered such a view as regrettably lowering the standards of both regeneration and entire sanctification. Pentecost, to them was the watershed of salvation history. As Kenneth Collins explains, "Pentecost was the birth of the Church, not its perfection." The disciples, under the tutoring of their Master, lived in a time of transition between the old covenant and the new. The old dispensation of the law was giving way to the dispensation of a fuller one of grace and truth. We can never fully duplicate their experience nor tread the same path they trod while following their Master in the flesh. Although Christ's disciples were doubtlessly saved during this period, according to their inferior dispensation, it is impossible for us to look at their experience in those days as a pattern, far less a norm, for the experience of regeneration today. All early Methodist leaders uniformly agreed that Christ's baptism of the Holy Spirit is conditionally necessary for making one a truly regenerated believer and member of His spiritual Church. They understood that such a baptism alone had the power to spiritually raise dead souls to life in Christ.
Is Perseverance in Faith Necessary to Obtain Final Salvation
Steve Witzki
"Final perseverance implies final faithfulness-he that endures to the end shall be saved-he that is faithful unto death shall have a crown of life. And will any man attempt to say that he who does not endure to the end, and is unfaithful, shall ever enter into life" [Adam Clarke, Commentary, 5:595].
Clarke, as with most Christians, would find it incredible to think that there are actually Christians who would argue that unfaithful Christians -those who do not endure in faith to the
end-still will enter into life everlasting with Jesus. But this is exactly what we find being
taught today, and from none other than the popular author and pastor Charles Stanley, "The unfaithful believer will not lose his salvation. . Even if a believer for all practical purposes becomes an unbeliever, his salvation is not in jeopardy.. Christ will not deny an unbelieving
Christian his or her salvation" [Eternal Security: Can You Be Sure pp. 93-94, emphasis added].
Remarkably, Stanley is arguing for saved unbelievers. To most Christians this seems to be an oxymoron like "married bachelor," that makes no sense. Yet, this teaching is entirely consistent with Stanley's theology of salvation. He teaches that salvation "is applied at the moment of faith.And its permanence is not contingent upon the permanence of one's faith" [p. 80]. Since one moment of faith secures one's eternal destiny then it necessarily follows that a believer's salvation cannot be taken from them "for any reason, whether it be sin or disbelief" [p. 81]. Therefore it is no surprise that Stanley objects to "those who hold that one's faith must be maintained to ensure the possession of eternal life" [p. 92].
I have demonstrated in a previous Arminian article, "The Meaning of Eternal Life and Who Possesses It" [Fall 2002] that the Scriptures do teach that one's possession of eternal life is conditioned upon a maintained attitude of trust in the person and source of eternal life-the Lord Jesus Christ. I am not alone in this assessment of the Scriptural witness. Even the Classical Calvinist agrees with the Arminian that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ must continue to the end if one is going to experience salvation in the age to come. For example, Reformed author James White says,
Throughout this passage [John 6:35-45] an important truth is presented that again might be missed in many English translations. When Jesus describes the one who comes to Him and who believes in Him, He uses the present tense to describe this coming, believing, or, in other passages, hearing or seeing. The present tense refers to a continuous, ongoing action. . The wonderful promises that are provided by Christ are not for those who do not truly and continually believe. The faith that saves is a living faith, a faith that always looks to Christ as Lord and Savior. . Many in our world today.. teach essentially that a person can perform an act of believing on Christ once, and after this, they can fall away even into total unbelief
and yet still supposedly be "saved." . Christ does not save men in this way. The true Christian is the one continually coming, always believing in Christ. Real Christian faith is an ongoing faith, not a one-time act. If one wishes to be eternally satiated, one meal is not enough. If we wish to feast on the bread of heaven, we must do so all our lives. We will never hunger or thirst if we are always coming and always believing in Christ [Drawn by the Father, pp. 19-20].
James Arminius said, "At the beginning of faith in Christ and of conversion to God, the believer becomes a living member of Christ. If he perseveres in the faith of Christ and maintains a good conscience, he remains a living member. But if he becomes indolent, has no care for himself, gives place to sin, he becomes, by degrees half-dead: and proceeding in this way he at length wholly dies, and ceases to be a member of Christ" [Works, 3:470, emphasis added).
Wesley admonished believers to likewise, "Continue to believe in him that loved thee, and gave himself for thee; that bore all thy sins in his own body on the tree; and he saveth thee from all condemnation, by his blood continually applied. Thus it is that we continue in a justified state." He goes on to add, 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 not only now no condemnation for us, but no such desert of punishment as was before, the Lord cleansing both our hearts and lives. By the same faith we feel the power of Christ every moment resting upon us, whereby alone we are what we are; whereby we are enabled to continue in spiritual life, and without which, notwithstanding all our present holiness, we should be devils the next moment. But as long as we retain our faith in him,
we "draw water out of the wells of salvation ["The Repentance of Believers," 2.4-5].
Wesley was in complete agreement with Arminius who taught "that it is impossible for believers, as long as they remain believers, to decline from salvation.. On the other hand, if believers fall away from the faith and become unbelievers, it is impossible for them to do otherwise than decline from salvation-that is, if they still continue unbelievers" [Works, 1:742]. This is clearly expressed by Wesley in his Serious Thoughts Upon the Perseverance of the Saints. Throughout this article Wesley states the objection raised by those who hold to unconditional security and then provides a response that is true to the Scriptural text:
10. "But how can this [teaching that a Christian can fall from God as to perish everlastingly] be reconciled with the words of the Lord: 'He that believeth shall be saved'"
Do you think these words mean, "He that believes" at this moment "shall" certainly and inevitably "be saved"
If this interpretation be good, then, by all the rules of speech, the other part of the sentence must mean, "He" that does "not believe" at this moment, "shall" certainly and inevitably "be damned."
Therefore that interpretation cannot be good. The plain meaning, then, of the whole sentence is, "He that believeth," if he continue in faith, "shall be saved; he that believeth not," if he continue in unbelief, "shall be damned."
11. "But does not Christ say elsewhere, 'He that believeth hath everlasting life' (John 3:36), and 'He that believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death untolife'" (v. 24).
I answer, (1.) The love of God is everlasting life. It is, in substance, the life of heaven. Now, everyone that believes, loves God, and therefore, "hath everlasting life."
(2.) Everyone that believes "is" therefore, "passed from death," spiritual death, "unto life;" and,
(3.) "Shall not come into condemnation," if he endureth in the faith unto the end; according to our Lord's own words, "He that endureth unto the end shall be saved [Matt 10:22];" and,"Verily I say unto you, if a man keep my sayings, he shall never see death" (John 8:51) [Works, 10:288, emphasis added)
To understand salvation as being conditional upon a persevering faith inevitably raised another objection encountered by Wesley,
"Nay, but are not 'all the promises, yea and amen'" They are firm as the pillars of heavens. Perform the condition, and the promise is sure. Believe, and thou shalt be saved. "But many promises are absolute and unconditional." In many, the condition is not expressed. But this does not prove, there is none implied. . For example: "This is the Father's will, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing." [John 6:39] Most sure, all that God hath given him, or as it is expressed in the next verse, "every one that believeth on him," namely, to the end, "he will raise up at the last day, to reign with him forever" (John 6:40) [Works, 10:290-291, emphasis added].
"So long as he performs the condition, so long is he heir of the salvation," writes Daniel Whedon.
"When he ceases to be a believer he loses all claim to the divine promise, and all interest in eternal
life. That he has once believed no longer secures him heaven, any more than the fact that he has once disbelieved secures eternal death" [Commentary, 2:288].
To Wesley, God will deliver on all the promises of God . provided that you fulfill the condition. "Again: 'I am the living bread:- If any man eat of this bread,' (by faith,) 'he shall live forever.' (John 6:51.) True; if he continue to eat thereof. And who can doubt of it [Works, 10:291, emphasis added].
The last objection Wesley deals with is handled in the same way as the others:
29. "Can a child of God, then, go to hell Or can a man be a child of God today, and a child of the devil tomorrow If God is our Father once, is He not our Father always"
I answer, (1.) A child of God, that is, a true believer (for he that believeth is born of God), while he continues a true believer, cannot go to hell. But, (2.) If a believer make shipwreck of the faith, he is no longer a child of God. And then he may go to hell, yea, and he certainly will if he continues in unbelief. (3.) If a believer may make shipwreck of faith, then a man that believes now, may be an unbeliever some time hence; yea, very possibly tomorrow; but if so, he who is a child of God today, may be a child of the devil tomorrow. For, (4.) 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 [Works, 10:297-98, emphasis added].
Wesley rightly understood that no biblical author guarantees one's final salvation apart from a living faith. The Apostle Peter agrees when he says to his fellow believers "you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls" (1 Pet 1:9). Joseph Benson arrives at the same conclusion as Wesley in his commentary on Matthew 10:22: But be not discouraged at the prospect of these trials, for he that perseveres in the faith and practice of the gospel, and who bears constantly and with invincible patience these persecutions, (which my grace is sufficient to enable you all to do,) shall be finally and eternally saved from all sin and misery, into the kingdom and glory of God [Notes, 4:99, emphasis added].
Adam Clarke began our discussion by asking a rhetorical question: And will any man attempt to say that he who does not endure to the end, and is unfaithful, shall ever enter into life He never would have expected to hear a "Yes" response from an influential pastor such as Charles Stanley.
May the body of Christ rise up and refute such teaching and proclaim that which is agreement with what God has declared, "But my righteous one shall live by faith; and if he shrinks back, my
soul has no pleasure in him. But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the preserving of the soul" (Heb 10:38-39, NASB).
Interpreting the Word Accurately
2 Timothy 2:15
Q: I have read some of the articles in The Arminian Magazine Index and find them inspiring and
biblically sound. I am confused about a subject, "Second Blessing Holiness." In simple terms, can you explain what this means
Although those who are truly born again begin to live a holy life, the new birth is only the beginning point of the Christian walk. Without meaning to diminish the transforming grace of regeneration, we do not get everything God has for us when we get saved. Therefore, some have referred to a deeper work of God's grace as "a second blessing."
The Scriptures do not use this term "second blessing." The phrase "second benefit" in 2 Cor 1:15 simply refers to a second visit from Paul to Colossae. In his Plain Account of Christian Perfection Wesley advised, "Avoid all magnificent, pompous words; indeed, you need give it no general name; neither perfection, sanctification, the second blessing, nor the having attained." Yet
Wesley himself sparingly used the phrase "second blessing" a total of five times, and always in correspondence. He wrote in a letter to Jane Hilton (who was later known by her married name, Jane Barton), "It is exceeding certain that God did give you the second blessing, properly so called. He delivered you from the root of bitterness, from inbred, as well as actual, sin. And at that time you were enabled to give Him all your heart; to rejoice evermore, and to pray without ceasing" [8 Oct, 1774; see also this phrase used in a letter to Sarah Crosby 14 Feb, 1761; in a letter to Thomas Olivers 24 March, 1757; in a letter to Jane Salkeld 9 Aug, 1772]. He wrote to Samuel Bardsley, "Press all believers to go on to perfection. Insist everywhere on the second blessing as receivable in a moment, and receivable now, by simple faith" [3 April,
1772].
Yet there is something ambiguous about the phrase "second blessing." Since it is not a scriptural phrase, we cannot become contentious over it. Some have reasoned, if a second, why not a third or fourth This tends to fragment the grace of God and create a caste system within the Church. Those who use the term "second blessing" properly mean by it that sin is two-fold in its nature, both an outward expression and an inner attitude. Thus, salvation is also twofold. The new birth enables a person to live holy in his outward expressions, but while the old nature of sin no longer reigns, it still remains.
In a letter to Joseph Benson he wrote of a "second change, whereby they shall be saved from all sin, and perfected in love" [28 Dec, 1770]. In one sermon, "The Repentance of Believers," Wesley spoke of the Lord speaking "to our hearts again, to speak the second time, Be clean." In a letter to Jane Hilton, Wesley referred to a "second deliverance" [1 March, 1769]. Thus, there is a "secondness" about the perfecting grace of God which deals with those inner attitudes.
Q: A friend of mine was told by his modern holiness Pastor that the disciples were born again before Pentecost because the Lamb was slain from the foundation of the world. I don't understand that Pastor's reasoning.
Revelation 13:8 states that the Lamb, Jesus Christ, was slain from the foundation of the world. This implies that before God ever created this world, he knew that sin would enter it. When sin entered this world through Adam, God was not caught unprepared. The cost of atonement would be the sacrifice of his own Son. Thus, God not only foreknew Adam's original sin, but God had predestinated the plan of salvation.
However, it seems to me that this pastor has logically concluded that if salvation was potentially planned from creation, that every obedient believer from the time of creation has enjoyed the full benefits of that salvation. It is true that all who were saved under the old covenant were saved through the provision of Christ's atonement, but it is not correct to assume they enjoyed the full benefit of Christ's atonement. The main thesis of the book of Hebrews is that the new covenant is "better" or superior in privilege. Peter wrote that indeed Christ was chosen before the foundation of the world, but he was not revealed until "these last times" (1 Peter 1:20).
Unlike God, we live under the restrictions of time. There remain future benefits of the atonement which we have not yet realized. Ultimately the provisions of the atonement will restore paradise and open heaven, but we are not there yet. The opposite danger is to fail to appropriate all of the grace which is presently available for us.
Your question concerns itself with how much grace was then available to the disciples before the atoning work of Christ was completed, before he ascended back to the Father's right hand, and before he poured out the Holy Spirit. How could they be justified freely through faith in his blood (Rom 3:24-25) before that blood was shed How could they be regenerated through the work of the Spirit before the Spirit was even given (John 7:39) How could they enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5) before that kingdom was established (Matt 11:11)
If we are going to disregard any distinctions between past, present, and future benefits of the atonement, by using this pastor's logic we could argue that we are already in heaven - since glorification and heaven are future benefits of the atonement.
A. J. Smith. Twenty Years in the Dungeon of Doubt and How I Got Out. Rpt. Shoals: IN: Old Paths Tract Society, 2004.
Dr. A. J. Smith originally wrote "Twenty Years in the Dungeon of Doubt and How I Got Out" around 1930. The original edition was 64 pages. When that edition was exhausted, he abridged it for the next printing sometime prior to June 1939. Old Paths Tract Society has reprinted this abridged edition, which is 38 pages long. I have compared the two editions and concluded that the abridged edition omitted material Smith had gathered from other sources primarily to substantiate his concern over shallow altar work. The abridged edition stays more focused on his personal testimony. Nothing important is omitted. In fact, he even adds a couple of paragraphs not found in the original edition. Then he adds 16 pages of brief citations from other authors, separate from his testimony. The significance of his personal testimony is that he went to China as a Nazarene missionary in 1920. However, he had never been born again before March 14, 1927. When he got honest before God, a revival broke out among both the Chinese and American church leaders. Thus, the experience of Smith is a small reflection of Wesley's own missionary journey to Georgia and the mighty Methodist revival which began after Wesley returned to England and was born again at Aldersgate. While in China Smith prays for the baptism with the Holy Ghost, which at that time he equated with entire sanctification. But he comes to realize that he not only had not received the mighty baptism with the Holy Ghost, he had not been scripturally regenerated. Smith does not work out all the theology in this book. His final book, Bible Holiness, written a quarter of a century after his conversion is his mature understanding that regeneration is accomplished through the baptism with the Holy Spirit (this book is advertised on page 12).
Although Smith is still maligned today as one who was divisive, he clearly taught the Wesleyan view of Pentecostal regeneration and Christian perfection. Furthermore, he exhibited a holy love toward those with whom he disagreed and died with the full assurance of faith. He was a close colleague of Elmer Long, one of the founders of the Fundamental Wesleyan Society.
Some people are more persuaded by testimony than by doctrine, and many have been awakened through this testimony. Old Paths Tract Society is to be commended for reprinting it. You may order it from them by calling 812-247-2560, FAX number 812-247-2476. The price is
$1.95 each, 5 or more copies are $1.19 each.
Brother Yun with Paul Hattaway. The HeavenlyMan. London: Piquant, 2003. 351 pages.
Brother Yun grew up in a poor Chinese village in the Henan Province. His mother had once been a Christian, but then communism took over. All Bibles were destroyed. Eventually
his father contracted cancer and was expected to die, when his mother heard a voice saying that Jesus could heal him. When God healed his father, Yun became zealous for Christ, but wanted a Bible. Most people had never seen one; his mother could only remember a few verses. He fasted
and prayed until he received a vision that God would give him the bread of life and make him an evangelist. Late one night there was a knock on their door and two men handed him a Bible, then left. They were identical to the men in his vision. He read it through, then started memorizing it. He would quote the book of Matthew and the Spirit would fall on the people in conviction. By the time he was 16 he had led over 2000 people to Christ.
This book reads like the 29th chapter of Acts. Yun suffered tremendously in prison. But on other occasions God supernaturally delivered him. He writes of entire villages converting
to Christ and being baptized. He describes the growth of the church with daily conversions-all within the last 25 years.
Yet as China has opened to the West, the Chinese church began to receive books teaching them how they must worship, or that they must speak in tongues, or be baptized in Jesus' name only. Yun also had problems with the prosperity gospel, since he himself has been arrested about thirty different times for the sake of the gospel.
Yun has been out of China and living in Germany since Sept. 2001. After visiting our churches he wrote, "Before I traveled to the West I had absolutely no idea that so many churches were spiritually asleep." He said the first thing we need to do is to return to the Word of the Lord. His challenge for the Western church is to get back to basics, then join hands with them in partnership to establish God's kingdom throughout China and all the way back to Jerusalem..
Yun is a leader in the Back to Jerusalem movement. In the 1920s there was a revival in China which produced this Back to Jerusalem movement. They felt they should travel back to Jerusalem and spread the gospel along the way-thus completing the circle of world evangelism. By the time they made it to the Chinese border, Mao closed it and some of that leadership spent years in prison. But with the more recent revival in China, the vision has resurfaced with a younger generation. The Chinese church plans to send out 100,000 missionaries and they expect 10,000 to be martyred. But they intend to pull down the last remaining spiritual giants: Buddha, Islam, and Hinduism as they walk back to Jerusalem preaching the gospel as they go. Basically
the Chinese church is attempting to fulfill the Great Commission. This has tremendous implications and is the single most exciting fulfillment of our prayer for the kingdom
to come to earth.
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