|
John Wesley was as keen observer of human behavior. In response to the question: How is God generally pleased to bring a sinner to salvation? Wesley answered: "The chief of these means are" prayer - both in private and public worship; reading, hearing, and meditating on the Scriptures; and receiving the Lord's supper - "eating bread and drinking wine in remembrance of Him." Other means of grace Wesley particularly emphasized were compassionate ministry, Christian conference, and covenant renewal. He believed that God had ordained these as the ordinary channels of conveying his grace to human souls. [3] I will briefly discuss each of these six means of grace. But before I do so, we need to consider what Wesley meant by "means of grace." Concern for our own spiritual growth brings with it subtle dangers. We should not imagine that there are things we can do that will dig our spiritual foundations deeper, that will make our spirits soar higher, that will help us grow larger in our faith. The Christian life is by grace from first to last. Nothing we can do will improve our standing before God. Only God can deepen our relationship with him. God alone can lift us from the ordinary to the extraordinary. We do not enter into a saving relationship with God by our own achievements and we do not sustain this relationship in our own strength. But do not imagine that saying this, I will leave the podium, and urge you to let God draw you nearer to himself, if he so chooses, leaving you to do nothing. Wesley reminds us of a familiar saying of Saint Augustine: "He that made us without ourselves, will not save us without ourselves." We must cooperate with God's saving purposes for us. We cannot save ourselves, but we can frustrate God's salvation by either negligence or unfaithfulness (see Heb. 2:2, 3). Or we can facilitate the flow of God's grace by availing ourselves of the means God has ordained. Wesley writes: Most people get "lost in the hurry of life, in the business or pleasures of it, and seem to think that their regeneration, their new nature, will spring and grow up within them, with as little care and thought of their own as their bodies were conceived and have attained their full strength and stature; whereas, there is nothing more certain than that the Holy Spirit will not purify our nature, unless we carefully attend to his work in our lives. This is lost when we squander away our thoughts upon unnecessary things, and leave our spiritual improvement, the one thing needful, quite unthought of and neglected." [4] In Wesley's day, as in ours, there are always some who "mistake the means for the end," who define their relationship with God by the outward works they do rather than by "a heart renewed after the image of God." They forget that the end of every commandment is love, coming out of a pure heart, a clear conscience, and true faith (1 Tim. 1:5). Wesley insists that "the whole value of the means" of grace depends on their actually serving the end of a personal relationship with God. Thus, "all these means, when separate from the end, are worthless. If they do not lead us to know God better and love Him more completely, they may become "an abomination before him." [5] "All outward means whatever, if separate from the Spirit of God, cannot profit at all." There is no intrinsic power in any means of grace. "There is no inherent power in the words that are spoken in prayer, in the letter of Scripture read" or heard, or in the bread and wine received in the Lord's supper. "It is God alone who is the Giver of every good gift, the Author of all grace." "He is able to give the same grace" apart from the means of grace. "The use of all means whatever will never atone for one sin." The saving death of Christ alone can do this. [6] Wesley sadly admits that the majority of the professing Christians of his day "abuse the means of grace to the destruction of their souls." [7] They presume that they are Christians simply because they do these things. Or they imagine that there is some magical power in going through the motions, imagining that sooner or later God will recognize their merit and "give them holiness, or accept them without it." [8] Why do some Christians never seem to grow in grace? Why is their relationship with God so superficial? Wesley replies: It is true that this may be due in some cases to a deficiency in the means of grace - of hearing the true word of God spoken with power; of the sacraments, or of Christian fellowship. But where none of these is lacking, the great hindrance of our receiving or growing in the grace of God is always the lack of denying ourselves, or taking up our cross. [9] The means of grace must be supplemented with self-discipline. And yet we must never forget that self-control is among the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23). Wesley was wise enough to observe that Providence and the Spirit of God worked in the lives of different people in different ways. The means by which different men and women are led, and in which they find the blessing of God, are varied, transposed, and combined together, a thousand different ways. Because it is grace, not works, that brings us into a relationship with God and that deepens this relationship, we must always allow his Spirit to lead us, sometimes by one means, sometimes another. Thus Wesley recommends: The general rule for all who groan for the salvation of God is this: Whenever the opportunity presents itself, use all the means which God has ordained; for who knows in which God will meet us? Wesley urges us to keep five cautions constantly in mind. First, we must not limit the Almighty. He does whatever and whenever it pleases him. He can convey his grace, either in or out of any of the means which he has appointed. Second, we must remember: There is no power in the means of grace. All of the means of grace in themselves are poor, dead, empty things. Separate from God, they are dry leaves, mere shadows. There is no merit in using them; nothing intrinsically pleasing to God; nothing whereby I deserve any favor from his hands. [10] Third, in using all means, we must seek God alone. In and through every outward thing, we look only to the power of his Spirit, and the merits of his Son. Nothing short of God can satisfy our souls. Therefore, we must keep our eyes on him in all, through all, and above all. Fourth, we must use all means, as means; not for their own sake, but in order to renew our souls in righteousness and true holiness. Fifth, after we have done these, we must take care not to congratulate ourselves as if we have done some great thing. Apart from God, what does this avail? God is all in all. [11] The question remains: If salvation is the gift and the work of God from first to last, how may we receive this gift? To those who answer, "Only believe and you will be saved," Wesley replies, "True; but how shall I believe" when I cannot believe? He insists that those who want to become Christians and those who want to grow as Christians should not simply wait in inactivity. On the contrary, they should actively pursue the means of grace. Was Wesley's understanding of how we deepen our relationship with God biblically sound? You decide for yourself. Hear the word of the Lord found in 2 Pet. 1:3-9 (from the New Century Version): "Second, All who desire the grace of God are to wait for it in searching the Scriptures" (John 5:39). Scripture reports that those who do so find thereby the grace of God that enables them to believe (Acts 17:11, 12). [16] Faith comes by hearing the word of God (Rom. 10:17). Scripture reading is a means by which God not only gives, but also confirms and increases, true wisdom. The Holy Scriptures point us to salvation through faith in Christ alone (2 Tim. 3:15). Because all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness. By reading and heeding God's word, God's people are made perfect and thoroughly equipped to do good works (2 Tim. 3:16, 17). [17] Scripture reading is profitable not only for those who already enjoy a personal relationship with God and want to know him better, but also for those who want to come to know him for the first time. And so we wait for his grace by searching the Scriptures (2 Pet. 1:19). Third, "all who desire an increase of the grace of God are to wait for it in partaking of the Lord's supper." [19] By meditating upon his saving death, by expecting his personal presence, by anticipating his coming again in glory, we prepare ourselves to receive his grace. Those who are already filled with peace and joy in believing, or anyone who longs for the grace of true repentance may, No, must eat and drink to their souls' content. "Is not the eating of that bread, and the drinking of that cup, the outward, visible means, whereby God conveys into our souls all that spiritual grace, that righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, which were purchased by the body of Christ once broken and the blood of Christ once shed for us? Let all, therefore, who truly desire the grace of God, eat of that bread, and drink of that cup." [20] Wesley was convinced that communion was not only a confirming, but also a converting ordinance. [21] It is not only for those who already believe and long to deepen their relationship with the Lord, but for those who truly want to believe, but seem to lack the grace to do so. I believe Wesley's view was biblically sound. Fourth, what we call compassionate ministry today, Wesley called "works of mercy." He considered these "real means of grace." They are more especially such to those that do them with the right motive - as expressions of love for God and neighbor. Those that neglect to share their bounty with the poor, to visit the sick and imprisoned, and the like, do not receive the grace they otherwise might. And Wesley adds, they lose, by continual neglect, the grace which they had received. Giving money to others to minister to the needy on our behalf is no substitute for doing it ourselves. If we do not, Wesley insisted, we lose a means of grace. That is, we lose an excellent means of increasing our thankfulness to God, who has spared us from this pain and sickness, and continues our health and strength; as well as of increasing our compassion for the afflicted, our benevolence, and all other similar social affections. [22] Fifth, fellowship in the Methodist societies, classes, and bands was the distinguishing feature of Wesley's approach to Christian nurture. The Methodist "societies" were groups of persons "united in order to pray together, to receive the word of exhortation, and to watch over one another in love . . . to work out their salvation." [23] They met four times each week to study the Scriptures together, sing hymns, share simple meals, and give extemporaneous testimonies of what was happening in their spiritual lives. Members encouraged one another and held one another mutually accountable. The societies were subdivided into classes of about 12 persons each. Every society member was required to join a class that met once each week. No one was allowed to remain a member who did not attend regularly. "A typical meeting would start with the singing of a hymn. Then the class leader would share the condition of his own spiritual life." Answers to prayer and spiritual progress as well as temptations, failures, trials, griefs, or sins were shared in confidentiality. Then the others in the group would share what God was doing in their lives. "In this context of prayer, trust, and confession, healing and spiritual growth were accelerated." [24] Besides being a member of the society and class, Methodists who
were serious about the pursuit of Christian holiness might also
become a member of a band. "This was a group of four to six persons
who met weekly and shared their spiritual journeys in a very intimate
fellowship. They shared 'without reserve and without disguise.'"
[25] Members fully disclosed their spiritual successes and failures,
their temptations and weaknesses. They urged one another to hold
them accountable to follow the guidance the Lord was giving them
about their attitudes, life-style, service, and motives. They became
to one another "soul friends." Wesley even created "penitent bands"
for "sincere people who, for some reason, kept being recaptured
by some besetting sin. They wanted to do right but had not yet found
the discipline and strength to completely forsake their sins and
stay on the path to perfection." [26] Sixth, Wesley believed that the most widely neglected means of "increasing serious religion" was the joining of believers in a covenant "to serve God with all our heart and with all our soul. He urged his converts to renew, "at every point, [their] Covenant, that the Lord should be [their] God." [27] On August 11, 1755, John Wesley's Journal refers to an occasion when he conducted a service that provided opportunity for making or renewing individual covenants with God. At the close of a 6:00 PM meeting, he writes, "All the people stood up, in testimony of assent, to the number of about 1,800 persons." The entry closes with "such a night I scarce ever saw before. Surely the fruit of it shall remain for ever." [28] The success of this Covenant Renewal Service encouraged Wesley to have it published as a pamphlet in 1780. He urged each of his societies to conduct such a service once a year, most often on New Year's Eve. Time does not permit me to discuss Wesley's Covenant Service in detail. But I have prepared a condensed and modernized version of that service for you to take with you, if you care to read it in private. If we would heed the guidance of John Wesley, we would avail ourselves regularly of the "means of grace." We would make disciplined prayer and fasting, Scripture study, constant communion, compassionate ministry, Christian conference, and covenant renewal a regular part of our lives. And so long as we remember that these are means of grace, not ends in themselves, we would have reason to expect that we would enjoy an ever deepening relationship with God. I regret is that I have spent so much time talking about "the means of grace" that there is no time left for us to practice them. We will have to do that another time. But we will have to do that, if we expect to deepen our relationship with God.
|
