{"id":23700,"date":"2018-09-08T17:31:03","date_gmt":"2018-09-08T21:31:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/?p=23700"},"modified":"2018-09-09T18:36:16","modified_gmt":"2018-09-09T22:36:16","slug":"john-wesley-founder-of-methodism-denied-faith-alone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/2018\/09\/john-wesley-founder-of-methodism-denied-faith-alone.html","title":{"rendered":"John Wesley (Founder of Methodism), Denied “Faith Alone”?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/p>\n

John Wesley\u2019s words will be in\u00a0blue<\/span>. I was initially responding to remarks from someone who had stated that\u00a0faith alone<\/em>\u00a0(sola fide<\/em>) was essential to any definition of a Christian.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

If\u00a0sola fide<\/em>\u00a0[\u201cfaith alone\u201d] defines a Christian, then John Wesley and Methodists, the whole Wesleyan tradition, and many traditional Anglicans are not Christians. Such a conception of Christianity would exclude folks like John Wesley himself, C. S. Lewis, and Dorothy Sayers.<\/p>\n

With regard to the condition of salvation, it may be remembered that I allow, not only faith, but likewise holiness or universal obedience, to be the ordinary condition of final salvation . . . At what time soever faith is given, holiness commences in the soul. For that instant `the love of God\u2019 (which is the source of holiness) `is shed abroad in the heart\u2019.<\/span>\u00a0(A Farther Appeal<\/em>, 1745,\u00a0Works<\/em>, London: 1831, VIII, 68 ff.)<\/p>\n

Suffer me to warn you of another silly, unmeaning word: Do not say, \u2018I can do nothing\u2019. If so, you know nothing of Christ; then you have no faith: For if you have, if you believe, then you `can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth you\u2019. You can love him and keep his Commandments.\u00a0<\/span>(A Blow at the Root<\/em>, 1762,\u00a0Works<\/em>, X, 369)<\/p>\n

1. God works in us \u2013 therefore man can work. Prevenient grace is accorded to all. 2. God works in you \u2013 therefore you must work. You must work together with Him, or He will cease Working.<\/span> (Working Out Our Own Salvation<\/em>, 1788,\u00a0Works<\/em>, VI, 511 ff.)<\/p>\n

Wesley himself claimed to teach nothing but justification by faith. But he was not satisfied, like the pietists before him. with bringing sanctification and justification into the closest possible relation, after the Calvinist formula he was fond of recalling. More penetrating than any of his predecessors, he criticised Luther\u2019s opposition of faith to works as a sophistry. As early as the year 1739, when he started on his new course of action, he denounced what he called Luther\u2019s\u00a0\u2018mania of solifideism\u2019.<\/span> Luther\u2019s commentary on the epistle to the Galatians, with its unbalanced depreciation of the divine Law, was in his view more likely to be pernicious than beneficial in its results. His reason was that the holiness of Christ should by no means be opposed to the holiness accessible to the Christian, but, rather, be represented as its unique source.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Far from admitting, therefore, that the epistle of St. James deserved to be called an \u2018epistle of straw\u2019 [Luther\u2019s phrase], he called it\u00a0\u2018the great antidote Against the poison\u2019 of a justification which required no moral change in the Christian . . .\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Wesley . . . taught more and more clearly that since the great effect of conversion was the regeneration by grace of the human will, the human will ought to work for its own salvation, and make daily progress, otherwise, even if the conversion was real in the beginning, it would become ineffective, through want of perseverance.\u00a0(Louis Bouyer,\u00a0The Spirit and Forms of Protestantism<\/em>, translated by A. V. Littledale, London: Harvill Press, 1956, 221-222)<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Note that the opinions date from throughout his long ministry, so it doesn\u2019t look like much changed in any fundamental sense, though I\u2019m sure Wesley\u2019s thought developed.<\/p>\n

The first three citations above were retrieved from the book:\u00a0Wesley and Sanctifi<\/em>cation, by Harald Lindstrom (Lutheran), Grand Rapids, Michigan: Francis Asbury Press (division of Zondervan), 1980.<\/p>\n

There is much more data in that book, if someone wants to challenge me on this. In any event, I highly doubt that Calvinist-type anti-Catholics will now start writing polemical tracts against Methodists and Wesleyans, even though their interior logic forces them to concede that they aren\u2019t Christians (if they understand the information I provided above). That \u201ctheological righteous indignation\u201d is reserved only for the Catholic Church.<\/p>\n

More on Wesley\u2019s denial of \u201cfaith alone\u201d:<\/p>\n

4. Nor, lastly, is he distinguished by laying the whole stress of religion on any single part of it. If you say, \u201cYes, he is; for he thinks \u2018we are saved by faith alone:'\u201d I answer, You do not understand the terms.\u00a0By salvation he means holiness of heart and life<\/strong>. And this he affirms to spring from true faith alone. Can even a nominal Christian deny it? Is this placing a part of religion for the whole? \u201cDo we then make void the law through faith? God forbid! Yea, we establish the law.\u201d We do not place the whole of religion (as too many do, God knoweth) either in doing no harm, or in doing good, or in using the ordinances of God. No, not in all of them together; wherein we know by experience a man may labour many years, and at the end have no religion at all, no more than he had at the beginning. Much less in any one of these; or, it may be, in a scrap of one of them: Like her who fancies herself a virtuous woman, only because she is not a prostitute; or him who dreams he is an honest man, merely because he does not rob or steal. May the Lord God of my fathers preserve me from such a poor, starved religion as this! Were this the mark of a Methodist, I would sooner choose to be a sincere Jew, Turk, or Pagan.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. \u201cWhat then is the mark? Who is a Methodist, according to your own account?\u201d I answer: A Methodist is one who has \u201cthe love of God shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost given unto him;\u201d one who \u201cloves the Lord his God with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his mind, and with all his strength. God is the joy of his heart, and the desire of his soul; which is constantly crying out, \u201cWhom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee! My God and my all! Thou art the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever!\u201d<\/span>\u00a0(The Character of a Methodist<\/em><\/a>, date not given; emphasis added; from the Thomas Jackson edition of\u00a0The Works of John Wesley<\/em>, 1872)<\/p>\n

Now, one will note that Wesley often states that he accepted \u201cjustification by faith alone,\u201d but he defines it differently than Luther, Calvin, Lutherans, Reformed, and Baptists do. Far as I can tell, he views it much as a Catholic would: faith and works, justification and sanctification, conversion and holiness are in close organic harmony with each other, rather than formally separated, with works playing no part whatsoever in salvation.<\/p>\n

Many of Wesley\u2019s statements rule out the latter interpretation. His views of both justification and sanctification differ from the standard Reformed \/ Baptist \/ Lutheran understanding of these notions and categories.<\/p>\n

Here is a fascinating overview of John Wesley, if anyone\u2019s interested: \u201cJohn Wesley at 300: the man, his times and his faith,\u201d<\/a> by Victor Shepherd. Example:<\/p>\n

Of all the misunderstandings that falsify Wesley and his spiritual descendants, none is more defamatory than the assumption that the Methodist tradition doesn\u2019t think. While it is readily acknowledged that the Lutheran, Reformed, Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox families within the church catholic think and have always thought, Methodism, it is sometimes said, merely emotes.<\/p>\n

Wesley contradicts this. Having insisted that his lay preachers study five hours per\u00a0day, he studied more himself. He authored grammar textbooks in seven of the eight foreign languages he knew.<\/p>\n

He deplored as narrow, ignorant and foolish the suggestion that preachers need read only one book. Such fanaticism meant that reading only the Bible guaranteed misreading it. Those who complained of having\u00a0\u201cno taste for reading\u201d\u00a0he rebuked on the spot:\u00a0\u201cContract a taste for it by use, or return to your trade\u201d\u00a0\u2014 and watched more than a few preachers move back to farm, shop or mine.<\/p>\n

His reading was as broad as it was deep. No area of intellectual endeavour escaped him. All his life he kept abreast of contemporary explorations in natural science. Schooled in classical philosophy at Oxford, he probed the contemporary empiricist thinking of John Locke. Aware that history is a theatre both of God\u2019s activity and of the church\u2019s response, he wrote a world history.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

While his fellow Protestant Calvinists go after Wesley, I will continue having immense respect for him (as an editor of a book of his quotations, who particularly respects his model of 100%-dedicated\u00a0 evangelism). If the Calvinists have more in common with his theology than I do, they (the ones who trash him) sure aren\u2019t acting like it, are they?<\/p>\n

It seems to me that Wesley in relation to the\u00a0zeitgeist<\/em>\u00a0and established religion in England is a lot like Kierkegaard\u2019s relation to Danish Lutheranism. It\u2019s a reform and (in the very best sense) \u201cradical\u201d spirit, which is why I admire these two men so much. Heaven knows we Catholics need men like that too. I think that Pope St. John Paul II was one of them.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n

(originally 10-20-05)<\/p>\n

Photo credit: see purchase information<\/a> for this book that I edited. Cover design by Robbie Knight. Published by Beacon Hill Press (Protestant) in 2014.<\/p>\n

***<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

John Wesley\u2019s words will be in\u00a0blue. I was initially responding to remarks from someone who had stated that\u00a0faith alone\u00a0(sola fide) was essential to any definition of a Christian. ***** If\u00a0sola fide\u00a0[\u201cfaith alone\u201d] defines a Christian, then John Wesley and Methodists, the whole Wesleyan tradition, and many traditional Anglicans are not Christians. Such a conception of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2331,"featured_media":23703,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[50],"tags":[1121,2342,2346,1123,1120,1122,405,6441,2344,1124,1070,1117,1118,1071,2343,6444],"class_list":["post-23700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-salvation-justification","tag-extrinsic-justification","tag-faith-alone","tag-faith-and-works","tag-imputed-justification","tag-infused-justification","tag-initial-justification","tag-john-wesley","tag-john-wesley-faith-alone","tag-justification","tag-justification-by-faith-alone","tag-pelagianism","tag-protestant-soteriology","tag-sanctification","tag-semi-pelagianism","tag-sola-fide","tag-wesleys-soteriology"],"yoast_head":"\nJohn Wesley (Founder of Methodism), Denied "Faith Alone"?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Wesley accepted "justification by faith alone," but defined it differently than Luther, Calvin, Lutherans, Reformed, & Baptists do. 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Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \\\"Surprised by Truth\\\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \\\"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\\\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \\\"The Catholic Verses\\\" (2004), \\\"The One-Minute Apologist\\\" (2007), \\\"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\\\" (2009), \\\"The Quotable Newman\\\" (editor: 2012), and \\\"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\\\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \\\"The New Catholic Answer Bible\\\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \\\"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\\\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \\\"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\\\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \\\"Quotable Wesley\\\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. They have three sons and a daughter, and reside in southeast Michigan (metro Detroit).\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@LuxVeritatisApologetics\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/author\/davearmstrong\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"John Wesley (Founder of Methodism), Denied \"Faith Alone\"?","description":"Wesley accepted \"justification by faith alone,\" but defined it differently than Luther, Calvin, Lutherans, Reformed, & Baptists do. 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Formerly a campus missionary, as a Protestant, Dave was received into the Catholic Church in February 1991, by the late, well-known catechist and theologian, Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave\u2019s articles have appeared in many influential Catholic periodicals, including \"This Rock\" (now called \"Catholic Answers Magazine\"), \"Envoy Magazine\" (Patrick Madrid), \"The Catholic Answer,\" \"The Coming Home Journal,\" \"Gilbert Magazine\" (American Chesterton Society), and \"The Latin Mass.\" He also writes a featured column for every issue of \"The Michigan Catholic\": published by the archdiocese of Detroit, and was editor for most of the apologetics tracts published by the St. Paul Street Evangelization apostolate. Dave\u2019s apologetics and writing apostolate was the subject of a feature article in the May 2002 issue of \"Envoy Magazine.\" He served as the staff moderator at the Internet discussion forum for The Coming Home Network, from 2007-2010. Dave has been interviewed on many nationally syndicated Catholic radio shows, including \"Catholic Answers Live\" (twice), \"Faith and Family Live\" (Steve Wood), \"Kresta in the Afternoon,\" \"Son Rise Morning Show,\" \"Catholic Connection\" (Teresa Tomeo), and \"The Catholics Next Door.\" His large and popular website, \"Biblical Evidence for Catholicism,\" was online from March 1997 to March 2007, and received the 1998 Catholic Website of the Year award from \"Envoy Magazine.\" His blog of the same name (now transferred to Patheos), begun in February 2004, contains more than 1,500 papers, at least 500 debates or dialogues, and over 50 distinct \"index\" web pages. Unsolicited correspondence has indicated many hundreds of conversions (or returns) to the Catholic faith as a result, by God's grace, of these writings. Dave's conversion story was published in the bestselling book \"Surprised by Truth\" (edited by Patrick Madrid; San Diego: Basilica Press, 1994). Sophia Institute Press has published six of his books: \"A Biblical Defense of Catholicism\" (Foreword by Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J., 1996 \/ 2003), \"The Catholic Verses\" (2004), \"The One-Minute Apologist\" (2007), \"Bible Proofs for Catholic Truths\" (2009), \"The Quotable Newman\" (editor: 2012), and \"Proving the Catholic Faith is Biblical\" (2015). He is co-author (with Dr. Paul Thigpen) of the inserts for \"The New Catholic Answer Bible\" (Our Sunday Visitor: 2005), and editor for \"The Wisdom of Mr. Chesterton: The Very Best Quotes, Quips, and Cracks from the Pen of G. K. Chesterton\" (Saint Benedict Press \/ TAN Books: 2009). \"100 Biblical Arguments Against Sola Scriptura\" was published by Catholic Answers in May 2012. His \"Quotable Wesley\" compilation was published by (Protestant \/ Wesleyan publisher) Beacon Hill Press in April 2014. Several of his 49 books are bestsellers in their field. Dave maintains a popular personal Facebook page, a Facebook author page, and has a Twitter account as well. He offers almost all of his books in e-book form on his own Biblical Catholicism site (http:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/), at a permanent deep discount: only $2.99 for ePub, mobi, and AZW, and $1.99 for PDF. His writing has been enthusiastically endorsed or recommended by many leading Catholic apologists, authors, and priests, including Dr. Scott Hahn, Fr. Peter M. J. Stravinskas, Marcus Grodi, Patrick Madrid, Steve Ray, Tim Staples, Devin Rose, Mike Aquilina, Al Kresta, Karl Keating, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Brandon Vogt, Marcellino D'Ambrosio, and Fr. John A. Hardon, S. J. Dave has been happily married to his wife Judy since October 1984. They have three sons and a daughter, and reside in southeast Michigan (metro Detroit).","sameAs":["https:\/\/biblicalcatholicism.com\/","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dave.armstrong.798","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@LuxVeritatisApologetics"],"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/author\/davearmstrong"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2331"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23700"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23700\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davearmstrong\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}