How Did Early Holiness Themes Influence John Wesley?

In John Wesley’s early years at Oxford he wrote the sermon “The Almost Christian,” that distinguish differences between the “almost Christian,” which he refers as the “high-minded hypocrite” in comparison to the “altogether Christian,” stating that he doubts there are many (The Almost Christian, p. 61). He implies being almost a Christian: 1) one must display simple heathen honesty; 2) have a form of godliness which is prescribed in the gospel of Christ, the “outside of a real Christian;” and 3) procure sincerity, the real inward principle of religion in which one’s actions come” (The Almost Christian, p. 62-64). Dissimilarly, for Wesley the “altogether Christian,” is one that strives for a faith that glorifies God by loving Him and their

For example many of the apostles were themselves writers, and these writings are the foundation for the Christian faith. Petrarch gives the example of the apostle Paul having his head turned by study. By following the example given by the apostles of their study of literature, Petrarch believes, would but us on a higher path of devoutness. Ignorance of literature leads to sloth and is a lower road even with a strong

“God authorized and commanded me to commission you: Go out and train everyone you meet, far and near, in this way of life, marking them by baptism in the threefold name: Father, Son and Holy Spirit “- Matthew 28:18-20 (The Message)

Gloucester, England during 1714. Growing up Whitfield’s education wasn’t stable yet he managed to pull himself through Pembroke and Oxford University. While attending Oxford, Whitefield was introduced to a man by the name of Charles Wesley who was a devout Christian. Within a space of time Charles managed to convince George Whitefield to join the “Holy Club” consisting of men exercising methods to advocate personal holiness otherwise known as “Methodists”. In later years, as a result, Whitefield and Wesley progressed forwards creating the Methodist Movement.

Wesley believed that sanctification was a process that could be received as an instantaneous experience after conversion, or later on in life. No matter when sanctification was achieved, the moment someone received sanctification was the “climax” of their Christian life. He believed that the “second blessing purified the believer from his inward sin and enabled him to secure perfect love of God and of his fellowmen.” Followers of Wesley had trouble balancing the “crisis and process views” of Wesley, and the crisis view began to take “precedence over the process view.” Soon, sanctification was no longer viewed as the goal of a Christian life, but the beginning of a Christian life.

When Wesley talked about development in holiness, and the fundamental goal of being entire sanctification, he was fixed that sanctification and justification is by faith. In his preaching, “The Scripture Way of Salvation”, Wesley expounded the faith by which Christians are perfected is because God is able, he promised in Scripture, he is willing, and he really does it 1) God has foretold this in Scripture. 2) What God promises, God is able to do. 3) God is capable and willing to manage it right away. 4) God actually answers this. Wesley concluded the sermon by exhorting his audience “expect it by faith, expect it as you are, and expect it now!”

In the first close reading of the text, I discovered Paul articulated his desire for all believers to be of the same attitude or frame of mind as Christ. Creating a sense of relationship with God through the example of the servanthood of Jesus. This study revealed the traits of Christ’s life and character found in verses: “he was formed of God” (2:6), “emptied himself’ (2:7), “in human form” (2:8), “name above every name” (2:9), “every knee should bend” (2:10), and “every tongue confess … glory to God” (2:11). Looking at each verse, challenged me to read between the lines and wonder what might be happening within the church of Philippi. Textual Criticism

Catherine was largely influenced by Charles Finney and the Wesley brothers because of her years as a child on bedrest. The foundation of her Christianity was in Methodism so, while in her early years she agreed with the Methodist theology, as she grew in her own relationship with God and established her own convictions, many of her beliefs began to part ways with those of the methodists. However this was largely due to the negative change in Methodism, not the original teachings of the Wesley brothers. The Salvation Army revival was quite different than revivals of the past in a few crucial ways. In fact, it is safe to safe it was the first revival of its kind. The main difference lies in the focus of the revival. For example, the Wesleyan revival, in which both Catherine and William had their roots, focused only on the salvation of souls and reaching the lost with the gospel. While that was a major focus of the Salvation Army Revival, William and particularly

Ronald H. Nash (1936-2006) was an Evangelical Baptist philosopher and apologist in the Calvinist tradition.1 He received his PhD. From Syracuse University and was a professor for over 40 years teaching and writing in the areas of worldview, apologetics, ethics, theology and history. 2 He taught at Western Kentucky University, Reformed Theological Seminary and the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. His favorite philosopher was Augustine and during his scholastic years he favored the theological teachings of Carl F. H. Henry. Besides Is Jesus the Only Savior?, He wrote several successful books, among them are, Life’s Ultimate Questions; Faith and Reason; Worldviews in Conflict: Choosing Christianity in a World of Ideas; The Word of God and

Introduction Romans is a letter that was written by Paul in order to provide common ground for the Jews and gentiles present in the early church. Through Romans, Paul provides a framework for the Christian faith by telling the people about foundational truths relating to the natural world, human identity, human relationships, and culture. In doing this, he sets up the foundation for a biblical worldview in accordance with the Christian faith. ("Romans: Paul's Christian Worldview", 2014) The Natural World

Irenaeus was born in Smyrna, Asia Minor around 120 AD (Olson, 68). He was tutored by the famous Polycarp, who learned from the Apostle John. During his life, Irenaeus spent much of his time writing to different leaders as well as writing to Christians, as a whole, dealing with the issue of Gnosticism. Adversus Haereses and Proof of the Apostolic Preaching are two works, by Irenaeus, that we have been able to receive complete transcript of (Poncelet, 2016). Irenaeus also has many works that we only have partial transcripts of. For example, On the Subject of Knowledge, On the Ogdoad, “a treatise on schism,” and letters to the Pope Victor, are a few of the partial transcripts of Irenaeus works (Poncelet, 2016). Irenaeus death was one that has a twist of mystery. One thing, known for sure, is he was killed during a Christian massacre in Lyons, during the year 202. What remains a mystery is the manner in which he died. According to Olson, “he was counted a martyr and saint by both Greek-speaking Christians of the East and Latin-speaking Christians of the Western half of the Roman Empire” (70). Irenaeus life was one of significance, especially when it came to his writings on Gnosticism and the theory of Redemption.

Chapter three is a careful reading of the early Pentecostal periodical materials. She explains how the worship practices of early Pentecostals using both the Wesleyan-Holiness and the Finished Work traditions during the time period of 1906-1916.

His loss of hopes during the war led him to return to Scripture for his theological work (pg. 460). From this, he wrote the Commentary on Romans published in 1919 (pg. 460). Despite his own views of this work, the ideas that he wrote about in this writing gained the praise of many people. His most influential work titled Church Dogmatics became known as one of the most talented masterpieces of theological work in the 20th century (pg. 462). In this work, he states that in the bible, God supplied his people with both the questions and answers that they needed (pg. 461). His approach to theology as he was writing gave him the ability to stay consistent throughout all of his writings and never disconnected him with God’s Word and teachings (pg. 462). From these three people, one can see the dramatic changes that have taken place within the Roman Catholic Church during the 20th century. From each persons’ views in theology to their work in the issues surrounding Catholicism, one can see the breathtaking changes and influences they had within the Roman Catholic Church. These changes are some that gave Catholicism the ability to further expand into places beyond Europe during the 20th

Richard Foster’s Celebration of Discipline, was first published in 1978. It presented sets of Disciplines that, if followed, would serve as vehicles for a deeper relationship with Christ as well as preparation for service. These disciplines are divided into three broad categories: the Inward Disciplines, the Outward Disciplines, and the Corporate Disciplines (Foster, 2003). Each category contains four Disciplines, which indicated by their titles, moves the disciple from the very personal to the larger congregational community (Foster, 2003). Recognizing humanity’s trend to make any process a law or regulation to follow, Foster warned against this by reminding the disciple that to do so would turn

John Wesley’s discourse, “The Means of Grace,” expresses the expedient of grace as, “outward signs, language, or actions ordained of God, and appointed for this end— to be the ordinary channels whereby he might impart to men preventing, justifying, or sanctifying grace.” Acknowledging his need and proceeding in his evangelization, Wesley could obtain the grace he needed to have both the potency and placidity that was eluding from his religion. God utilized his perpetuated participation in the ministry of Scripture to proclaim faith in Christ into Wesley’s philosophy.