John Wesley on Justifying Faith and Doctrinal Summaries (Part III)

Q. 7. What are the immediate fruits of justifying faith?
A. Peace, joy, love, power over all outward sin and power to keep down all inward sin. 

Q. 8. Does any one believe who has not the witness in himself or any longer than he sees, loves and obeys God?
A. We apprehend not: "seeing God" being the very essence of faith, love and obedience, the inseparable properties of it. 

Q. 9. What sins are consistent with justifying faith?
A. No wilful sin. If a believer wilfully sins, he hereby forfeits his pardon. Neither is it possible he should have justifying faith again without previously repenting. 

Q. 10. Must every believer come into a state of doubt or fear or darkness? Will he do so unless by ignorance or unfaithfulness? Does God otherwise withdraw himself?
A. It is certain a believer need never again come into condemnation. It seems he need not come into a state of doubt or fear or darkness, and that (ordinarily at least) he will not, unless by ignorance and unfaithfulness. Yet it is true that the first joy does seldom last long, that it is commonly followed by doubts and fears, and that God usually permits very great heaviness before any large manifestation of himself. 

--Nick

This is adapted and copied from John Wesley: A Library of Protestant Thought (pg138).

John Wesley on The Love of God and Doctrinal Summaries (Part II)

For part one of this brief miniseries, enjoy it here. Onto the next sequence.

Q. 4. What is faith?
A. Faith, in general, is a divine supernatural [evidence, manifestation] of things not seen i.e. of past, future, or spiritual things. 'Tis a spiritual sight of God and the things of God (this is Wesley's standard definition, rarely deviated from). Therefore, repentance is a low-species of faith, i.e. a supernatural sense of an offended God. Justifying faith is a supernatural inward sense of sight of God in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. First, a sinner is convinced by the Holy Ghost: "Christ loved me and gave himself for me." This is that faith by which he is justified, or pardoned, the moment he receives it. Immediately the same Spirit bears witness, "Thou art pardoned, thou hast redemption in his blood." And this is saving faith, whereby the love of God is shed abroad his heart.

Q. 5. Have all true Christians this faith? May not a man be justified and not know it?
A. That all true Christians have this faith, even such a faith as implies an assurance of God's love, appears from Rom. 8:15, Eph. 4:32, 2 Cor. 13:5, Heb. 8:10, 1 Jn. 4:10 and 19 (this is a corrected text, that was mis-written). And that no man can be justified and not know it appears farther from the very nature of things -- for faith after repentance is ease after pain, rest after toil, light after darkness -- and from the immediate as well as distant fruits.

Q. 6. But may not a man go to heaven without it?
A. It doth not appear from Holy Writ that a man who hears the gospel can (Au. Mark 16:16)[Oddly, he doesn't cite this as a likely interpolation], whatever a heathen may do (Au. Rom. 2:14).

I've heard claims that Wesley was an inclusivist. This seems unlikely given the answer to question number 5. Of course, I could be misreading this text.

--Nick

This is adapted and copied from John Wesley: A Library of Protestant Thought (pgs137).

John Wesley on Justification and Doctrinal Summaries (Part I)

The First Annual Conference. Monday, June 25, 1744.

There were several souls in participation. Charles Wesley, John Hodges, Henry Piers, Samuel Tayor, John Meriton and John Wesley. The design of their meeting was proposed as such:

1. What to teach;
2. How to teach; and
3. What to do i.e. how to regulate our doctrine, discipline and practice.

The sequence of this is in a question and answer format. It took place about seven o'clock.

Q. 1. What is it to be justified?
A. To be pardoned and received into God's favor and into such a state that, if we continue therein, we shall be finally saved.

Q. 2. Is faith the condition of justification?
A. Yes, for everyone who believeth not is condemned and everyone who believes is justified. 

Q. 3. But must not repentance and works meet for repentance go before faith?
A. Without doubt, if by repentance you mean conviction of sin, and by works meet for repentance, obeying God as far as we can, forgiving our brother, leaving off from evil, doing good and using his ordinances according to the power we have received.

I may make this a miniseries. There are a lot of questions asked. Also, if his answers are terse, these are meant as summations, not essays.

--Nick

This is adapted and copied from John Wesley: A Library of Protestant Thought (pgs136-7).