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As a Little Child: Children in the Theology of John Wesley

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As a Little Child: Children in the Theology of John Wesley 1 as a Little Child: Children in the Theology of John Wesley Peter Benzie A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Theology Laidlaw-Carey Graduate School February 2010 2 D EDICATION To my fellow ordained Ministers, Pastors (including Children’s and Children & Families Pastors), Children’s Ministry Leaders and Children’s Ministry Workers who as help the Holy Spirit to bring the light and hope of the Gospel to the lives of children in the prayerful expectation that they will accept God’s Justifying Grace and will in time be glorified and spend eternity with the one and only true God. May God bless you abundantly for the work you do in developing and nurturing the faith of each and every child. I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith in him is being talked about all over the world." (Romans 1:8, NLT) 3 A CKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would not have been able to complete this work without the help and support of many people. So many people have helped me get to this point and to each of you my heartfelt thanks and appreciation. There are some who deserve special mention however and to each of these I give my special thanks. To Dr Martin Sutherland who as my supervisor provided me with invaluable support, encouragement and advice as I brought this thesis together. To the staff and faculty of Carey Baptist College for your support, encouragement and nurture through five wonderful years of study and fellowship. You helped awaken in me a passion for theological study which will be a life-long pursuit. To the members of my church – Redoubt North Wesleyan in Clover Park, Manukau. Your support, encouragement and affirmation helped me through some difficult and stressful times as well as helping me to keep the end goal in mind. A special thank you to the elders who released me from preaching for a few months – That time was invaluable in shaping this work as the deadline for completion came closer. To the officers and members of the Wesleyan Methodist Church of New Zealand as well as to those members of the wider Wesleyan Church family thank you for your encouragement and support also. And to my friends in the Carey “post grad lounge” thank you for your friendship and the lively discussions we had. Those days “working” away together were a highlight of my time at Carey and being together made life just that little bit easier – well most of the time. Finally but by no means least to my children – Carole, Lynda, Angela and Douglas - who put up with so much as I studied for five years to get to this point (not to mention the days that have gone into the final “corrections” over the last few months) my very special and heartfelt thanks. May God who knows what you do bless you all abundantly beyond all you could ever imagine. Rev Peter Benzie Dec ember 2010 4 Contents Dedication ......................................................................................................... 2 Acknowledgements .......................................................................................... 3 How to read this thesis .................................................................................... 6 Abstract ............................................................................................................. 7 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 9 Child Theology ..................................................................................................... 10 Rationale for this Thesis ...................................................................................... 15 Scope and Outline ............................................................................................... 17 Some Final Thoughts on Methodology ................................................................. 18 Sources ........................................................................................................................... 18 A Grammatical Note ........................................................................................................ 19 Speaking of God .............................................................................................................. 20 Definition .......................................................................................................................... 20 Chapter One .................................................................................................... 23 John Wesley ................................................................................................ 23 Life in Eighteenth Century England ...................................................................... 24 John Wesley – A Brief Biography ......................................................................... 29 Life in the Epworth Rectory ............................................................................................. 29 Pre Aldersgate ................................................................................................................. 32 Aldersgate ....................................................................................................................... 35 Post Aldersgate ............................................................................................................... 36 Chapter Two ................................................................................................... 41 The Theology of John Wesley ................................................................... 41 God of Grace ....................................................................................................... 42 Attributes of God .............................................................................................................. 42 The Goodness of God ..................................................................................................... 43 The Sovereignty of God .................................................................................................. 44 The Love of God .............................................................................................................. 44 Prevenient Grace – God of Grace Drawing Us .................................................... 45 Jesus Christ - God of Grace Revealed ................................................................. 49 Holy Spirit – The Presence of the God of Grace .................................................. 50 Justification – God of Grace for Us ...................................................................... 51 Justifying Faith ................................................................................................................. 54 Regeneration and Sanctification – God of Grace in Us ........................................ 57 Regeneration ................................................................................................................... 57 Sanctification ................................................................................................................... 59 Response to Grace .............................................................................................. 62 God’s Provision - the Means of Grace ............................................................................ 63 The Response of the Christian – Changed Lives ............................................................ 64 Eschatology – Relationship Restored .................................................................. 66 Grace, Holiness and Relationship ........................................................................ 68 5 Chapter Three ................................................................................................. 71 Children in the Theology of John Wesley ................................................. 71 God of Grace ....................................................................................................... 72 Prevenient Grace – God of Grace Drawing Us .................................................... 72 Jesus Christ - God of Grace Revealed ................................................................. 76 Holy Spirit – The Presence of the God of Grace .................................................. 80 Justification – God of Grace for Us ...................................................................... 81 Regeneration and Sanctification – God of Grace in Us ........................................ 85 Response to Grace .............................................................................................. 94 Eschatology – Relationship Restored ................................................................ 100 Children in Evidence .......................................................................................... 102 Chapter Four ................................................................................................. 104 Lessons from John Wesley ...................................................................... 104 Teach Why? ...................................................................................................... 106 Avoid What? ...................................................................................................... 112 Teach Who? ...................................................................................................... 114 Taught by Whom? ............................................................................................. 115 Teach What? ....................................................................................................
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