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John Wesley's Doctrine of Preveient Grace

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John Wesley's Doctrine of Preveient Grace DISSERTATION APPROVAL SHEET This dissertation, entitled JOHN WESLEY'S DOCTRINE OF PREVENIENT GRACE IN MISSIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE written by Mark Royster and submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Missiology has been read and approved by the undersigned members of the Faculty of the E. Stanley Jones School of World Mission and Evangelism and the School of Theology, Asbury Theological Seminary . / .. \ ~ :y'/ '7 ,~~~ Date: December, 1989 ABSTRACT JOHN WESLEY'S DOCTRINE OF PREVENIENT GRACE IN MISSIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE Interpretation of God's redemptive work in all persons is a key missiological concern. Perspectives range between universalist and exclusivist extremes. Wesley's doctrine of prevenient grace, incorporat- ed within his larger soteriology, offers a balanced interpretation of God's universal saving activities. It stands on three affirmations: 1) God's universal salvific will; 2) the universal effects of Christ's atone- ment restoring to persons some awareness of God, sensitivity to their need for God and the option of repentance; and 3) the responsive character of human experience in the presence of God's always previous grace. The true character of this grace begs clear understanding. As part of universal human experience it must be incorporated into models of interpersonal and contextual relationships. JGrace should be a factor in the church's interpretation of social, cultural, and worldview pat- terns. Yet this seems to remain an area of enervating confusion in mission today. In contrast stands the energy and momentum of the Methodist revival. This study begins by seeking to clarify Wesley's concept of prevenient grace, often in contrast to misleading contemporary interpre- tations. Part two surveys early Methodist missions, focusing on the significance and methodological implications of this doctrine for the success of the revival. Part three moves into contemporary application of prevenient grace within current missiological dialogue, closing with a focus on contextuality issues. Two broad conclusions emerge: 1) Wesley's doctrine of prevenient grace is integrally tied to his doctrines of sin, repentance, saving faith, and a maximal concept of life-transforming salvation. Mission in a Wesleyan mode must accept not only the benefits of grace but also acknowledge its goal, and the consequences of its rejection. 2) God's previous activity in all human existence creates the possibility of infi­ nite variety in free human response. Because God's saving grace flows in continuity with his prevenient grace, understanding existing patterns of response is crucial for effective evangelization. Concepts and struc­ tures developed prior to the coming of the explicit gospel cannot be ignored. Combined these conclusions form a motivational and conceptual base for integrating behavioral and social sciences within the mission of the church. JOHN WESLEY'S DOCTRINE OF PREVENIENT GRACE IN MISSIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the E. Stanley Jones School of World Mission and Evangelism Asbury Theological Seminary In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Missiology by Mark Royster December 1989 Copyright 1989 Mark Royster ALL RIGHTS RESERVED TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Preface • • • i INTRODUCTION 1 PART I. WESLEY'S CONCEPT OF PREVENIENT GRACE: TOWARD A WORKING DEFINITION CHAPTER 1. PREVENIENT GRACE IN WESLEY'S PRIMARY WRITINGS 24 2. WESLEY'S DOCTRINE OF PREVENIENT GRACE SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF JOHN FLETCHER ...... '. 48 3. PREVENIENT GRACE IN CONTEMPORARY THEOLOGICAL INTERPRETATION . .. 73 PART II. PREVENIENT GRACE IN EARLY METHODIST MISSIONS 4. WESLEY'S WORLD VISION .......•. 94 5. FROM WORLD PARISH TO WORLD MISSIONS. 114 6. THOMAS COKE ... 125 7. MELVILLE HORNE ............ 147 8. JOSHUA MARSDEN: A METHODIST MISSION CASE STUDY 164 PART III. PREVENIENT GRACE AND WORLD MISSIONS TODAY 9. WESLEY AND THE CONTEMPORARY MISSIOLOGICAL DIALOGUE: CLARIFYING KEY TERMINOLOGY . 185 10. PREVENIENT GRACE AND CONTEXT . 225 11. CONTEXTUAL IMPLICATIONS OF PREVENIENT GRACE GUIDING WESLEY'S MINISTRY METHODS. 247 12. CONCLUSION . • . • • 275. Page APPENDIXES A. "A Plan of the Society for the Establishment of Missions among the Heathen" • . • . • 290 B. "An Address to the Pious and Benevolent" . 294 C. Thomas Coke: A Tribute by Joshua Marsden •.• 300 D. A Hymn by Joshua Marsden for Black Methodists in Bermuda . • . • 302 REFERENCES 303 Preface In the autumn of 1984 I took a course entitled "Anthropology for Missionary Practice" at Asbury Theological Seminary. The professor, Darrell Whiteman, had just returned from mission work and anthropolog­ ical research in Melanesia. Most of us students were at varying stages of traditional evangelical theological training. It is not surprising that much of what we discussed that semester was new to us, and often unsettling. It was our first exposure to the complex interface of theol­ ogy and cultural anthropology. The universal applicability of tradition­ al orthodox, i.e. "Western," theological models was being questioned against an increasing awareness of other cultures and worldviews. Whiteman forced us to examine the relationship between the ex­ plicit gospel story and what was already happening in culture groups, prior to the arrival of the missionary's message. Was it possible that God had been at work in "pagan" peoples in ways that missionaries should take seriously? If so, how does this impact the missionary's approach to witness and ministry? These were exciting ideas. They seemed new and fertile for crea­ tive exploration. But gradually anxiety began to build. The prospect of God's previous work in non-Christian people seemed to compromise the primacy of the explicit gospel message, as well as the validity of the missionary task. If God is already "there," why do missionaries need to go in witness? (0 It was in this context that lily interest in exploring the missiolog­ ical implications of Wesley's doctrine of prevenient grace began. Follow­ ing a year of teaching at a Bible college in Kenya, I returned for fur­ ther studies in the E. Stanley Jones School of World Mission and Evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary. The next two years of course work were marked by significant personal struggle as I tried to find balance between my theological foundations and various behavioral science based missiological models. I oscillated between extremes, becoming first cynical about my own Wes­ leyan theological roots, and later suspicious of what I saw as theological naivete in much contemporary missiology. The doctrine of prevenient grace "haunted" me throughout the whole process. Was there a key to reconciling these tensions in Wesley's famous interpretation of the God's constant redemptive outreach to all people? It is out of th~s struggle, and in reflecting on my own cross­ cultural ministry experiences, that the focus of this research project emerged. Two primary sets of questions motivated me. First, I was suspicious of some of the seemingly facile missiological applications of the concept of God's grace that is active in all persons before saving faith. What is "prevenient grace" really? It is not a biblical term; is it even a legitimate concept? What did it mean to Wesley? How signifi­ cant was it to him? How did he apply it? Second, I was curious to see what kind of implications might emerge from a fresh study of preven­ ient grace undertaken with the backlog of troubling missiological ques­ tions running through my mind. What, if anything, does this theologi­ cal affirmation have to offer the missiological dialogue today? (ii) I began with a positive bias toward the Wesleyan theological orientation, which expressed itself in ways that mirrored my on-going ambivalence. In early stages of my research I hoped the results would "set the record straight"; I visualized a sort of expose of the missiolo­ gy currently done in the "Wesleyan" spirit at the E. Stanley Jones School. Later, more optimistically, I hoped that a missiological interpre­ tation of prevenient grace would be the common ground uniting evan­ gelical, ecumenical and Roman Catholic mission perspectives. At one point it looked as though the doctrine of prevenient grace would make a helpful contribution to all the current missiological models which claim to take culture or context seriously. Now at the end of this project these early expectations appear unfulfilled in their extreme articulation. They have been replaced with modified versions. First, what I found in Wesley implies a strong support, after all, for many of the emphases that distinguish missiology at Asbury. However, this Wesleyan support is contingent upon a crys­ tal clear and committed focus upon the fundamental goals of Wesley's biblical Christianity. It is impossible to abstract the doctrine of pre­ venient grace in Wesley's thought and practice from its explicit goal­ orientation. Prevenient grace cannot be properly understood apart from Wesley's concepts of the life-transforming gift of saving faith, and the subsequent re-creation of fallen humanity in perfect love. Any missiology that would claim to be Wesleyan must affirm not only Wesley's concepts of God's grace as the means of salvation, but also his very specific view of its ultimate ends. A second modification concerns the rather exclusive implications (iii) of Wesley's theological holism. The doctrine of prevenient grace proved to be inextricably woven into Wesley's larger theology. Only at a superficial, and misleading level does it harmonize with missiological models which do not share its fundamental perspectives on sin, faith and salvation. Yet, paradoxically, Wesley's framewoI'k seems remarkablY able to make full use of contributions from the .. various behavioral and contextual sciences. In considering this openness, however, it is essen- tial to realize that the creative use of resources from outside Wesley's theological matrix depends upon their application to the very specific transformational goals implicit in his fundamental doctrines of sin, faith. and salvation. In other words, the place of the behavioral and contex- tual sciences in a Wesleyan missiology is auxilliary.
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