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Home , Backsliding, Means of grace, Prevenient Grace

Wesley Bible Study - Tuesday, March 9, 2021 - 7-8pm on ZOOM

The Means of Justifying Grace

“Wesley urged the use of all the . In this he demonstrated a profound sense of how God’s self-giving presence permeates the Christian community. Wesley recovered in the means of grace the rich understanding of sacramentality by the early church, before it was overlaid by attempts to more strictly delineate and enumerate the .” ~Henry H. Knight III, The Presence of God in the Christian Life, 1992

Opening Prayer

[O God] Establish in our lives a consistent pattern rather that moves from hearing, reading, and meditating upon your Word to communicating our deepest feelings and ends to you in prayer to enjoying the presence of your company ad companionship in our fellowship around your table. You come to us, gracious God, in so many ways to bless us and to make us whole and to show us your love. Help us to look forward to being with you as our dearest friend in all these ways. When we are with you, enable us to abide in your presence and to rejoice in your love as the most important reality of our lives. Amen. : the substance of the bread and the wine is replaced by the substance of the body and the blood of Christ (a way of stating how Christ is uniquely present); 1215 CE - Fourth Lateran Council proclaimed this as official doctrine & the (1545-1563) reaffirmed it as doctrine for Roman Catholics consubstantiation: Luther’s understanding of the presence of Jesus in Communion (yet a term Luther did not use) the brad does not cease to be bread and the wine does not cease to be wine even though Christ is present : the traditional rite of initiation into confirmation: a rite administered after baptism; an anointing a sealing in the Christian : the process of instruction and preparation for baptism; includes both doctrinal and moral instruction

Eucharist: the most common name given to the shared meal that has traditionally been the center of Christian worship (also known as - Communion, ’s Supper, the Holy Supper, the ); derives from the Greek word meaning “giving thanks"

Historical Perspectives on Wesley’s Pastoral Challenge • early Christianity initiates adults (often on behalf of their household) • little background knowledge of the faith • placed in the catechumenate for up to three years - training on Christian beliefs and life • ends in an intense period of faith formation during Lent • baptism of all candidates at once by the bishop during the Easter vigil

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• components of the rite of baptism: - renunciation of by the initiate - application of water (a sign expressing or cleansing from sin) - laying on of hands (a sign of the ) - chrismation (expressing the reception of the Holy Spirit) - admission to full communion • changes by the fourth century as Christianity is established as the official religion by the Roman Empire creating a link between baptism and citizenship • Augustines claim that infants required baptism to remove the guilt of creates increase in the numbers of (which becomes the dominant pattern) • this has dramatic effects on the structure and components of the rite of baptism • no process of catechesis before baptism • no gathering of all on a common date (Easter vigil) • Christianity spreads into rural areas with no bishops (can’t be present at every baptism) • compromise is to allow local priest to baptize but reserve the imposition of hands/oil (later called confirmation) for the bishop on the next visit (in the East the oil blessed by the bishop so as not to separate the two parts) • in the West this creates a problem of convincing parents of the importance of having their child confirmed (baptism bestows forgiveness) • eventual implication is that the Holy Spirit is not bestowed in the full sense at baptism but came with confirmation & communion is restricted to post-confirmation • confirmation includes a personal affirmation of faith at the age of discretion • Luther retains infant baptism (blame Augustine) yet does not like confirmation or the involvement of bishops; stress the personal appropriation of faith in order to have full participation in church (read receive communion) • confirmation given even more emphasis in the Reformed tradition • Anabaptists (& believer’s churches) reject the validity o any baptism except that of persons personally expressing faith (no rite of confirmation no restriction on communion) • Anglicans endorse infant baptism, postpone communion until after confirmation, Bishops hold responsibility for conformation, more interested in the process than the rite • (Anglican) parents assured that baptized infants who die before confirmation were certain of [this backfires with widespread neglect of catechism and confirmation]

Wesley’s Pastoral Response • this is the context for Wesley as he invites the people of England to a life of serious Christian discipleship • majority of folks considered themselves Christian as they had been baptized as infants • few people showed evidence of personally appropriating the renunciation of sin and the newness of life that is expressed in baptism • there is little concern in Wesley’s day for this lack of appropriation

Call to Renewed Responsiveness • what is missing is the ongoing life in the Spirit • the problem is not the absence of the Spirit’s Presence • the problem is that people are not responsive to the Spirit’s Presence • problem caused by a presumption that the act of baptism guaranteed salvation • the crucial question is not whether one has been baptized • the issue is whether one is continuing to participate responsibly in the transformation of life atet the grace signified in baptism empowers

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• Wesley appreciates the gradual nature of conversion • Wesley preaches (in the fields) not for a conversion experience but for the awareness of one’s need for conversion • this awareness is the only prerequisite for admission into the Methodist society

Methodist Society as Catechumenate • participation kindles responsive life in the Spirit (not just nurturing greater growth in that life) • awakening folks to their spiritual need without joining them into classes for training in the ways of God is “simply begetting children for the murder” • participation serves the same function as the catechumen ate of the early church • this Methodist revival commonly saw and a revitalized spiritual life to come after a year or more in the foundational levels of a society • this makes Wesley’s approach to evangelism unique: it is the context for the gradual responsible appropriation of saving grace

The Lord’s Super as a Converting Ordinance • a main difference from the early church - folks encourage to take communion! • the early church restricted participation in communion to the fully initiated; is an essential of nurture for continual spiritual transformation • the East retains the idea of nature; the West evolves into a sacrament of attainment to be offered only to the worthy • the concern is the possible sacrilegious treatment of the elements • this allows clergy to withhold the cup from the laity (easily spilled) • some laity feared to receive communion at all out of fear • communion is therefore mandated at least once a year • admission to communion requires: & fulfillment of assigned penance • makes communion a certification of one’s good standing (not a vital means of nourishing one’s spiritual growth) • Anglicans do away with the confessional but require pastor’s approval for a person to receive communion • this gets Wesley into trouble in the colony of Georgia • the mature Wesley believes that God offered in the act of communion converting grace as well as confirming grace • the implication is that those who feel the need for the grace of God should be encourage (not prohibited) to seek grace in communion because all are worthy already of God’s grace • this open table of communion requires only that the recipient desire to receive (whether they understand they are receiving grace or not) and to live responsively even if they don’t feel fit or yet assured of God and God’s love • the Way of Salvation allows gracious prevenience in communion because God’s grace is responsible - it will not nature us unless we receive it responsively - there are no preconditions for access to God’s grace • people are more likely to suffer loss from missing communion than from partaking in it unworthily

Read 1 Corinthians 11:27-34

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Practical-Theological Implications For Baptism • Wesley’s attention is toward awakening a new responsiveness • Wesley regularly baptizes both infants and adults • sacramentalism vs. • Wesley focuses on process for adult-convert-baptism

Adult Baptism as a Means of Responsible Grace • Wesley never includes baptism on any of his lists of means of grace • Wesley functions as though baptism is a means of grace • baptism is never a repeated rite • baptism is not a progressive means of nature over time • baptism is only initiation into a life of holiness • a clear benefit is the forgiveness of (lower benefit) • the regenerating effect of the Holy Spirit “shedding the love of God abroad in our hearts” (higher benefit) • baptism does not bestow pardon, it initiates the graciously-empowered transformation of our lives • the water of baptism signifies the pardoning relationship with its regenerating power • the outward sign must be received to initiate the inward grace • the grace of baptism is sufficient for initiating the Christian life • the grace of baptism is efficient as we responsively participate • Wesley does not equate the New Birth with baptism • the act of baptism is the mens by which grace in conveyed • we become responsible through participation • no matter how spiritually deep an experience one has had they should still come to the waters of baptism • yet Wesley does not think those who do not participate in baptism (Quakers) are damned (but he does baptize Quakers who come to Methodist societies • baptism does not guarantee salvation (not transactional) and does not bestow • it is possible to neglect the empowering Presence which in essence kills the relationship that baptism signifies () • one can still renew a dead relationship however (repentance) • no new baptism is needed in such cases • we can not drive the divine Presence for our life, we can only neglect the relationship; we withdraw form God, God does not withdraw from us • what is needed is a reawakened responsiveness to God’s Presence

Read Acts 10:44-48

The Benefits of Infant Baptism • Why then infant baptism? • Anglican rite, early church practice, scripture • Wesley believes that an inherited cult from Original Sin is canceled at birth by • some argue that Wesley adopts the Puritan understanding that infant baptism adopts one into God’s of salvation and into the church itself - Wesley does clearly see these as benefits • is not inevitable it requires our responsiveness

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• baptism bestows a degree of spiritual vitality • New Birth is the empowering reception of the Presence of the Holy Spirit • for adults the two coincide, for infants the two are separated • the full effectiveness of God’s gracious Presence emerges gradually as the developing child responsibly appropriates it

Practical Theological Implications For Confirmation • Wesley purposely removed the rite of confirmation • youth ministers have been baffled ever since

The Importance of Childhood Catechesis • this is not a rejection of childhood catechesis • Susanna Wesley emphasized religious education with her children • catechesis is all but ignored in 18th century England • Wesley places catechesis as a high priority • Wesley encourages families to give their children vital religious instruction • calls the development of family religion “the grand desideratum among Methodists” directing his preaching to train parents • many parents lacked resources, many were illiterate • Wesley establishes boarding schools, Kingswood, 1748 with the centrality of religious formation citing knowledge and vital piety • Wesley offers weekly catechesis (Anglican priest were required to do this in each parish but they ignored it) being the prototype of Sunday school (nurseries for Christians) • Wesley sees a relationship between dramatic conversion and the gradual nature of faith in children - help prevent a plummet into sin

Read Proverbs 22:6

Sermon 94 - On Family Religion Sermon 95 - On The Education Of Children Sermon 96 - On Obedience To Parents

The Rite of Confirmation • the rite is what Wesley objects to not the catechesis • it was administered in an impersonal manner in his day • Wesley rejects that there is any guarantee through the rite • Wesley rejects that the gift of the Holy Spirit is withheld until the rite • the need for deepening our relationship with God is not met by any one event • the Way of Salvation is a process of responsiveness empowered by grace • possibly Wesley did not like that the rite must be performed by bishops

Communion of Children • Wesley does not extend communion to baptized infants • what is need in children is some responsiveness • this seems to a departure from any understanding of Prevenient Grace

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Means of Prevenient Grace? • Are there means of Prevenient Grace? 1. communion can convey preventing as well as justifying and sanctifying grace (restraint from sin would be the specific benefit); an open table does not even require baptism asa prerequisite 2. initially connected specifically to infant baptism since Prevenient Grace has a universal nature; the mature Wesley believes this is only symbolic and not as a means of grace 3. “…Wesley assigned to Prevenient Grace not only the upholding of our partially-restored human faculties but also the initial specific overtures to these faculties. While Prevenient Grace is universal, many have stifled these overtures and fallen asleep. If the work of God is to proceed in their lives, they must be awakened anew to these overtures and convicted of their need. For Wesley, the chief means to this end was field preaching. Whenever this means was effective, he ushered the awakened person into the society where the full battery of means of grace could nourish and guide their further journey on the Way of Salvation.”

Read Philippians 2:12-13

“For Wesley the grace of God is often mediated to the soul through a variety of means, though the Word, in some form or another, in conjunction with the Holy Spirit as the administrator of all blessings, pervades every avenue of grace. Simply put, to use Wesley’s own definition, the means of grace are ‘outward signs, words, or actions ordained by God, and appointed for this end - to be the ordinary channels whereby he might convey to men preventing, justifying, or sanctifying grace.’ So understood, grace is not amorphous, lacking form, but merges in the context of words, signs and actions, and other media that communicate the substance of both divine favor and empowerment.” ~Kenneth J. Collins, The Theology of , 2007

Closing Prayer

Eternal God, we give you thanks for this holy mystery in which you have given yourself to us. Grant that we may go into the world in the strength of your Spirit, to give ourselves for others, in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. ~UMH page 11

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Homework

(You need a cheap notebook or scratch pad to keep notes and writings in. This is just for you.)

Wednesday: Read and Pray Psalm 18:1-30 - what does God reveal to you through this song/poem? What does it say about God? What does it say about human beings? What does it say about the (grace) relationship between God and human beings?

Thursday: Read again each of the scriptures from the handout. What do they say about the God? Jesus? The Holy Spirit? working in our lives? What do they say about our need ro be responsive to God’s initiatives of grace?

Friday: What means of grace do you find to deepen your relationship with God the most? Why? Which means of grace do you avoid? Why? Where are you in your faith education? a 101 Christian? a 201? a 301?

Saturday: Which kind of “C” Christian are you based on the handout from last week showing the Wesleyan Faith Journey? What does it takes for you to move upward one “C” in the next year? How does the corresponding grace help you understand where you are at on your spiritual journey?

Sunday: Sabbath - go to Sunday school, go to worship, share a meal, unplug, be thankful, relax

Monday: Go back over each section of this handout. Make notes on your thoughts. Why do you do what you do as a Christian to grow spiritually? How committed are you to the Christian life 24/7? What could strengthen your commitment? Re-read the Scriptures from this week. Do you see anything new that you missed before? How is the Presence of the Holy Spirit guiding and empowering you as you work on this study daily?

Tuesday: Class on ZOOM 7-8pm

*All quotes lacking attribution are from: Maddox, Responsible Grace

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