B. What is implied by being altogether a Christian?
“What more than this, can be implied in the being a Christian altogether?” Three things: the love of God, the love of one’s neighbour, and faith. One has to love God with every ounce of emotion and action. One must “love the Lord your God with all they heart, and with all they soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.” One must love all people, friends and enemies, and we must do so with such sincerity that we love them as much as we do ourselves. We must have faith in God. We must have more than a belief in God. We must have a faith in Christ that even ‘purifies the heart’. Only then according to Wesley are we altogether a Christian.
This second list is not disconnected from the first. The attributes of the ‘almost a Christian’ are a subset of the ‘altogether a Christian’. Wesley acknowledges that even in his less affluent and less self-focussed times, that this is a difficult teaching. He lets us know as well that it is not enough that we have good designs desires to be a good Christian. He reminds us that indeed the road to hell is paved with such good intentions. We must truly have faith and a genuine for love God and our neighbour.
Is Wesley right and true? I believe so. Does this sermon preach today? Yes. Does it preach in North America today? I am not sure. I believe that this message is a holiness message that should encourage all the saints to persevere and not grow faint. I think that so many in our pews may not be included even in the ‘almost a Christian’ category of Wesley’s. I think that maybe this good and strong teaching is solid food for the soul but I think that maybe, in our society, we are not ready yet to be weaned of the spiritual milk. I think this is all true but that maybe we need to first encourage our people to wear the white milk moustaches of prayer and Bible study and as we continue to seek His Kingdom in that way, we will eventually be ready for Wesley’s meat and potatoes.
“What more than this, can be implied in the being a Christian altogether?” Three things: the love of God, the love of one’s neighbour, and faith. One has to love God with every ounce of emotion and action. One must “love the Lord your God with all they heart, and with all they soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength.” One must love all people, friends and enemies, and we must do so with such sincerity that we love them as much as we do ourselves. We must have faith in God. We must have more than a belief in God. We must have a faith in Christ that even ‘purifies the heart’. Only then according to Wesley are we altogether a Christian.
This second list is not disconnected from the first. The attributes of the ‘almost a Christian’ are a subset of the ‘altogether a Christian’. Wesley acknowledges that even in his less affluent and less self-focussed times, that this is a difficult teaching. He lets us know as well that it is not enough that we have good designs desires to be a good Christian. He reminds us that indeed the road to hell is paved with such good intentions. We must truly have faith and a genuine for love God and our neighbour.
Is Wesley right and true? I believe so. Does this sermon preach today? Yes. Does it preach in North America today? I am not sure. I believe that this message is a holiness message that should encourage all the saints to persevere and not grow faint. I think that so many in our pews may not be included even in the ‘almost a Christian’ category of Wesley’s. I think that maybe this good and strong teaching is solid food for the soul but I think that maybe, in our society, we are not ready yet to be weaned of the spiritual milk. I think this is all true but that maybe we need to first encourage our people to wear the white milk moustaches of prayer and Bible study and as we continue to seek His Kingdom in that way, we will eventually be ready for Wesley’s meat and potatoes.
More daily blogs at
Comments
Post a Comment