Hi, welcome to TH601, module number four. And for this module, we're going to talk about repentance. Basically, this marks the beginning of our series on Wesleyan soteriology or Wesley's understanding of salvation.
But before we move on to the topic of repentance, let me just set some foundation regarding Wesley's understanding of salvation. That is, how does he understand or how did he understand salvation? How did he define salvation?
So let me just share my screen here. And so as you can see, we're going to deal with Wesleyan soteriology, and it's divided into a number of topics. For this module, we're going to deal with repentance.
But then for the week after, we will deal with justification. And then new birth, entire sanctification, and eschatology. Okay? By the way, when we're going to have our project on Wesleyan soteriology, we're not going to include eschatology there. Okay?
But anyway, so I mentioned the word soteriology a while ago. And what it really means is doctrine of salvation or the study of salvation. coming from the Greek word soteria, which means salvation. So soteria and loya. Loya means study or doctrine.
That's why it's called soteriology, or the study or the doctrine of salvation. Okay, so let me just get you up to speed with Wesley's understanding or how he defined salvation. So what is salvation for Wesley?
Well, there are many places where we can find this in Wesley, but the best starting point would be his sermon on the scripture way of salvation. So if you're asking for a go-to sermon to quickly understand what is teaching on salvation, well, this is the sermon to go to, okay? This is the scripture way of salvation. And let me just read it. He said, yet how easy to be understood, how plain and simple a thing is the genuine religion of Jesus Christ, provided only that we take it in its native form, just as it is described in the Oracles of God.
It is exactly suited by the wise creator and governor of the world to the weak understanding and narrow capacity of man in his present state. How observable is this? Both with regard to the end it proposes and the means to attain that end. The end is one word, salvation.
The means to attain it, faith. Okay? And so, basically, he's talking about here what he called the genuine religion of Jesus Christ. So, in short, he's talking about genuine Christianity.
Got it? He's talking about... what makes for genuine Christianity.
And then he begins to ask, or he begins to state, what the purpose or what is the objective of the Christian life. Look at the last, second to the last sentence, he said, how observable is this, both with regard to the end it proposes. And the means to attain that end. So the end is that is the purpose of the Christian life is in one word, salvation.
So he's saying that salvation is the purpose. It is the objective of the Christian life. And then he moves on to talk about the means whereby we can attain that salvation. And here he mentions. Well, we're not going to talk about the faith part here because we're going to cover that next week once we get to justification and later on to sanctification.
Okay. But for now, let's just focus on his understanding of salvation. And so, and then another place in the same sermon, he further defines what that salvation is. Okay, remember the end of the Christian life is salvation.
So now he defines what is that salvation he's talking about. So he said, and first let us inquire, what is salvation? The salvation which is here spoken of is not what is frequently understood by that word, the going to heaven, eternal happiness. It is not the soul's going to paradise, termed by our Lord, Abraham's bosom.
It is not something at a distance. It is a present thing, a blessing which through the free mercy of God, ye are now in possession of. Nay, the words may be rendered, and that with equal propriety, ye have been saved. So that the salvation which is here spoken of might be extended to the entire work of God, from the first dawning of grace in the soul till it is consumed or consummated in glory.
Okay, so basically he's saying, or he's asking, what is salvation? And then he talks about, you know, the common notion or understanding about salvation being going to heaven, eternal happiness, or going to paradise or Abraham's bosom. And I think that today we still get that perception. We still get that understanding with people today that when we're talking about salvation, it's about going to heaven or going to something at a distance.
But Wesley clarifies that it is a present thing. And he said that it is a blessing which through the free mercy of God, ye are now in possession of. In other words, this salvation can be experienced today. It can be experienced in the present. Nay, the words may be rendered, and that with equal propriety, ye have been saved.
In other words, you can actually say to a person, ye have been saved. You have been saved. And I think he's quoting from scripture there. And so that's why he summarizes at the end, so that the salvation which is here spoken of might be extended to the entire work of God.
from the first dawning of grace in the soul till it is consummated in glory. See that? Okay? So till it is consummated in glory. In other words, salvation is the entire work of God.
And then he talks about the beginning of this entire work of God. He said the first dawning of grace in the soul. So what is he talking about there? He's actually talking about prevenient grace. Got it?
But we will talk more about that later once we get to repentance. Or I think we already talked about that, by the way, prevenient grace. When we talk about Wesleyan theological anthropology, when we talk about sin, and then we also talk about prevenient grace.
And then he said, till it is consummated in glory. Well, he's actually referring to eschatology. Okay, what will happen after we die.
So he's talking about glorification, or what is called glorification, or the resurrection, or the general resurrection. Got it? So that's salvation for Wesley.
And then another way of understanding. His understanding of soteriology is by looking at the three states of development, according to Wesley. So what are these three states, anyway?
Well, he defines the first one to be the natural state. It is the state whereby a person is still under the law. That is the law of sin and death.
Got it? That we were before. in the state of the law or under the law. That is the law of sin and death.
And that is actually found, if I'm not mistaken, in Romans chapter 8. And then, so that natural state is a state of sleep. Okay, that is a state of spiritual sleep. It's that you are still unaware.
uh of the things of god this is a state whereby a person uh is still um still not aware it's still not awakened to the thing things that's why it's called a state of sleep you got it And then there's the second state, that is the legal state. This is the state whereby that person who was sleeping now suddenly awakens. So this is the spirit of bondage.
It also refers to the sinner who's been awakened. The one who initially was sleeping under the law of sin and death, now suddenly is awakened. and somehow gain some degree of faith, but only a faith of a servant.
Well, we'll get to that as we move on to our study of soteriology. And this is the state prior to justification. Got it?
There's a degree of faith, but it's a faith of a servant, not yet faith of a child. Okay? This is the state before one is justified.
or one is saved. And then this moves on with the final state, that is the evangelical state. This is the spirit of adoption.
Well, take note, in legal state, it's a spirit of bondage, okay? But now you gain a spirit of adoption. You are now adopted into the family of God. Now you gain not the faith of a servant, but a faith of a child.
So this is the state during or after justification. Got it? Natural, legal, evangelical states.
And then another place where we can find Wesley dividing soteriology in different parts or states is found in his exposition of 1 John 4.18. in his explanatory notes upon the New Testament. Well, here in 1 John 4, 18, if you recall, this word John said, perfect love casteth out all fears. Remember that?
Perfect love casteth out all fears. So Wesley explained that this way in the explanatory notes. Look at the first one. He said, a natural man has neither fear nor love. See, that's in reference to the natural state, number one.
And then he moves on with the second category. He said, one that is awakened, fear without love. And so that is what?
So that is the legal state. Got it? By the way, let me go back to natural man.
I forgot to talk more about that. Well, a natural man has neither fear nor love. So this is a person who is in a state of...
sleep, the natural state. This is a person who's oblivious to sin. This is a person who doesn't care about his own mortality. He doesn't care about, you know, thinking about what happens when a person dies and where that person goes after that person dies.
So that's why this person is very selfish. He doesn't have a clear conception. uh of love okay so he's oblivious about eternity about mortality that's why it's called he that's why it said he neither fears anything okay so he doesn't fear anything but then it's also it's also this person is also fixated on himself on it on himself and therefore there is no love got it uh but then that person moves on to the awakened state you or the legal state.
Suddenly this person comes to a realization that he's in danger. And so this reminds me, for example, in Acts chapter two, when Peter preached to the crowd on the day of Pentecost, when he told them about Jesus, and he told the people or the crowd that, you know... about Jesus and he said, we put him to death. Okay.
And the people were so convicted by his preaching that they began to ask, actually Luke said in Acts chapter 2, they were cut to the heart and then they began to ask, what must we do to be saved? So that is the state of awakening. Like this crowd on the day of Pentecost, they were awakened.
When they asked the question. or when they were cut to the heart and begin to ask the question, what must we do to be saved? So take note, they're not saved yet. They're just awakened. Got it?
And then this moves on to the third state, and that is a babe in Christ. Suddenly, this person begins to gain a perspective on love. He begins to understand God's conception of love or agape, agape love. But then this person is still living in fear. This person is not totally free from doubts and fear.
So, by the way, this baby in Christ is what? This is the evangelical state. Suddenly, this person who was awakened gains the spirit of adoption.
Okay? Because now this person is a child of God. Got it? But again, he's just only starting.
So, he's only a baby. That's why he's a baby in Christ. So there is a conception of love, but he's not totally free from fear yet.
He still deals with bouts of doubts and fear from time to time. And then suddenly that person grows into a father in Christ, or let me call parent in Christ. And that's when he gains love without fear.
And does that ring a bell to you? Yes, 1 John 4, 18 talks about what? Perfect love.
casteth out all fear. So the love that's being talked about here is perfect love. Okay, in this state.
By the way, in the first slide, or the previous slide, there are only three states. But in this exposition on 1 John 4, 18, there are four states for Wesley. Because he added a parent or a father in Christ. Whereby this parent in Christ now gains perfect love.
And therefore, because of that perfect love, he is without fear or she is without fear. Amen. And then another place where we can find this Wesley outlining different states of salvation is found in the principle of a man is further explained.
And here he wrote, our main doctrines, which include all the rest, are three. Take note, okay? So he basically said our main doctrines. And he said we have three main doctrines.
And what are these? He said of repentance, of faith, and of holiness. In other words, we have three main doctrines. Repentance, faith, holiness.
And then he said the first of these we account as it were the porch of religion. So what is he talking about here? He's talking about repentance. He said repentance is the porch of religion. And we're going to get to that later when we talk about repentance, by the way.
And then he talks about faith as the door. And then he talks about holiness as the house itself or religion itself. Got it? And so I think that's really a good summary for us, a good way of classifying or dividing. the different states of the Christian life or regard or soteriology.
Okay. So it begins with repentance followed by faith and then with holiness. By the way, when he talks about faith here, we're not talking about faith in general.
He's talking about justification by faith, the faith that leads one to be saved. Got it? And then there's also this, This illustration, because basically Wesley was talking about a house here, isn't it? Repentance is the porch, faith is the door, and holiness is the house itself or religion itself.
Well, sometimes, for example, in one confirmation material that I've encountered, this is a critical, it's called Credo Confirmation in the United Methodist Church. um it is uh wesley's house illustration is drawn this way look at that okay uh it outlines the door as justifying grace and then it outlines and by the way uh no no it's it outlines the pre uh that the porch as previous grace and then he outlines uh it outlines the door as justifying grace and it outlines the interior of the house as sanctifying grace Well, at first glance, this looks okay. But actually, it looks different from this.
Got it? Because as I said, the porch is repentance, not prevenient grace. Although repentance can be part of that state, referring to prevenient grace, but technically it isn't.
Got it? That's why I said repentance is the porch. And then here it talks about justifying grace as the door. Well, Wesley said faith, not justifying grace.
And then on the last, it talks about holiness as the interior, as the house itself, not sanctifying grace. Well, you'll be able to understand the distinctions between this. Okay.
Once we get to justification and sanctification. But again, I'm just showing this. to show you that one of the ways this has been kind of interpreted for our time, Wesley's understanding or what we would call Wesley's house illustration.
Okay. And so going back to Wesley's mentioning of the three main doctrines of Methodism, if we're going to create a chart out of that, it looks like this. Okay.
He said, what did he say? The three main doctrines are what? Repentance, faith, and holiness.
Got it? Repentance, faith, and holiness. So those are the three building blocks of Wesley's understanding of salvation or soteriology.
So to kind of put more specificity to that, see, from repentance, it's actually talking about awakening and repentance. Got it? Once you get to that legal state from the state of sleep, you move on to awakening and repentance.
And then once you get to faith, the faith part is really talking about justification. But once you are justified, you're also born again. And then you move on towards holiness or entire sanctification. Okay? So I would like you to keep this chart in mind.
Moving forward. So this ends the lecture on Wesley's understanding or this outlining of Wesley's understanding of salvation or soteriology. Okay, so we'll move on to the next one. That is his understanding of repentance. Thank you.