In my view John Wesley was not a theologian. He was a scholar but not a systematic thinker like Thomas Aquinas, St. Augustine, John Calvin, Johnathan Edward, Karl Barth and others.
Wesley wrote tracks and booklets, but no systematic treatise. He did highlight the three graces:
- Prevenient grace (proceeding grace) a feeling or thought that there is a God that seeks a relationship with us, a pull toward God.
- Justifying grace occurs when we realize our need for God and turn our lives over to him.
- Sanctifying grace comes when the power of the Holy Spirit helps us to become more and more like Jesus Christ. We can never become more Christ-like by our own effort. We need Holy Spirit power.
In his preaching and writings Wesley emphasized, highlighted and underscored the power of the Holy Spirit to transform lives. That, in my non-theological opinion, was his greatest legacy.
A major problem in current era traditional denominations is neglect of Holy Spirit power. This disregard of the Holy Spirit has to do with charismatic churches, I think. People have trouble separating the Holy Spirit and the Holy Rollers. The Holy Spirit is 1/3 of the triune God. Doesn’t that indicate that 1/3 of our sermons should be on the Holy Spirit. If you worship in traditional churches–Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Episcopal–I bet you haven’t heard a sermon on the Holy Spirit in 52 weeks.
(I apologize for this harangue, but when I was writing this blog on the Holy Spirit I realized how few Holy Spirit sermons I’ve heard. In the Methodist, Baptist and Presbyterian churches Vicki and I have attended over the years, we can’t remember one sermon on the Holy Spirit. I am not angry or upset about denominations neglecting the Holy Spirit, but I do find the omission interesting. Some of my ideas my be way off base, but I won’t know about it until someone tells me.)
I had three purposes in writing this blog. First, I wanted someone to comment on what makes a theologian. Second, I wanted someone to counter my thoughts on John Wesley. Third, and most important, I wanted to suggest that all of us acknowledge the Holy Spirit in our lives. We can become more aware of the Holy Spirit during our prayer life:
- Set our minds on what the Holy Spirit desires for us
- Ask the Holy Spirit to intercede and help us with our spiritual weaknesses
- Ask for the fruits of the Spirit–love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to guide us on the path God desires for us
- Ask the Holy Spirit to work in us to will and act according to God’s good purpose
- Ask the Holy Spirit to protect us from the Devil and the evil in this world
This Post Has 7 Comments
Cornel Walker
11 Nov 2019Good blog but I suggest you try the episcopal church. All churches vary but in my experience St. Luke’s in San Antonio embraced the Holy Spirit in sermons. In addition Moody Methodist in Galveston was more spirit oriented. In fact one of the pastors taught our Sunday school class and spoke frequently, if not every Sunday, on the Holy Spirit.
John Ingram Walker, MD
11 Nov 2019Good info. Thanks Cornel. I didn’t realize how much the Holy Spirit is mention in Episcopal Sermons.
John Ingram Walker, MD
11 Nov 2019It make sense that small group discussions in the Methodist Church would discuss the Holy Spirit because of Wesley’s emphasis on the Holy Spirit and on small group discussions.
John Ingram Walker, MD
11 Nov 2019The Methodist Rule of Life consists of spiritual disciplines that provide structure and direction for growth toward holiness, and helps form us into the persons God intends us to be.
Wende
11 Nov 2019You need to come visit our church in Charlotte (City Church)!! We definitely spend more than 1/3 of the time on the Spirit, although I don’t think it comes down to a formula. I know that was hyperbole. But you will be encouraged to know that there are solid Biblical-based churches that emphasize the role of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives.
Sandy
14 Nov 2019I think that everyone who studies God’s word and seeks to understand how the whole and the parts fit together is a theologian. Some do this well and some do not. Some do this consciously and some do not. John Wesley held to an Arminian theology and seemed more interested in preaching and evangelism. I appreciate his esteem for Scripture, his heart for the souls of men and women, his energetic ministry, and his concern for the poor. I believe someone tabulated how many thousands of dollars went through his hands, mainly to orphanages and such, and that he died with only a few coins in his possession.
As to the Holy Spirit as a topic, surely he is neglected in some circles and over-emphasized in others. But I don’t think we should mandate 1/3 time for each Person of the Trinity. In John 16:14 Jesus said that the Spirit would come to glorify Christ. It seems to me that those most filled with the Spirit speak most of Christ himself.
John Ingram Walker, MD
14 Nov 2019Thanks, Sandy for your incisive comment on Wesley. Yes,I agree that we shouldn’t mandate 1/3 of preaching time on the Holy Spirit–that hyperbole was intended as an attention getter.
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