“For this reason, since the day we heard it, we have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light.” (NRSV)
The apostle Paul’s prayer in this passage can be outlined as follows:
In this passage John Calvin says that God sends people to Hell for no other reason than that God wishes to do so:
“Many professing a desire to defend the Deity from an invidious charge admit the doctrine of election, but deny that any one is reprobated…. This they do ignorantly and childishly since there could be no election without its opposite reprobation. God is said to set apart those whom he adopts for salvation. It were most absurd to say, that he admits others fortuitously, or that they by their industry acquire what election alone confers on a few. Those, therefore, whom God passes by he reprobates, and that for no other cause but because he is pleased to exclude them from the inheritance which he predestines to his children.”
You can find the definition of “reprobation” here at thefreedictionary.com: “(Theology) Christianity: condemnation to eternal punishment in hell; rejection by God.”
I find the doctrine of Calvinistic predestination — which Calvin himself says includes the idea of reprobation — i.e. that God sends people to Hell by God’s own choice and design — deeply distasteful.
John Wesley was also horrified by it:
John Wesley (1703-1791)
This is the blasphemy for which (however I love the persons who assert it) I abhor the doctrine of predestination, a doctrine, upon the supposition of which, if one could possibly suppose it for a moment, (call it election, reprobation, or what you please, for all comes to the same thing) one might say to our adversary, the devil, “Thou fool, why dost thou roar about any longer? Thy lying in wait for souls is as needless and useless as our preaching. Hearest thou not, that God hath taken thy work out of thy hands; and that he doeth it much more effectually? Thou, with all thy principalities and powers, canst only so assault that we may resist thee; but He can irresistibly destroy both body and soul in hell! Thou canst only entice; but his unchangeable decrees, to leave thousands of souls in death, compels them to continue in sin, till they drop into everlasting burnings. Thou temptest; He forceth us to be damned; for we cannot resist his will. Thou fool, why goest thou about any longer, seeking whom thou mayest devour? Hearest thou not that God is the devouring lion, the destroyer of souls, the murderer of men? Moloch caused only children to pass though the fire: and that fire was soon quenched; or, the corruptible body being consumed, its torment was at an end; but God, thou are told, by his eternal decree, fixed before they had done good or evil, causes, not only children of a span long, but the parents also, to pass through the fire of hell, the ‘fire which never shall be quenched; and the body which is cast thereinto, being now incorruptible and immortal, will be ever consuming and never consumed, but ‘the smoke of their torment,’ because it is God’s good pleasure, ‘ascendeth up for ever and ever.’ “
I occasionally get push back on this. Like this message, which I received several years ago:
Those who come will be accepted. You cite that like God will exclude any who come. Faith in the finished works of Christ (active and passive obedience) and repentance are the appointed means to salvation. faith and repentance as well as regeneration are the work of the Spirit (God) in us to point us to Christ (God-man), and it’s by grace from Abba Father (God).
I do not mean to deny salvation by grace. This person’s comment tries to put the best foot forward and ignore the chilling realities of Calvin’s doctrine. But, to “reprobate” people means that God has chosen to send them to hell “for no other cause but because he is pleased to exclude them from the inheritance which he predestines to his children.” They did not come because God had determined beforehand that they could not come.
This next correspondent was much more angry with me, he’s a little inarticulate, but he was probably so angry it was hard to type:
Sir,
God’s holiness, justice and righteousness is beyond anyone’s mind to measure, they did not come because they are determined to walk away and hate God. God left them condemned already in their own weight. Christ (the word who is God became flesh) came to the rescue of many appointed to salvation and the Holy Spirit intervenes, changed their inner being and to enable them to follow Him willingly this was to show His grace, mercy and love beyond measure, and off the chart of anyone’s capacity to comprehend.
Now, who is responsible for the damnation of the reprobates: is it God? Yes, because he is just to punish them, is God responsible for their committed crimes? no, it is not He who created sin in them, He did not. He made the decree of man’s disobedience but allowed it to happen because of man’s independent rebellion.
God is just to send all humanity to hell but by His sovereign electing grace chose a definite people for Himself and set them apart to express His mercy and love. This is the revelation of His attributes and He cannot abandon one attribute for the sake another and that’s what Christ did to satisfy justice and appeased wrath through His death on the cross and can now be still holy, just, righteous, gracious, merciful, and loving. You should have considered this.
Let me also explain this quote “God sends people to Hell for no other reason than that God wishes to do so” He has all the reason and God wishes to do so because of their sin, yet He is willing to save some for the praise of His glorious grace and that’s good news! Calvin simply wanted to refute the error of those who admit the doctrine of election, but deny that any one is reprobate which is illogical. reprobate is a ‘sinner’ who is not of the elect and is predestined to damnation and again, God did not predestined them to commit sin nor predestined anyone to commit suicide yet allowed it to happen anyway out of their own weight and predestined them into condemnation and there’s no need the power of God to make them reprobate but only out of their own weight. He is not surprised because He upholds everything from eternity past to eternal future.
Again God did not manipulate sin to enter but simply allows it to take place for a greater purpose and that includes the revelation of Himself to His creation through His redemptive acts recorded is Scripture.
Well, while I appreciate his rushing to the defense of Mr. Calvin, this is all gobbledygook to me. While this is not well written, the writer has stated the Calvinistic line pretty well (from what I know of it). But, it still doesn’t make any sense to me.
However, the “love” and “justice” of the Creator he describes is not either “love” or “justice” in any really meaningful sense. The love and justice of the Creator that he posits are contrary to love and justice as we would understand them.
Since we are spiritually shaped by the God we serve, this type of theology seems to me to be morally and spiritually toxic. It undermines the meaning of both love and justice. I know many very good Christians — and there have been many throughout Christian history — who subscribe to this type of theology but whose lives rise above it and I am thankful for that — and for them. Certainly God is faithful and sometimes overlooks our faults and misconceptions. Certainly there are many things about God that we will never understand fully because our minds are incapable of conceiving of God as God truly is. I believe all forms of determinism — this would include the Calvinistic theology to which this correspondent subscribes, but would also include naive forms of universalism, and atheistic forms of determinism — undermine the notion of moral responsibility and trivialize human action.
It does not exalt the sovereignty of God to make God a deterministic monster. I believe that the God revealed to us in Jesus Christ is a God of universal grace and love. I believe of Christ that: “in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.” (John 1:4 NRSV).
I believe that salvation is offered to all — not as a ruse, but as a reality.
John Wesley (1703-1791).
“I appeal to every impartial mind… whether the mercy of God would not be far less gloriously displayed, in saving a few by his irresistible power, and leaving all the rest without help, without hope, to perish everlastingly, than in offering salvation to every creature, actually saving all that consent thereto, and doing for the rest all that infinite wisdom, almighty power, and boundless love can do, without forcing them to be saved.”
— John Wesley, “Predestination Calmly Considered.”
P. S. Actually, there are some forms of Reformed theology to which I have little or no real substantive objection. And, while I often quote Calvin unflatteringly, he said and taught many good things — and at times, seems less strict in his “Calvinism” than many of his followers are.
“O Lord, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill?”
We are invited into relationship with God: into the presence of God. A question is addressed to the God of Israel, using his personal name יְ֭הוָֹה: (which may have been pronounced”Yahweh”) who can live in Your presence?
It was characteristic of Paul to begin his letters with words of encouragement and congratulation. As we read further in this letter we will discover that he wrote it to correct false ideas that were current in the congregation. He was certainly concerned about the false teaching at Collosae — but, it did not approach his anger and outrage over the false teaching at Galatia. In Paul’s letter to the Galatians, he leaves the encouragement paragraph out altogether and launches immediately into his angry words of correction. But, here he wants his readers to hear a good word first. He takes time to give them encouragement and praise.
In the simple, stock opening with which this letter begins, we already gain insight into Paul’s sense of calling and vocation. We see his conception of who he is, and what he knows his task in life to be. As he turns to the next part of his greeting — again nothing unusual here at all — he expresses his view of who the Colossian Christians are.
“…to the saints and faithful brethren in Christ who are at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father.” (NASB).
They are: “saints (who are) in Colossae” and “faithful brothers in Christ.” The New Testament refers to Christian believers as “saints” (ἁγίοις).
At this point English terminology is sometimes confusing, because we have two different roots here. The family of Greek words that express the idea of “holiness” are sometimes translated “holy”, “holiness” using the “hol-” root and sometimes “saint”, “sanctify” using words derived from the Latin sanctus. So, “holy” is the adjective, but “sanctify” is the verb. It’s a bit confusing. In the Greek language these are closely related, all beginning with the same root: ἅγιος (holy), ἁγιάζω (sanctify), and so forth. I just mention this because the close relationship between these words is generally lost in translation. Sanctify means holy-fy: to make holy. Holiness and Sanctification are almost synonyms.
Those to whom Paul writes are identified as being God’s people: saints. They are identified as a people belonging to God.
The word “holy” speaks of God’s essential nature. People or things designated as “holy” have a relationship to God. These things/people are devoted to God. This corresponds to the Old Testament conception of the “chosen people”: those people who are especially related to God, and whose lives are to bring glory and honor to God. Though Paul writes this letter (we discover as we go along) to correct false teachings in this church, he does not hesitate to call them the “saints that are in Colossae.”
This also goes for the other letters Paul writes to troubled or confused congregations. They may be in need of correction in their thinking, but he still dares to call them the “saints.” So, the title “saint” is not necessarily reserved only for the doctrinally correct or even morally perfect Christians. Ordinary, fallible, even sometimes mistaken, Christians are included among the saints.
The point here, is that these people have numbered themselves among the people of God. The faith that brings justification (i.e., initial relationship with God) also brings initial sanctification. Faith holy-fies. Faith sets us on the road of transformation and Christlikeness. Faith makes it possible for our lives to glorify God.
By faith we are “in Christ” ( ἐν Χριστῷ). That is to say, we are in relationship with Christ.
They are also called: πιστοῖς (“faithful” ). We immediately recognize πιστοῖς as a word related to all the other New Testament words for “faith” or “belief” or “trust.” As such, it could be translated “faithful’ or “believing” — and probably suggests both ideas: they have set out, by faith, to follow Jesus Christ. They are continuing in that faith: obedient and trustworthy.
The word implies both “faith” in the sense of personal belief and faithfulness in the sense of actively following after Christ. It is the shame of contemporary evangelicalism that these ideas have been torn asunder. What you believe is what you live by! The evidence of faith is faithfulness.
The New Testament knows no separation between faith and obedience — they are part of the same reality. Faith is the basis of what we do. It is far more than simply what we (sometimes) say.
They are faithful ἀδελφοῖς (“brothers”). Of course, this term assumes that only the men of the church are reading or hearing this letter. That was the cultural reality of the time. The NRSV says “brothers and sisters” because our cultural reality is (thankfully) quite different. This is not a literal translation. But,on the other hand, it’s a helpful recognition that times have changed.
The important thing about this word (the same word, ἀδελφὸς used in verse 1 to speak of Timothy) is that it stresses relationship. Long ago when I was a young man (and a new Christian), I was part of a conservative Holiness-influenced congregation where people spoke of one another as “Brother” and “Sister.” I think they were on to something, to tell you the truth. The earliest Christians thought of themselves as belonging to a family together: brothers and sisters in Christ.
In Christ (ἐν Χριστῷ) we are related to one another! In Mark 3:35 Jesus says: “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.” (NRSV). In this light, it’s all the more interesting that Paul introduces his companion Timothy as “the brother” (Τιμόθεος ὁ ἀδελφὸς). He needs no other credentials. He could have said leader or preacher or given him some title. But, “brother” is the word he chooses for a recommendation.
To these saints and faithful brothers & sisters in Colossae, Paul pronounces his usual blessing (compare Romans 1:7, 1 Corinthians 1:3, 2 Corinthians 1:2, Galatians 1:3, Ephesians 1:2, Philippians 1:2, 1 Thessalonians 1:1, 2 Thessalonians 1:2, Titus 1:4, Philemon 3). But, for some unknown reason, he leaves off his usual “and the Lord Jesus Christ” phrase.
χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν. “Grace to you and peace from God our Father.” (NRSV)
χάρις (“grace“). This word speaks of God’s favor and good will toward us. Thus, it refers to everything in our lives that is the result of God’s favor.
We also come to speak of grace as God’s unmerited favor to us in Jesus Christ. At this point the word enters the Church’s own distinctive vocabulary: and becomes a catch-all term for all the good things God wants to communicate to us through Christ.
In its root, it signifies “that which brings joy.” It is closely related to the words χαίρω (“to rejoice“) and χαρά (“joy“).
Since grace brings joy, it implies that two persons are involved. Someone has something good to give. Someone else is in a position to receive it. Grace is kindness or mercy given without expectation of return. it is kindness and mercy for its own sake. A child looks at a bicycle he could never afford. An unknown benefactor buys it for him. It’s grace. Jesus hears two blind men by the side of the road, calling out for mercy (Matthew 20:30f). Jesus touches their eyes and they see (Matthew 20:34). It’s grace. God looks down on the foolish and wayward human race, watching the ways in which we bring pain and suffering into our own lives and the lives of those around us. Yet, instead of anger, God acts our of compassion. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NASB). It’s grace.
Some people rarely think of grace as “that which brings joy and delight,” but that is an essential part of the meaning of the term. Grace brings delight. God’s will for us is joy and happiness — yes, even in the midst of a sometimes discouraging life. “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.” (John 15:11 NASB).
Long, long ago, I was taught this acrostic: God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. While this is no definition of the meaning of the word, as such, it is a good expression of the Christian gospel of grace — and easy to remember, besides.
εἰρήνη (“peace”). We fill in the meaning of this Greek term from the richness of it’s Hebrew equivalent שָׁלוֹם. It implies harmony and well-being — far more than the cessation of conflict. According to the Hebrew/Aramaic to English Dictionary and Index to the NIV Old Testament from the Zondervan NIV Exhaustive Concordance (Edward W. Goodrick, John R. Kohlenberger III, and James A. Swanson, editors), the word suggests:
peace, safety, prosperity, well-being; intactness, wholeness; peace can have a focus of security, safety which can bring feelings of satisfaction, well-being, and contentment.
I believe peace is a distinctly Christian state of mind — or possibility. With conflict all around us, we can still be at peace. We have found peace with our Creator and God, the One who is (as Tillich famously said) the Ground of our Being.
John Wesley (1703 –1791)
Grace and peace are the essence of the Christian experience.
But true religion, or a heart right toward God and man, implies happiness as well as holiness. For it is not only ‘righteousness,’ but also ‘peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.’ What peace? ‘The peace of God,’ which God only can give, and the world cannot take away; the peace which ‘passeth all understanding,’ all barely rational conception; being a supernatural sensation, a divine taste, of ‘the powers of the world to come;’ such as the natural man knoweth not, how wise soever in the things of this world; nor, indeed, can he know it, in his present state, ‘because it is spiritually discerned.’ It is a peace that banishes all doubt, all painful uncertainty; the Spirit of God bearing witness with the spirit of a Christian, that he is ‘a child of God.’ And it banishes fear, all such fear as hath torment; the fear of the wrath of God; the fear of hell; the fear of the devil; and, in particular, the fear of death: he that hath the peace of God, desiring, if it were the will of God, ‘to depart, and to be with Christ.’
With this peace of God, wherever it is fixed in the soul, there is also ‘joy in the Holy Ghost;’ joy wrought in the heart by the Holy Ghost, by the ever-blessed Spirit of God. He it is that worketh in us that calm, humble rejoicing in God, through Christ Jesus, ‘by whom we have now received the atonement,’ ??????????, the reconciliation with God; and that enables us boldly to confirm the truth of the royal Psalmist’s declaration, ‘Blessed is the man’ (or rather, happy) ‘whose unrighteousness is forgiven, and whose sin is covered.’ He it is that inspires the Christian soul with that even, solid joy, which arises from the testimony of the Spirit that he is a child of God; and that gives him to ‘rejoice with joy unspeakable, in hope of the glory of God;’ hope both of the glorious image of God, which is in part and shall be fully ‘revealed in him;’ and of that crown of glory which fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for him.
This holiness and happiness, joined in one, are sometimes styled, in the inspired writings, ‘the kingdom of God,’ (as by our Lord in the text,) and sometimes, ‘the kingdom of heaven.’ It is termed ‘the kingdom of God,’ because it is the immediate fruit of God’s reigning in the soul. So soon as ever he takes unto himself his mighty power, and sets up his throne in our hearts, they are instantly filled with this ‘righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.’ It is called ‘the kingdom of heaven’ because it is (in a degree) heaven opened in the soul.
ἀπὸ θεοῦ πατρὸς ἡμῶν (“from God our Father‘). Here is the true source of all good, all harmony, all peace, all grace, all lasting joy and happiness. In 2 Corinthians 1:3 there is a wonderful phrase, where Paul calls God: ὁ πατὴρ τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν καὶ θεὸς πάσης παρακλήσεως — “the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort.” (NIV).
We need grace and peace in our world today. We need grace and peace in our churches. We need grace and peace in our families. We have lots of people who think they have right opinions. Grace and peace flow to us from God — and they are the evidence we are “in Christ.”
Another ground of these, and a thousand mistakes, is, the not considering deeply, that love is the highest gift of God; humble, gentle, patient love; that all visions, revelations, manifestations whatever, are little things compared to love; and that all the gifts above-mentioned are either the same with, or infinitely inferior to, it. It were well you should be thoroughly sensible of this, —’the heaven of heavens is love.’ There is nothing higher in religion; there is, in effect, nothing else; if you look for anything but more love, you are looking wide of the mark, you are getting out of the royal way. And when you are asking others, ‘Have you received this or that blessing?’ if you mean anything but more love, you mean wrong; you are leading them out of the way, and putting them upon a false scent. Settle it then in your heart, that from the moment God has saved you from all sin, you are to aim at nothing more, but more of that love described in the thirteenth of the Corinthians. You can go no higher than this, till you are carried into Abraham’s bosom.
First, I need to explain this: when I say “Methodist” I don’t mean it in any denominational sense at all. Yes, I served for many years as a pastor in the United Methodist Church. And, at that time I was quite loyal. I came to Christ long ago at a holiness camp-meeting. But, I really don’t mean to speak of this in any sectarian sense at all.
For many, the often over-stated claims of the Holiness movement are an embarrassment. Yet, I find these writings a helpful corrective to the casual “Christians Aren’t Perfect They’re Just Forgiven” attitude of so much of contemporary Christian culture. It’s a helpful corrective to a church that has come to peaceful terms with the injustices of this world — rather than challenging and correcting them.
I am glad I came to Christ in the context of a group of people who believed that faith in Christ made a real difference in a person’s life. I am thankful for a message — however difficult — that challenged me to fully open my life to the power of God’s Spirit. I am glad I heard a Gospel that still held to a message, not only of forgiveness, but also of change and new life. John Wesley’s writings and the commentaries of Adam Clarke were formative influences on me in the development of my faith — and my understanding of the meaning and relevance of the Bible’s teachings. Every once in a while I run across something that reminds me why I’m glad I used to read this material — and the value I have always found in it.
The Gospel as preached by Wesley and those who imitate him, appeals with peculiar force to the intelligent common-sense of all unconverted men. All such men feel that under the circumstances and conditions of human life, it was incumbent upon God to make salvation possible to every soul.
It has been the mission of Methodism to destroy the unreasonable and illogical and unscriptural dogmas of Calvinistic fatalism, and show how God could be just and yet the justifier of every believing soul that in real penitence accepts the Lord Jesus Christ; and, also, how God can save all infants and irresponsible persons, and how in every nation all who fear God and work righteousness, though they have never heard the Gospel, are accepted by Him.
These fundamental truths as set forth by John Wesley, have never failed to commend themselves to the favorable consideration of all unprejudiced minds, for they at once glorify the Divine justice and compassion, and throw wide open the door of hope to every soul.
But Wesley was thorough and exhaustive in his treatment of whatever was the subject of his investigations. For many long and weary years he groped in the thick darkness of the times in which he lived, seeking for the simplest experience of salvation. He abounded in all manner of self-denials and self-sacrifices; his morality was [of] the most exalted character; he was diligent in prayer and in the study of God’s word; he was most strict in all the outward forms and services of religion; but until he reached his thirty-fifth year he had not attained the consciousness of pardon in his own soul; he could not testify that God for Christ’s sake had forgiven him his sins.
From that auspicious and ever-memorable, as well as glorious hour, when, listening to the reading of Luther’s Preface to the Epistle to the Romans, he felt his heart strangely warmed with the love of God, and knew himself to be a pardoned sinner, he went straight forward as the Spirit of God directed his steps, till he came to the experience of perfect love in his own soul.
Notice the power of what Mallalieu says. He is expounding a point of view that has become largely forgotten. Salvation is available to all — it is not withheld from any. Determinism is denied. Atonement is available for all who will have it. God is fair and will judge all people fairly — taking consideration for the knowledge that had in this life. Emphasis is placed on the experience of forgiveness and the witness of the Spirit. The life of the Spirit is held up as a life of love: devoted to God’s will and to the best interests of all people. The goal of the spiritual life is taught as being perfected love. And, people so changed by the Spirit of God, also believe that their world can be changed for the better: it can become a more fair and humane place.
A new generation of Christians need to arise who will challenge the assumptions under which today’s church operates. Someone needs to challenge the notion that there is no genuine cure for sin. Someone needs to challenge the idea that the world must always go from bad to worse until Jesus returns.
If, though the life, death and resurrection of Christ God’s Kingdom has come in the here-and-now then there is hope for people and there is hope for the world. It is time to recover this Wesleyan optimism of grace!
I don’t really care if people call it “Wesleyan Theology”either. I don’t care if people use the term “Methodist” or decide to discard it. That is not the point. In fact, John Wesley isn’t the point. It’s the gospel to which he pointed: the message of hope in Jesus Christ.
This can still change people. Yes, and it can change the world.
In the early part of his 2012 book How God Became King: The Forgotten Story of the Gospels, N. T. Wright remarks on how the Church has not always allowed itself to hear the full witness of the Gospels to Christ. I won’t attempt to reproduce the argument here: read the book.
Wright begins by discussing some ways that the Church’s teachings unintentionally got off track. And, as he is discussing how these various theologians of the past attempted to defend orthodoxy in a way that misconstrued some of the Bible’s teachings, he says on page 37 that “the eighteenth century saw great movements of revival, particularly through the Methodist movement led by John and Charles Wesley and George Whitefield.” and, he goes on to say:
In this passage Jesus is continuing the series of antithesis statements he began in verse 21. In these he fleshes out what he means by coming not to destroy the law but to fulfill it. He goes beyond the law — not relaxing it, but pushing it further — pushing it toward its spiritual fulfillment. Jesus challenges us to consider more than just outward fulfillment; he pushes us to examine our motivations and inner lives.
In verses 21-37 the issues were: destructive anger, covetous sexual desire, divorce, and the swearing of oaths. Here the issues are vengefulness, enemies, peace, and universal love for all. Here the issue is how we treat — and think about — each other. This passage can be seen as a unit because of its closely related themes.
This is also one of those passages in the New Testament that uses the word τέλειος — often translated “perfect” — which gave rise to the phrase “Christian Perfection”— often used by John Wesley (and his followers) to talk about the spiritual life. The phrase has been misunderstood from the beginning and continues to be misunderstood today, and it’s easy to see why Looking at verse 48 in its context may help to sort out some of the confusion.
My goal in looking at this passage is much larger than that one issue — it is to understand how Jesus interprets the Old Testament law and applies it to life.
Jesus has already stated that the purpose of his ministry was in no way to destroy the Law and the prophets (that is, the Old Testament) but to fulfill them.
In this passage he begins to flesh out what that means. He seeks to bring the Old Testament law and teaching into its fulfillment by expounding its inner intent and purpose for the people of his own day. In “fulfilling” the law, he fills it up with meaning, demonstrating how it reveals to us the will and purpose of God.
