Scripture: 1 Samuel 2:2-3; Romans 13:11-14; 1 Peter 1:6-9
On May 24, 1738, John Wesley attended a religious
gathering on Aldersgate Street in London.
As a result of his presence at this service, John discovered that -
beyond his service as an Anglican priest, beyond his trust that Jesus was the
Son of God, beyond his understanding of what eternal life was all about - the
one thing he lacked in his life was the assurance of his own
salvation. (Mark Olson, in an article
“Wesley’s ‘Warmed Heart’ at Aldersgate – What Really Happened?”)
At that meeting, the leader was reading from a paper
by Martin Luther, and later in his journal, Wesley wrote “In the evening I
went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading
Luther’s ‘Preface to the Epistle to the Romans’. About a quarter before
nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through
faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in
Christ, Christ alone for salvation, and an assurance was given me that he had
taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”
This
statement regarding “the change which God works in the heart through faith
in Christ”, is quoted by many, but few fully understand the complete
significance of these words. Fewer still
live in the fullness of faith that Luther was writing about, and especially in the
change which had touched John Wesley’s heart in such a powerful way.
If
last week’s weather had permitted safe travel to worship, which it
unfortunately didn’t, we would have considered the introduction to a new series
titled “The Character of a Methodist”, which will be based on a
John Wesley tract of the same name. Today
we begin to examine the first point that he made – that simply proclaiming
faith, or even acknowledging faith, is not nearly enough. Let’s see what the fullness of faith may truly
entail.
Read 1 Samuel 2:2-3
These words weren’t spoken by
a priest, or a royal advisor to the king, or even by one of Jehovah’s prophets
– they were a praise offering from a woman by the name of Hanna. Hanna had been barren, and had prayed that
the LORD would bless her with a child, and if her prayer was
granted, she promised to dedicate the child to service for Jehovah. The child who she was offering to Eli the
priest would become the faithful prophet, Samuel.
Prophets in general,
especially those whose books appear in the Hebrew scripture, were humble and
dedicated to their calling, as were the disciples of Jesus. In Ephesians 2:8-9, we read “For it
is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from
yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can
boast.”
For many, they believe that a
simple faith in who Jesus is should be sufficient. But Wesley writes in his tract that “Nor, lastly, is he to be distinguished by
laying the whole stress of religion on any single part of it? If
you say, ‘Yes, he is; for he thinks we are saved by faith alone:’ I answer, you
do not understand the terms. By salvation he means holiness of heart and life.”
Salvation is received not only through
an understanding of Jesus, but by a depth that leads us to live and serve in
the way of Christ.
Read Romans 13:11-14
Let’s consider the meaning of
some of these terms.
First, “wake up from your
slumber” – is a call to move out of a life of ignorance in the ways of God,
and to “wake up” to the new life that Christ offers, leaving the ways of death
(our “slumber”) behind us.
Second, the references to
night versus day, and darkness versus light – in the darkness of night, our
sight is extremely limited and in this context, we have little understanding of
Jesus and all that He taught and offers to those who believe. And on the other hand, the light of day is the
richness and depth that comes to us when we open our lives to God’s way of
holiness.
The other issue connected to
these terms is the slow transition from night to day. We all know that there is a short time of
overlap – we call it the dawn – when the darkness is beginning to be replaced
by the light, but it still isn’t quite complete yet. This is related to our growth in Christ, and
the sanctification that slowly gains momentum in our life.
Third, the “deeds of
darkness” versus “the armor of light” – is simply the burden that
blankets us because of our sin, compared to what the glory and truth of God can
do for us. This difference is further
reinforced in the final verse of this passage – “clothe yourself with the LORD
Jesus Christ” compared to “gratifying
the desires of the flesh”. The first
assures us that a life in Christ brings His truth, His hope and all of His
glorious promises into our entire being, while the other means that we are only
interested in living a life of personal gratification and worldly function.
The darkness of night will
always be devoid of Godly purpose, while the armor of light brings the glory of
God to surround us, to challenge us, to call us, to guide us, and to bless
us. The dawn, especially during that
earliest hint of the coming day, is a time of danger when we can still stumble,
and misunderstand, and make decisions that lead us away from the light and back
into the darkness of the world.
This is a shallow faith
without a heart-felt commitment to living a full and precious life in Jesus, and
may be what Wesley was referring to when he wrote “May the Lord God … preserve me, from such
a poor, starved religion as this!”
Read 1 Peter 1:6-9
When Peter wrote about the “proven genuineness of
[our] faith” having great value, we are to understand that simple
faith is no longer sufficient – that there has to be proof (unquestionable
evidence) of a genuine (honest, truthful and complete) faith if Jesus is to be
revealed to others through the life we are living.
In Romans 5:1-5,
Paul wrote something similar to this – “we also glory in our
sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance,
perseverance, character; and character, hope.
And hope does not put us to shame,
because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy
Spirit”
In other words, don’t let the world distract you
from living a true and full faith. All
will be revealed when we do, and “praise, glory, and honor” will be heaped upon
our marvelous and loving God. And when
we move out of the darkness, and past the weak and minimalistic dawn of faith,
we will experience the promise of faith with an “inexpressible and glorious
joy”!
This is basically the conundrum that the United
Methodist Church finds itself in today. It
isn’t my intent to question the faith, or lack thereof, in those who find it
necessary to question and rewrite the means of faith, to make it more palatable
to the masses of society. But I will
suggest that our hesitation to surrender to the depth and fullness of God’s ways
may be the very dagger that is striking at the heart of this denomination. Some are still walking in darkness, others
are perched on the edge of dawn, and others have emerged into the fullness of
God’s daylight. And confession of our
failure to truly be a people who are united in Christ is the cause of the great
divide that is tearing the Church apart.
It is only when we give up on our own desires and
give a life in faith a chance, that this life will begin to live a holy, God
inspired, God created, and truly faithful life that brings true glory to our
precious LORD and Savior Jesus Christ!
Will you walk in His light and life today, and give
God the glory for the holy salvation that He has won for you?
