Lindström: Forgiveness & Sanctification
Thursday/March/2013 09:26 Filed in: Wesleyan Theology | Christian Perfection
Tweet
“Forgiveness and sanctification are the two cardinal factors in [John Wesley’s] idea of salvation, with the main stress on sanctification. Forgiveness, based on atonement, is the ground of the Christian life and in principle is never overstepped; yet nevertheless it is the idea of sanctification that dominates his whole theology. The conception of salvation is determined by the idea of sanctification, because salvation is seen as a process directed to the perfect, real change of the individual. And this process is the necessary condition for final salvation, which is the ultimate goal of the Christian life. The emphasis is then laid on sanctification: the Christian must prepare himself for the last judgment and for entry into Heaven. The Christian, as in William Law and the mystics, is above all a pilgrim, his life on earth a journey, the destination Heaven. And the path he must travel to reach his goal is the path of sanctification, of real, empirical change in man.”
“Forgiveness and sanctification are the two cardinal factors in [John Wesley’s] idea of salvation, with the main stress on sanctification. Forgiveness, based on atonement, is the ground of the Christian life and in principle is never overstepped; yet nevertheless it is the idea of sanctification that dominates his whole theology. The conception of salvation is determined by the idea of sanctification, because salvation is seen as a process directed to the perfect, real change of the individual. And this process is the necessary condition for final salvation, which is the ultimate goal of the Christian life. The emphasis is then laid on sanctification: the Christian must prepare himself for the last judgment and for entry into Heaven. The Christian, as in William Law and the mystics, is above all a pilgrim, his life on earth a journey, the destination Heaven. And the path he must travel to reach his goal is the path of sanctification, of real, empirical change in man.”
— Harald Lindström, Wesley and Sanctification (1946), Chapter 6.
(The very last paragraph.)
blog comments powered by Disqus