To Reach our Pastor, Rev. Amelia Sims

Call the church office at 681-4429

Office Hours:

9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. each Tuesday

Email: pastor@faithumc.net

Continuing the Question of Salvation According to John Wesley (in Amelia's words)

Justification or Pardon

We are not justified by works, according to Wesley. We are justified by faith. Faith is the experience and conviction of God's love for us and the trust and belief in this love. Justification occurs when we have faith that God redeems us (that is ME) through Christ. Works are only indirectly related to justification but they do not save us. The moment we are justified begins our re-birth. This is the gate-way to Sanctification. To be born again is a requirement for salvation.
Repentance is different for justification and later for our sanctification. In justification we repent of our sinfulness, guilt, evil and fear of God's judgment. In sanctification we repent of the sins of our heart and lack of love.

Sanctification and Assurance

Sanctification is where God acts in us through the Holy Spirit. It is more of a journey than a destination. It is not a static state because we can both grow to entire sanctification as well as fall from sanctification. Sanctification is not always instantaneous. It can happen in concurrence with our justification. We are sanctified by our faith rather than our works. If one is sanctified, works of mercy and piety cannot but help blossom out of our inward feelings of love. The direct witness that God loves us as we are is called assurance, which occurs when we are both justified and sanctified. This assurance is not just a feeling of peace, love and joy nor is it just something with our own conscience, which is an indirect witness. Assurance is also not reassurance which is the feeling of being okay the way we are. Real assurance comes from the Spirit and carries us through even the darkest times.

Going on to Perfection

We don't end with our sanctification but go on to perfection. Perfection is perfect love and can be called Christian Perfection. According to Wesley, it is love which fills our entire being, effects our inward and outward parts and maintains strict discipline, the love of God and the love of neighbor. It is not a state as it can grow and mature further. Our personal salvation is part of the salvation of all of creation, also called the new creation.

Hopefully, we can all understand a bit more about what John Wesley thought about our salvation.

See you in church!

Amelia