Christian Thought: Basic Christian beliefs and doctrines

Study sheet: "The Wesleyan Perspective"

  1. John Wesley's mother imbued in him the Puritan concern for
    _____________________________________________________

  2. Wesley stands with the Reformers in proclaiming that totally depraved humans can choose God's way because of
    _____________________________________________________

  3. The inner witness of the Holy Spirit to the
    _____________________________________________________
    is the birthright of every believer.

  4. To be God's child is to manifest
    _____________________________________________________

  5. Wesley says that real righteousness is our goal and that it can be achieved only through
    _____________________________________________________

  6. Since salvation is given in response to
    ______________________________________________________
    Wesley recognized the possibility of reversing one's decision, falling from grace and totally backsliding from God. [ Can we "lose" our salvation? ]

  7. Wesley looked to three resources to help him understand the Word of God:
    1.  
    2.  
    3.  

Stained glass window representation of John Wesley
John Wesley preaching outdoors

"The Wesleyan Perspective" is part of the introductory material in the Wesley Study Bible, published in 1990 by Word and now out-of-print.

For us, John Wesley is not a saint in the way our Roman Catholic friends bestow that title on someone. The reason we talk about John Wesley is that the theological tradition which he helped shape and guide in the 1700s was the core of a revival movement that gave birth to the Church of the Nazarene in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

    -- Howard Culbertson,

More on the Wesleyan theological tradition