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Christian Theology Vol. II
Most widely used systematic theology of the 20th century in the Wesleyan-Arminian tradition. Topics in this volume The Doctrine of the Father (Anthropology, Hamartiology, Original Sin or Inherited Depravity), The Doctrine of the Son (Christology, The Person of Christ, The Estates and Offices of Christ, The Atonement), The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit (The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit, The Preliminary States of Grace, Christian Righteousness, Christian Sonship, Christian Perfection or Entire Sanctification).
520 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1940
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April 14, 2024
THE SECOND VOLUME OF A SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY BY A NAZARENE THEOLOGIAN
Henry Orton Wiley (1877-1961) was a Christian theologian associated with the Church of the Nazarene, who was president of Northwest Nazarene College.
He states, “Man, therefore, is the culmination of all former creative acts, at once linked to them as the crown of creation, and distinct from them as a new order of being. In him the physical and the spiritual meet. He is at once a creature and a son. It is evident, therefore, that in the first account the author introduces man as the crowning act of the creative process; while the second is intended to be the starting point for the specific consideration of man’s personal history.” (Pg. 9-10)
He explains, “One of the most frequent and outspoken questions concerning the fall is this, ‘Why did God permit man to sin?’…. There are two factors which enter into consideration of the permissibility of the fall. First, the divine permission can in no wise be considered as a consent to the fall, or a license to sin. The only sense in which it can be allowed is that God did not by His sovereign power effectually intervene to prevent it. This brings us immediately to the scriptural position that man fell solely because of his own free determination to sin. Temptation was permitted because in no other way could the moral life be developed and perfected Man sinned against the holiness of this own nature and in an environment which made it easier not to sin… Sin belongs wholly to man, and thus the goodness of God is vindicated… if God had not placed the tree of knowledge in the garden, man would have been under the necessity of choosing in other ways. A personal being cannot escape the necessity of making decisions, either right or wrong. The placing of the tree in the garden was … intended to warn man against wrong choices and to serve as a constant reminder of his obligation to choose wisely. Consequently any question as to the propriety of man’s probationary trial must grow, either out of ignorance concerning the nature of Adam’s sin, or out of a rebellious heart of unbelief.” (Pg. 63-64)
Later, he adds, “the Scriptures do give us a clue to the ultimate origin of sin, and this, even from the philosophical viewpoint is the most satisfactory answer which has ever been given to this perplexing question. The Bible connects the origin of sin with the abuse of freedom in free and intelligent creatures.” (Pg. 73)
He recounts, “In its purest and best forms, Arminianism preserves the truth found in the Reformed teaching without accepting its errors. With the Reformers it holds to the unity of the race in Adam… But over against this, it holds that in Christ, the second Man who is the Lord from heaven. ‘…God has provided for all a remedy for that general evil which was derived to us from Adam, free and gratuitous in … Jesus Christ, as it were a new and another Adam. So that the baneful error of those is plainly apparent who are accustomed to found upon that original sin the degree of absolute reprobation invented by themselves.’” (Pg. 107)
He states, “The atonement is universal. This does not mean that all mankind will be unconditionally saved, but that the sacrificial offering of Christ so far satisfied the claims of the divine law as to make salvation a possibility for all. Redemption is therefore universal or general in the provisional sense, but special or conditional in its application to the individual. It is for this reason that the universal aspect is sometimes known as the sufficiency of the atonement. While the claims of reason may anticipate the universality of the atonement, it is to the positive assertion of Scripture that we must turn for our final authority.” (Pg. 295)
He explains, “Arminianism holds that predestination is the gracious purpose of God to save mankind from utter ruin. It is not an arbitrary, indiscriminate act of God intended to secure the salvation of so many and no more. It includes provisionally, all men in its scope, and is conditioned solely on faith in Jesus Christ…Thus predestination is god’s general and gracious plan of saving men, by adopting them as children through Christ; election pertains to chosen ones who are holy and blameless before Him in love. The proofs of election are no in the secret counsels of God, but in the visible fruits of holiness… The Church is both predestinated and elected, the former referring to the plan of redemption as manifested in the universal call; the latter to the elect or chosen ones who have closed in with the offers of mercy. The elect are chosen, not by absolute decree, but by acceptance of the conditions of the call.” (Pg. 337-339)
He continues, “The true Arminian…is in fact able to carry through his system of grace with greater consistency than the Calvinist himself. For while the latter is obliged, in order to account for certain good dispositions and occasional religious inclinations in those who never give evidence of actual conversion, to refer them to nature of ‘common grace,’ the former refers them to grace alone.” (Pg. 354) He adds, “Arminianism maintains that through the prevenient grace of the Spirit, unconditionally bestowed upon all men, the power and the responsibility of free agency exist from the first dawn of moral life.” (Pg. 357)
He cautions, “failure to make a sharp distinction between justification as a declarative act in the mind of God, and sanctification as a moral change within the soul consequent upon the new relation of justification, lies at the basis of the whole Tridentine theology. Even in the New Testament we find an attempt to reconcile faith and works…” (Pg. 387)
He says, “The intellectual assertion that a man is in Christ, does not make it so in fact; this is accomplished by an inner work of the Spirit of God. Ethically, this Antinomian doctrine breaks down all the restraints that would hinder men from sin, as set up in Arminianism and the older Calvinism. Logically it has its issue in the doctrine of final perseverance, or what in more modern times is wrongly known as eternal security.” (Pg. 462)
He states, “entire sanctification is not only a definite and completed act, it is also a completed and continuous act. We mean by this that we are cleansed from all sin, only as through faith, we are brought into a right relation to the atoning blood of Jesus Christ; and only as there is a continuous relation to atoning blood by faith, will there be a continuous cleansing, in the sense of a preservation in purity and holiness… Viewed from the standpoint of the Spirit, those who are sanctified by His agency as an instantaneous act are through the indwelling of the Spirit made the recipients of His continuously sanctifying grace.” (Pg. 483-485)
He adds later, “Christian perfection is PROBATIONARY. It is a state which is always under ethical law, and hence must be guarded by constant watchfulness, and maintained by divine grace. While we remain in this life, however deep out devotion, or fervent our religious life, there are sources of danger within us…” (Pg. 500)
This book will interest those who are seriously studying theology.
Henry Orton Wiley (1877-1961) was a Christian theologian associated with the Church of the Nazarene, who was president of Northwest Nazarene College.
He states, “Man, therefore, is the culmination of all former creative acts, at once linked to them as the crown of creation, and distinct from them as a new order of being. In him the physical and the spiritual meet. He is at once a creature and a son. It is evident, therefore, that in the first account the author introduces man as the crowning act of the creative process; while the second is intended to be the starting point for the specific consideration of man’s personal history.” (Pg. 9-10)
He explains, “One of the most frequent and outspoken questions concerning the fall is this, ‘Why did God permit man to sin?’…. There are two factors which enter into consideration of the permissibility of the fall. First, the divine permission can in no wise be considered as a consent to the fall, or a license to sin. The only sense in which it can be allowed is that God did not by His sovereign power effectually intervene to prevent it. This brings us immediately to the scriptural position that man fell solely because of his own free determination to sin. Temptation was permitted because in no other way could the moral life be developed and perfected Man sinned against the holiness of this own nature and in an environment which made it easier not to sin… Sin belongs wholly to man, and thus the goodness of God is vindicated… if God had not placed the tree of knowledge in the garden, man would have been under the necessity of choosing in other ways. A personal being cannot escape the necessity of making decisions, either right or wrong. The placing of the tree in the garden was … intended to warn man against wrong choices and to serve as a constant reminder of his obligation to choose wisely. Consequently any question as to the propriety of man’s probationary trial must grow, either out of ignorance concerning the nature of Adam’s sin, or out of a rebellious heart of unbelief.” (Pg. 63-64)
Later, he adds, “the Scriptures do give us a clue to the ultimate origin of sin, and this, even from the philosophical viewpoint is the most satisfactory answer which has ever been given to this perplexing question. The Bible connects the origin of sin with the abuse of freedom in free and intelligent creatures.” (Pg. 73)
He recounts, “In its purest and best forms, Arminianism preserves the truth found in the Reformed teaching without accepting its errors. With the Reformers it holds to the unity of the race in Adam… But over against this, it holds that in Christ, the second Man who is the Lord from heaven. ‘…God has provided for all a remedy for that general evil which was derived to us from Adam, free and gratuitous in … Jesus Christ, as it were a new and another Adam. So that the baneful error of those is plainly apparent who are accustomed to found upon that original sin the degree of absolute reprobation invented by themselves.’” (Pg. 107)
He states, “The atonement is universal. This does not mean that all mankind will be unconditionally saved, but that the sacrificial offering of Christ so far satisfied the claims of the divine law as to make salvation a possibility for all. Redemption is therefore universal or general in the provisional sense, but special or conditional in its application to the individual. It is for this reason that the universal aspect is sometimes known as the sufficiency of the atonement. While the claims of reason may anticipate the universality of the atonement, it is to the positive assertion of Scripture that we must turn for our final authority.” (Pg. 295)
He explains, “Arminianism holds that predestination is the gracious purpose of God to save mankind from utter ruin. It is not an arbitrary, indiscriminate act of God intended to secure the salvation of so many and no more. It includes provisionally, all men in its scope, and is conditioned solely on faith in Jesus Christ…Thus predestination is god’s general and gracious plan of saving men, by adopting them as children through Christ; election pertains to chosen ones who are holy and blameless before Him in love. The proofs of election are no in the secret counsels of God, but in the visible fruits of holiness… The Church is both predestinated and elected, the former referring to the plan of redemption as manifested in the universal call; the latter to the elect or chosen ones who have closed in with the offers of mercy. The elect are chosen, not by absolute decree, but by acceptance of the conditions of the call.” (Pg. 337-339)
He continues, “The true Arminian…is in fact able to carry through his system of grace with greater consistency than the Calvinist himself. For while the latter is obliged, in order to account for certain good dispositions and occasional religious inclinations in those who never give evidence of actual conversion, to refer them to nature of ‘common grace,’ the former refers them to grace alone.” (Pg. 354) He adds, “Arminianism maintains that through the prevenient grace of the Spirit, unconditionally bestowed upon all men, the power and the responsibility of free agency exist from the first dawn of moral life.” (Pg. 357)
He cautions, “failure to make a sharp distinction between justification as a declarative act in the mind of God, and sanctification as a moral change within the soul consequent upon the new relation of justification, lies at the basis of the whole Tridentine theology. Even in the New Testament we find an attempt to reconcile faith and works…” (Pg. 387)
He says, “The intellectual assertion that a man is in Christ, does not make it so in fact; this is accomplished by an inner work of the Spirit of God. Ethically, this Antinomian doctrine breaks down all the restraints that would hinder men from sin, as set up in Arminianism and the older Calvinism. Logically it has its issue in the doctrine of final perseverance, or what in more modern times is wrongly known as eternal security.” (Pg. 462)
He states, “entire sanctification is not only a definite and completed act, it is also a completed and continuous act. We mean by this that we are cleansed from all sin, only as through faith, we are brought into a right relation to the atoning blood of Jesus Christ; and only as there is a continuous relation to atoning blood by faith, will there be a continuous cleansing, in the sense of a preservation in purity and holiness… Viewed from the standpoint of the Spirit, those who are sanctified by His agency as an instantaneous act are through the indwelling of the Spirit made the recipients of His continuously sanctifying grace.” (Pg. 483-485)
He adds later, “Christian perfection is PROBATIONARY. It is a state which is always under ethical law, and hence must be guarded by constant watchfulness, and maintained by divine grace. While we remain in this life, however deep out devotion, or fervent our religious life, there are sources of danger within us…” (Pg. 500)
This book will interest those who are seriously studying theology.
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