Born Again

Sean McGever

Description

The Christian life is a life of growth.The gospel message is simple but not simplistic. Learning the gospel and its implications is a lifelong process, but modern evangelicals are often too focused on the moment of conversion while ignoring the ongoing work of sanctification. For John Wesley and George Whitefield, justification and sanctification were inseparable.In Born Again, Sean McGever maps Wesley's and Whitefield's theologies of conversion, reclaiming the connection between justification and sanctification. This study helps evangelicals reassess their thin understanding of conversion, leading to a rich and full picture of the ongoing work new Christians face.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie
• Christian theology
• History of religions
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Lexham Press
• Date de parution: 08 janvier 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781683593317
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

BORN AGAIN
The Evangelical Theology of Conversion in John Wesley and George Whitefield
SEAN MCGEVER
STUDIES IN HISTORICAL AND SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY
Born Again: The Evangelical Theology of Conversion in John Wesley and George Whitefield
Studies in Historical and Systematic Theology
Copyright 2020 Sean McGever
Lexham Press, 1313 Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225
LexhamPress.com
All rights reserved. You may use brief quotations from this resource in presentations, articles, and books. For all other uses, please write Lexham Press for permission. Email us at [e-mail] .
Print ISBN 9781683593300
Digital ISBN 9781683593317
Library of Congress Control Number 2019950873
Lexham Editorial: Todd Hains, Tom Parr, Danielle Thevenaz, Abigail Stocker
Cover Design: Bryan Hintz
Contents
Acknowledgments
1. Introduction
2. John Wesley’s Conversion Theology Motifs
3. John Wesley’s Conversion Theology Attendant Themes
4. George Whitefield’s Conversion Theology Motifs
5. George Whitefield’s Conversion Theology Attendant Themes
6. John Wesley and George Whitefield’s Theologies of Conversion Compared
7. Conversion as Inaugurated Teleology for Wesley and Whitefield
Bibliography
Subject Index
Scripture Index
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I undertook this project to dive further into the depths of the gospel, which God used to change my life profoundly. When I first heard the gospel as a teenager, I knew nothing of Wesley and Whitefield—and I did not need to. I am glad to have now met them. I realize now that I was impacted as a teenager in a way that was shaped through their legacy and understanding of evangelical conversion.
I am indebted to my PhD supervisor, Professor Tom Greggs. Tom’s guidance, consistency, encouragement, and correction provided me exactly what I needed in each step of my journey—both academically and in a spirit of friendship. I am grateful to the divinity faculty of King’s College at the University of Aberdeen for their support, especially Professor Phil Ziegler and Professor Paul Nimmo. The continuing support from my friends at the University of Saint Andrews—Dr. Eric Stoddart, Dr. Andrew Torrance, and Dr. Andrew Marin—has been invaluable.
I would not have been able to undertake this task without the full support of my supervisors (and friends) from Young Life—in particular, Marty Caldwell, Larry Anderson, John Irwin, Rick Wilson, Chris Eaton, Jorge Lujan, Matt Hock, Chris McGuire, Ken Knipp, Pam Moore, Newt Crenshaw, as well as the Paradise Valley Young Life committee. The College of Theology at Grand Canyon University, including Dean Dr. Jason Hiles and Associate Dean Anna Faith Smith, have supported me thoroughly. I am grateful to Dr. Joel Houston, Dr. Ian Maddock, and Professor Randy Maddox for their expertise in all things Wesley and Whitefield and encouragement in many stages of my research, as well as the staff at the archives at the British Library and the Dr. Williams Evangelical Library in London. Todd Hains and Jesse Myers at Lexham Press have been fantastic to work with in bringing this project to print. You believed in me, and we had a lot of laughs together along the way—perhaps gifs will be printable one day and genuine maple syrup will be readily accessible in all of the lower states.
I received unending support from my mother, Carol, and my father and mother-in-law, John and Connie. My children, Caleb, Lilly, and Molly, have enjoyed the ups (fun travel) and downs (dad reading yet another book) for their entire lives; you are the best. Most of all, I am thankful to my wife, Erin. Her commitment to this project outweighs mine and has far fewer people recognizing her contribution (which is the way she prefers). Only I know the depth of her investment. Thank you, Erin.
1
INTRODUCTION
This book examines John Wesley and George Whitefield’s theologies of conversion. 1 It synthesizes their operant theologies of conversion to produce an espoused theology of conversion for each figure. This allows me to state and analyze what has not previously been articulated systematically and directly—their conversion theologies . Their theologies of conversion often set the table for contemporary evangelical discussions of conversion because Wesley and Whitefield were foundational for the evangelical revival of the eighteenth century and evangelical theology more broadly. Despite the centrality of Wesley and Whitefield for evangelicalism and of conversion as a foundational topic for evangelicalism, there is currently no sustained work articulating and comparing their theologies of conversion.
To address this gap, this study articulates what John Wesley and George Whitefield understood as the meaning of conversion, of instantaneous conversion, and of ongoing conversion. Wesley and Whitefield were not systematic theologians. Thus, I address the way conversion operates as a theological category in their works to uncover their underlying theological understanding of conversion. But to understand conversion as a theological category in Wesley and Whitefield demands attention be given to related theological themes such as baptism, regeneration, justification, sanctification, and salvation. Therefore, this study deals directly with the specific, direct discussions of instantaneous and ongoing conversion, as well as those attendant themes in Wesley and Whitefield’s theologies. Furthermore, it does not merely deal directly with the articulated theological statements about conversion which Wesley and Whitefield offered but also with the way in which conversion functions as an operant trope within their theologies.
Wesley and Whitefield’s overarching theologies of conversion are best understood in terms of inaugurated teleology with an emphasis on the telos of salvation rather than the arché of salvation. Nine synoptic espoused statements can be made from the operant theologies of conversion of John Wesley and George Whitefield. 2
1. Conversion is initiated and sustained by the grace of God.
2. Conversion is the experiential correlate to salvation.
3. Conversion is a turning from self and to Christ.
4. Conversion is foreshadowed by a deep sense of sinfulness.
5. Conversion arrives by faith in an instant.
6. Conversion is instantaneous but is not always recognizable on behalf of the convert.
7. Conversion is marked by ongoing good works.
8. Baptism marks one’s entrance to the church but is not chronologically tied to conversion.
9. Assurance of salvation is available but not required for a genuine convert. 3
These nine statements clarify what is meant by inaugurated teleology. While these nine statements reveal overlap regarding conversion between Wesley and Whitefield, there are also critical areas of divergence between them: election, predestination, irresistible grace, imputation, perseverance, and Christian perfection.

1. MOTIVATION
This study is not just an exercise in excavating an antiquarian theological topic. I want to provide tools for ongoing constructive systematic theology among evangelicals through the analysis of two figures who spurred the evangelical movement that currently counts about half a billion people. 4
Part of the motivation of this study, therefore, is to provide clarity for the understanding of early evangelical theology as a stepping-stone toward a reappraisal of evangelical conversion theology. David Bebbington provided what has become the standard morphology of early evangelicalism, commonly called the “Bebbington Quadrilateral,” consisting of four areas: biblicism, activism, crucicentrism, and conversionism. 5 Despite the broad acceptance of the Bebbington Quadrilateral, little attention has been devoted to the topic of conversionism theologically; instead, sustained studies on conversion have focused on psychological, sociological, and historical perspectives. 6 The historical theology offered herein is offered in the hope of renewed reflection and response to the issues raised by evangelical theologians on the topic of conversion.

2. APPROACH
This study synchronically identifies motifs that bring together the assumptions about the theology of conversion with which Wesley and Whitefield work. Within these synchronic motifs, the arcs of historical development of the ideas are explicated. Thus, this study balances the twin aspects of historical theology: synchronically, it espouses the operant themes in Wesley and Whitefield’s theologies of conversion in a way that has not yet been done; diachronically, it attends to the historical context of Wesley and Whitefield and the literary form of their writings as they develop.
A precipitous balance between biographic and primary source details is needed because the abundant literature and vast time frame of Wesley and Whitefield’s entire careers have been considered in order to provide a robust analysis of the conversion theologies of Wesley 7 and Whitefield. 8 Engagement with these primary sources is a significant task.
The study has attempted to consider the entire careers of Whitefield and Wesley, who lived to be 55 and 87 years old respectively, and the diachronic discussion within the synchronic motifs seeks to speak to and address the historical complexities involved in this theological task.
As an exercise in historical theology, this study seeks to offer an account of the theologies of conversion in Wesley and Whitefield in a manner which is thoroughly historical, and attentive to the contexts (ecclesial and otherwise) in which they lived and wrote, and to the operative conditions in which their theologies were expressed. 9 However, the account offered is also thoroughly theological in that it seeks, in relation to a theology of conversion, to espouse what is operant for Wesley and Whitefield in a clear and systematic way.
To do this I have drawn upon the morphology of the four voices of theology as presented by Deborah Bhatti et al. 10 This morphology recognizes