Religious Faiths VI: Spirit and Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church

Vol. I. APRIL, 1898. No. 6.

RELIGIOUS FAITHS.

VI.

SPIRIT AND DISCIPLINE OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH. BY REV. ALFRED H. HENRY, PASTOR FIRST M. E. CHURCH, SALT LAKE CITY.

The plan to present a series of articles upon various "Religious Faiths" has in it many features that commend themselves to my judgment. Just in proportion as your read- ers sincerely and thoroughly study these systems of religion, penetrate to their origin, examine the foundations upon which they rest, investigate the claims put forth and weigh the re- sults in the life of the individual and of society, will profit be gained. It must be borne in mind that in this series of arti- cles only the most meagre outlines can be given. may We be able to blaze the way for those who are earnest seekers after the truth, we may be able to circumscribe some of the limits of the truth that we hold and by implication point out what is error; more than this would be manifestly impossible in the necessarily restricted space that is ours.

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The subject of religion is the most important subject that any young man or woman can possibly consider. It not only

has its direct bearing upon all the relationships of this pres- ent life but has to do with the solemn questions of death, of life hereafter, of God's judgments and of the destiny of im-

mortal souls. Religion is therefore not a question of light or secondary importance, nor one that can be settled by any one else for you. It is a question with which you must grapple

yourselves, with the aid of all the light that you can gain from every source. We see therefore that the study of religion cannot be the mere study of an hour or of a day. The field is wide, exceedingly attractive and to the earnest seeker after

truth it must prove profitable to the last degree. Religion presents more than a problem in church govern- ment. It has to do with the attitude of each individual soul

with God. It is a matter of conscience, of faith and of life.

Church governments have been corrupt, church policies have failed, but the way to God has ever been open to the earnest, honest, seeking soul. Even during the darkness of the mid- dle ages when the church as an institution had become out- wardly paganized and inwardly corrupt, the truth was not left without witness; earnest, faithful, God-fearing men, the true successors of the apostles, disdaining the rewards and emolu- ments of churchly office and worldly position, preached the truth and lived the life as it is in Jesus Christ. Sometimes in obscurity, often amid the storms of persecution they kept the torch of Christianity burning until the dawn of the Reformation. The Reformation was a protest. A protest against unscrip- tural and unchristian innovations and practices, a protest against the immorality of those who claimed to be viceger- ents of God and representatives of Christ; a protest against the usurpation of temporal power on the part of the church, and the secularizing tendencies that followed in its train; and finally a protest against that tyranny which forbade a man the right to think for himself, the inalienable and God-given birth- right that belongs to every being endowed with reason, and deprived of which, man became nothing but an ignorant, su- perstitious and pliant tool of a cunning priesthood. The Ref- ormation did not advance any new ideas with reference to re-

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ligion, simply returned to the simple, majestic, sufficient it

truth as taught by the Lord Jesus Christ. It swept away the unsightly, false and worthless additions that had been made as the result of man's cunning and ingenuity and uncovered the solid foundation stones as laid by the Master himself. The great value of the Reformation was in the fact that it not only set free the minds of men but that it put before them the Bible in a language which they could understand. The words of Jesus and of his disciples formed a wholesome contrast to the teachings of a tyrannical and worldly ecclesiastical system that cared more for temporal power than for the souls of men. The Methodist Episcopal Church, in common with all other branches of Evangelical Christianity, believes in the inspira- tion and authority of the Holy Scriptures and that they con- tain all things necessary to salvation. It holds that to each individual soul belongs the right, nay the duty, of studying, understanding and appropriating the truths as God's word for himself. There has come in the past too much harm to the world and to the individual believer, by the substitution of tradition and narrow priestly interpretation for the plain plan of salvation, for us to be willing to relinquish this right which was almost lost during the rule of a secularized church and was regained for us by our Fathers of the Reformation. The doctrines that are emphasized by the Methodist Episcopal Church are the fundamental doctrines of the Bible; doctrines that pertain to man's deepest needs, and that will never lose importance as long as he retains his sinful nature or is in need of Divine grace and assistance. These doctrines which are especially emphasized are: Repentance, Justifica- tion, Regeneration, the Witness of the Spirit, Holiness, Free Will, Universal Atonement, Possible Apostasy. I submit to

you the definitions and scripture references concerning these doctrines as they appear in the "Probationer's Companion," published by the Methodist Book Concern. i. What is Repentance? Godly sorrow for sin, evidenced by sincere reformation. A penitent turning of the soul to God for mercy. (Isa. LV: 7. 2 Cor. VII: 10). 2. What is Justification? Remission of all penalty due for sins previously committed. Full for- giveness. (Rom. V: 1. VIII: 1).

3. What is Regeneration ?

It is the renewing of the soul in righteousness by the Holy Ghost. The subject of regeneration is made "a new creature in Christ Jesus." (John III: 3. Eph. IV: 23. Titus III: 5).

4. What do we mean by the Witness of the Spirit? The immediate testimony of the Holy Spirit in the heart of the Chris- tian of his acceptance as a child of God. This testimony confirms the as- surance of the believer's own heart. (Rom. VIII: 16).
5. What is Holiness or Sanctification? It is the perfecting and completing of the soul in all the graces of Chris-

tian character. Those who possess it love God with all their hearts and their neighbors as themselves. This work of grace may be instantaneous or gradual. It is to be persistently sought by faith, through prayer, as the

work of the Holy Spirit. 6. What do we mean by Free Will? That all men have freedom of will to accept or reject Christ as Savior. They can freely choose or refuse to be saved. (John III: 16).

7. What is Universal Atonement?

The fact that Christ died and atoned for the sins of the whole world.

Every soul is equally redeemed by the death of Christ. (Heb. II: 9. Rev. XXII: 17). 8. What is Possible Apostasy? It is the teaching of scripture that the soul once renewed may possibly fall into sin and guilt and, dying in this state, be finally lost. (I Cor. IX: 27).

But the Methodist Episcopal Church does not owe its

existence to peculiarity of doctrine. Its twenty-five articles of religion embrace little more than the fundamentals of Chris- tian doctrine as accepted by all evangelical churches. As Bishop Fowler expresses it — "Methodism is a profound con- viction." It echoes not only the protest of the Reformation against ecclesiasticism, but was in the very beginning a pro- test against the dearth of vital religion that prevailed in the established church in the days of Wesley. It believes in a def- inite turning away from sin as an accompaniment to repen- tance, in a definite surrender to God, in a definite faith in his promises, in a definite acceptance of the atonement of Jesus Christ as a sufficient satisfaction for sin. It believes that God alone can pardon sin, that he has delegated this right to no poor, weak, human representative nor to any institution that is capable of becoming corrupt, worldly or unspiritual and that God will exercise this power in behalf of any soul that comes to him in the name of Jesus Christ with true repen- tance. Its mission is therefore to preach the simple gospel

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of the New Testament to a world that is lost without the sav- ing power of Christ. It has no mission to attack other churches, to wage warfare upon other institutions, but it has its testimony to give to every individual that is in bondage to superstition, error or sin. Its conviction of the overwhelm- ing importance of the truth of God's word has inspired it with enthusiasm and energy and has been the cause of its marvel- lous achievements. Should it ever lose this conviction and degenerate into a mere ecclesiastical system, or institutional church, it would deserve to die. "The King's business de- mands haste and devotion." Souls are dying, men are care- less and preoccupied, God's laws are disregarded, worldliness abounds, worldliness is stagnation, stagnation is death and so the herald of the Cross must be always in earnest, always ac- tive, always aggressive. The government of the Methodist Episcopal Church is simplicity itself. It recognizes the two scriptural orders of

Elders and Deacons. For purposes of efficiency in adminis- tration, it recognizes the four ministerial offices of Bishops, Presiding Elders, Elders and Deacons. The itinerancy is a peculiarity in the ministry of our church which has proven of great usefulness. "This is a plan by which each church and each minister agrees to submit to the Bishops, at the An- nual Conferences the matter of fixing the appointments for each church and minister. The pastor is appointed for one year, and cannot be reappointed for a longer period than five consecutive years to one church." By this plan we have no empty pulpits and no idle ministers. All our ministers, Bish- ops, Presiding Elders, Elders and Deacons are itinerants, "on the go," in the name of Christ and for the sake of those for whom he died. There are five conferences or judicatories in the Methodist Episcopal Church:

i. The General Conference is the sole legislative body. It is supreme

in its authority under the constitution of the church and has entire super- vision over all the interests and work of the denomination. It is composed of ministerial and lay delegates from each Annual Conference. It meets once in four years and elects the bishops and other general officers. 2. The Judicial Conference is instituted for the trial of bishops who may be accused of wrong doing and of appeals of convicted members of Annual Conferences. It has no stated time for assembling and is consti-

tuted, by calling together the Triers of Appeals from either three or five

contiguous annual conferences under the presidency of one of the bishops. All decisions of law are subject to the approval of the General Conference. 3. The Annual Conference is composed wholly of travelling preach- ers. It is not legislative but administrative in its character. It collects examines candidates for the ministry, elects Triers of Appeals and statistics,

exerts the power of discipline over its own members. It inquires annually

into the Christian character and ministerial efficiency of each of its mem- bers by name. 4. The District Conference embraces all the churches of a presiding elder's district and is composed of the pastors, local preachers, exhorters and one steward and Sunday School Superintendent, from each charge. It examines applicants for local preachers license and is charged with a general '

supervision of the temporal and spiritual affairs of the district. 5 The Quarterly Conference is limited to a single pastoral charge over which it exercises entire supervision, subject to the provisions of the Disci- pline. Its members are the pastor, local preachers, exhorters, stewards and class leaders, with the trustees, Sunday School Superintendents and Presidents of Epworth League Chapters, if members of the church. It is

the duty of the Quarterly Conference to inquire carefully into the condition and work of every department of the Local Society.

This system of government is firm, yet elastic, and en- tirely subservient to the one great errand upon which Metho- dism has come into the world. When we consider the singleness of purpose which was the prime characteristic of John Wesley and which he sought to infuse into the people called Methodists, we are at no loss to account for the marvellous success of the Wesleyan move- ment. The Methodist Episcopal Church today numbers nearly 3,000,000 members and has gathered into its Sunday Schools about 3,000,000 scholars. In counting other branches of Methodism the aggregate for the United States alone is over 5,000,000 members and 5,000,000 Sunday School scholars. As Dr. Arthur Edwards suggests "This enumeration is an— indication that Methodism has made an impression upon many people," and, taken in connection with the growth of other Evangelical Christian bodies, it is an evidence that the world is hungry for the plain gospel truth that can alone meet its deepest need.