Confessing Evangelical

Here's Charles Simeon's account of his meeting with the aged John Wesley. Words matter; doctrines matter; but this exchange is a great demonstration of how, when we look at what someone truly means, rather than merely the words they use, the differences between us may not be so great as we previously thought. In doctrinal issues as in everything else, the eighth commandment requires that we "explain everything in the kindest possible way":

"Sir, I understand that you are called an Arminian; and I have been sometimes called a Calvinist; and therefore I suppose we are to draw daggers. But before I consent to begin the combat, with your permission I will ask you a few questions. Pray, Sir, do you feel yourself a depraved creature, so depraved that you would never have thought of turning to God, if God had not first put it into your heart?"

"Yes, I do indeed."

"And do you utterly despair of recommending yourself to God by anything you can do; and look for salvation solely through the blood and righteousness of Christ?"

"Yes, solely through Christ."

"But, Sir, supposing you were at first saved by Christ, are you not somehow or other to save yourself afterwards by your own works?"

"No, I must be saved by Christ from first to last."

"Allowing, then, that you were first turned by the grace of God, are you not in some way or other to keep yourself by your own power?"

"No."

"What then, are you to be upheld every hour and every moment by God, as much as an infant in its mother's arms?"

"Yes, altogether."

"And is all your hope in the grace and mercy of God to preserve you unto His heavenly kingdom?"

"Yes, I have no hope but in Him."

"Then, Sir, with your leave I will put up my dagger again; for this is all my Calvinism; this is my election, my justification by faith, my final perseverance: it is in substance all that I hold, and as I hold it; and therefore, if you please, instead of searching out terms and phrases to be a ground of contention between us, we will cordially unite in those things wherein we agree."

John Wesley's errors - particularly as regards Arminianism and "complete sanctification" - were grievous, and have caused immeasurable damage to the church. But when one reads this exchange, can anyone really doubt that Wesley will be with us in heaven? And while I no longer believe the Calvinistic doctrines of limited atonement or the perseverance of the saints, I cannot see anything worth quarrelling with in Simeon's statement of his "Calvinism".