¶1.1 In order that we may maintain our historical
connection to early Methodism we include Dr. Adam Clarke’s principles as
recorded in Volume Six of his commentaries.
PRINCIPLES
¶1.2 Which, on carefully reading and studying the
sacred writings, I think I find unequivocally revealed there.
1. That there is but one uncreated,
unoriginated, infinite, and eternal Being; the Creator, Preserver, and Governor
of all things.
2. That there is in this Infinite Essence a
plurality of what are commonly called persons, not separately subsisting, but
essentially belonging to the Godhead; which persons are commonly termed Father,
Son, and Holy Ghost; or God, the Logos, and the Holy Spirit: and these are
generally named the Trinity, which term, though not found in the New Testament,
seems properly enough applied, as we never read of more than three persons in
the Godhead.
3. That the sacred Scriptures, or holy books
which form the Old and New Testaments, contain a full revelation of the will of
God in reference to man; and are alone sufficient for every thing relative to
the faith and practice of a Christian; and were given by the inspiration of
God.
4. That man was created in righteousness and
true holiness, without any moral imperfection or any kind of propensity to sin;
but free to stand or fall.
5. That he fell from this state, became
morally corrupt in his nature, and transmitted his moral defilement to all his
posterity.
6. That, to counteract the evil principle,
and bring man into a salvable state, God, from his infinite love, formed the
purpose of redeeming man from his lost estate by Christ Jesus, and in the
interim sent his Holy Spirit to enlighten, strive with, and convince men of
sin, righteousness, and judgment.
7. That in due time the Divine Logos, called
afterwards Jesus the Christ, the Son of God, the Saviour, etc., became
incarnated, and sojourned among men, teaching the purest truth, and working the
most stupendous and beneficent miracles.
8. That this Divine Person, foretold by the
prophets, and described by evangelists and apostles, is really and properly
God; having, by the inspired writers, assigned to him every attribute essential
to the Deity; being one with him who is called God, Jehovah, etc.
9. That he is also perfect man in
consequence of his incarnation, and in that man or manhood dwelt all the
fulness of the Godhead bodily; so that his nature is twofold---Divine and
human, or God manifested in the flesh.
10. That his human nature is derived from the
blessed Virgin Mary, through the creative energy of the Holy Ghost; but his
Divine nature, because God, infinite and eternal, is uncreated, underived, and
unbegotten; which, were it otherwise, he could not be God in any proper sense
of the word; but as he is God, the doctrine of the eternal Sonship must be
false.
11. That, as he took upon him the nature of
man, he died for the whole human race, without respect of persons; equally for
all, and for every man.
12. That on the third day after his
crucifixion and burial he rose from the dead; and after showing himself many
days to his disciples and others, he ascended to heaven, where, as God manifest
in the flesh, he continues and shall continue to be the Mediator of the human
race, till the consummation of all things.
13. That there is no salvation but through
him; and that throughout the Scriptures his passion and death are considered as
sacrificial, pardon and salvation being obtained by the shedding of his blood.
14. That no human being since the fall either
has or can have merit or worthiness of or by himself, and therefore has nothing
to claim from God, but in the way of his mercy through Christ; therefore
pardon, and every other blessing promised in the Gospel, have been purchased by
his sacrificial death, and are given to men, not on account of any thing they
have done or suffered, or can do or suffer, but for his sake, or through his
merit alone.
15. That these blessings are received by
faith, because not of works, nor of sufferings.
16. That the power to believe, or grace of
faith, is the free gift of God, without which none can believe; but that the
act of faith, or actually believing, is the act of the soul, under the
influence of that power. But this power to believe, like all other gifts of
God, may be slighted, not used, or misused; in consequence of which is that
declaration, “He that believeth shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall
be damned.”
17. That justification, or the pardon of sin,
is an instantaneous act of God’s infinite mercy in behalf of a penitent soul,
trusting only in the merits of Jesus Christ; that this act is absolute in
respect of all past sin, all being forgiven where any is forgiven.
18. That the souls of all believers may be
purified from all sin in this life; and that a man may live under the continual
influence of the grace of Christ, without sinning against his God, all evil
tempers and sinful propensities being destroyed, and his heart filled with pure
love both to God and man.
19. That unless a believer live and walk in
the spirit of obedience, he will fall from the grace of God, and forfeit all
his Christian privileges and rights; in which state of backsliding he may
persevere, and, if so, perish everlastingly.
20. That the whole period of human life is a
state of probation, in every part of which a sinner may repent and turn to God,
and in every part of it a believer may give way to sin and fall from grace; and
that this possibility of rising, and liability to falling, are essential to a
state of trial or probation.
21. That all the promises and threatenings of
the word of God are conditional, as they regard man in reference to his being
here and hereafter; and that on this ground alone the sacred writings can be
consistently interpreted or rightly understood.
22. That man is a free agent, never being
impelled by any necessitating influence either to do evil or good, but has it
continually in his power to choose the life or death that is set before him; on
which ground he is an accountable being, and answerable for his own actions;
and on this ground also he is alone capable of being rewarded or punished.
23. That his free will is a necessary
constituent of his rational soul, without which man must be a mere machine,
either the sport of blind chance, or the mere patient of an irresistible
necessity; and, consequently, not accountable for any acts to which he was
irresistibly impelled.
24. That every human being has his freedom of
will, with a sufficiency of light and power to direct its operations; and that
this powerful light is not inherent in any man’s nature, but is graciously
bestowed by Him who is the true light that lighteneth every man that cometh
into the world.
25. That, as Christ has made, by his once
offering himself upon the cross, a sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and
satisfaction for the sins of the whole world; and that, as his gracious Spirit
strives with and enlightens all men, thus putting them in a salvable state;
therefore every human soul may be saved, if it be not his own fault.
26. That Jesus Christ has instituted, and
commanded to be perpetuated in his Church, two sacraments; baptism (sprinkling,
washing with, or immersion in water) in the name of the holy and ever blessed
Trinity, as a sign of the cleansing and regeneration influences of the Holy
Ghost, producing a death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness; and the
eucharist, or Lord’s Supper, as commemorating the sacrificial death of Christ.
That by the first, once administered, all believers may be kept in mind of the
foundation on which their salvation is built, and receive grace to enable them
to adorn the doctrine of God their Saviour in all things.
27. That the soul is immaterial and immortal,
and can subsist independently of the body.
28. That there will be a general resurrection
of the dead, both of the just and unjust; that the souls of both shall be
reunited to their respective bodies; and that both will be immortal, and live
eternally.
29. That there will be a day of judgment,
after which all shall be punished or rewarded, according to the deeds done in
the body; the wicked being sent to hell, and the righteous taken into heaven.
30. That these states of reward and
punishment shall have no end, forasmuch as the time of probation or trial is
for ever terminated, and the succeeding state must necessarily be fixed and
unalterable.
31. That the origin of human salvation is
found in the infinite philanthropy of God; and that on this principle the
unconditional reprobation of any soul is absolutely impossible.
32. The Sacred Writings are a system of pure,
unsophisticated reason, proceeding from the immaculate mind of God; in many
places, it is true, vastly elevated beyond what the reason of man could have
devised or found out, but in no case contrary to human reason; they are
addressed, not to the passions, but to the reason of man; every command is
urged with reasons of obedience, and every promise and threatening founded on
the most evident reason and propriety.
The whole, therefore, are to be rationally understood and rationally
interpreted. He who would discharge
reason from this, its noblest province, is a friend in his heart to the
antichristian maxim, “Ignorance is the mother of devotion.” Revelation and reason go hand in hand; faith
is the servant of the former, and the friend of the latter; while the Spirit of
God, which gave the revelation, improves and exalts reason, and gives energy
and effect to faith.
¶1.3 To
conclude: the doctrines or principles which I have stated above, and defended
in this work, I believe to be the truths of God. Those against which I have argued I believe
to be either false or unproved. The
doctrine which cannot stand the test of rational investigation cannot be
true. The doctrines or principles
already enumerated have stood this test; and those which shrink from such a
test are not doctrines of Divine revelation.
We have gone too far when we have said, ”Such and such doctrines should
not be subjected to rational investigation, being doctrines of pure
revelation.” I know no such doctrines in the Bible. The doctrines of this book are doctrines of
eternal reason, and they are revealed because they are such. Human reason could not have found them
out; but when revealed, reason can both
apprehend and comprehend them. It sees
their perfect harmony among themselves, their agreement with the perfections of
the Divine nature, and their sovereign suitableness to the nature and state of man;
thus reason approves and applauds. Some
men, it is true, cannot reason; and therefore they declaim against reason, and
proscribe it in the examination of religious truth.
¶1.4 Men may
incorporate their doctrines in creeds or articles of faith, and sing them in
hymns, and this may be all both useful and edifying if the doctrine be true;
but in every question which involves the eternal interests of man, the Holy
Scriptures must be appealed to, in union with reason, their great commentator. He who forms his creed or confession of faith
without these, may believe anything or nothing, as the cunning of others, or
his own caprices, may dictate. Human
creeds and confessions of faith have been often put in the place of the Bible,
to the disgrace both of revelation and reason.
Let those go away, let these be retained, whatever be the consequence.
Adam Clarke. Millbrook,