Wesley's Questions #6

  

 I have been recently asked if I could answer the 19 questions that John Wesley had his bishops ask those wanting to enter the ministry. I believed I could so in taking on that challenge I am going to post my answers. They probably won't be perfect or how you might answer them but they will be mine. Perhaps you might ask yourself how you might answer them.  

John Wesley’s Questions

Responses by Charles Wesley Areson

6. Do you know the General Rules of our Church?

The basic content of the General Rules is four-fold though at first glance there would seem to be only three. These rules like the doctrines of the church are rooted in scripture. They are more detailed but they can be summed up as can the Old Testament in the greatest commandment, “You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27 NLT).

The first is to do no harm by avoiding evil. After this is a list of things which are examples but not complete of activities Methodists and I would say all Christians should avoid. The only one I might question is the interpretation of profaning the sabbath which I will not go into detail here.

The second is to do good. Here again, follows a list that cannot be limiting as there are many good things Christians can do. I am especially glad to see that no one was tempted to leave out that Christians are to do good “especially” to other Christians as this seems to be frowned on by some though it is scriptural (Galatians 6:10).

The third is attending to our own salvation. This is vital because what use is it to gain in all these other areas and yet lose our own soul (1 Corinthians 9:27, Luke 9:25). Here also we find a list that is not exhaustive. For myself, the spiritual discipline of journaling and writing is vital for the strengthening of my soul.

The last one I see in the general rules is the idea of mutual accountability. This is the area that not just many Methodists have abandoned but most of the Western church. Yes, there are dangers of abuse when people open themselves up to accountability, Scripture teaches accountability therefore the rewards of proper accountability are far greater than the risks (Luke 17:31, Romans 15:1-7, Galatians 6:2 Corinthians 5:1-13, James 5:19-20 Hebrews 10:24-25, 13:17).  This is something that I pray isn’t just lip service but will become the norm in the church.