“Arise from the Dead”: Why Self-Righteousness Can’t Save You? | John Wesley скачать в хорошем качестве

“Arise from the Dead”: Why Self-Righteousness Can’t Save You? | John Wesley

"The sources provide excerpts from the transcript of a sermon titled ""Sermon 3, Awake Thou That Sleepest,"" preached by the Reverend Charles Wesley in 1742, based on Ephesians 5:14: ""Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light"". Wesley organizes the sermon into three primary sections: describing the sleepers, enforcing the exhortation to awake and arise, and explaining the promise that Christ shall give light. I. The Description of the Sleepers (The Natural State) ""Sleep"" is used to signify the natural state of man, which is a ""deep sleep of the Soul"" resulting from the sin of Adam. This condition is characterized by ""utter Darkness"" where the unawakened sinner is insensible to their real condition and lacks true knowledge of themselves. The sleeper is a ""fallen spirit"" who is ignorant of the need for the ""one thing needful""—an inward, universal change, or a ""birth from above,"" which is necessary for sanctification and seeing the Lord. Though suffering from spiritual diseases, the sleeper often fancies themselves in perfect health and may say ""peace, peace"" while the devil controls their soul. The sleeper is a sinner satisfied in their sins, content to remain in a fallen state, and ignorant of the danger of Hellfire. The deep sleep is often found in those who are outwardly respectable: 1. The Good-Natured Professor: One who is a ""quiet rational inoffensive good-natured professor of the religion of his fathers"" (the ""Laodicean spirit""). 2. The Pharisee: One who is zealous, orthodox, and works to ""establish his own righteousness as the ground of his acceptance with God"". This person has the form of godliness but denies its power, often reviling true spiritual experiences. The Pharisee is a ""wretched self-deceiver"" who is highly esteemed by men but is an ""Abomination in the sight of God"". The Pharisee is compared to a painted sepulcher—appearing beautiful externally but internally full of ""filthiness and evil desire"" and lacking the Spirit of the Living God. Ultimately, the sleeper ""abides in death,"" being dead in trespasses and sins; this spiritual death occurred when the ""vital Union of our soul with God"" was dissolved. A person dead in sin has no spiritual senses; they have eyes but see not, and spiritual realities are ""mere foolishness"" to the natural man. II. The Exhortation to Awake and Arise The sermon urgently calls the sleeper to awake and rise from the dead, warning that they are sinking into destruction and that ""Eternity Is At Hand"". The individual must ""know thyself,"" recognize their lost estate, and receive the sentence of death in themselves. They must shake themselves from the dust and cry out, ""what must I do to be saved?"" and not rest until they believe on the Lord Jesus. The awakened soul must pursue the ""one thing needful,"" which is recovering the image of God—righteousness and true Holiness—by putting off the old man and putting on the new. Wesley emphasizes that true religion is ""the life of God in the soul of man"" or ""Christ formed in the heart,"" which is a participation of the divine nature. Salvation is by grace through faith, which is a gift of God, and not of works or self-justification. This call is directed toward the ""lost sheep""—those who are ""lost dead damned already"" and are willing to suffer persecution for living godly lives. The individual must leave their companions in sin, come out from among them, and be separate. A crucial element is the reception of the Holy Ghost, which is defined as the ""Criterion of a real Christian"". A person is not a Christian if they have not received the Spirit of Christ, and it is impossible to receive Him and not know it. To deny the inspiration, receiving, or sensing/feeling of the Holy Ghost is to deny the whole of Scripture and the foundation of the Christian faith, making the denier Antichrist. The sermon concludes this section by noting the current ""General apostasy,"" where ungodliness overflows and few worship God in spirit and truth, warning that rejecting the divine call may represent ""the last effort of divine grace to save us"". III. The Promise: Christ Shall Give Thee Light If the sinner obeys the call and awakes, God is bound to give them light—the light of his grace here and the light of his glory hereafter. God will cause the ""light to shine out of Darkness"" into the heart, giving the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus Christ. Christ will reveal himself within the believer, and the believer will become a ""temple of the Living God"". The greatest promise is the gift of the Holy Ghost, which is the sum of all promises, enabling believers to be rooted in love and comprehend ""that love of Christ which passeth knowledge"". Through faith, the sinner receives remission of sin, is justified freely, and shall be sanctified. This ""experimental knowledge"" of God is the definition of true Christianity. "