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There have been many changes in interpretation of the New Testament over the centuries. Some of these changes in theological understanding led to massive political and social upheavals in Europe. There was more than one “reformation”. Some of these reformations occurred within the Roman Catholic Church itself, others occurring as break offs from the Roman Catholic Church, still others within the bodies so created. One such reformation occurred in America as a result of the American Revolution. The Methodist Episcopal Church was establishment on Christmas, 1784.
Today we remember and celebrate the Christmas Reformation of 1784. On this date a new and thoroughly reformed version of the Articles of Religion of the quasi-reformed Church of England, having been prepared for the Americans by John Wesley was adopted by the new American church. Wesley remained a part of the Church of England, but in a very real sense became the father of a new and thoroughly reformed church in America. Wesley authorized the ordination of church pastors without the consent and independent of the control of the Church of England. This was a reformation event of little less significance than Martin Luther’s posting of his 95 Theses. In one decisive moment in American history, Wesley emancipated, reformed, and empowered what was to become one of the largest and most dynamic churches in the world, and most certainly the largest and most dynamic church in early American history.
The central event of the Christmas Conference of 1784, other than the ordination of Francis Asbury and the other lay-preachers, was the adoption of Wesley’s changes to the previously governing 39 Articles of the Church of England. With the birth of a new nation, came the birth of a new church, The Methodist Episcopal Church of America.
In his abridgement of the 39 Articles, Wesley obliterates nearly every trace of those Roman Catholic traditional opinions which the framers of the Anglican Articles retained. The third article, on "The going down of Christ into Hell," entirely disappears. The enumeration and recommendation of the "apocryphal Scriptures” in the sixth article, shares the same fate. Prior to this time the apocryphal books of the Bible were still printed with King James Versions of the Bible. The eighth article, recognizing the Nicene, Athanasian, and Apostles' Creed, is totally omitted; though Wesley approved the last, the Apostles’ Creed, as a good expression of Christian doctrine, and retained it in the baptismal ritual of the new Church. The twentieth and twenty-first articles, on "The authority of the Church" and "The authority of General Councils," are abandoned, and also the similar twenty-third article, declaring "it not lawful for any man to take upon him the office of public preaching," without the approval of ecclesiastical authorities. The thirty-third article on the treatment of "excommunicated persons” is unmentioned.
Wesley also changes the understanding of infant baptism. The twenty-fifth article of the Church of England declares the sacraments to "be certain, sure witnesses and effectual signs of grace, and God's goodwill toward us, by which he doth work invisibly in us.” Wesley omits the phrases "sure" and "effectual." More significant is his re-construction of the twenty-seventh article, "Of Baptism," which becomes the seventh American article. The Church of England version declares baptism to be "a sign of regeneration, or the new birth, whereby, as by an instrument, they that receive baptism rightly are grafted into the Church; the promises of the forgiveness of sin, and of our adoption to be the sons of God by the Holy Ghost, are visibly signed and sealed; and faith is confirmed and grace increased by virtue of prayer unto God." The entire phrase after "the new birth" is omitted in the American articles. Instead, Wesley guides the new church into a more “protestant” understanding that regeneration does not come about as the result baptism. This is again emphasized in Wesley’s alterations to the sixteenth Anglican article. The original article is entitled, "Of Sin after Baptism”. Wesley titles the American article, "Of Sin after Justification." The original article reads, "Not every deadly sin willingly committed after baptism is sin against the Holy Ghost”. The American article reads, "Not every sin willingly committed after justification (i.e. accepting God’s plan of salvation) is the sin against the Holy Ghost”. The original article declares that "the grace of repentance is not to be denied to such as fall into sin after baptism”. Wesley’s version for the Americans says "after justification”. Clearly, the new American church born on Christmas, 1784, was a church that henceforth embraced the protestant notion that justification is the result of faith rather than the Catholic notion that justification is conferred through baptism.
On Friday, the 24th of December, 1784, a small apostolic company of itinerant frontier lay-preachers and Wesley’s emissary, Thomas Coke, rode into Baltimore, and at ten o'clock that morning began the first "General Conference," in the Lovely Lane Chapel. The chapel was still a rude structure, and Coke gratefully commended the kindness of the people in furnishing a large stove, and backs to some of the seats, for the comfort of the Conference.
Coke, on taking the chair, presented a letter from Wesley, dated Bristol, September 10th, 1784, and addressed "To Dr. Coke, Mr. Asbury, and our Brethren in North America." The letter read: "By a very uncommon train of providences, many of the provinces of North America are totally disjoined from the British Empire, and erected into independent states. The English government has no authority over them, either civil or ecclesiastical, any more than over the states of Holland. A civil authority is exercised over them, partly by the Congress, partly by the state Assemblies. But no one either exercises or claims any ecclesiastical authority at all. In this peculiar situation some thousands of the inhabitants of these states desire my advice, and in compliance with their desire I have drawn up a little sketch.
“Lord King's Account of the Primitive Church convinced me, many years ago,” wrote Wesley “that bishops and presbyters are the same order, and consequently have the same right to ordain. For many years I have been importuned from time to time to exercise this right, by ordaining part of our traveling preachers. But I have still refused, not only for the sake of peace, but because I was determined, as little as possible, to violate the established order of the national Church, to which I belonged. But the case is (now) widely different between England and North America. Here there are bishops who have a legal jurisdiction. In America there are none, and but few parish ministers; so that for some hundred miles together there is none either to baptize or to administer the Lord's Supper. Here, therefore, my scruples are at an end; and I conceive myself at full liberty, as I violate no order and invade no man's right, by appointing and sending laborers into the harvest. I have accordingly appointed Dr. Coke and Mr. Francis Asbury to be joint superintendents over our brethren in North America. And also, Richard Whatcoat and Thomas Vasey to act as elders among them, by baptizing and ministering the Lord's Supper. If anyone will point out a more rational and scriptural way of feeding and guiding those poor sheep in the wilderness I will gladly embrace it. At present I cannot see any better method than that I have taken. It has indeed been proposed to desire the English bishops to ordain part of our preachers for America. But to this I object (for the following four reasons):
1. I desired the Bishop of London to ordain one only, but could not prevail.
2. If they consented, we know the slowness of their proceedings; but the matter admits of no delay.
3. If they would ordain them now they would likewise expect to govern them. And how grievously would this entangle us!
4. As our American brethren are now totally disentangled, both from the state and from the English hierarchy, we dare not entangle them again, either with the one or the other. They are now at full liberty simply to follow the Scriptures and the primitive Church. And we judge it best that they should stand fast in that liberty wherewith God has so strangely made them free."
And so it was that Francis Asbury, a lay preacher, on the second day of the session, Christmas Day, 1784, was ordained deacon by Coke, assisted by his presbyters, Vasey and Whatcoat. On Sunday, the third day of the Conference, they ordained him elder. On Monday he was consecrated bishop, his friend, Otterbein, of the German Church, assisting Coke and his elders in the rite. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday were spent in enacting rules of Discipline, adopting Wesley’s alterations to the Articles of Religion, and the election of preachers to orders. On Friday several deacons were ordained. On Saturday, January 1st, 1785, the project of Abingdon College was considered. On Sunday, the 2nd, twelve previously ordained as deacons were summarily ordained as elders and one additional deacon was ordained. Then, this great Conference was ended with great peace and unanimity.
The birth of what was to become a monumental force influencing the course and development of the new nation was met with jubilee among the Methodists of Baltimore and its vicinity. Coke preached every day at noon. Coke's sermon at the Episcopal consecration of Asbury produced a vivid impression among the founders gathered there. After describing the true bishop, Coke concluded with the following prayer: "O thou lover of souls, who wills not the death of a sinner, have pity on the world. Remember Calvary. Hear the pleading Intercessor, and raise up men after thine own heart, full of the Holy Ghost, full of love, and full of zeal. Guide them by thy Spirit, accompany them with thine omnipotence that they may tread the kingdom of Satan under their feet, and build up thy glorious Church.”
John Wesley, like Moses, did not enter the “promised land”. He himself did not enter the truly reformed congregation. For him, it was inappropriate to abandon the church of his homeland. But he made sure that his spiritual children in America were permitted to do so. While the political independence of the new nation had been costly, won at a price of patriot blood, the religious emancipation of the new church came with but the stroke of a pen, for as it is written, “Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven.…” (Matthew 18:19-20).
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