It was 1987, I was pastoring in Truro, and co-chairing a young adult’s event just outside of Washington, DC. I had been in DC for the weekend, looking at hotels and meeting space, and I was making my way back to Allentown, Pennsylvania, with my co-chair, Dwight Addington. Dwight pastored Bethany Wesleyan church in Cherryville, Pennsylvania. From Allentown, I would fly home.
For whatever reason, it was decided that I would drive instead of Dwight, which made no sense at all, but it is what it is.
1987, of course, was in the dark ages before smart phones or GPS and we had to rely on paper maps.
If you are familiar with DC, interstate Highway 495 is a 100 km stretch of highway that loops around the city, and it is often referred to as the Beltway. I took the exit that I was pretty sure would lead us back to Allentown; while leaving time to stop at an all you could eat buffet called the Bending Board. We had our priorities right.
After we had been driving for a while, Dwight questioned my sense of direction, but I assured him I knew where I was going.
After we had been on the road for an hour or so, Dwight insisted that I pull over and ask for directions. We pulled into a service station and Dwight went inside with our map. After a few minutes, he came out and told me it would be best if I went in as well. There was a lady behind the counter with our map spread out in front of her, and Dwight said, “Excuse me, ma’am, could you tell me again where we are in relationship to Allentown, Pennsylvania?”
To which the lady replied, “In relation to Allentown, Pennsylvania, you are 15 miles from Baltimore, Maryland.”
Wish I had a pillar of fire leading me that day. Needless to say, we missed the buffet.
This is week four of our series “Fireside Tales” and we are looking at various stories that revolve around fire in the bible. Over the past few weeks, we’ve looked at the story of Elijah and the prophets of Bael, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and their encounter with the fire in the furnace, as well as Jesus’ and Peter’s encounter around a charcoal fire on a beach.
This week we are going back to the Exodus, when Moses led the people of Israel out of their slavery in Egypt.
Let’s pick up the story in Exodus 13:20–22 The Israelites left Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. The LORD went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night. And the LORD did not remove the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire from its place in front of the people.
According to Wikipedia The pillar of fire and pillar of cloud are a dual theophany (manifestation of God) described in various places in the first five books of the Hebrew Bible. The pillars are said to have guided the Israelites through the desert during the Exodus from Egypt. The pillar of cloud provided a visible guide for the Israelites during the day, while the pillar of fire lit their way by night.
Now, something I didn’t realize until I started this message is through the years there has been some debate over whether this was one pillar or two pillars. Some insist that there was only one pillar, and those in that camp take a couple of different views. There are some who would tell you that the pillar changed from a daytime pillar of cloud to a nighttime pillar of fire each day.
There are others who would argue that the pillar of fire was inside the pillar of cloud, so during the day you only saw the cloud, but in the dark it appeared as a pillar of fire.
There are others who would say that they were two separate pillars. During the day there was a pillar of cloud that would disappear at night to be replaced with the pillar of fire.
Now to be truthful, I had never, even thought of that, let alone formed an opinion. But really, does it matter? One pillar or two?
The reality is that God used these pillars, or this pillar, to guide his people during the time they wandered in the wilderness after escaping the slavery of Egypt.
Have you ever wished that God would provide you with clear direction in your life. Something akin to a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night?
The question that is often asked is, how do I know God’s will for my life?
The simple answer, that some Christians give, is that we just need to seek God’s will from the scriptures. And while that seems like a good idea, God’s people going to God’s word for answers, it really isn’t that simple.
And neither, unfortunately, is the well-meaning advice to just pray about it, or to seek the will of the spirit for your life.
In 1985, Methodist scholar and theologian Albert Outler, theorized that John Wesley used four different sources to come to theological conclusions, both for the church and for his personal Christian life.
Outler referred to this as the Wesleyan quadrilateral. Now understand that is not a phrase that Wesley used and maybe wouldn’t even agree with. But many people have found it helpful. And it’s not even unique to the Wesleyan church or churches with a Methodist heritage.
Now, you will probably remember from geometry in school that a Quadrilateral is simply a four-sided figure. The word is from the Latin words quadri, a variant of four, and latus, meaning "side"
So, a square is a quadrilateral, as is a rectangle. But so is this, and this. The sides don’t have to be equal, or parallel, or even perpendicular, but there does have to be four sides. So, this is not a quadrilateral it is a triangle, and this is not a quadrilateral, it is a pentagon.
As I was thinking about how God guides us in our Christian Walk, I was reminded that while we might not have a pillar of fire, God does not leave us without direction.
And truth be told, there are lots of voices competing for our attention in today’s world, and even in the church.
If you’ve known me long enough, then you’ve heard me say, “God loves me and everybody has a wonderful plan for my life.”
With all those different voices, we need to discern whose voice or position will hold more weight for us. Which one we will allow to have more authority.
Because if we are truthful, we listen to the advice of some friends more than other friends. Not because they are better or worse friends, but based solely off of their track record.
So, let’s talk about the Wesleyan Quadrilateral and whether or not it can be our own personal pillar of fire when it comes to seeking God’s will in our lives.
Personally, I believe the quadrilateral can, in many cases, be our pillar of fire. That it can provide a four-sided approach to answering the question: what would God have me do?
So, what are the four sides of the Wesleyan Quadrilateral? The first is Scripture, the second is tradition, the third is reason, and the fourth and final side is experience.
And these aren’t unique. Without commentary, one source shows how various traditions sometimes lean into each of them. So, evangelicals value scripture. Charismatics value experience. The Catholic church values tradition and the liberal mainline churches value reason. But the Wesleyan Quadrilateral, seeks to merge all four.
And there have been numerous diagrams to show how the Quadrilateral works. Here are a few of them.
So, the Quadrilateral provides a strong foundation for our beliefs and a moral behaviour. It recognizes the importance and authority of the Scriptures, as understood through the light of tradition, reason and experience in providing that foundation.
So, let’s start with Scripture. I know that often in the church; we say that the scriptures alone should be enough for us. And I truly believe the words that Paul wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16–17 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.
But, and you know after the but comes the truth. I know this may come as a shock to some of you, but Christians don’t always agree with how to interpret some scriptures.
I know. Who would have thought? Sometimes two groups can use the same scripture to defend opposite positions.
And sometimes, people have used the scriptures to come to some whacky conclusions. Whacky is the actually technical term.
And some scriptures can be a little hard to understand. Remembering that the bible was written for us, but it wasn’t written to us.
Now there are many scriptures that don’t need interpretation. They are very straightforward. When people start messing with them, they are usually looking for loopholes.
So, while scripture needs to be our starting place for seeking God’s will in our life, it may not provide us with the answers we need on its own.
So, what do we do when the scriptures aren’t clear, or there are conflicting interpretations?
The next side of the Quadrilateral is Tradition
When we speak about tradition, we aren’t speaking about Cornerstone tradition or even Wesleyan tradition. We are talking about our combined tradition that the church has shared for two thousand years.
If you’ve attended a Cornerstone 101 or Pizza with a Purpose Life Group, or if you’ve done your own research about who Cornerstone and the Wesleyan church is, then you’ve discovered what we call our articles of religion.
And the cover a wide range of our beliefs. What we believe about God, the bible, and what is expected of us as believers. But our articles of religion aren’t what make us Wesleyan, they are what makes us orthodox.
They are how we declare we are Christians and that we believe things like the deity of Christ, the Virgin birth, the bodily resurrection of Jesus, to name but just a few.
We need to remember that the church did not just suddenly appear yesterday, that we have a 2000-year history as the church, and another 2000 years before that under the old covenant.
And so sometimes it is proper to ask what has the church believed about this throughout history?
John Wesley stated, "Do not undervalue traditional evidence. Let it have its place and its due honour. It is highly serviceable in its kind, and in its degree".
A word of warning, if you hear a group talking about a new revelation, they are saying they are discarding 2000 years of church history, be very very careful.
A part of tradition is an adherence to the creeds. For example, at Cornerstone we often speak of how we subscribe to the Apostle’s Creed, which tells us;
Apostle’s Creed
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Creator of heaven and earth,
and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended into Hades; the third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, and will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.
Amen.
The next side of the Quadrilateral is Reason God gave us the ability to think and reason, and as you might have been told as a child, “God gave you a brain. Use it.” Maybe that was just what they told me.
Dr. Christopher T. Bounds is a Wesleyan Theology Professor, and he writes, “Wesleyans believe Scripture and tradition must be assisted by reason. While reason does not contribute any substance to our beliefs, it brings logical coherence. It empowers us to make sense of the Scriptural text and historical tradition.”
And this isn’t simply reason or knowledge, but it is directed and guided by the Holy Spirit. James, the brother of Jesus, writes in James 1:5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking.
Wesley writing to a friend, said, “It is a fundamental principle with us [i.e., Methodists] that to renounce reason is to renounce religion, that religion and reason go hand in hand, and that all irrational religion is false religion.”
So, when we are seeking God’s will, we don’t just check our brains at the door. God gave you a brain. Use it.
The fourth side of the quadrilateral is Experience
Now, this isn’t just how we feel about something, and it feels good so it must be good.
Wesley believed that following God’s will, resulted in experiences that were consistent with scripture, tradition and reason.
That is part of what led Wesley to his faith.
In 1735, John and his brother Charles were on their way to Georgia as Anglican Missionaries. There were a group of Moravian immigrants from Germany who were also on the ship. The Moravians are one of the oldest protestant denominations.
While on their way, the ship encountered a storm, and the ship was in danger of sinking. The Wesley brothers were terrified, but they saw the Moravians, having a worship service and praising God.
Wesley recorded these words in his diary, “In the midst of the Psalm wherewith their service began, the sea broke over, split the main-sail in pieces, covered the ship and poured in between the decks, as if the great deep had already swallowed us up. A terrible screaming began among the English. The Germans calmly sung on. I asked one of them afterwards; ‘Were you not afraid?’ He answered, ‘I thank God, no.’ I asked: ‘But were not your women and children afraid?’ He replied mildly: ‘No, our women and children are not afraid to die.’”
It was from observing this experience, where he observed Christians, not only talked about trusting God but actually trusting God that caused Wesley to seek a personal faith in Christ.
When he wrote about his conversion experience in his journal, this is what he wrote, “In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.”
In the bible we are told that when we become a Christian that it should effect how we live, Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:17 This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! And Jesus told those who wanted to follow him, in Matthew 7:17–20 Jesus said, “A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.”
And it’s here we see scripture confirmed by experience. People who have truly experienced the reality of God’s forgiveness and salvation will evidence that in their lives.
If someone tells you that they are living a spirit filled life, then that should be evidenced in their Christian experience. Because the bible tells us, Galatians 5:22–23 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Is the quadrilateral perfect? No, and here is the warning, we need to be careful of abuses.
In today’s culture, we have seen folks who profess to be Christians, and churches who profess to be Christian Churches who ignore scripture and tradition and lean into reason and experience. Because something seems right, or feels right, to them it must be right.
They can’t imagine that the bible would speak against something that so many people accept. Or they know someone who practices a certain lifestyle, and they are nice people, so how can that lifestyle be wrong?
On the other hand, we’ve seen other churches who point to scripture to justify hateful, unChristlike behaviour.
Let’s go back to Dr. Christopher T. Bounds who wrote, “Unfortunately, at times, the term ‘Wesleyan Quadrilateral’ can give the false impression that its four sides are equal in determining what we believe as Wesleyans or that they can be aligned against each other. However, when rightly used, it is the ‘unilateral rule of Scripture within a trilateral hermeneutic of reason, tradition, and experience,’ providing a sure foundation for our Wesleyan beliefs and practice.”
So, in seeking God’s will, we may not have a pillar of fire to lead us through the wilderness, but we do have God’s word. Which, when paired with tradition, reason and experience, should be a helpful beacon to guide us through life.
