True Christianity

J. Russell Frazier (PhD, University of Manchester) has served as a pastor for over twenty years and was a missionary with the Church of the Nazarene for over seven years. He serves as an adjunct professor for Central Christian College and Ohio Christian University.

This book is about listening. It is born out of the conviction that the Church must listen intently to the voices of the past in order to think critically about its message, to reflect upon its mission, and to move confidently into the future. One voice which has been mitigated through the years is that of John William Fletcher (1729-1785).

John William Fletcher (1729-1785) was a seminal theologian during the early Methodist movement and in the Church of England in the eighteenth century. Best known for the Checks to Antinomianism, he established a theology of history to defend the church against the encroachment of antinomianism as a polemic against hyper-Calvinism. Fletcher believed that the hyper-Calvinist system of divine fiat and finished salvation did not take seriously enough either the activity of God in salvation history or an individual believer's personal progress in salvation. Fletcher made the doctrine of accommodation a unifying principle of his theological system and further developed the doctrine of divine accommodation into a theology of ministry. As God accommodated divine revelation to the frailties of human beings, Fletcher argued that ministers of the gospel must accommodate the gospel to their hearers in order to gain a hearing for the gospel without losing the goal of true Christianity. 'True Christianity' contains insights from Fletcher, who devoted himself, according to Wesley, to being 'an altogether Christian'.

John William Fletcher (1729-1785) was a seminal theologian during the early Methodist movement and in the Church of England in the eighteenth century. Best known for the Checks to Antinomianism, he established a theology of history to defend the church against the encroachment of antinomianism as a polemic against hyper-Calvinism. Fletcher believed that the hyper-Calvinist system of divine fiat and finished salvation did not take seriously enough either the activity of God in salvation history or an individual believer's personal progress in salvation. Fletcher made the doctrine of accommodation a unifying principle of his theological system and further developed the doctrine of divine accommodation into a theology of ministry. As God accommodated divine revelation to the frailties of human beings, Fletcher argued that ministers of the gospel must accommodate the gospel to their hearers in order to gain a hearing for the gospel without losing the goal of true Christianity. 'True Christianity' contains insights from Fletcher, who devoted himself, according to Wesley, to being 'an altogether Christian'.

Preface Acknowledgements List of Abbreviations Introduction 1 The Milieu of Fletcher's Theology 2 God of Nature and of Grace: Theological 3 The Doctrine of Dispensations: An Overview 4 The Dispensation of the Father 5 The Dispensation of the Son 6 The Dispensation of the Spirit Conclusion Bibliography.