Church History, Volume 3 (of 3)Kurtz, J. H. (Johann Heinrich)
History
Church History, Volume 3 (of 3)
Kurtz, J. H. (Johann Heinrich)
Church history
a. The new birth. The orthodox maintained that regeneration
takes place in baptism (§ 141, 13), every baptized person
is regenerate; but the new birth needs nursing, nourishment,
and growth, and, where these are wanting, reawakening.
The pietists identified awakening or conversion with
regeneration, considered that it was effected in later
life through the word of God, mediated by a corporeal and
spiritual penitential struggle, and a consequent spiritual
experience, and sealed by a sensible assurance of God’s
favour in the believer’s blessed consciousness. This
inward sealing marks the beginning, introduction into the
condition of babes in Christ. They distinguished a _theologia
viatorum_, _i.e._ the symbolical church doctrine, and a
_theologia regenitorum_, which has to do with the soul’s
inner condition after the new birth. They have consequently
been charged with maintaining that a true Christian who has
arrived at the stage of spiritual manhood may and must in
this life become free from sin.
b. Justification and Sanctification. In opposition to an
only too prevalent externalizing of the doctrine of
justification, Spener has taught that only living faith
justifies, and if genuine must be operative, though not
meritorious. Only in faith proved to be living by a pious
life and active Christianity, but not in faith in the
external and objective promises of God’s word, lies the sure
guarantee of justification obtained. His opponents therefore
accused him of confounding justification and sanctification,
and depreciating the former in favour of the latter.
And, though not by Spener, yet by many of his followers,
justification was put in the background, and in a onesided
manner stress was laid upon practical Christianity.
Spener and Francke had expressly preached against worldly
dissipation and frivolity, and condemned dancing, the
theatre, card-playing, as detrimental to the progress of
sanctification, and therefore sinful; while the orthodox
regarded them as matters of indifference. Besides this, the
pietists held the doctrine of a day of grace, assigned to
each one within the limit of his earthly life (_terminism_).
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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