The Undivided Church and Authority - Wesley

Summary

Wesleyan theology has two issues to think about:

(1) The transforming role of the Holy Spirit in the believer's life.
(2) The source and nature of man's resistance against Christ.

Carefully applying Wesley's own Four Sources of Authority in their proper order will resolve both of these issues. That's an exercise to better informed people than I.


Wesley's Four Sources of Authority

Wesley, channeling the Church of England, has a decent handle on authority: Scripture first, reason next, tradition (and those two must be interpreted as part of a community rather than any one person in an isolated, insulated vacuum), and experience.

Regarding experience, Wesley thought the believer's life should provide internal proof to each believer of God's promises being shared with him. Absolutely, God works in the lives of believers, and the believer's purpose is tied up in God's purpose, and the Fruits of the Spirit will manifest themselves (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). So it seemd to me that Wesley's articulations are best understood as part of the transformation of the believer's life.

Now, note the Methodist confession.

It seems like the main internal contradiction is over humanity's Free Will versus God's unmerited favor. Which is stronger? In what way is "resistance" to God different from lack of faith, in other words, the natural state of an unsaved person?