Wesleyan Distinctives

http://www.armybarmy.com/jac-issue2.html

Journal of Aggressive Christianity
Issue 2, August/September 1999
"The Doctrine of Sanctification in The Salvation Army"
by John Norton

Salvation Army historian John Coutts suggests that "any search for the religious roots of Salvationism must begin with the Methodism from which the Army sprang." It is not surprising, therefore, that the theology of John Wesley would contain the foundation of the Salvation Army's doctrine of sanctification. Wesley diverged from Reformed theology by suggesting that perfection in love is attainable for all believers through faith in Christ. "His distinctive contribution was his conviction that true biblical Christianity finds its highest expression and ultimate test of authenticity in the practical and ethical experience of the
individual Christian."(15) This is an emphasis of Catholicism and Wesley helped recover it for Protestantism.

[15. Dieter, "The Wesleyan Perspective", Five Views on Sanctification (Grand Rapids: Acadimie, 1987) p. 11]