John Wesley’s Sermon #11` Outline: “Witness of the Spirit 2” Romans 8: 16 I. Importance of the Doctrine 1. To receive assurance of our salvation is a privilege of all God’s children 2. If we deny this, our religion is in danger on the one hand of formalism or on the other hand, fanaticism 3. Even though much error has been proclaimed about this truth, 4. It has been a special blessing to Methodism. Therefore, we need to understand and defend it. II. Defining the Witness 1. Let’s agree that witness means the same thing as Testimony 2. The witness of the Spirit is an inward impression on the soul that God loves us, our sins are forgiven, and we are children of God. 3. We have had the same view for 20 years 4. I do not mean that the witness of the Spirit is an audible voice, nor always an inner voice, or a particular scripture impressed upon the heart. It is a sweet calm to the soul, giving a certain knowledge that one’s sins are forgiven and covered. 5. All Christians believe there is a witness from God. The Bible confirms it 6. And all Christians acknowledge an indirect witness of the Spirit that produces the Fruit of the Spirit within us, 7. which is always a sign that the Spirit is present.. 8. But the real debate is this: Is there a direct witness of the Spirit? III. Support for the Direct Witness of the Spirit 1. I answer Yes! There is a direct Witness of the Spirit. This is the first testimony, 2. (The second testimony being the witness of our human spirit). 3. This witness of the Spirit is immediate and direct from God at the moment of our salvation 4. At that moment, the Spirit enters our heart, crying “Abba Father” 5. This direct witness of God precedes the witness of our spirit. God touches our soul and then we sense it by our conscience. 6. Many acknowledge it, especially in our holiness movement.. 7. At that moment of justifying grace, how else can we know our adoption occurred? 8. To deny it is to deny Justification by Faith or to forget that the experience happened to us way back when we first believed. 9. The unsaved do not know this direct witness of the Spirit even though they do good works to try to please God. Sadly, they have salvation backwards. IV. Wesley answers common Objections 1. The witness of the Spirit is acknowledged in Scripture. Our experience only confirms it. 2. Fanatics discredit and abuse it, but it is still true nevertheless 3. The Fruit of the Spirit follows after the direct witness of the Spirit. 4. The witness of the Spirit’s purpose is to assure us helpless sinners that we are children of God by faith. 5. Not all biblical texts speak of this witness 6. Test the Spirit. If good fruit is being produced in you now, the witness was from God.It is a shared witness between God’s Spirit and our spirit 7. All the marks are clearly in the Bible 8. God gives 2 witnesses together: God’s and ours 9. Remembering the direct Witness can sustain us through difficult trials 10. Yes, some may become proud, but the common experience is humility. V. In Conclusion 1. Experience confirms the biblical truth of a direct witness of the Spirit 2. Review of objections and answers 3. The witness of the Spirit is always joined to the Fruit of the Spirit that follow 4. A foretaste of the Fruit of the Spirit may be given to us prior to Justification, but do not rest there. The full measure of Fruit will amply grow after faith and the direct witness of the Spirit are given. Keep pressing forward.!
