Kenneth J. Collins > Quotes

“In fact, the ongoing and deepening contrast between the Jesus of the Gospels and popular cultural misconfigurations is the principal reason I have written this book. Jesus is far more beautiful than many have imagined. It all has to do with love, but not just any kind of love, but with holy love.” Jesus the Stranger: The Man from Galilee and the Light of the World, p. xviii.”
― Kenneth J. Collins, Jesus the Stranger: The Man from Galilee and the Light of the World

“For Wesley, then, obedience to God through the moral law is required in the practical Christian life, not of course as the condition of acceptance, but in order to continue in the rich grace of God.55 And that Wesley did indeed develop a formal prescriptive use of the moral law— the tertius usus—is evident in his observation: "Each is continually sending me to the other—the law to Christ, and Christ to the law."56 Simply put, obedience to God through the moral law does not establish the Christian life, but it is a necessary fruit of that faith that both justifies and regenerates.”
― Kenneth J. Collins, The Theology of John Wesley: Holy Love and the Shape of Grace

“Wesley developed a theological style that not only was sophisticated in its attempt to hold a diversity of truths in tension, but also has on occasion puzzled his interpreters, both past and present, precisely because of that diversity.”
― Kenneth J. Collins, The Theology of John Wesley: Holy Love and the Shape of Grace

“So understood, faith, the fruit of grace, becomes the seeing eye and the hearing ear that receives and embraces the divine mystery and presence. Again, it is the totality of the Christian life, in all its various dimensions, both public and private, heart and mind, personal and social, that attests to the truth of Scripture. Such an approach to theology, then, gave Wesley, much like the patristic writers, a decidedly scriptural orientation. That is, the truth of Scripture must be actualized, operationalized in increasing Christlikeness in both personal life and in the broader community.”
― Kenneth J. Collins, The Theology of John Wesley: Holy Love and the Shape of Grace

“Earlier, at the first Methodist Conference in 1744, Wesley had advised his helpers and assistants to preach Christ in all his offices and "to declare his law as well as his gospel, both to believers and unbelievers."52 In this counsel, then, the moral law holds great value not only in convicting sinners but also in keeping believers in Christ. That is, Wesley highlighted both the accusatory role of the law, in a way similar to Luther,53 as well as the prescriptive role of this same law, in a way similar to Calvin;54 the one to bring sinners to Christ; the other to keep believers alive in the Lord.”
― Kenneth J. Collins, The Theology of John Wesley: Holy Love and the Shape of Grace