Methodist views on the Bible’s disputed passages
Every disputed passage in this collection, and how Methodist readers understand it — in their own terms, beside the full article with every other tradition’s reading.
Peter and the rock
Is Peter the rock on which the church is built, and does the papacy rest on this?
The rock is Christ or Peter's confession, and the keys are for preaching and discipline.
John Wesley, in his Explanatory Notes, interpreted the rock as either Christ himself or Peter's confession, firmly rejecting papal supremacy. The keys are understood as the authority to preach the gospel and exercise church discipline within the church. Wesley also used the chapter to warn against spiritual pride and to emphasize the daily practice of taking up the cross.
Read the full article: Peter and the rock →Faith and works
Is a person justified by faith alone, or by works as well?
Initial justification is by faith alone, but final justification requires works.
Wesleyan-Holiness theology holds that initial justification is by faith alone, but a living faith inevitably produces inward and outward holiness; John Wesley explained that Paul addressed the foundation of justification, while James addressed those who falsely claimed faith without its fruit. Works are not legalism but the free response to prevenient and justifying grace, serving as a condition for final justification; James 2:14-26 combats antinomianism. Romans 3:31 is emphasized: faith establishes the law by writing it on the believer's heart, leading to sanctification. Ephesians 2:8-10 is bound together to insist that while works contribute nothing to justification, believers are created for good works, which are the indispensable fruit of living faith.
Read the full article: Faith and works →This is my body
In what sense are the bread and wine Christ's body and blood?
The elements are a means of grace conveying Christ's spiritual presence.
Wesleyan theology, rooted in John and Charles Wesley, teaches that the Lord's Supper is a converting and sanctifying ordinance where Christ is truly present spiritually, though the bread and wine remain unchanged. John 6 is read as a promise of spiritual nourishment for those who come by faith, not as a mandate for transubstantiation. The tradition practices an open table, believing the sacrament is for all who seek Christ. Charles Wesley's hymns on the Lord's Supper affirm real communion with Christ through the Spirit. The sacrament is thus a means of grace that both confirms believers and draws seekers.
Read the full article: This is my body →Baptism
Is baptism necessary for salvation, and should infants be baptized?
Baptism is a means of grace; new birth essential; infant baptism practiced.
Wesleyans distinguish regeneration from justification; the new birth is a real transformation but not necessarily tied to the moment of water baptism. John Wesley retained infant baptism as a means of grace, but insisted all must be born again personally. John 3:5 is often read sacramentally, but the emphasis falls on the Spirit's inward work. Acts 2:38-39 supports baptism and promise to children, but Methodists historically allow both infant and believer's baptism, with regeneration not guaranteed by rite.
Read the full article: Baptism →Predestination
Does God choose who will be saved, and on what basis?
Election is corporate and historical, not individual eternal destiny.
Wesley interprets election corporately: choice of Isaac and Jacob concerns lineage of the Messiah, not eternal destinies. Esau never personally served Jacob; it refers to nations Israel and Edom. Hardening of Pharaoh is judicial after Pharaoh hardened his own heart (prevenient grace). Potter and clay are read through Jeremiah 18: conditionality. The chapter defends God's holy, loving, just character against arbitrary fatalism.
Read the full article: Predestination →Can salvation be lost?
Can a true believer fall away and be lost?
Genuine believers can apostatize; total repudiation of Christ is unforgivable.
Hebrews 6 is a cornerstone for Wesleyan-Arminian soteriology and the doctrine of conditional security. The tradition insists that the descriptors in verses 4-5—being 'enlightened' and 'partakers of the Holy Ghost'—cannot refer to hypothetical scenarios, mere common grace, or false converts, but describe genuinely regenerate believers. Consequently, falling away is a real and terrifying possibility for true Christians. John Wesley distinguished between common backsliding, which can be healed, and the total, definitive repudiation of Christ described in verse 6. Verse 1 ('let us go on unto perfection') is also read as a mandate for entire sanctification, a reachable state of perfect love in this life. The passage is used to combat spiritual complacency while offering assurance to those who continue in faith.
Read the full article: Can salvation be lost? →Purgatory and prayer for the dead
Is there a purification after death, and do these texts teach it?
Sanctification happens in this life; the fire tests works, not souls after death.
Wesleyan theology reads 1 Corinthians 3 as evidence that justified believers can still be carnal and need entire sanctification now, not after death. The fire of verse 13 is understood as the searching judgment of works at the Last Day; John Wesley and later Methodist commentators deny a post-mortem purgatory. 2 Maccabees is not in the Protestant canon used by Methodists, so it is not a warrant for prayer for the dead. The emphasis falls on pressing on to holiness in this life, trusting that God's grace will complete what is lacking.
Read the full article: Purgatory and prayer for the dead →The thousand years
What is the thousand-year reign, and will believers be caught up before the end?
Methodists read the millennium variously but focus on holiness and judgment.
John Wesley followed Bengel in reading the thousand years as a literal future epoch, but later Methodism and the Holiness movement often became postmillennial or amillennial. The tradition tends to avoid detailed prophetic timelines and emphasizes the Great White Throne judgment and the call to entire sanctification. In 1 Thessalonians 4, the primary application is pastoral comfort and the pursuit of holiness, not speculation about a rapture.
Read the full article: The thousand years →Women teaching in the church
May women teach and hold authority in the church?
Affirms women's ordination; silence texts address specific disruptions.
The Wesleyan-Holiness tradition has generally read 1 Timothy 2:11-15 and 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 as historically conditioned responses to particular problems in Ephesus and Corinth, not as universal bans on women teaching. John Wesley allowed for an 'extraordinary call' of the Spirit that authorized women to preach, and 19th-century advocates like Phoebe Palmer argued that Paul's own acknowledgment of women praying and prophesying (1 Corinthians 11:5) demonstrates that the silence commands cannot be absolute. Methodist denominations therefore ordain women to all offices, seeing the passages as regulating order and avoiding disruptive speech rather than prohibiting female leadership.
Read the full article: Women teaching in the church →Wives and husbands
What does submission between wives and husbands mean?
United Methodist bodies tend mutual submission; traditional wing retains servant headship.
The United Methodist Church's official social teachings emphasize mutual submission and equal partnership, reading Ephesians 5:21 as the governing verse; many Methodist conferences and pastors teach egalitarian marriage. At the same time, theologically conservative Wesleyans, including the Global Methodist Church, hold that the husband has a servant headship and the wife a complementary role, while both are utterly opposed to abuse. John Wesley's own emphasis on holiness and entire sanctification shapes the reading: marriage is a school of self-denying love rather than a hierarchy of power. The passage is invoked both in wedding services and in teaching on sanctification.
Read the full article: Wives and husbands →Same-sex relationships
What do these texts say about same-sex relations, and do they address orientation as understood today?
Tradition divides: traditionalist Holiness churches see universal prohibition; some United Methodist progressives re-evaluate.
Traditionalist Wesleyan and Holiness bodies, and the Global Methodist Church, read Leviticus 18:22, Romans 1:26-27, and 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 as core moral law and treat Scripture as primary in the Wesleyan Quadrilateral. Progressive wings within the United Methodist Church have used reason, experience, and historical criticism to argue the texts do not condemn consensual same-sex relationships, and some annual conferences and clergy have conducted same-sex marriages. The United Methodist Church has removed its categorical bans and now permits same-sex marriage and ordination in some regions, while many traditionalist congregations have joined the Global Methodist Church. Both sides claim Wesley's concern for holiness and the transforming power of grace.
Read the full article: Same-sex relationships →Male and female
What does "male and female he created them" say about sex and gender?
Equal in all aspects of God's image; inclusive trajectories vary
Wesleyan theology reads the imago Dei as having natural, political, and moral aspects; both male and female share this image fully, and the restoration of the moral image through entire sanctification is offered equally to all. John Wesley's movement was notable for encouraging women preachers and class leaders, reflecting a conviction that spiritual gifts are not limited by sex. Contemporary Methodist bodies are divided: the United Methodist Church has seen intense debate over sexuality and gender, with some annual conferences and congregations affirming LGBTQ+ and transgender persons, while others maintain a traditional binary ethic based on this text and others. The tradition's emphasis on social holiness and the goodness of creation leads many to advocate for gender equality and justice.
Read the full article: Male and female →Psalm 137 and its curse
What is a curse on infants doing in the Psalms?
Wesley excised it; read as prophetic judgment or spiritual warfare.
Wesleyan-Holiness reception is shaped by the pursuit of Christian perfection and universal love, which makes the violent imprecation a theological challenge. John Wesley deliberately excised the violent portions of the Psalter from early Methodist liturgy, calling them 'highly improper for the mouths of a Christian congregation.' Wesley and later interpreters read verses 8–9 as prophetic decrees of historical judgment upon Babylon, not models of personal prayer. The tradition also draws on ascetic allegorization: the 'little ones' are spiritualized as nascent sins or early temptations to be dashed against the Rock.
Read the full article: Psalm 137 and its curse →Slavery
Does the Bible endorse slavery, and how were these texts used?
The Bible regulates and limits a temporary servitude; the law of love and Ephesians 6:9's equal standing before God require abolition of slavery.
John Wesley called the slave trade 'the sum of all villainies,' and his movement read the Old Testament servant laws as a divinely permitted but restrictive system, fundamentally different from eighteenth-century chattel slavery. Adam Clarke highlighted protections such as release for injury and the Jubilee as evidence that God's law curbed cruelty and aimed at liberation. Ephesians 6:5-9, especially the command to masters to treat slaves as they themselves are treated by Christ, was interpreted as destroying the moral foundation of slavery. Wesleyan theology's emphasis on holiness and social righteousness drove Methodist leadership in the abolitionist movement.
Read the full article: Slavery →Deuteronomy 22 and the violated woman
What did this law require, and how should its words be translated?
A temporary theocratic regulation; its enduring principle is chastity, restitution, and care for victims.
The Wesleyan tradition, following Article VI of the Methodist Articles of Religion, distinguishes binding moral laws from non-binding civil and ceremonial ordinances. This law belongs to the civil ordinances of ancient Israel; its specific penalty is not binding on Christians. The enduring moral content is the demand for sexual purity, personal accountability, and care for those harmed. John Wesley's Notes emphasize the practical piety behind such laws: God requires that wrongs be repaired and that the vulnerable be protected. The church therefore applies the principle of restitution and support for victims without reinstating the ancient penalty.
Read the full article: Deuteronomy 22 and the violated woman →The binding of Isaac
Why does God command Abraham to sacrifice his son?
Faith made perfect by works; call to complete consecration.
Wesleyan-Holiness tradition reads Genesis 22 as synergism: faith is made perfect by obedient works. John Wesley distinguished God's testing from solicitation to sin; it was a trial to prove and manifest grace. Verse 12 ("now I know that thou fearest God") is not a denial of omniscience but the moment where preveniently enabled faith is actualized by free response. Abraham's unreserved offering becomes the paradigm for entire sanctification. Believers are called to place their "Isaac" on the altar of complete surrender.
Read the full article: The binding of Isaac →Jephthah's daughter
Did Jephthah sacrifice his daughter, and does the text approve?
Jephthah dedicated his daughter to perpetual virginity, not death.
Wesley and Adam Clarke argued that the Hebrew of verse 31 should be read disjunctively: 'shall surely be the Lord's, or I will offer it up for a burnt offering,' so a human would be dedicated, not killed. Human sacrifice is abhorrent to God, and the text's emphasis on the daughter lamenting her virginity, not her death, supports this. The Spirit's empowerment in verse 29 is seen as vocational for military deliverance, not a moral endorsement of all Jephthah's actions. The chapter warns against rash vows and bargaining with God.
Read the full article: Jephthah's daughter →Your father the devil
Whom are these sayings addressed to, and how have they been misused?
Children of the devil are moral, not ethnic; holiness, not condemnation.
Wesleyan-Holiness reading of John 8 centers on freedom from sin and the possibility of entire sanctification. Jesus' opponents are called children of the devil because of their murderous intent, not because of their Jewishness; the call is to holiness. In 1 Thessalonians, Methodists emphasize Paul's holy, just, and blameless behavior as a model for believers, rather than using the polemic against Jews. Wesley's notes do not extend the condemnation beyond the immediate opponents. The tradition stresses transformation and love.
Read the full article: Your father the devil →Virgin or young woman?
Does Isaiah's almah mean 'virgin' or 'young woman', and is the verse about Jesus?
Historical context acknowledged; ultimate fulfillment in the virgin birth
Wesleyan tradition guided by Wesley's Notes and Adam Clarke acknowledges the historical context but views complete fulfillment in the virgin birth of Jesus Christ. Clarke emphasizes that Immanuel's consumption of butter and honey demonstrates genuine human development, affirming Christ's full humanity. The name Immanuel, 'God with us,' holds profound weight in Methodist experiential theology, famously echoing Wesley's dying words. Advent and Christmas hymnody celebrate the incarnation through this text.
Read the full article: Virgin or young woman? →The longer ending of Mark
Did Mark's Gospel end at 16:8, and what of the verses after it?
v.15 shows universal grace; v.16 links faith and baptism but condemns only unbelief.
Wesleyan reading emphasizes the universal scope of the commission in v.15 as evidence that Christ died for all and that prevenient grace goes before the preacher. Verse 16 is understood to link faith and baptism in the order of salvation, while the condemnation clause demonstrates that unbelief alone excludes. Wesley did not adopt a strict cessationism regarding vv.17–18, seeing the signs as especially prominent in the early church. Methodists apply the passage to global evangelism, trusting that grace enables a free response.
Read the full article: The longer ending of Mark →The Johannine Comma
Is the explicit Trinitarian line in 1 John 5 original?
Methodists accept critical textual scholarship; the Comma is a later insertion.
John Wesley used the King James Version, which contained the Comma, but he did not build his distinctive theology on it. Later Methodist biblical scholarship and modern translations used by Methodists remove the clause as lacking early manuscript support. Wesleyan teaching on the witness of the Spirit draws on verse 10 and related passages, not on the Comma. The water, blood, and Spirit are received as witnesses to Christ's atoning death and the Spirit's direct testimony, with sacramental overtones in some Methodist traditions.
Read the full article: The Johannine Comma →Divorce and the exception clause
When, if ever, may a marriage be ended and another begun?
Marriage is a creation ideal, not an absolute ban; divorce may be pastorally permitted.
The Wesleyan-Holiness tradition reads Jesus' teaching as a creation ideal rather than an absolute legislative ban, allowing for pastoral dispensation and penitential second marriages. This reading grows out of the tradition's emphasis on grace and the healing of brokenness, rather than strict legal enforcement. Methodist church law has historically permitted divorce for adultery and desertion, and modern disciplinary standards allow for remarriage under pastoral care. The ideal of lifelong fidelity remains central, but the tradition recognizes that human sin can destroy a marriage.
Read the full article: Divorce and the exception clause →Tithing
Must Christians tithe, and does giving bring material blessing?
Tithing is a guide to grace-filled giving, not a legal requirement.
Methodist and Holiness traditions emphasize the refining work of the Spirit over transactional giving. John Wesley's notes and sermons stress the use of money for the poor and the support of ministry, but Methodism does not bind the tithe as a law upon Christians. The passage's call to return to God is read as prevenient grace enabling repentance, and the promise of blessing is understood as spiritual first. Giving is a fruit of sanctification, free and cheerful, not a means to secure material prosperity.
Read the full article: Tithing →Obeying the government
Must Christians obey every government, and are there limits?
Originally monarchical obedience; later nuanced by love and justice.
John Wesley read Romans 13:1-7 literally and monarchically, arguing in A Calm Address to our American Colonies that the revolutionaries were resisting God's ordinance. As the tradition developed, Methodist and Holiness voices used the Wesleyan quadrilateral, especially reason and experience, to argue that submission to authorities does not demand complicity with systemic evil, as seen in abolitionism and civil rights activism. The love-command in verses 8-10 is central to Wesleyan theology of Christian perfection, making love the supreme rule that governs civic engagement. Therefore Methodists honor civil authorities and pay taxes, but they test all political obligations by the law of love and may engage in nonviolent resistance to injustice.
Read the full article: Obeying the government →Judge not
What did Jesus forbid when he said "Judge not"?
Demands self-examination before correcting others, but does not forbid all judgment.
Wesleyan tradition qualifies the command in line with its practice of class meetings and bands. Early Methodist classes emphasized that members must remove the beam from their own eye before offering correction to others, but they did not read this as banning all mutual accountability. The emphasis falls on humility and self-knowledge as preconditions for any fraternal admonition. John Wesley's sermons treat the Sermon on the Mount as a call to inward holiness that expresses itself in disciplined community, not as an absolute prohibition on ever evaluating behavior.
Read the full article: Judge not →Creation and the age of the earth
Are the days of Genesis 1 literal, and what do these chapters teach about origins?
Focus on moral image and restoration; no official day-age stance.
Wesleyan theology reads Genesis 1-2 primarily through the lens of soteriology. John Wesley distinguished the natural, political, and moral image of God, and saw the breath of life in Genesis 2:7 as the moment humanity received the moral image—righteousness and true holiness. The tradition's concern is not the calendar of creation but the restoration of that moral image through entire sanctification. The command concerning the tree establishes human moral agency and probation. Methodists vary in their view of the days; the tradition's defining emphasis is soteriological.
Read the full article: Creation and the age of the earth →