Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 10
Schleithein warns about “false brethren” who claim “faith and love may do and permit everything…nothing will harm them nor condemn them since they are believers”; how does that paragraph directly critique modern evangelical instincts about assurance, freedom, and obedience, and what concrete practices (habits, boundaries, church discipline, teaching) would have to change if we took that warning literally?
Another way to ask: How does Schleithein’s warning about people who say “faith and love allow anything” speak to modern ideas about assurance, freedom, and obedience? If we took that warning seriously, what specific habits, boundaries, teaching, or church discipline would need to change?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
Based on the speaker’s teaching, Schleithein critiques a mindset where “faith and love” become excuses for permissiveness—treating obedience as optional because one feels secure as a “believer.” Taking the warning literally would require clearer teaching on Christ’s commands, stronger boundaries against “lasciviousness and self-indulgence,” and a willingness to identify and resist “false brethren” who undermine the movement’s core.
- Schleithein says “false brethren” promote “freedom of the Spirit” in a way that “missed the truth” and leads to “condemnation.”
- It describes the practical fruit: being “given over to the lasciviousness and self-indulgence of the flesh.”
- The slogan is explicit: “They think faith and love may do and permit everything…since they are believers.”
- Finney ties this to Bucer/Capito-style flattening: using “love” to brush aside concrete commands; he fears people “sweep specific commands under a vague sentiment of love.”
- Finney says Schleithein aims to unify separated like-minded people and address “a very great offense,” suggesting disciplined correction, not tolerance.