Quadrilateral

The Wesleyan Quadrilateral
Wesley’s reliance upon other than pure Scripture for religious authority and theological truth is so significant that Professor Outler suggests there are four sources of truth which feature prominently in Wesleyan thought, what Outler and other commentators on Wesley call the “Wesleyan Quadrilateral”—a four–sided appeal to truth from Scripture, tradition, reason, and experience.7
Wesley appealed to the early Church and to Christian tradition at large as complementing witnesses to the meaning of specific passages of Scripture. Critical reason and the Christian experience of assurance would then be applied to Scripture and tradition in order to arrive at truth. Outler concludes that “we can see a distinctive theological method, with Scripture as its pre–eminent norm but interfaced with tradition, reason and Christian experience as dynamic and interactive aids in the interpretation of the word of God in Scripture.”8
What Wesley therefore appears to mean by referring to himself as “a man of one book” and stating that the written word of God is the “only and sufficient rule of Christian faith and practice” is that, while other writings and other ways may be helpful in leading to truth, Scripture alone is ultimately authoritative. An understanding of truth from that one book should take precedence over all other paths to knowledge.

Wesley's Quadrilateral and You
Salvationists are Wesleyan Arminianists, which means we follow the teachings of John Wesley and Jacobus Arminius....
John Wesley did not ever use the word "Quadrilateral," but in reading his many writings, it is obvious that he believed in a four-fold method of knowing God. Followers have coined the term since. Basically, we believe there are four facets that must be used together to help us know God (and spiritual matters). While each facet in and of itself is good, none should be used without the others if we expect to get a complete and balanced picture of who God is and how he chooses to make himself know to his creation. Understandably, Scripture is the foundation of all the others, but even as important as it is, we still need the other three to keep from developing a one-dimensional or lopsided picture of God.
Scripture: "We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God and that they only constitute the divine rule of Christian faith and practice" (TSA doctrine #1). God inspired the Scriptures. That in itself is reason enough for The Bible to hold the weight it does. Within its pages can be found all true doctrine of the Church, the true image of God, the way to salvation and how to live as a Christian. Everything we believe and experience should have its foundation in God's Word to humankind.
Reason: God's ways are certainly FAR above our ways, but once Holy Spirit is in your life (once you are saved), it is possible, through Spirit-inspired reason, to make sense of those ways. I don't recommend non-Christians trying to understand God's ways, because The Enemy is more in control of their understanding than they think! But with a redeemed mind, we can see truth more clearly and spiritual matters begin to make sense!
Tradition: Here, we are not referring to the traditions of any particular denomination (such as brass bands, penitent forms, "the way we have come to do things," et al), rather the tradition of the early Church; things that were established as foundational from the beginning. For example- when people begin talking about hell not existing (which in some circles is rearing its ugly head again in TSA), we need only look to what the tradition of the Church is on the subject. From the beginning of the Christian Church the doctrine of hell has been foundational. Tradition keeps us from going astray on the path of Christian faith and practice.
Experience: I find this facet one of the most interesting- certainly the most controversial with those who are afraid of the Charismatic. It is true that some branches of the Pentecostal church put way too much emphasis on this one. But again, we must not throw the baby out with the bath water because there are those who over emphasize any particular facet of our quadrilateral. In fact, I believe our doctrine flows out of our experience (not the other way around as is often taught). For instance: If one does not believe in the gift of speaking in tongues, an experience of speaking in tongues will certainly make one at least re-evaluate their beliefs! God has allowed me to have a wide variety of experiences. I started out in one place, but with each new experience with God I have grown tremendously! As one with a gift of teaching, I have found that actually going through an experience helps me teach it more clearly to others.