John Wesley - Holiness Of The Heart And Life. An Historical Overview

John Wesley Holiness of Heart and Life An Historical Overview Submitted to Dr. Carolyn Ann Knight by

Alcenir Oliveira for ICAM 848 - THE HISTORY OF PREACHING Interdenominational Theological Center Atlanta, Georgia April 6, 2004

As the fifteenth of nineteen children, John Wesley was born on the seventeenth of June, 1703, in Epworth rectory, England, son of Samuel and Suzanna Wesley. His father was a teacher and his mother was a Bible Study teacher that remarkably gathered more than two hundred people in her meetings. John Wesley was fond of games and particularly of dancing. As a very religious man at his university time, Wesley was a leader at Oxford and one of the founders of the "Holy Club," an organization of serious-minded students. After leaving the university, he had contact with Luther’s writings and could feel the treasure of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. John Wesley developed his gift as a preacher during the time he spent in Georgia with his brother, where they were sent to preach the Gospel. In his daily notes he mentions that he was very much impressed by the Moravian for their composure and entire resignation to God. After his return, with this experience of preaching, he became a powerful popular preacher and a national leader. At this time he walked with George Whitefield, who influenced his work with his eloquence.

Yet in his eighty-fith years old he was much vigorous and attributed this to his good sleeping habit, waking up at four o’clock in the morning to preach at five, doing this for sixty years. He said that in his life never felt any pain or anxiety, preaching at least twice a day, sometimes three or four. It is said that he used to travel about forty-five hundred Englis miles per year, most of the time by horse. John Wesley preaching mission was not an easy task. He used to be threatened in many ways, even by stoning, most of the time without the protection of order enforcement. Since youth Wesley was a Communion devoted churchman. The name Methodist came from his particular way of dealing with ordaining preachers, as he used to separate and develop a distinguished organizing power in their leaders based on strict methods. The history describes the Wesley fellowship that developed into the Methodist Church as “an organization of almost military perfection”. Aside from managing his growing denomination, he established in 1744 an annual conference that acquired governing power after his death, and dedicated time to reading, traveling and preaching. He left a legacy on Christian Education for “his effort to disseminate useful knowledge throughout his denominationon”. He developed plan to apply instruction for the traveling and local preachers as though as for future teachers. Because of this consciousness of the need to create a learning environment, Wesley dedicated part of his time in preparing “books for popular use upon universal history, church history, and natural history”, and published the best of his sermons and many theological works. The following quotes show a picture of what physically and in terms of mood and of the product of his work: “John Wesley was of but ordinary stature, and yet of noble presence. His features were very handsome even in old age. He had an open brow, an eagle nose, a clear eye, and a fresh complexion. His manners were fine, and in choice company with Christian people he enjoyed relaxation. Persistent, laborious love for men's souls, steadfastness, and tranquillity of spirit were his most prominent traits of character. Even in doctrinal controversies he exhibited the greatest calmness. He was kind and very liberal. His

industry has been named already. In the last fifty-two years of his life, it is estimated that he preached more than forty thousand sermons”1. He preached the Kingdom of God throughout three kingdoms and two hemispheres. He dealt with fields of the Christian efforts that included foreign missions, home mission, Christian tracts and literature, field preaching, circuit preaching, Bible readings. He revolutionized the English society by preaching the justification and renewal of the soul by believing in Jesus Christ, the Redeemer, converting from exceeding ignorance and evil habits. After this enculturation on half of the world of his time, he died in 1791, closing a career of service leaving his fingerprints and footprints in such a way that nothing even the time can not erase, because it was made with the ink of a fervent spirit and hearty brotherhood that will survive in the body that cherishes his name – the Methodist Church. He lived from 1703 to 1791 as a man much ahead of his time in intelect and thinking, highly convinced that the Gospel is for everyone, for the whole humanity. He was one of the first with a holistic view of the Gospel, founding dispensaries for sick people, orphanates, school for poor, with a great concern about prisoners, opposition to slavery and much more. He traveled over 250,000 miles in his lifetime, as he spread the Gospel. The influence of his persuasive preaching and organizational abilities led to the creation of Methodist bands, classes, and societies in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and the American colonies. The United Methodist Church is one of the denominations which is part of the legacy of John Wesley. WESLEY’S INTERPRETATION OF GOD’S RELATIONSHIP WITH HUMAN BEEING John Wesley makes a very profound approach of four basic theological assumption about God’s relationship with humanity basically demonstrated in his four sermons “Free Grace”, showing that the grace or love of God towards our salvation free in all and free for all; “The New Birth” where he Wesley answers these questions: Why must we be born again? What is the foundation of this doctrine of 1

An Account of the Life of John Wesley. Fox's Book of Martyrs, Chapter 20.

the new birth? How must we be born again? What is the nature of the new birth? and Wherefore must we be born again?; “On Justification By Faith” showing the the general ground of this doctrine of justification, what justification is, who are justified and on what terms they are justified; and “On Repentence of Believers”, where he explores in what sense are we to repent, supposing we do repent, then are we called to "believe in the gospel?" and are we wholly sanctified when we are justified, our hearts cleansed from all sin? Hereunder, a short approach of the Grace of God, Repentence and New Birth is developped to show some answers he wonderfully draws.

I. About the Grace of God There is nothing we have to do to get the right to earn the grace. Wesley believed that God provides us with three kinds of grace: the Prevenient or Preparing Grace; the Accepting or Justifying Grace; and the Sustaining or Sanctifying Grace2. The Prevenient Grace is with us since birth. Prevenient means “which comes before”. He didn’t believe in the disgrace or total depravation of humanity but he believed that we are born with a kind of little spark of God’s grace that enables us to understand and accept the justification or justifying grace. The Preparing or Prevenient Grace is "free in all for all," as Wesley used to say. The justifying grace preached by Wesley is what we understand nowadays as the conversion or being born again, when turned to experience the new life in Jesus Christ. The grace is free and people has the “freedom of choice” to accept or not the Grace of God. Quoting his sermon “Free Grace”, he said that: “The grace or love of God, whence cometh our salvation, is FREE IN ALL, and FREE FOR ALL.... It is free in all to whom it is given. It does not depend on any power or merit in man; no, not in any degree, neither in whole, nor in part. It does not in anywise depend either on the good works or righteousness of the receiver; not on anything he has done, or anything he is. It does not depend on his endeavors. It does not depend on his good tempers, or good desires, or good purposes and intentions; for all these flow from the free grace of God; they are the streams only, not the fountain. 2

Sermon 128 (text from the 1872 edition) Free Grace by John Wesley

They are the fruits of free grace, and not the root. They are not the cause, but the effects of it”.3 The Sustaining Grace according to Wesley is the stage that follows the acceptance of the Grace of God, so that we start moving towards perfection. He believed that the person could “fall from grace” of “backslide”. Yet he affirms on what he calls “the means of grace” that we are called to parcipate in it. He describes this participation as “The chief of these means are prayer, whether in secret or with the great congregation; searching the Scriptures (which implies reading, hearing, and meditating thereon;) and receiving the Lord's Supper, eating bread and drinking wine in remembrance of Him: And these we believe to be ordained of God, as the ordinary channels of conveying his grace to the souls of men”4.

II. About Repentence Wesley stressed the principle of repentence as a necessary first step towards salvation. Nevertheless, it is not only, according to him, at the beginning that repentence may happen, because of our sinner nature, what he expose in a simple but beautiful academic explanation in an excerpt of his sermon “On Repentence of Believers”: “ It is generally supposed, that repentance and faith are only the gate of religion; that they are necessary only at the beginning of our Christian course, when we are setting out in the way to the kingdom.... And this is undoubtedly true, that there is a repentance and a faith, which are, more especially, necessary at the beginning: a repentance, which is a conviction of our utter sinfulness, and guiltiness, and helplessness.... But, notwithstanding this, there is also a repentance and a faith (taking the words in another sense, a sense not quite the same, nor yet entirely different) which are requisite after we have "believed the gospel;" yea, and in every subsequent stage of our Christian course, or we cannot "run the race which is set before us." And this repentance and faith are full as necessary, in order to our continuance and growth in 3

God's Preparing, Accepting, and Sustaining Grace - ttp://gbgmumc.org/umw/wesley/justifying#justifying 4 God's Preparing, Accepting, and Sustaining Grace- ttp://gbgmumc.org/umw/wesley/justifying#justifying

grace, as the former faith and repentance were, in order to our entering into the kingdom of God”. 5 The main questions of repentece answered in his sermon are:

1. In what sense are we to repent? The basic answer he bings about is that “Repentance frequently means an inward change, a change of mind from sin to holiness. But we now speak of it in a quite different sense, as it is one kind of self-knowledge, the knowing ourselves sinners, yea, guilty, helpless sinners, even though we know we are children of God”6.

2. Supposing we do repent, then are we called to "believe in the gospel?" The most fittable answer he presents in the third point of part II of this sermon: “You have therefore good reason to believe, he is not only able, but willing to do this; to cleanse you from all your filthiness of flesh and spirit; to "save you from all your uncleannesses." This is the thing which you now long for; this is the faith which you now particularly need, namely, that the Great Physician, the Lover of my soul, is willing to make me clean. But is he willing to do this to-morrow, or to-day? Let him answer for himself: "To-day, if ye will hear" My "voice, harden not your hearts." If you put it off till to-morrow, you harden your hearts; you refuse to hear his voice. Believe, therefore, that he is willing to save you to-day. He is willing to save you now. "Behold, now is the accepted time." He now saith, "Be thou clean!" Only believe, and you also will immediately find, "all things are possible to him that believeth”7.

3. Are we wholly sanctified when we are justified, our hearts cleansed from all sin? Wesley breaks the person and expose the interior to clarify how cleasing happens, in the first point of the third part of his sermon: “…we are wholly sanctified when we are justified; that our hearts are then cleansed from all sin. It is true, we are then delivered, as was observed before, from the dominion of outward sin; and, at the same time, the power of inward sin is so broken, that we need no longer follow, or be led by it: but it is by no means true, that inward 5

WESLEY, John. Sermon number 14 “On Repentence of Believers”. Ib. Id. 7 Ib. Id. 6

sin is then totally destroyed; that the root of pride, self-will, anger, love of the world, is then taken out of the heart; or that the carnal mind, and the heart bent to backsliding, are entirely extirpated. And to suppose the contrary is not, as some may think, an innocent harmless mistake. No: it does immense harm: it entirely blocks up the way to any farther change; for it is manifest, "they that are whole not need a physician, but they that are sick." If, therefore, we think we are quite made whole already, there is no room to seek any further healing. On this supposition it is absurd to expect a farther deliverance from sin, whether gradual or instantaneous”.

III. About the New Birth "Ye must be born again." John 3:7 In his sermon “The New Birth” he answered the following questions:

1. Why must we be born again? What is the foundation of this doctrine of the new birth? John Wesley answers the question saying that “this The foundation of it lies near as deep as the creation of the world; in the scriptural account whereof we read, "And God," the three-one God, "said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him:" (Gen. 1:26, 27) -Not barely in his natural image, a picture of his own immortality; a spiritual being, endued with understanding, freedom of will, and various affections; -- nor merely in his political image, the governor of this lower world, having "dominion over the fishes of the sea, and over all the earth;" -- but chiefly in his moral image; which, according to the Apostle, is "righteousness and true holiness." (Eph. 4:24) in this image of God was man made. "God is love:" Accordingly, man at his creation was full of love; which was the sole principle of all his tempers, thoughts, words, and actions. God is full of justice, mercy, and truth; so was man as he came from the hands of his Creator. God is spotless purity; and so man was in the beginning pure from every sinful blot; otherwise God could not have

pronounced him, as well as all the other work of his hands, "very good." (Gen. 1:31) This he could not have been, had he not been pure from sin, and filled with righteousness and true holiness. For there is no medium: If we suppose an intelligent creature not to love God, not to be righteous and holy, we necessarily suppose him not to be good at all; much less to be "very good.8"

2. How must we be born again? What is the nature of the new birth? Wesley’s reflection on this question is not only answering, but also giving a lesson on religious culture of the people of God, by saying that “the expression, "being born again," was not first used by our Lord in his conversation with Nicodemus: It was well known before that time, and was in common use among the Jews when our Saviour appeared among them. When an adult Heathen was convinced that the Jewish religion was of God, and desired to join therein, it was the custom to baptize him first, before he was admitted to circumcision. And when he was baptized, he was said to be born again; by which they meant, that he who was before a child of the devil was now adopted into the family of God, and accounted one of his children. This expression, therefore, which Nicodemus, being "a Teacher in Israel," ought to have understood well, our Lord uses in conversing with him; only in a stronger sense than he was accustomed to. And this might be the reason of his asking, "How can these things be?" They cannot be literally: -- A man cannot "enter a second time into his mother's womb, and be born:" -- But they may spiritually: A man may be born from above, born of God, born of the Spirit, in a manner which bears a very near analogy to the natural birth”9.

3. Wherefore, to what end, is it necessary that we should be born again?

8 9

Sermon 45 (text from the 1872 edition) The New Birth by John Wesley, Part I, Item 1. Sermon 45 (text from the 1872 edition) The New Birth by John Wesley, Part II, Item 3.

To this third questioning he answers giving this very foundation as to what end it is necessary to be born again: “it is very easily discerned, that this is necessary, First, in order to holiness. For what is holiness according to the oracles of God? Not a bare external religion, a round of outward duties, how many soever they be, and how exactly soever performed. No: Gospel holiness is no less than the image of God stamped upon the heart; it is no other than the whole mind which was in Christ Jesus; it consists of all heavenly affections and tempers mingled together in one. It implies such a continual, thankful love to Him who hath not withheld from us his Son, his only son, as makes it natural, and in a manner necessary to us, to love every child of man; as fills us "with bowels of mercies, kindness, gentleness, long-suffering:" It is such a love of God as teaches us to be blameless in all manner of conversation; as enables us to present our souls and bodies, all we are and all we have, all our thoughts, words, and actions, a continual sacrifice to God, acceptable through Christ Jesus. Now, this holiness can have no existence till we are renewed in the image of our mind. It cannot commence in the soul till that change be wrought; till, by the power of the Highest overshadowing us, we are "brought from darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God;" that is, till we are born again; which, therefore, is absolutely necessary in order to holiness”10.

10

Ib. Id. Part III, Item 1.

Bibliography John Wesley: Holiness of Heart and Life copyright © 1996 Charles Yrigoyen, Jr., p. 33. Sermon 14 (text from the 1872 edition) The Repentance of Believers Sermon 5 (text from the 1872 edition) Justification by Faith by John Wesley Sermon 45 (text from the 1872 edition) The New Birth by John Wesley Sermon 128 (text from the 1872 edition), Free Grace, by John Wesley, Preached at Bristol, in the year 1740