Connecting With the Legacy of John Wesley
The Legacy of John Wesley
The imprint of John Wesly upon England expanded beyond the far reaches of the British Isles, Europe, and America. Raised as an Anglican, Wesley’s reform efforts met stiff resistance from the Church as his approach and practices of the evangelism of the populace fell beyond the accepted practices of the established church.
It was Aldersgate, however, that proved pivotal and provided the spiritual catalyst propelling the tireless efforts of Wesley to reach the lost and restore holiness. By his self-admission, Wesley’s first efforts were ineffective because of one vital and missing element of his spiritual experience. Raised by pious parents, Rev. Samuel and Susannah Wesley, the special tutelage in both secular and religious disciplines, molded Wesley’s heart, mind, and practices that would aid Wesley’s later efforts to mobilize and advance the evangelistic efforts later to come.
Yet, before Aldersgate, Wesley confesses in his journal, “I was a Pharisee from my youth, having a strict form of godliness, and yet I always wanted something; but I knew not what, till something within me pushed me on.” What he wanted was the assurance of salvation.
Stirring Wesley’s heart to seek that missing something was an encounter with Moravians when sailing to Georgia. Sailing with them were twenty-six Moravians, a mission-minded German Church. Wesley was impressed not only by their piety, but also by their faith. Tossed upon the stormy sea, Wesley marveled at their composure, trusting in God’s hand to keep them safe. Landing in Georgia and meeting with a Moravian missionary Wesley became confronted with his lack of assurance of his salvation.
Wesley engaged in a conversation with a Mr. Spangenberg, one of the German pastors, intending to ask his advice, when Spangenberg said he needed to first ask Wesley two or three questions: “Do you know yourself? Have you the witness within yourself? Does the Spirit of God bear witness with your spirit that you are a child of God?” Noticing the questions took Wesley by surprise, Spangenberg pressed the issue: “Do you know Jesus Christ?’ Pausing, Wesley responded, “I know He is the Saviour [sic] of the world.” Spangenberg replied “True, but do you know He has saved you?’ Wesley’s answer was weak, “I hope He has died to save me.” to which the German missionary added, “Do you know yourself?” Wesley replied that he did but added to his journal, “But I fear they were vain words.”[1]
Wesley lamented his miserable and failing effort, writing in his journal, “But what have I learned myself in the meantime? Why, what I the least of all suspected, that I, who went to America to convert others, was never myself converted to God.”[2] Wesley returned home dejected and haunted by a pressing question, “Was he saved?”
Both John and Charles Wesley were pious men, well-educated and raised in the traditions of the Anglican Church, studied at university, and ordained. They knew the Scriptures, could read them in Greek; they knew the creeds and confessionals, the hymns, the liturgy; they knew the traditions and the trappings of Anglicanism, but they did not know Jesus.
Returning the England, Wesley met with Moravian Bishop and missionary, Peter. Through the testimony of Böhler and other Moravians, Wesley was seized upon by their testimonies of assurance of a “true living faith in Christ is inseparable from a sense of pardon for all past and freedom from all past sins” and that faith was God’s gift bestowed by Him to every “soul who earnestly and perseveringly sought it.”
Böhler’s assessment of both John and Charles Wesley was kind, but reflected a deep concern for both, for in them he saw immense potential. His assessment not only revealed the nature of the Wesley’s struggle, but also reveals the heart of the Moravian message:
“I travelled,” writes Bohler to Zinzendorf,[3] “with the two brothers, John, and Charles Wesley, from London to Oxford. The elder, John, is a good-natured man: he knew he did not properly believe on the Saviour and was willing to be taught. His brother, with whom you often conversed a year ago, is at present very much distressed in his mind, but does not know how he shall begin to be acquainted with the Saviour. Our mode of believing in the Saviour is so easy to Englishmen, that they cannot reconcile themselves to it; if it were a little more artful, they would much sooner find their way into it. Of faith in Jesus they have no other idea than the generality of people have. They justify themselves; and, therefore, they always take it for granted, that they believe already, and try to prove their faith by their works, and thus so plague and torment themselves that they are at heart very miserable.”[4]
Thoroughly convinced in the grace of God, Wesley resolved to seek the gift by renouncing his dependence upon his own works of righteousness, continuing in prayer for a justifying, saving faith, “a full reliance on the blood of Christ shed for me; a trust in Him, as my Christ, as my sole justification, sanctification, and redemption.”
Wednesday, May 24, around five in the morning, Wesley’s devotion turned his attention to 2 Peter 1:4, “There are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, even that ye should be partakers of the divine glory.” As he left his devotion, he again turned to the Scriptures and read, “Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.” Attending a service that afternoon, the anthem sung reinforced an expectation of God’s mercy and redemption.
That evening, reluctantly Wesley attended a gathering on Aldersgate Street, and while listening to the reading of Luther’s preface to the Epistle of Romans, at “about a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.” [5]
His immediate response was to mightily pray for those who had despitefully used and persecuted him. He then began to proclaim the Gospel, an effort met with resistance by the Anglican Church. Forbidden to preach in the parishes of the Anglican Church, Wesley defines and declares his calling God-given, and his first obedience is to God rather than man. Declaring the world as his parish, he recalls the words of Paul, “…woe to me if preach not the gospel.”[6]
End Notes
[1] Wesley, J. (1909–1916) The Journal of the Rev. John Wesley. Edited by N. Curnock. London: Robert Culley; Charles H. Kelly, p. 151.
[2] Wesley, J. (1909–1916) The Journal of the Rev. John Wesley. Edited by N. Curnock. London: Robert Culley; Charles H. Kelly, p. 422.
[3] Nicolaus Zinzendorf (c. 1700-1760), a German religious and social reformer, and founder of the Moravian Brethren (Church) and Christian Mission, an organized evangelistic effort sending individuals and groups heralding the Gospel of Christ and engaged in humanitarian relief and education.
[4] Tyerman, L. (1870) The Life and Times of the Rev. John Wesley. London: Hodder and Stoughton, pp. 181–182.
[5] Wesley, J. (1909–1916) The Journal of the Rev. John Wesley. Edited by N. Curnock. London: Robert Culley; Charles H. Kelly, p. 483.
[6] Wesley, J. (1909–1916) The Journal of the Rev. John Wesley. Edited by N. Curnock. London: Robert Culley; Charles H. Kelly, pp. 217–218.
It was Aldersgate, however, that proved pivotal and provided the spiritual catalyst propelling the tireless efforts of Wesley to reach the lost and restore holiness. By his self-admission, Wesley’s first efforts were ineffective because of one vital and missing element of his spiritual experience. Raised by pious parents, Rev. Samuel and Susannah Wesley, the special tutelage in both secular and religious disciplines, molded Wesley’s heart, mind, and practices that would aid Wesley’s later efforts to mobilize and advance the evangelistic efforts later to come.
Yet, before Aldersgate, Wesley confesses in his journal, “I was a Pharisee from my youth, having a strict form of godliness, and yet I always wanted something; but I knew not what, till something within me pushed me on.” What he wanted was the assurance of salvation.
Stirring Wesley’s heart to seek that missing something was an encounter with Moravians when sailing to Georgia. Sailing with them were twenty-six Moravians, a mission-minded German Church. Wesley was impressed not only by their piety, but also by their faith. Tossed upon the stormy sea, Wesley marveled at their composure, trusting in God’s hand to keep them safe. Landing in Georgia and meeting with a Moravian missionary Wesley became confronted with his lack of assurance of his salvation.
Wesley engaged in a conversation with a Mr. Spangenberg, one of the German pastors, intending to ask his advice, when Spangenberg said he needed to first ask Wesley two or three questions: “Do you know yourself? Have you the witness within yourself? Does the Spirit of God bear witness with your spirit that you are a child of God?” Noticing the questions took Wesley by surprise, Spangenberg pressed the issue: “Do you know Jesus Christ?’ Pausing, Wesley responded, “I know He is the Saviour [sic] of the world.” Spangenberg replied “True, but do you know He has saved you?’ Wesley’s answer was weak, “I hope He has died to save me.” to which the German missionary added, “Do you know yourself?” Wesley replied that he did but added to his journal, “But I fear they were vain words.”[1]
Wesley lamented his miserable and failing effort, writing in his journal, “But what have I learned myself in the meantime? Why, what I the least of all suspected, that I, who went to America to convert others, was never myself converted to God.”[2] Wesley returned home dejected and haunted by a pressing question, “Was he saved?”
Both John and Charles Wesley were pious men, well-educated and raised in the traditions of the Anglican Church, studied at university, and ordained. They knew the Scriptures, could read them in Greek; they knew the creeds and confessionals, the hymns, the liturgy; they knew the traditions and the trappings of Anglicanism, but they did not know Jesus.
Returning the England, Wesley met with Moravian Bishop and missionary, Peter. Through the testimony of Böhler and other Moravians, Wesley was seized upon by their testimonies of assurance of a “true living faith in Christ is inseparable from a sense of pardon for all past and freedom from all past sins” and that faith was God’s gift bestowed by Him to every “soul who earnestly and perseveringly sought it.”
Böhler’s assessment of both John and Charles Wesley was kind, but reflected a deep concern for both, for in them he saw immense potential. His assessment not only revealed the nature of the Wesley’s struggle, but also reveals the heart of the Moravian message:
“I travelled,” writes Bohler to Zinzendorf,[3] “with the two brothers, John, and Charles Wesley, from London to Oxford. The elder, John, is a good-natured man: he knew he did not properly believe on the Saviour and was willing to be taught. His brother, with whom you often conversed a year ago, is at present very much distressed in his mind, but does not know how he shall begin to be acquainted with the Saviour. Our mode of believing in the Saviour is so easy to Englishmen, that they cannot reconcile themselves to it; if it were a little more artful, they would much sooner find their way into it. Of faith in Jesus they have no other idea than the generality of people have. They justify themselves; and, therefore, they always take it for granted, that they believe already, and try to prove their faith by their works, and thus so plague and torment themselves that they are at heart very miserable.”[4]
Thoroughly convinced in the grace of God, Wesley resolved to seek the gift by renouncing his dependence upon his own works of righteousness, continuing in prayer for a justifying, saving faith, “a full reliance on the blood of Christ shed for me; a trust in Him, as my Christ, as my sole justification, sanctification, and redemption.”
Wednesday, May 24, around five in the morning, Wesley’s devotion turned his attention to 2 Peter 1:4, “There are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, even that ye should be partakers of the divine glory.” As he left his devotion, he again turned to the Scriptures and read, “Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.” Attending a service that afternoon, the anthem sung reinforced an expectation of God’s mercy and redemption.
That evening, reluctantly Wesley attended a gathering on Aldersgate Street, and while listening to the reading of Luther’s preface to the Epistle of Romans, at “about a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death.” [5]
His immediate response was to mightily pray for those who had despitefully used and persecuted him. He then began to proclaim the Gospel, an effort met with resistance by the Anglican Church. Forbidden to preach in the parishes of the Anglican Church, Wesley defines and declares his calling God-given, and his first obedience is to God rather than man. Declaring the world as his parish, he recalls the words of Paul, “…woe to me if preach not the gospel.”[6]
End Notes
[1] Wesley, J. (1909–1916) The Journal of the Rev. John Wesley. Edited by N. Curnock. London: Robert Culley; Charles H. Kelly, p. 151.
[2] Wesley, J. (1909–1916) The Journal of the Rev. John Wesley. Edited by N. Curnock. London: Robert Culley; Charles H. Kelly, p. 422.
[3] Nicolaus Zinzendorf (c. 1700-1760), a German religious and social reformer, and founder of the Moravian Brethren (Church) and Christian Mission, an organized evangelistic effort sending individuals and groups heralding the Gospel of Christ and engaged in humanitarian relief and education.
[4] Tyerman, L. (1870) The Life and Times of the Rev. John Wesley. London: Hodder and Stoughton, pp. 181–182.
[5] Wesley, J. (1909–1916) The Journal of the Rev. John Wesley. Edited by N. Curnock. London: Robert Culley; Charles H. Kelly, p. 483.
[6] Wesley, J. (1909–1916) The Journal of the Rev. John Wesley. Edited by N. Curnock. London: Robert Culley; Charles H. Kelly, pp. 217–218.
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