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John Wesley (1703-1791) **

The primary figure in the eighteenth century Evangelical Revival and founder of Methodism. Wesley was born in Epworth, England, to Samuel and Susanna Wesley, one of nineteen children. Although both his grandfathers distinguished themselves as Puritan Nonconformists, his parents returned to the Church of England, where his father for most of his ministry held the livings of Epworth (1697- 1735) and Wroot (1725-35). Wesley spent his early years under the careful direction of his remarkable mother, who sought to instill in him a sense of vital piety leading to a wholehearted devotion to God.

Life. Wesley was educated at Charterhouse, a school for boys in London, and then Christ Church, Oxford, where he received the B.A. degree in 1724 and the M.A. degree in 1727. Although a serious student in both logic and religion, Wesley was not to experience his "religious" conversion until 1725. He was then confronted with what to do with the rest of his life. He decided (through the influence of his mother, a religious friend, and the reading of Jeremy Taylor and Thomas a Kempis) to make religion the "business of his life." He was ordained deacon (1725), elected to a fellowship at Lincoln College, Oxford (1726), and served as his father's curate at Wroot (1727-29). He then returned to Oxford and became the leader of a small band of students organized earlier by his younger brother, Charles. This band, dubbed the "Holy Club," would later be called "Methodist " for their prescribed method of studying the Bible and for their rigid self-denial which included many works of charity. During this period (1729-35) by the grace of God, both John and Charles fell under the influence of the William Law . It was during this period that he formulated his views on Christian perfection, the hallmark of Methodism.

In 1735 (Wesley's Journal begins at this point and continues until shortly before his death) Wesley went to Georgia as a missionary to the Indians. Although the Indians eluded him, he did serve as priest to the Georgia settlers under General James Oglethorpe. During a storm in crossing Wesley was deeply impressed with a group of Moravians on board ship. Their faith in the face of death (the fear of dying was constantly with Wesley since his youth) predisposed disastrous experience in Georgia, he returned to England (1738) and met the Moravian Peter Bohler, who exhorted him to trust Christ alone for salvation. What had earlier been merely a religious conversion now became an "evangelical" conversion.

After a short journey to Germany to visit the Moravian settlement of Herrnhut, he returned to England and with George Whitefield, a former member of the Holy Club, began preaching salvation by faith. This "new doctrine" was considered redundant by the sacramentalists in the Established Church, who thought people sufficiently saved by virtue of their infant baptism. The established churches soon closed their doors to their preaching. The Methodists (a name which carried over from their Oxford days) began preaching in the open air. Wesley overheard some washer women talking about resting in the Lord. This led to His completely trusting Christ for salvation.

In 1739 Wesley followed Whitefield to Bristol, where a revival broke out among the miners of Kingswood. At that point Wesley's true genius surfaced through his ability to organize new converts into Methodist "societies" and "bands" which sustained both them and the revival. The revival continued under Wesley's direct leadership for over fifty years. He traveled some 250,000 miles throughout England, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, preaching some 40,000 sermons. His influence also extended to America as he (after considerable reluctance) ordained several of his preachers for the work there, which was officially organized in 1784. Wesley literally established "the world as his parish" in order to spread "scripture holiness throughout the land." He remained fearlessly loyal to the Established Church all his life. Methodism in England did not become a separate denomination until after his death.

Theology. Although Wesley was not a systematic theologian, his theology can be described with reasonable clarity from the study of his published sermons, tracts, treatises, and correspondence. In essence, Wesley's theology, so akin to the Reformation, affirms God's will to reverse our "sinful, devilish nature," by the work of his Holy Spirit, a process he called justifying, and sanctifying grace (grace being nearly synonymous with the work of the Holy Spirit).

Grace for Wesley describes the universal work of the Holy Spirit in the hearts and lives of people between conception and conversion. Original sin, according to Wesley, makes it necessary for the Holy Spirit to initiate the relationship between God and people. Bound by sin and death, people experience the gentle wooing of the Holy Spirit, which prevents them from moving so far from "the way" that when they finally understand the claims of the gospel upon their lives, he guarantees their freedom to say yes. This doctrine constitutes the heart of Wesley's Arminianism.

Justifying grace describes the work of the Holy Spirit at the moment of conversion in the lives of those who say yes to the call of grace by placing their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Wesley understood such conversion as two phases of one experience. The first phase, justification, includes the Spirit attributing or imputing to the believer the righteousness of Jesus Christ. The second phase, the new birth, includes the Spirit launching the process of sanctification or imparted righteousness. These two phases identify, in part, the Wesleyan distinctive. Here he combines the "faith alone" so prevalent in the Protestant Reformation (Wesley insisted that he and Calvin were but a hair's breadth apart on justification) with the passion for holiness so prevalent in the Catholic Counter-Reformation.

Sanctifying grace described the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers between conversion and death. Faith in Christ saves us from hell and sin for heaven and good works. Imputed righteousness, according to Wesley, entitles one to heaven; imparted righteousness qualifies one for heaven. It is here that Wesley goes to great lengths to describe his views on Christian perfection.

The process of sanctification or perfection culminates in an experience of "pure love" as one progresses to the place where love becomes devoid of self-interest. This second work of grace is described as the one purpose of all religion. If one is not perfected in love, one is not "ripe for glory." It is important, however, to note that this perfection was not static but dynamic, always improvable. Neither was it angelic or Adamic. Adam's perfection was objective and absolute, while Wesley's perfection was subjective and relative, involving, for the most part, intention and motive.

Although Wesley talks about an instantaneous experience called "entire sanctification" subsequent to justification, his major emphasis was the continuous process of going on to perfection. Perhaps first learned from the early church fathers like Macarius and Ephraem Syrus, this emphasis upon continuous process was enforced by Wesley to prevent the horrible expectation of backsliding. Wesley soon learned that the only way to keep Methodists alive was to keep them moving. This same concept of continuous process was later polished by the influence of mystics like Francois Fenelon, whose phrase moi progressus ad infinitum (my progress is without end) greatly impressed Wesley and became a major tool for the perpetuation of the Evangelical Revival. The watchword for the revival became: "Go on to perfection: otherwise you cannot keep what you have."

Grace, therefore, is a process. Justifying grace is instantaneous. Sanctifying grace is both a process and instantaneous. Although Wesley's theology went through some subtle shifts later in life (for example, he placed more and more emphasis on good works as the inevitable fruit of saving faith), this is fairly representative of Wesley's theology throughout.

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