John Wesley

Author:
James A Watkins
Updated:
Mar 7, 2019

John Wesley

John Wesley (1703-1791) was the greatest preacher of the 18th century. He founded the Methodist Church. This new Christian denomination first took root in Wales, where it is credited with a national revival of faith and piety.

John Wesley focused on the salvation of the poor, as well as on Christian Charity towards them. When he died, he was known as "The best loved man in England."

John Wesley was the son of Samuel and Susanna Wesley, and one of nineteen children. Susanna was the last of twenty-five children born to her pastor father and his wife.

When John Wesley was five years old he was miraculously saved from his burning home. He always felt that God had saved him for a purpose of His. Later in life, Wesley began to see the burning house as representative of the world perishing—with lost souls inside that needed to be rescued.

Wesley has a Revelation

In 1738, John Wesley, now a thirty-five year old Anglican minister, had a spiritual awakening after re-reading the Epistle to the Romans by St Paul, along with a preface by Martin Luther. He realized that true religion is seated in the heart. Wesley wrote: "The real nature of true religion did not consist in orthodox or right opinions, but deeper still, even in the hidden man of the heart."

John Wesley sought holiness of heart and correctness of outward deportment. The connecting link between the individual soul and God is genuine personal living faith. The Holy Spirit only confers wisdom on those who no longer live for themselves.

God's law extends beyond actions to words and thoughts. Grace will be manifested in obedience. John Wesley believed he was appointed by God to "proclaim the glad tidings of salvation" among a Christian people who had forgotten them.

John Wesley Goes on the Road

John Wesley went on tours throughout the remote sections of the British Isles to preach enthusiastically to the neglected masses. He began to preach the born-again gospel in open fields. Pandemonium broke loose at his revivals, which were complete with exorcisms, healings, and visions.

He would preach several times a day no matter the weather. He drew outdoor crowds of up to 32,000 people. Nothing like this had ever been witnessed before.

Wesley and his followers were sometimes beaten by mobs and bombarded with stones, bricks, and fruit. Apparently some took umbrage at his message of sin and salvation. And not just Wesley, John Smythe, "the Conjurer," was the most mobbed Methodist in Ireland and eventually murdered. William Seward was blinded and then torn to pieces by a mob in Hay. Methodist preaching houses were pulled down in many cities of England.

John Wesley Meets the Moravians

In 1735, John Wesley was on his way to preach in America when the ship was struck by a violent storm on the Atlantic Ocean. He was greatly moved by the demeanor he observed in a group of Moravians on board. John Wesley:

"I had long before observed the great seriousness of their behavior. Of their humility they had given a continual proof, by performing those servile offices for the other passengers which none of the English would undertake; for which they desired and would receive no pay, saying it was good for their proud hearts, and their loving savior had done more for them. And every day had given them occasion of showing a meekness which no injury could move. If they were pushed, struck, or thrown about, they rose again and went away; but no complaint was found in their mouth."

John Wesley Comes to America

John Wesley first brought his gospel message to America in Georgia. He taught the poor how to help themselves; he preached charity, piety, and literacy. Anglican bishops were not pleased with Wesley's call for missionaries to come to America; to ride through the backcountry and preach in fields.

John Wesley spoke out against the evils of slavery: "Liberty is the right of every human creature, as soon as he breathes the vital air; and no human law can deprive him of that right which he derives from the law of nature."

John Wesley did not buy into the Calvinist view of the "elect." He was an Arminian, and believed that "God willeth all men to be saved."

Nonetheless, he had many Calvinist friends and saw no reason why doctrinal differences should impede friendship or working together for the good of the Kingdom of God. It was Wesley who coined the phrase "agree to disagree."

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John Wesley the Circuit Riding Evangelist

John Wesley, even in his sixties, rode 3,000 miles a year on horseback to preach 800 sermons. In his lifetime, he traveled 250,000 miles on horseback and preached more than 40,000 sermons, some of which were three hours long.

John Wesley was effective. After his revivals whole towns relinquished drunkenness and violence in favor of singing hymns and studying the Bible. His appeal was especially strong with skilled artisans and small merchants.

John Wesley is the "father of the religious paperback." He published 5,000 sermons, tracts, and pamphlets. These writings brought in a large income, but he continued to live on an average workman's wage of thirty pounds a year. Wesley lived frugally, and gave away over 75,000 pounds of his income to spread the gospel.

His brother, Charles Wesley (1707-1788), would become one of the greatest hymn writers of all time, having written almost 8,000 hymns.

John Wesley Quotes

John Wesley defined the Church this way: "a body of men compacted together in order, first, to save each his soul, then to assist each other in working out their salvation."

It was soon noted that his converts prospered economically and socially. He had some anxiety about this and wrote:

"I fear, wherever riches have increased, the essence of religion has decreased in the same proportion. For religion must necessarily produce both industry and frugality, and these cannot but produce riches. But as riches increase, so will the love of the world in all its branches. For the Methodists in every place grow diligent and frugal; consequently they increase in goods. Hence they proportionately increase in pride, anger, in the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, and the pride of life. So, although the form of religion remains, the spirit as swiftly vanishes away."

JOHN WESLEY PREACHING AT HIS FATHER'S FUNERAL

Methodism

In 1744, John Wesley held the first Methodist Conference. He produced regulations about clothes, ornamentation, money, business, language, charity, and Bible meetings. Offenders were to be excommunicated.

The hierarchy of the Anglican Church disapproved of all of this. The Methodists often divided families.

John Wesley preached against antinomianism, a teaching of modern educators that there is no unchangeable divine law as the standard of right, but that the standard of morality is indicated by society itself, and has been constantly subject to change. "I may not bring Scripture down to your taste," Wesley said.

John Wesley considered himself an Anglican to the end. He never wanted Methodists to split from the Anglican Church. His sermons endorsed the existing order of society. Wesley urged his converts to obey all laws; to be content with economic and political conditions. Methodism remained inside the Anglican Church until 1791 when it officially split off and the Methodist Church was born.

The Methodist Church

There numbered 500,000 Methodists when John Wesley left this world. They were and are heavily involved with charitable missions. After the Methodist Church was firmly established, it built grand houses of worship and abandoned itinerant preaching.

Through the tireless labors of John Wesley, multitudes have been lifted up from the ruin and degradation of sin to a higher and purer life. John Wesley was an exemplar of faith and humility, untiring zeal, self-sacrifice, and devotion as a servant of Christ.

John Wesley's last words were "Farewell." When he died he left behind one well-worn coat, two teaspoons, and one Methodist Church. He was 5'3".

SOURCES

My sources for this article include: A History of Christianity by Paul Johnson; Christian Doctrine and Modern Culture by Jaroslav Pelikan; and A Short History of Christianity by Stephen Tomkins.

Comments

James A Watkins (author) from Chicago on June 08, 2015:

Michael-Milec~ As always, it is wonderful to hear from you, my brother. I miss our conversations, as well as those with John Harper and Vladimir. I was very glad to hear you attended Vladimir's funeral service. I did not know until then that you two had actually met in person, something I vowed to do but didn't. And the clock ran out on that one. Well, I will see him in heaven. Thank you for taking the time to come over and read this article of mine, as well as for the good votes. I appreciate your gracious remarks and I agree with you 100%. John Wesley would not recognize the religion of the Methodists today. They have fallen into apostasy. As you say, "the Word of God is Holy, powerful and sacred and as such manifesting the presence of the living Christ in this world." AMEN

Michael-Milec on March 20, 2015:

Hello James Watkins.

Vey informative, convincing ,timeless and powerful article about John Wesley. Thanks.

Your Hub article wasn’t advertised on HP this time. Perhaps you might know that, as well that you are being missed- meaning the message through your writings. I miss you brother, as well as do John Harper and Vlado Uhri who moved to the other planet.

Following commenting, seems to me not much readers interest in John Wesley’s teaching even among “his” Methodists. Apparently, ‘christianity’ is assimilating with world-wide fashionable religions, thus becoming ineffective in spreading the Good News of the Kingdom the way Jesus Christ of Nazareth was teaching and ordained his followers to continue the same until the “end”. My assumption might sound “criticizing”, however, the more I understand the English language the more i see, that Eternal God’s ‘economy’ and the things pertaining the Word of God should not be categorized as “religious “, rather Holy, powerful and sacred and as such manifesting the presence of the living “ Christ” in this world…( Well, I have to stop here.)

Voting for your article, up, useful and interesting.

May the Lord bless and protect you always , everywhere you go.

James A Watkins (author) from Chicago on May 14, 2011:

gem33— Why, I am grateful for your laudatory comments. Thank you very much for making my day! :)

gem33 on May 12, 2011:

you are a wonderful writer and you put in details that make ur hubs simply sensational.

James A Watkins (author) from Chicago on March 28, 2011:

PegCole17— Crowds of that size surely represented an acoustic challenge. I imagine he had to stand upwind. I cannot imagine riding day after day cross country on horseback for years upon years. He had to be saddle sore. An exceptional Christian Man? You bet.

Most Methodist churches do have fine choirs. I attended one for a few years. I have also been to churches that didn't believe in musical instruments. To each they's own, I always say.

Can you dance now? :D

Thank you for the visit and your comments.

Peg Cole from North Dallas, Texas on March 26, 2011:

Hi James - What an exceptional Christian this man must have been. To think of the travels he made on horseback and the crowds he drew in those days. Can you imagine the acoustical challenges of speaking to a crowd of 32,000 without electronics?

This is a great article with interesting facts that despite being a Methodist for a few years, I never knew. But they really did have a great choir!

I was raised in a church which didn't believe in having any accompaniment to their singing - no pianos, organs, flutes or other joyous instruments. I was allowed to go to the senior prom under the condition that I would not dance. :-|

James A Watkins (author) from Chicago on March 07, 2011:

Tony L Smith— Thank you for the compliment and blessings. I am glad you love this subject matter. Welcome to the Hub Pages Community!

Tony L Smith from Macon on March 06, 2011:

well done Hub, I love reading about the heroes of our Faith

Bless you

James A Watkins (author) from Chicago on March 02, 2011:

wba108@yahoo.com— Yes indeed: antinomianism has always been lurking around. When we let the Devil ride along with us, he's gonna wanna to drive eventually.

I agree with you that it is in the heart where God needs to live. And faith without works is dead.

Thank you for reading my stuff and leaving such nice compliments for me to read. God Bless You!

James A Watkins (author) from Chicago on March 02, 2011:

Joshua Kell— You are most welcome, Brother. I humbly accept your gracious accolades. It means much coming from a discerning man such as yourself. God Bless You! Thank you for coming to see me.

James A Watkins (author) from Chicago on March 02, 2011:

olgakhumlo— Thank you for reading my article. I am glad you enjoyed it. Yes, we are all to be faithful evangelists. That is an outstanding comment!! God Bless You!

James A Watkins (author) from Chicago on March 02, 2011:

Polly— You're welcome. Thank you for coming back with that puzzling story. A sin to drink soda? That is a new one on me. I have never heard of such a thing. Bizarre.

wba108@yahoo.com from upstate, NY on March 02, 2011:

I see that the popularly of the idea of evolving morals has been around for a while and today threatens to undermine our morals and legal opinions.

I like his insight that true religion is a thing of the heart and not a matter of stuffing your head with knowledge. biblical knowledge and understanding always should lead to an experience with God because if it doesn't it just makes us more religious or legalistic.

He also makes the point that your beliefs must translate into actions because it takes no faith to acquire head knowledge for its own sake.

Beautiful article, keep up the good work, God bless!

Levi Joshua Kell from Arizona on March 01, 2011:

Thanks James. I do love Wesley's work. I have read of the early Methodist movement, and it was amazing!. It is a shame when a movement turns into a system though. Thanks. AMAZING!!!

olga khumlo from Mira Road Mumbai India on March 01, 2011:

It reminds us that we too ought to be faithful evangelists .A mother's prayers that strengthened him to obey God's commission.I enjoyed reading it .God bless you.

James A Watkins (author) from Chicago on February 28, 2011:

iantoPF— Hey! I haven't heard from you in a while. It's good to "see" you. I totally agree with your key observation. Well said! :)

James A Watkins (author) from Chicago on February 28, 2011:

lionswhelp— Thank you!! Thank you very much. :D

James A Watkins (author) from Chicago on February 28, 2011:

lilyfly— You are most welcome, lilyfly. Thank you very much for coming by to visit with me.

James

James A Watkins (author) from Chicago on February 28, 2011:

gracenotes— Thank you for taking the time to come over and read my Hub about John Wesley. As you say, one of the first street preachers. I appreciate your kind compliments.

There is much to like about a big, beautiful Methodist church. Their worldly views leave much to be desired for me personally. Great choir, though, as you say.

You are right that many Methodists have discarded the Virgin Birth. They must at all times be modern, or "with it."

It sounds to me like you've got a great and learned man of God as your pastor. That is a blessing, to be sure.

James A Watkins (author) from Chicago on February 28, 2011:

activation123— Thank you very much! Welcome to the Hub Pages Community!

James A Watkins (author) from Chicago on February 28, 2011:

Wayne Brown— You have some experience on horseback, yes? I cannot imagine 250,000 miles in the saddle. You hit the nail on the head when you wrote:

"a man who defined dedication by example as opposed to just words"

Amen!

Thank you for coming by to visit, WB. I always enjoy reading your comments.

James

James A Watkins (author) from Chicago on February 28, 2011:

CMerritt— You are welcome, my friend. It is mind boggling indeed. I absolutely love that quote by Wesley. I don't know how I missed that. Thank you for adding it.

“Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.”

Perfect!

James A Watkins (author) from Chicago on February 28, 2011:

Hello, hello,— You are most welcome. Thank you very much for reading my work and leaving your comments.

James A Watkins (author) from Chicago on February 28, 2011:

searchinsany— I am thinking I should get a copy of John Wesley's Explanatory notes after reading your endorsement of them. I am not familiar with Adam Clarke, but I appreciate you mentioning him.

The journeys of John Wesley are incredible. And no, I doubt he was on the golf course. :)

Thank you for your excellent comments. Welcome to the Hub Pages Community!

James

Pollyannalana from US on February 28, 2011:

I didn't want to say anything earlier but since we are telling tales,(lol) my father-in-law's brother was a Methodist preacher and he and some friends came to visit one summer or maybe it was his family and it was against church rules to drink sodas, so next time he came back my father-in-law didn't serve them any sodas but they said it was OK now they could have sodas. That does sound strange for a Christian church and I know many here at HP have no idea about the word of God who claim to be Christian and give real Christians a bad time, well they think they are. If they knew the bible they would be trembling in fear for their actions. Thanks for great discussions with meaning.

Peter Freeman from Pen-Bre, Cymru/Wales on February 27, 2011:

James; It's always a pleasure and a fascination to read your historical hubs. Wesley is another example of how so much can be achieved when a person is uncompromisingly devoted to an ideal

lionswhelp on February 27, 2011:

Interesting Hub James. Keep up the good work.

lilyfly on February 26, 2011:

Always a joy to read your stuff, always you give us things we did not know... thanks! lilyfly

gracenotes from North Texas on February 26, 2011:

A good hub about one of the heroes of the faith. I have the utmost respect for John Wesley, and so, I appreciate getting the chance to read your hub. Wesley was one of the first street preachers!

While I was married, my husband wanted to attend the Methodist church, so that's where we went. And it just so happened that 2003 was the 300th anniversary of Wesley's birth, so the church had a special emphasis on him during that time.

John Wesley apparently did not enjoy a happy marriage, and that makes me appreciate him, in his humanness, all the more.

By the way, I could not stay in the Methodist church, even though there were some things I really liked about it. For instance, I am a singer, and I've never sung in a better choir than the one we had. But, in order to be fed from God's Word, I had to make my way out of there.

As for the Apostle's Creed, we still recited it in our Methodist church. Knowing some of the church members as I did, I think the real objection was that the creed starts with the words, "I believe in God the Father Almighty, the Creator of Heaven in Earth" and some folks just don't like to admit that God is our Father and also the father of Jesus Christ. You see, these misguided folks imagine that God should only be referenced as a Creator or even a "she", and therefore, with this heretical notion, they have, effectively, come to the conclusion that Jesus was not born of a virgin, and instead probably had a human father. When one of the women in my church got married, she asked the officiant if he "could include inclusive language" in the marriage vows and in everything that was said during the ceremony. Alas.

By the way, my current pastor is often wont to refer to the writings of Luther, Calvin, and Spurgeon in his sermons, never to John Wesley. But my pastor's favorite hymn is also "And Can It Be?" which was written by Charles Wesley (it's also become my favorite hymn!).

activation123 on February 26, 2011:

great job more of it