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://gbgm-
umc.org/umw/wesley/justifying#justifying
4
God's Preparing, Accepting, and Sustaining Grace- ttp://gbgm-
umc.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”.
6
Ib. Id.
7
Ib. Id.
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
Sermon 45 (text from the 1872 edition) The New Birth by John Wesley, Part I, Item 1.
9
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