BRIEF BIOGRAPHY John Wesley 1703-1791 John Wesley, English theologian and evangelist, was a
founder of Methodism. Wesley was born in the rectory at Epworth, Lincolnshire,
on June 17, 1703, the 15th child of the British clergyman Samuel Wesley. He was
educated at Charterhouse School and Christ Church, University of Oxford.
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His Oxford days introduced him not only to the rich
tradition of classical literature and philosophy but also to spiritual classics
like Thomas À Kempis's "Imitation of Christ", Jeremy Taylor's "Holy
Living and Dying", and William Law's "Serious Call". In 1735 Wesley went to
Georgia as an Anglican missionary. On the ship to Savannah he met some German
Moravians, whose simple evangelical piety greatly impressed him. He continued
to associate with them while in Georgia and translated some of their hymns into
English. Except for this association, Wesley's American experience was a
failure. On his return to England in 1738, he again sought out the Moravians;
while attending one of their meetings in Aldersgate St., London, on May 24,
1738, he experienced a religious awakening that profoundly convinced him that
salvation was possible for every person through faith in Jesus Christ
alone.
After this spiritual conversion he devoted his life to
evangelism. In March 1739, George Whitefield, who had met with great success as
an evangelist in Bristol, urged Wesley to join him in his endeavours. Despite
his initial opposition to preaching outside the church, Wesley preached an
open-air sermon on April 2, and the enthusiastic reaction of his audience
convinced him that open-air preaching was the most effective way to reach the
masses. Few pulpits would be open to him in any case, for the Anglican church
frowned on revivalism. Wesley attracted immense crowds virtually from the
outset of his evangelical career. His success also was due, in part, to the
fact that contemporary England was ready for a revivalist movement; the
Anglican church was seemingly unable to offer the kind of personal faith that
people craved. Thus Wesley's emphasis on inner religion and his assurance that
each person was accepted as a child of God had a tremendous popular appeal.
On May 1, 1739, Wesley and a group of his followers, meeting in a shop on
West St., London, formed the first Methodist society. Two similar organizations
were established in Bristol the same month. Late in 1739 the London society
began to meet in a building called the Foundry, which served as the
headquarters of Methodism for many years. With the growth of the Methodist
movement, the need for tighter organization became acute. In 1742 the societies
were divided into classes, with a leader for each class. These class meetings
contributed greatly to the success of the movement, but equally important were
their leaders, many of whom Wesley designated lay preachers. Wesley called the
first conference of Methodist leaders in 1744, and conferences were held
annually thereafter. In 1751, at the age of 48, Wesley married Mary Vazeille, a
widow with four children. The marriage was not successful, and she finally left
him; Wesley had no children of his own. Wesley's thought was based on an
Arminian interpretation of the Thirty-nine Articles of the Church of England
but emphasized personal experience of conversion, assurance, and
sanctification. He held to the doctrines of original sin, the atoning work of
Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit, and the Trinity. These were the
objective ground of the subjective appropriation of salvation. Justification
was by faith alone, with good works as the testimony and test of faith and
therefore a condition of final salvation. New birth through the Holy Spirit was
the beginning of sanctification, which was to be brought to a "Christian
perfection" of entire love towards God and neighbour. He believed in the
universal sufficiency and scope of Christ's work, which restores to every man a
measure of free will that allows him to accept the gospel and do its works.
Wesley discarded many tenets of the Church of England, including the doctrine
of the apostolic succession (the maintenance of an unbroken line of succession
of bishops of the Christian church beginning with St. Peter), but he never
voiced any intention of establishing the movement as a new church. He remained
an Anglican to the day of his death.
His actions made separation inevitable,
however. In 1784 he issued the deed of declaration, which provided rules and
regulations for the guidance of the Methodist societies. The same year he
appointed his aide Thomas Coke, an Anglican clergyman, a superintendent of the
Methodist organization in the U.S., empowering him to administer the
sacraments; other ordinations followed. Ordination represented the biggest step
in the direction of a break with the Anglican church. Separation did not take
place, however, until after Wesley's death.
Wesley was deeply concerned
with the intellectual, economic, and physical well-being of the masses. He was
also a prolific writer on a wide variety of historical and religious subjects.
His books were sold cheaply, so that even the poor could afford to buy them;
thus he did much to improve the reading habits of the general public. He aided
debtors and those trying to establish businesses and founded medical
dispensaries. He opposed slavery and was interested in social reform movements
of all kinds. Wesley compiled 23 collections of hymns, edited a monthly
magazine, translated Greek, Latin, and Hebrew works, and edited, under the
title The Christian's Pattern, Kempis's Imitation of Christ. His personal
Journal (1735-90) is outstanding for the frank exposition of his spiritual
development.
In the latter years of his life the hostility of the Anglican
church to Methodism had virtually disappeared, and Wesley was greatly admired.
He died March 2, 1791, and was buried in the graveyard of City Road Chapel,
London. In Westminster Abbey is a memorial plaque inscribed with his name.
Useful
Links
http://www.island-of-freedom.com/WESLEY.HTM
http://gbgm-umc.org/UMW/Wesley/index.html
- general links.
http://gbgm-umc.org/UMhistory/Wesley/sermons/ Many of Wesley's best
sermons
http://gbgm-umc.org/UMW/Wesley/action.stm
- on Christian Perfection
http://gbgm-umc.org/UMW/Wesley/walk.stm
- on God's Grace
http://gbgm-umc.org/UMW/Wesley/mission.stm
- on Works of Mercy
http://www.ccel.org/w/wesley/notes/home.html
- Wesley's notes on Bible