Active Faith
Lessons from Wesley
Matt Friedman
July 1, 1998
The man whose faith transformed eighteenth century England would seem an unlikely religious hero. He had some rather unique ideas (he thought baldness could be cured by rubbing a raw onion on the head), he had a lousy marriage, and he was reviled by the author of "Rock of Ages" as "the most rancorous hater of the gospel-system that ever appeared in this island." He was also vilified, cussed at, and dragged about by his hair (literally!) because he believed that people needed life-changing conversion, and that too few churches were doing their duty on this front. Despite all this, John Wesley changed an England beset by drunkenness, child neglect, gambling, and violence. Or, more appropriately, God changed eighteenth century England through him and the movement he inspired, Methodism. Given the social and spiritual ills that beset America, perhaps it's time to revisit the genius of John Wesley's method, which had four central components. 1. Grace dramatically experienced and faithfully cultivated. Before John Wesley could participate in God's saving plan for England, he himself had to be saved. At the heart of the Wesleyan revival was an encounter with the grace of God. As Wesley described it, May 24, 1738, marked the major turning point in his life: "In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's preface to the Epistle to the Romans. 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." Wesley ...
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