John Wesley: Biography and Role in Christian History

Last updated on: May 21, 2014 at 4:59 pm by Jack Wellman

John Wesley: Biography and Role in Christian History 2014-05-21T16:59:49-05:00 Jack Wellman

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Who was John Wesley? Why should we care to know about this man? His role in the history of Christianity must be told.

John Wesley, Founder of Methodism

John Wesley (1703-1791) was one of the most significant men in the history of Christianity and was among one of the leaders in the Holiness Movement, which was a belief in taking the Bible’s teachings and applying them to daily life and to moment by moment strive to avoid sin. He believed in the regeneration by grace which brings a believer an assurance of their salvation and that the Holy Spirit’s work in a believer’s life was the lifelong process of what is called sanctification. The belief that a person is saved by grace alone by faith alone in Christ alone, Who was the atonement for our sins, was not as common a belief then as it is today. This man’s preaching gave so many comfort because many believed that they had their salvation but then could lose it again, thereby striving to be saved again and again. For others he gave calm assurance that no one can out-sin the cross. Wesley was an expository Bible preacher that used the Scriptures to assure believers that they could never save themselves by their own works or by human efforts but they were saved only by the work of Christ that was done on Calvary and that it was a finished work.

Childhood Theologian

John Wesley’s parents schooled their children from the moment that they could walk and talk, teaching them Greek and Hebrew and to study, learn, and memorize significant portions of the New Testament. This is how Wesley became so well versed, even as a child, in the Word of God. His proficiency to recall chapters and verse astounded many even as a child. When Wesley narrowly escaped a fire in the church rectory, Zechariah 3:2 became one of his favorite verses; “a brand plucked out of the fire.” This verse became his calling card for his evangelizing and gave him a deep passion for rescuing the perishing (the unsaved).

John Wesley Changed

In 1735 John Wesley traveled to what was then called the Colonies and traveled with some Moravian settlers. When the ship encountered a fierce storm and the a major port of the mast was destroyed, he feared for his life but when he saw the Moravian Christians praying and singing hymns he was deeply moved by their faith. He wanted that faith, a strong, genuine faith that was deeply rooted in pietism. While all the other English were terrified the Moravians were calm and assured that God was the God of the storm and he saw no fear on their faces. That was the type of deep, abiding faith that he longed for and he was changed at that moment. Due to the Moravian’s deep and abiding faith, he sensed that his faith was a pale, shallow faith that lacked trust in God. From this point forward, Wesley began to see God as sovereign over all things and that with a God Who could create or calm the storm, there was no real need to fear. He felt his fear was a lack of trust in God and that this showed that he had a faith that was more dependent upon what he saw with his eyes rather than seeing with the eyes of faith in the unseen God.

The Tireless John Wesley

John Wesley was one of the greatest and boldest of all open-air preachers. He endured the scorn, the rotten tomatoes being tossed at him, and being ridiculed to no end. He was never moved by this persecution. He saw this as his duty because that was the way that the Master had preached. He realized that the fear of man was a stumbling block (Prov 29:24) and whoever trusts in Him will be kept safe and was the faith that the Moravian Christians had. He understood that he had no need to fear because true wisdom was found in the fear of God (Prov 9:10; Psalm 111:10). During his lifetime, John Wesley would go on to preach over 40,000 sermons while riding on horseback to travel over a quarter of a million miles. This man was up every morning well before dawn studying and reading the Bible, pouring over the Scriptures in Greek or Hebrew and late in life felt overwhelming guilt because he was now sleeping in until 5 in the morning!

Conclusion

John Wesley was also a staunch abolitionist making the gospel of Christ what it was intended to be…a salt that penetrated and changed a corrupt society, a light under a basket brought out and shined into the dark recesses of the world. His tireless efforts in preaching the gospel in thousands of churches, in planting multiple churches, in preaching open-air wherever he could, and trying to save as many as he possibly could in his life showed that he was a true disciple of Christ. There are few men that could match his endurance, even among those half his age. He has gone down in church history as one of the greatest Christians of all time and his herculean effort will always be remembered. I think that he will be in the Book of Acts Two, which I believe is being written today and will be complete at the Second Coming of Christ. As he was nearly killed in a fire, he took to heart the fact that God has called us to participate in the Great Commission (Matt 28:18-20; Acts 1:8) and in rescuing the perishing because he himself was “a brand plucked out of the fire” (Zech 3:2) and he was determined to pluck out the fire as many as could possibly saved.

Another Reading on Patheos to Check Out: What Did Jesus Really Look Like: A Look at the Bible Facts

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon

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