John Wesley's letter to Charles

ewenlin · #1 (**permalink**) 10-17-2009, 02:54 PM

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In a letter to his brother Charles in June 1766, the Arminian evangelist John Wesley, now in his sixties, confesses that he does not and never did love God, believe or have the direct witness of divine sonship or even of things invisible or eternal. Read for yourself.

"In one of my last [letters] I was saying that I do not feel the wrath of God abiding on me; nor can I believe it does. And yet (this is the mystery), I do not love God. I never did. Therefore I never believed, in the Christian sense of the word. Therefore I am only an honest heathen…

And yet, to be so employed of God! And so hedged in that I can neither get forward nor backward! Surely there was never such an instance before, from the beginning of the world! If I ever have had that faith, it would not be so strange. But I never had any other evidence of the eternal or invisible world than I have now; and that is none at all, unless such as faintly shines from reason’s glimmering ray. I have no direct witness (I do not say, that I am a child of God, but) of anything invisible or eternal."

"And yet I dare not preach otherwise than I do, either concerning faith, or love, or justification, or perfection. And yet I find rather an increase than a decrease of zeal for the whole work of God and every part of it. I am borne along, I know not how, that I can’t stand still. I want all the world to come to what I do not know."

- Quoted in Stephen Tomkins, John Wesley, A Biography [Oxford: Lion Publishing, 2003], p. 168; italics mine)

Anyone steeped in church history during this period can share any thoughts on this?

jogri17 · #2 (**permalink**) 10-17-2009, 03:14 PM

I think Iain Murray addresses this in his biography of Wesley and the men how followed him.

MarieP · #3 (**permalink**) 10-17-2009, 03:25 PM

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Originally Posted by jogri17

I think Iain Murray addresses this in his biography of Wesley and the men how followed him.

Found this very helpful link:

http://www.baylyblog.com/2007/02/john_wesley_pre.html

ewenlin · #4 (**permalink**) 10-17-2009, 05:09 PM

Thanks. Found my answer.

Love you guys.

Ivan · #5 (**permalink**) 10-17-2009, 06:45 PM

What a complicated and complex man John Wesley was.

Mark Hettler · #6 (**permalink**) 10-18-2009, 09:44 AM

From the above link:

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Unfortunately, the Moravians believed that if one has true faith, then one is totally released from all doubts and Wesley, at least for a time, adopted this belief. If you have any remaining doubts, then you do not yet have true faith. Assurance of salvation, they claimed, always accompanies justification. This understanding of faith and assurance departed from the Puritan understanding that one may have true faith and yet lack an assurance of salvation. The Westminster Confession of Faith states, "This infallible assurance doth not so belong to the essence of faith, but that a true believer may wait long, and conflict with many difficulties before he be partaker of it" (WCF, 18,3). Wesley and the Moravians denied this. So whenever any doubts or fears raised their ugly head, it meant that one was not a true believer. (See Murray 2003: 48-55.)