John Wesley Beliefs

According to Hinks, Methodists were usually more willing to place “the powerful God of Christianity… on the side of social and political justice.” One religious message that Walker conveys through this Appeal that supports this claim, was

To Stoddard, the idea of “fostering conversions was more important than discovering a perfect church order, and in that attitude he blazed the way for the most influential practice in American religious history: he was the first American to make periodic revivals a centerpiece of his ministry” . Every decade his congregation would experience an “awakening” in which many people were moved spiritually and often lead to conversion. Some of these revivals even made it past Northampton and into the neighboring communities, directly impacting young Edwards and his family, for Edwards’s father rejected the half-way covenant but endorsed revival. These disagreements divided his family and remained unresolved for decades .

By the 18th century, there were concerns about the declining religious devotion and the increase of secularism emerging in the United States. The result of these changes was the Great Awakening, the first major american revival. There were many preachers that were outspoken from their religion. George Whitefield was one of many of those preachers. Whitefield was very compassionate during his speeches, preaching the words of God, weeping with sorrow, spreading the word of God, and hitting people on an emotional standpoint. He made numerous evangelizing tours through the colonies and attracted large crowds. Nathan Cole, like thousands of others, came to see George Whitefield. Nathan Cole wrote in “The Spiritual Travels of Nathan Cole” and said, “When I saw Mr. Whitefield come upon the Scaffold he lookt almost angelical; a young, Slim, slender, youth before some thousands of people with a bold undaunted Countenance, and my hearing how God was with him every where he came along it Solemnized my mind; and put me into a trembling fear before he began to preach; for he looked as if he was Cloathed with authority from the Great God; and a sweet sollume solemnity sat upon his brow And my hearing him preach, gave me a heart wound…” Cole had just described that hundreds upon hundreds of people came to see Whitefield and speakers like him. This greatly revived religion in many peoples’ lives. Cole said that the speech given touched him in the heart as it did with thousands of others.

Thousands of miles away and across the Atlantic Ocean, an “awakening” began to sweep through the colonies. Evangelists such as George Whitefield, John Wesley, and Jonathan Edwards began to hold revivals that had more of a Methodist, Baptist, and Presbyterian influence. They emphasized an individual’s ability

George Whitefield was born into a thespian society and family. His whole world revolved around schoolboy performances. Whitefield paid to put himself through Pembroke College by helping out the wealthier students and by waiting on them. George Whitefield joined a group that called themselves “Methodists” led by the Wesley brothers John and Charles. Whitefield experienced a “new birth” through this new view of the Methodists. Whitefield decided to become a missionary and travelled to the Georgia colony to spread his message of his new found life; however, his ship was delayed and he ended up being ordained as a deacon in the Anglican church. When Whitefield spoke he amassed huge crowds. Whitefield incorporated his thespian career into his sermons to give the audience a more realistic view of what is really going on in the scriptures. When preaching on eternity Whitefield stopped and spoke excitedly "Hark! Methinks I hear [the saints] chanting their everlasting hallelujahs, and spending an eternal day in echoing forth triumphant songs of joy. And do you not long, my brethren, to join this heavenly choir?". Whitefield made it to Georgia and returned to England just three months later; although, when he returned he found out that many churches did not welcome his unconventional preaching methods. Whitefield did not let this stop him- he instead starting to looking for places to preach in the open, outdoors. He felt closer to his audience in this way due to the fact that there was not a paper or a pulpit to keep him from engaging with his audience instead of a physical barrier that stood between him and his audience members. In 1739 Whitefield returned to tour around the American colonies. Whitefield sailed to the “New World” and his first stop was Philadelphia.

George Whitefield (1714-1770) is known as the best evangelist of the eighteenth century and is considered the most influent traveling preacher in the history of Protestantism.12 Whitefield was an ordained minister of the Church of England and during the 1720s along with John and Charles Wesley established a group of men dedicated to seek seriousness in religion and a methodological approach

When Wesley talked about development in holiness, and the fundamental goal of being entire sanctification, he was fixed that sanctification and justification is by faith. In his preaching, “The Scripture Way of Salvation”, Wesley expounded the faith by which Christians are perfected is because God is able, he promised in Scripture, he is willing, and he really does it 1) God has foretold this in Scripture. 2) What God promises, God is able to do. 3) God is capable and willing to manage it right away. 4) God actually answers this. Wesley concluded the sermon by exhorting his audience “expect it by faith, expect it as you are, and expect it now!”

John Gill was one of the most influential theologians during the mid eighteenth century. Gill is often times accused of being a Hyper-Calvinist, and he did affirm the hyper-Calvinist doctrine of eternal justification. Gill’s influence contributed to a Hyper-Calvinistic theological context for Baptist during the eighteenth century. This led to many Baptist claiming that they did not need urge sinners to come to Christ. John Eve was a minister who fell into this category. However, Eve was influential on Andrew Fuller, and when Eve left his church, Fuller became the pastor. Since Eve’s preaching was the only preaching style that Fuller knew at the time, he too left out to urge to call sinners to salvation. While Fuller was the pastor, he began

Being far more consistent than Frelinghuysen, Livingston espoused millennial views which echo a hope that Christians can bring the return of Christ before the year 2000 (A People in Mission, 1-8). Livingston, in his 1804 sermon The Everlasting Gospel, preaches on the Great Fall of Babylon and the apocalyptic doom that could follow. By proselytizing to the world the good news of the Gospel, this apocalypticism can be avoided. Livingston believed that once the entire globe heard the Gospel, the church would enter into the millennial reign (Word and World, 18). Livingston, in his sermon, goes so far as to say that it is the Christian’s duty to live out the Great Commission to foreign lands. But the millennial reign will come about if the church is not being pious; therefore, the church must stress moral and social order—essential piety—so that Jesus will return (Word and World, 112-113). Livingston is known for believing America to be a City on a Hill which, in her pious wisdom, could oversee all foreign mission and evangelize the

John Winthrop and Jonathan Edwards were both religious leaders that lived centuries before the present time. They shared the same goal in persuading people into Christianity, yet differed greatly in the way they chose to develop their sermons. Winthrop, a Puritan who wrote based on new religious and social ideals, composed the famous sermon “A Model of Christian Charity.”

There are many opinions and philosophies concerning the dissemination of the Gospel. Some believe that spreading the Gospel is unnecessary because God chooses a select few to be saved, and that these “elect” are unable to resist God’s grace. Others teach that “lifestyle evangelism” is the correct method of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ. Still others believe that the proper approach of sharing the Gospel is through door-to-door soul winning and through preaching and teaching in the church. One person’s approach to the Gospel that has been widely debated is that of Anne Marbury Hutchinson. Anne was born to a clergyman influenced by the Puritan leaders. Francis Marbury, Anne’s father, disagreed with the church of England and got into trouble with the Anglican leaders on separate occasions. Her father taught Anne the Bible, as a result she received a better education than most of the girls in her time.

Key Issues covered: Wesley's early life and education, Wesley's influences, the Holy club, Moravians, Methodist societies,

Wesley Carr a model of ministry is a way of interpreting life and its’ experiences as moments of

Bonhoeffer told us what we should do in accepting grace and John Wesley gave us the means by which to follow God’s word. He explained what happens after we decide to go after the costly grace. He was the one, in a sense, to break it down into layman’s terms. He saw what had happened with secularization of the Church like Bonhoeffer did but took costly grace and made it understandable as to what the steps to gain that costly grace were.

When Jesus healed the paralyzed man, Jesus said to him that “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” (Matthew 9:2b) Whenever I read this scripture verse, I wondered why he said this way in this healing moment and how forgiveness of sins is related to healing. John Wesley’s theology of healing completes my understanding of salvation. It used to be focused on Wesley’s order of salvation when salvation comes up as a topic in the seminary. It starts with prevenient grace and ends with glorification. In this process of salvation, I didn’t think about the relationship between healing and salvation. His understanding of salvation based on holistic health and healing was something new I learned in this class. It was interesting to see how Wesley was passionate about holistic healing for the people in the world.