Archive: What John Wesley Might Say to the United Methodist Church

By Rober Tuttle

“There is nothing new under the sun” (ECC. 1:9). The Hebrew Scriptures would seem to suggest that John Wesley’s words to the church of the 18th century are just as relevant now as they were in Wesley’s day. To be sure, he has just as much at stake.

Although United Methodism has not been a Wesleyan church for more than 75 years, Wesley’s words are gaining fresh authority among many Methodists today. Once again the Church in general and the United Methodist Church in particular seem ready to listen. After all, people today still need salvation; Wesley speaks to that. People today still need to fear sin as much as death and hell; Wesley speaks to that. People today still oppress each other; Wesley speaks to that. People today still need fellowship and accountability; Wesley speaks to that. People today still need to experience love as the beginning and end of their faith in Jesus Christ; Wesley speaks to that as well. Let me illustrate.

In the year that Wesley died (1791) he edited and reprinted the Large Minutes for circulation within the Methodist connection. With a few editorial adjustments for clarification we can use that document to test the theory that Wesley’s admonitions to early Methodism are just as relevant for United Methodism today as they were in Wesley’s time, perhaps painfully so:

“Personal religion either toward God or man is amazingly superficial among us.

“I can but just touch on a few generals. How little faith is there among us! How little communion with God! How little living in heaven, walking in eternity, deadness to every creature! How much love of the world, desire of pleasure, of ease, of getting money! How little brotherly love! What continual judging one another! What gossiping, evil-speaking, tale-bearing! What want of moral honesty!

“And the Methodists in general will be little the better, till we take quite another course with them [our people]. For what avails public preaching alone, though we could preach like angels? We must, yea, every traveling preacher must, instruct them from house to house. Till this is done, and done in good earnest, the Methodists will be little better than other people. Our religion is not deep, universal, uniform; but superficial, partial, uneven. It will be so till we spend half as much time in this visiting as we now do in talking uselessly.

“In ourselves there is much dullness and laziness, so that there will be much ado to get us to be faithful in the work.

“We have a base, man-pleasing temper; so that we let men perish rather than lose their love. We let them go quietly to hell, lest we should anger them.

“Some of us have also a foolish bashfulness. We know not how to begin and blush to contradict the devil.

“But the greatest hindrance is weakness of faith. Our whole motion is weak because the spring of it is weak.

“Lastly, we are unskillful in the work. How few know how to deal with men so as to get within them and suit all our discourse to their several conditions and tempers; to choose the fittest subjects and follow them with a holy mixture of seriousness, and terror, and love, and meekness!

“Too many of them [our people] will be unwilling to be taught, till we conquer their perverseness by the force of reason and the power of love. …

“And it is still harder to fix things on their hearts, without which all our labour is lost. If you have not, therefore, great seriousness and fervency, what good can you expect? And, after all, it is grace alone that must do the work.

“And when we have made some impressions on their hearts, if we look not after them they will soon die away.

“But as great as this labour of private instruction is, it is absolutely necessary. For, after all our preaching, many of our people are almost as ignorant as if they had never heard the gospel. I speak as plain as I can, yet I frequently meet with those who have been my hearers many years who know not whether Christ be God or man. And how few are there that know the nature of repentance, faith and holiness! Most of them have a sort of confidence that God will save them, while the world has their hearts. I have found by experience that one of these has learned more from one hour’s close discourse than from ten years’ public preaching.

“And undoubtedly this private application is implied in those solemn words of the apostle: ‘I charge thee, before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and dead at his appearing, preach the word, be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering.’

“O brethren, if we could but set this work on foot in all our societies and prosecute it zealously, what glory would redound to God! If the common ignorance were banished and every shop and every house busied in speaking of the word and works of God, surely God would dwell in our habitations and make us His delight.

“And this is absolutely necessary to the welfare of our people, many of whom neither believe nor repent to this day. Look round and see how many of them are still in apparent danger of damnation. And how can you walk and talk and be merry with such people when you know their case? Methinks, when you look them in the face, you should break forth into tears. … O, for God’s sake and for the sake of poor souls, bestir yourselves and spare no pains that may conduce to their salvation!

“What cause have we to bleed before the Lord this day, that we have so long neglected this good work! If we had but set upon it sooner how many more might have been brought to Christ? And how much holier and happier might we not have made our societies before now? And why might we not have done it sooner? There were many hindrances, and there always will be. But the greatest hindrance was in ourselves, in our littleness of faith and love.”

Relevant? Not only for the United Methodist Church but for all of us! Is it not time to repent and renew our faith and trust in Jesus Christ that we might experience renewal in the church—beginning with me?

All quotations are taken from Wesley’s Works, Vol. 8, pp. 302 ff (Jackson, 3rd edition).

Robert Tuttle is professor of evangelism at Garrett- Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, and is a contributing editor to Good News.