Description
An essay about the conversion of John Wesley
John Wesley : Saved by Grace
John Wesley’s early life seemingly pointed to the fact that he would be a man of GOD. Both his maternal and paternal ancestry contained a long heritage of ministers. He was brought up in a good Christian home at the Epworth Rectory under the careful, yet somewhat legalistic tutelage of Susannah Wesley, his mother. During his studies at Oxford he set himself strenuous goals to uphold his righteousness in an attempt to manifest his own salvation. Ordained as Deacon in 1725, founded the Holy Club with his brother Charles in 1729 and set sale to Georgia in 1735 to preach to the natives. Yet, by the time he returned in 1738 he was a spiritually broken man. Despite his best efforts and works his religion was philosophical, dry, legalistic and dead, and in no way experiential or alive.
John Wesley was more than aware of his insufficient faith. On the voyage to Georgia a great tempest rocked the ship he was travelling on. The mast of the ship was broken, the main sail was torn and flapped uncontrollably over the decks and the ship was tossed by the great waves. John and his fellow English passengers panicked and hid for cover, but the Moravian passengers calmly congregated and sang hymns. He wrote “I asked one of them afterwards “Was you not afraid?” He answered “I thank God, no.” I asked “But were not your women and children afraid?” He replied mildly, “No; our women and children are not afraid to die.” He contemplated the issue and concluded “I was very uncertain whether I should wake alive, and much ashamed of my unwillingness to die.”
Continues...
Antonia Saunders, Ebenezer Church, Langley
Bibliography
Collins, Kenneth J., (1999), ‘A Real Christian; The Life Of John Wesley’, Abingdon Press, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
Miller, Basil (1943), ‘John Wesley’, Dimension Books, Bethany Fellowship INC., Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA