“This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 3:22-24, NIV)
The prevailing emphasis of Scripture is salvation; so it was also John Wesley’s. Yet his emphasis wasn’t solely on confessing, repenting, trusting, and receiving forgiveness; it was much broader. He used the term “salvation” to refer to the entire saving activity of God in human lives. In the Wesleyan Methodist tradition, sometimes we talk of “going on to salvation.” In a letter to his brother in 1738, Wesley wrote,
“Dear Brother…By a Christian I mean one who so believes in Christ that sin hath no more dominion over him; and in this obvious sense of the word I was not a Christian till May 24 last. For till then sin had the dominion over me, although I fought with it continually; but surely then, from that time to this it hath not—such is the free grace of God in Christ.”
For Wesley, the two dynamics of full salvation are justification and sanctification, both works of grace. In justification, we are pardoned and reconciled to God; the restoration of the image of God in us is begun. Justification may be the miracle of a moment, but sanctification is the process of a lifetime. As I’ve written, “The dynamic process of sanctification is to work out in fact what is already true in principle. In position, in our relationship to God in Jesus Christ, we are new persons; that is justification. Now our condition, the actual life we live, must be brought into harmony with our new position. That is the process of sanctification.”
In Wesley’s journal, he repeatedly confirmed personal testimony of salvation broadly at work in the lives of believers.
“The barber who shaved me said, ‘Sir, I praise God on your behalf. When you were at Bolton last, I was one of the most eminent drunkards in town, but I came to listen at the window, and God struck me to the heart. I earnestly prayed for the power against drinking; and God gave me more than I asked. He took away the very desire of it. Yet I felt myself worse and worse, till I could hold out no longer. I knew I must drop into hell that moment unless God appeared to save me. And he did. I knew He loved me, and felt peace. Yet I did not dare to say I had faith, till yesterday twelve-month, God gave me faith; and his love has ever since filled my heart.’”
Going on to salvation, Wesley experienced joy practicing disciplines that once were drudgery. In the societies of the emerging Methodist movement, social service, especially with the poor, became standard.
“I reminded the…society that many had not needful food, were destitute of clothing; were out of business, and that without their fault; many sick and ready to perish; that I had done what in me lay to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, employ the poor, visit the sick; but was not alone sufficient for these things, and therefore desired all whose hearts were as my heart: 1. To bring what clothes each could spare to be distributed. 2. To give a penny, or what they could afford, for relief of the poor and sick. My design is to employ for the present all women who are out of business, and desire it, in knitting. To these we will give the common price for work they do; then add according to need.”
How broad was Wesley’s understanding of salvation, stretching to the entire saving activity of God in human lives!
Moment of Reflection: Are there aspects of Wesley’s “full salvation” missing in your life? Are you going on to salvation?
Prayer: Eternal God, open our hearts to your presence and guide our going on to salvation. Amen.
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