John Wesley (1703–91) was an English evangelical clergyman, preacher, and writer. He cofounded Methodism, one of the denominations of Protestant Christianity.
Born in Lincolnshire, England, Wesley was ordained in the Church of England. In 1729, he founded the Holy Club at Oxford with his brother Charles Wesley, the composer of numerous well-known church hymns. The Wesleys’s troupe of devout Christians was designated “Methodists” because they meticulously followed the method of study and practice laid down in the church’s edicts.
In 1738, John Wesley experienced a transformative personal and religious event during a missionary trip to Georgia. Afterward, for over 50 years, Wesley traveled all over Britain on horseback, averaging 5,000 miles every year, preaching thousands of sermons. His particular emphasis on morality, self-discipline, and thrift won over many working-class converts who felt out of touch with the Anglican Church. Wesley’s Journal (1735–90) gives an account of his itinerant preaching.
Despite pervasive support of the Anglican clergy and Wesley’s wish for Methodism to continue within the Church of England, his custom of ordaining his missionaries himself was met with increasing hostility from the Anglican establishment. Eventually, when Wesley was officially restricted from ordaining clergy, the Methodists formally separated from the Church of England in 1791.
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by John Wesley
The Bible knows nothing of solitary religion.
—John Wesley
Topics: Religion, Churches
He who governed the world before I was born shall take care of it likewise when I am dead. My part is to improve the present moment.
—John Wesley
Topics: Present
May I be permitted to add a few words with regard to the poetry? Then I will speak to those who are judges thereof, with all freedom and unreserve. To these I may say, with-out offence, 1. In these hymns there is no doggerel ; no botches ; nothing put in to patch up the rhyme ; no feeble expletives. 2. Here is nothing turgid or bombast, on the one hand, or low and creeping, on the other. 3. here are no cant expressions ; no words without meaning. Those who impute this to us, know not what they say. We talk common sense, both in prose and verse, and use no words but in a fixed and determinate sense. 4. Here are, allow me to say, both the purity, the strength, and the elegance of the English language; and, at the same time, the utmost simplicity and plainness, suited to every capacity. Lastly, I desire men of taste to judge, (these are the only competent judges,) whether there be not in some of the following hymns the true spirit of poetry, such as cannot be acquired by art and labour, but must be the gift of nature. By labour, a man may become a tolerable imitator of Spenser, Shakspeare, or Milton ; and may heap together pretty compound epithets, as pale-eyed, meek-eyed, and the like ; but unless he be born a poet, he will never attain the genuine spirit of poetry.
—John Wesley
Topics: Poetry
Act as if the whole election depended on your single vote.
—John Wesley
Passion and prejudice govern the world, only under the name of reason.
—John Wesley
Topics: Instincts, Prejudice, Reason, Passion
Giving up witchcraft is, in effect, giving up the Bible
—John Wesley
Topics: One liners
Once in seven years I burn all my sermons; for it is a shame if I cannot write better sermons now than I did seven years ago.
—John Wesley
Topics: Authors & Writing
I set myself on fire and people come to watch me burn.
—John Wesley
Topics: Self-Discovery, Motivational, Motivation
Make all you can, save all you can, give all you can.
—John Wesley
Topics: Wealth, Money
My ground is the Bible. Yea, I am a Bible-bigot. I follow it in all things, both great and small.
—John Wesley
Topics: Bible
Get all you can without hunting your soul, your body, or your neighbor. Save all you can, cutting off every needless expense. Give all you can. Be glad to give, and ready to distribute; laying up in store for yourselves a good foundation against the time to come, that you may attain eternal life.
—John Wesley
Topics: Life, Money
That execrable sum of all villainies commonly called the slave-trade.
—John Wesley
Topics: Slavery
When I have money, I get rid of it quickly, lest it find a way into my heart.
—John Wesley
Topics: Money
EARN as much as you can. SAVE as much as you can. INVEST as much as you can. GIVE as much as you can.
—John Wesley
Topics: Charity, Giving
Justifying faith implies, not only a divine evidence or conviction that “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself,” but a sure trust and confidence that Christ died for my sins, that He loved me and gave Himself for me.
—John Wesley
Topics: Faith
Though I am always in haste, I am never in a hurry.
—John Wesley
Topics: Haste
Fierce and poisonous animals were created for terrifying man, in order that he might be made aware of the final judgment in hell.
—John Wesley
Topics: Animals
Bear up the hands that hang down, by faith and prayer, support the tottering knees. Storm the throne of grace and persevere therein, and mercy will come down.
—John Wesley
Topics: Prayer
Do all the good you can,
By all the means you can,
In all the ways you can,
In all the places you can,
At all the times you can,
To all the people you can,
As long as ever you can.
—John Wesley
Topics: Helpfulness, Generosity, Time Management, Kindness, Goodness, Happiness, Action, Value of Time
Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, as long as ever you can.
—John Wesley
The best of it is, God is with us.
—John Wesley
Topics: Famous Last Words, Last Words
My cool judgement is, that if all the other doctrines of devils which have been committed to writing since letters were in the world were collected together in one volume, it would fall short of this; and that, should a Prince form himself by this book, so calmly recommending hypocrisy, treachery, lying, robbery, oppression, adultery, whoredom, and murder of all kinds, Domitian or Nero would be an angel of light compared to that man.
—John Wesley
Cleanliness is indeed next to godliness.
—John Wesley
Topics: Appearance
Beware you be not swallowed up in books! An ounce of love is worth a pound of knowledge.
—John Wesley
Topics: Reading, Books
Catch on fire with enthusiasm and people will come for miles to watch you burn.
—John Wesley
Topics: Enthusiasm
As to matters of dress, I would recommend one never to be first in the fashion nor the last out of it.
—John Wesley
Topics: Dress
Certainly, this is a duty—not a sin.—Cleanliness is, indeed, next to Godliness.
—John Wesley
For many ages it has been allowed by sensible men, Nihil est in intellectu quod non fuit prius in sensu: That is, There is nothing in the understanding which was not first perceived by some of the senses. All the knowledge which we naturally have is originally derived from our senses. And therefore those who want any sense cannot have the least knowledge or idea of the objects of that sense; as they that never had sight have not the least knowledge or conception of light or colours.
—John Wesley
Topics: Perception
As no good is done, or spoken, or thought by any man without the assistance of God, working in and with those that believe in him, so there is no evil done, or spoken, or thought without the assistance of the devil, who worketh with strong though secret power in the children of unbelief.—All the works of our evil nature are the work of the devil.
—John Wesley
When I was young I was sure of everything; in a few years, having been mistaken a thousand times, I was not half so sure of most things as I was before; at present, I am hardly sure of anything but what God has revealed.
—John Wesley
Topics: Doubt, Experience, Uncertainty
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