Superintendent’s Pastoral Letter – May 2023
‘I felt my heart strangely warmed’ – Revd John Wesley
On May 24 each year Christians who practice the Wesleyan/Methodist tradition recall the day that marked a turning point in John Wesley’s life and ministry. A few months after returning to London after a disappointing mission experience in Georgia, Wesley was discouraged and questioning his own faith.
On May 24, 1738 some of Wesley’s friends compelled him to accompany them to a Moravian society meeting in a room on Aldersgate Street, a few blocks away from St. Paul’s Cathedral. We all know what happened that night from the famous quote from Wesley’s journal:
“In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while the leader was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ alone for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and death”.
Wesley’s experience that night was a conversion. He experienced a “conversion” in thinking and understanding about the nature of grace and salvation. That night Wesley realized that forgiveness of sins and acceptance by God (justification) is a free gift. Nothing we can do will every make us worthy or acceptable. God did the work of atonement on the cross in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. On May 24, 1738 Wesley’s was awakened to the truth Paul writes in Ephesians 2:8
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.
Another way of describing Wesley’s experience is to say that at Aldersgate Street he got the order of salvation right.
Prior to May 24 Wesley believed, along with many other Christians, that a person must be made righteous before God would accept him or her; that one must be sanctified before one could be justified. At Aldersgate he realized that justification is a free gift and marks the beginning of the process of sanctification.
Wesley’s experience marks the beginning of the Methodist experience of the evangelical revival that was spreading across Britain at the time. An excellent example of Wesley working out his experience at Aldersgate Street is the sermon he preached at the St. Mary’s Church in Oxford on June 18, 1738: Salvation by Faith
Reading and reflecting upon that sermon is a great way to mark this important day in the Methodist tradition.
Finally, we must also remember that Wesley’s Aldersgate experience was facilitated by his brother, Charles, who had his own very similar experience on May 21. Knowing about Charles’ joy certainly contributed to opening John’s heart to the Holy Spirit’s leading. John also received much help and support from his friends. They were Anglican and Moravian preachers, priests, and lay people who met with him to read Scripture, converse, pray, eat and drink in Christian fellowship. They walk with him through one of the lowest periods of his adult life. Wesley’s friends compelled him to accompany them to the Aldersgate Street society meeting. This tells us that faith is deeply personal, but it is not private. As Christians, we are responsible for our sisters and brothers in Christ.
Methodism a fast-growing movement around the world – 80 million + Methodists. Methodism originated as a revival movement in the Church of England in the 18th century and became a separate denomination after Wesley’s death. The movement spread throughout the British Empire, the United States, Africa and Asia and beyond because of vigorous missionary work, and today has about 80 million adherents worldwide. All of this is from one heart-warming experience. When asked why God raised up the people called Methodists, Wesley replied, “To reform the nation, particularly the church, and to spread scriptural holiness over the land.” I believe we exist for just such a purpose. Look around. Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we heeded our call to spread scriptural holiness, a heartfelt experience of salvation, and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to follow Jesus in thought, word, and deed?
I hope you feel your heart warmed by God’s love and share his love with others so they, too, can know the transformation of God’s grace.
HAPPY WESLEY DAY ( Aldersgate Day – 24th May 2023)
Revd David Jebb
Superintendent Minister of St Albans & Welwyn Circuit