Wesley and Men Who Followed

Although I have sung many hymns of his brother Charles - I never got round to reading a biography of John Wesley. So when I saw this one by Iain Murray I thought I would give it a crack. I have read a few books by Iain Murray - primarily his biographical books about Dr Martin Lloyd-Jones - which I really enjoyed - I rate him as an author. I know that, for obvious reasons, Iain Murray could not be as intimate with Wesley as he was with Lloyd-Jones - so I was quite curious to see how he would go - particularly as I have his biography of Jonathan Edwards to read at some stage too. At 250 odd pages this is not a huge book - and given that its scope is quite wide it cannot be an in depth biography of the man. What the book does do however is allow the reader to get a decent enough look at Wesley and at three church leaders who after his death typified the leaders who kept the momentum of Methodism going. As well as this the book covers off some of the salient theological concerns with the movement before concluding. The three leaders Iain Murray focused on were William Bramwell, Gideon Ouseley, and Thomas Collins. I found the portion of Gideon Ouseley very good and rather amusing at times. As I mentioned the book looks at some of the bigger theological concerns with John Wesley which arguably impacted on the movement in later years, namely justification and Christian perfectionism. With regards to justification the complaint against Wesley was that, very simply put, he at times scrubbed out the idea of sanctification rolling it all into justification - the upshot of it all was that at times he promoted the idea of Christian perfectionism in the here and now - arguing that the only sins the converted Christian can commit are those of ignorance. Murray rattles off some positively dangerous comments Wesley made on these topics. With some of these issues it proved quite hard to pin Wesley down - he was not one to be into expository preaching or writing commentaries or anything and when it came to perusing the minimal doctrinal statements he did make could be accused of being inconsistent. Although to be fair - one thing's for sure though with Wesley you see clearly that he was a man for his time - in many of the established churches of the age there was a blight of sedentary churches who were, when it came to the kingdom of God, as useful as a solar powered flashlight. If nothing else he along with George Whitfield gave the church at large a gigantic kick in the pants when it came to living an active faith. To close I particularly enjoyed the last chapter which brought us up to date with a brief synopsis of how and why the Methodist movement has suffered so within the last 100 years. I only wish this could have been expanded a little bit. That being said I think this is a good first up biography on John Wesley.

John Wesley's legacy stands today through the large selection of hymns, writings, sermons and even the continuation of Methodism, the sect of Christian pietists that originated with Wesley. However, whenever I drive by a Methodist church I have often wondered what Wesley was really like and what happened. This is why I was excited to find out that Banner of Truth put out a biography of Wesley by Iain Murray. I was curious to open this book and see how a Reformed guy like Murray would portray the life of a noted Arminian like John Wesley. I was impressed with Murray's attention to the facts and seemingly balanced interaction with Wesly's life. Wesley was indeed no friend of Calvinism. In fact he said of the Reformed theology, "Calvinism is the enemy." And even further, that Calvinism was "thrown our way by Satan." Murray helpfully points out that it was John's mother, Susanna, who really helped forge his theological views. It was Susanna who repeatedly corresponded with her son articulating her resistance to the doctrines of grace. Wesley took to the open fields as a response to the dissatisfaction of the church of England. He had traveled to America as a missionary to the Indians. It was during this trip that Wesley believed that he was converted. This season in 1738 is repeatedly referred to by Wesley as his conversion time. During his younger years George Whitfield spent a considerable time with Wesley. Their relationship was extremely close and this was exemplified by the care with which they corresponded by letter. Their differences lied primarily in the doctrines of grace, and each of them, Whitfield and Wesley became somewhat of a public spokesman for their respective views. The differences between Wesley and Whitfield (and others such as Augustus Toplady) are extremely interesting to read. Murray also provides a detailed chapter on Wesley's views on Justification, Sanctification, and the relationship between the Holy Spirit and Scripture. At the end of the day you have to acknowledge Wesley's seemingly good motives to promote the gospel to the ends of the earth. However, it is instructive to note that the movement was not built primarily on sound biblical interpretation and application but rather leaned heavily on subjectivity. I recommend reading this book to see the necessity to contend for clarity with the gospel and to ensure that we are grounded in and on the unchanging Word of God.

Iain H. Murray, a prolific author and excellent historian who has given us substantial biographies on four great Evangelical Calvinists - Jonathan Edwards (Jonathan Edwards: A New Biography), D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (The First Forty Years and The Fight of Faith), Arthur W. Pink (The Life of Arthur W. Pink), and John Murray (The Life of John Murray), as well as two books on the theology of Charles Haddon Spurgeon (The Forgotten Spurgeon and Spurgeon v. Hyper-Calvinism), three books on revival (The Puritan Hope, Revival and Revivalism, and Pentecost Today?), and two on Christian history (Australian Christian Life from 1788: An Introduction & An Anthology and Evangelicalism Divided) - now turns his hand towards the great Evangelical Arminian and founder of what eventually became the Methodist church, John Wesley. As with his earlier writings, this book is not mere historiography. It is a critical, yet kind, reflection on the life and labors, piety and theology, of the man who, along with George Whitefield, was the primary human instrument used of God in the Evangelical Great Awakening of the eighteenth century. Murray's book is divided into four parts. Part one addresses Wesley himself in five chapters which cover the main movements of his life and the primary features of his thought and ministry. Chapter one, "From Oxford Don to Open-Air Preacher," chronicles the story of Wesley's conversion and explores the various influences upon Wesley's religious thought. Murray tracks Wesley's spiritual journey from his birth in 1703 to his ordination as a deacon in the Church of England in 1725, then his unfruitful missionary labors among the Indians in North America in 1735, on to the decisive Aldersgate experience in 1738 where Wesley heard someone read Luther's Preface to the Epistle of Romans and felt his heart "strangely warmed" and came to "trust in Christ, Christ alone for salvation" (8). "From this point," writes Murray, "Wesley was a changed man" (9) - and the change evidenced itself in Wesley's preaching, prayer and praise (9-12). Murray then explores the various religious influences in Wesley's life, including the Puritan heritage of his family, Bishop Jeremy Taylor (one of Wesley's favorite authors), the writings of mystics such as William Law and Thomas a'Kempis, and finally the Moravians, "devout emigrants and missionaries from the evangelical settlements led by Count Zinzendorf and others in Germany" (19), whose witness in route to Savannah, Georgia was so instrumental in leading Wesley to evangelical faith. This first chapter ends by focusing on the consequences, both in his family and his ministry, which followed the great change in Wesley's life. Chapter two, "Kingdoms on a Blaze," gives attention to Wesley's role in the revival and spiritual awakening of the 1740s. Murray recounts how Wesley preached to vast numbers of people (an estimated fifty thousand in one open-air meeting in London!), how the "constant theme" of his preaching was

A previous reviewer said: "With all this in mind, it is important to view Murray's book as an apologetic work, not solely of John Wesley or his preachers, but of Evangelical Arminianism." Such a comment makes one wonder if this reviewer actually read the work! Murray, far from offering an apologetic for Wesley, offers us a wonder critique of Wesley's misunderstanding of Calvinism. At the end of the day, if you want to call this book an "apologetic" as opposed to a "history", you have to conclude that it is an apologetic for Calvinism! Murray writes in his chapter on Wesley's conflict with Calvinism, that Wesley critiqued Calvinism as being against both holy living and evangelism. Murray goes on to show how Calvinism believes in both holy living and evangelism - exposeing Wesley's misunderstanding. That said, Murray is very charitable toward Wesley at certain points. He makes it clear that Wesley, although mistaken on Perfectionism and on assurance (among other things), he was a champion of grace and the doctrine of justification by faith alone. So, while Wesley's theology has great weaknesses, we can - and should - be able to appreciate his vehement efforts to evangelize the lost. Wesley as preacher was at his best, certainly better than Wesley as theologian. Read this book, its the best out there on an important historical figure from a Reformed perspective.

Written by Iain H. Murray (a veteran minister of the Presbyterian Church), Wesley And Men Who Followed is an informed and informative study of the life and teachings of John Wesley, the Christian intellectual, and evangelist who was also an Oxford Don. Biographer Murray's extensive and scholarly research draws especially from Methodist sources to reveal the reverberating relevance that John Wesley's life and work have on the present-day Christian church. A thought-provoking biographically oriented account, Wesley And Men Who Followed is a welcome and scholarly addition to Christian History collections in general, and Methodist Studies reading lists in particular.