In the 18th century, John and Charles Wesley
began an evangelism ministry that changed the face
of history.
The majority of church leaders at the time
were hypocrites to the extreme, and they did
very little to promote holy living amongst the
congregation.
Most of the pulpits in the established church
were off-limits to the brothers, so they
began preaching in the fields.
They reached out to the poor and spoke
to people who had never even seen the
inside of a church.
John believed in the deity of Christ, miracles,
and the supernatural.
He fearlessly preached against the many sins of
his time, especially drunkenness and gambling.
He stressed holy living and sought to bring
sinners to conversion.
John Wesley's contribution to England, and to the
entire world, is immeasurable.
By the end of his life, much of
the ignorance, coarseness, brutality, and drunkenness had disappeared
from English living, and a new vitality came
to the Christian church at large.
This is James Christian, inviting you to listen
to John Wesley's complete unabridged sermons for the
benefit of your soul.
May the Lord bless you, and use these
as a means for prompting and continuing in
holiness.
Sermon 2 is entitled, Almost
Thou Persuadest Me to be a Christian.
Acts 26, 28 And many there are who
go thus far.
Ever since the Christian religion was in the
world, there have been many in every age
and nation who were almost persuaded to be
Christians.
But, seeing it avails nothing before God to
go only thus far, it highly imports us
to consider, first, what is implied in being
almost, secondly, what in being altogether a Christian.
Part 1 Now, in the being almost a
Christian is implied, first, heathen honesty.
No one, I suppose, will make any question
of this, especially since by heathen honesty, here
I mean, not that which is recommended in
the writings of their philosophers only, but such
as the common heathens expected one of another,
and many of them actually practiced.
By the rules of this they were taught
that they ought not to be unjust, not
to take away their neighbor's goods, either by
robbery or theft, not to oppress the poor,
neither to use extortion toward any, not to
cheat or overreach either the poor or rich,
in whatsoever commerce they had with them, to
defraud no man of his right, and, if
it were possible, to owe no man anything.
Again, the common heathens allowed that some regard
was to be paid to truth, as well
as to justice.
And, accordingly, they not only held him an
abomination who was foresworn, who called God to
witness to a lie, but him also who
was known to be a slanderer of his
neighbor, who falsely accused any man.
And, indeed, little better did they esteem willful
liars of any sort, accounting them the disgrace
of humankind and the pests of society.
Yet, again, there was a sort of love
and assistance which they expected one from another.
They expected whatever assistance any one could give
another, without prejudice to himself.
And this they extended, not only to those
little offices of humanity which were performed without
any expense or labor, but, likewise, to the
feeding the hungry, if they had food to
spare, the clothing the naked with their own
superfluous raiment, and, in general, the giving to
any that needed such things as they needed
not themselves.
Thus far, in the lowest account of it,
heathen honesty went.
The first thing implied in being almost a
Christian.
A second thing implied in the being almost
a Christian is the having a form of
godliness, of that godliness which is prescribed in
the gospel of Christ, the having the outside
of a real Christian.
Accordingly, the almost Christian does nothing which the
gospel forbids.
He taketh not the name of God in
vain, he blesseth and curseth not, he sweareth
not at all, but his communication is yea,
yea, nay, nay.
He profanes not the day of the Lord,
nor suffers it to be profaned, even by
the stranger that is within his gates.
He not only avoids all actual adultery, fornication,
and uncleanness, but every word or look that
either directly or indirectly tends thereto, nay, and
all idle words, abstaining both from detraction, backbiting,
tail-bearing, evil-speaking, and from all foolish
talking and jesting.
Utropelia, a kind of virtue in the heathen
moralist's account.
Briefly, from all conversation that is not good
to the use of edifying, and that, consequently,
grieves the Holy Spirit of God, whereby we
are sealed to the day of redemption.
He abstains from wine wherein is excess, from
revelings and gluttony.
He avoids, as much as in him lies,
all strife and contention, continually endeavouring to live
peaceably with all men.
And, if he suffer wrong, he avengeth not
himself, neither returns evil for evil.
He is no railer, no brawler, no scopper,
either at the faults or infirmities of his
neighbour.
He does not willingly wrong, hurt, or grieve
any man, but, in all things, acts and
speaks by that plain rule, Whatsoever thou wouldst
not he should do unto thee, that do
not thou to another.
And, in doing good, he does not confine
himself to cheap and easy offices of kindness,
but labours and suffers for the profit of
many, that by all means he may help
some.
In spite of toil or pain, whatsoever his
hand findeth to do, he doeth it with
his might, whether it be for his friends
or for his enemies, for the evil or
for the good.
For being not slothful in this, or in
any business, as he hath opportunity, he doeth
good, all manner of good, to all men,
and to their souls as well as their
bodies.
He reproves the wicked, instructs the ignorant, confirms
the wavering, quickens the good, and comforts the
afflicted.
He labours to awaken those that sleep, to
lead those whom God hath already awakened, to
the fountain opened for sin and for uncleanness,
that they may wash therein and be clean,
and to stir up those who are saved
through faith, to adorn the gospel of Christ
in all things.
He that hath the form of godliness uses
all the means of grace, yea, all of
them, and at all opportunities.
He constantly frequents the house of God, and
that, not as the manner of some is,
who come into the presence of the Most
High, either loaded with gold and costly apparel,
or in all the gaudy vanity of dress,
and either by their unseasonable civilities to each
other, or the impertinent gaiety of their behaviour,
disclaim all pretensions to the form, as well
as to the power of godliness.
Would to God there were none even among
ourselves who fall under the same condemnation, who
come in to this house, that may be
gazing about, or with the signs of the
most listless, careless indifference, though sometimes they may
seem to use a prayer to God for
His blessing on what they are entering upon,
who, during that awful service, are either asleep,
or reclined in the most convenient posture for
it, or, as though they supposed God was
asleep, talking with one another, or looking round
as utterly void of employment.
Neither let these be accused of the form
of godliness.
No, he who has even this behaves with
seriousness and attention in every part of that
solemn service.
More especially, when he approaches the table of
the Lord, it is not with a light
or careless behaviour, but with an air, gesture
and deportment, which speaks nothing else but, God
be merciful to me, a sinner.
To this, if we add the constant use
of family prayer, by those who are masters
of families, and the setting times apart for
private addresses to God with a daily seriousness
of behaviour, he who uniformly practices this outward
religion has the form of godliness.
There needs but one more thing in order
to his being almost a Christian, and that
is sincerity.
By sincerity I mean a real inward principle
of religion from whence these outward actions flow.
And indeed, if we have not this, we
have not heathen honesty.
No, not so much of it as will
answer the demand of a heathen Epicurean poet.
Even this poor wretch, in his sober intervals,
is able to testify, Good men avoid sin
from the love of virtue.
Wicked men avoid sin from a fear of
punishment.
So that, if a man only abstains from
doing evil in order to avoid punishment, Thou
shalt not be hanged, saith the pagan.
There thou hast thy reward.
But even he will not allow such a
harmless man as this to be so much
as a good heathen.
If, then, any man from the same motive
bids to avoid punishment, to avoid the loss
of his friends, or his gain, or his
reputation, should not only abstain from doing evil,
but also do ever so much good, yea,
and use all the means of grace, yet
we could not with any propriety say this
man is even almost a Christian.
If he has no better principle in his
heart, he is only a hypocrite altogether.
Sincerity, therefore, is necessarily implied in the being
almost a Christian.
A real design to serve God, a hearty
desire to do His will.
It is necessarily implied that a man have
a sincere view of pleasing God in all
things, in all his conversation, in all his
actions, in all he does or leaves undone.
This design, if any man be almost a
Christian, runs through the whole tenor of his
life.
This is the moving principle, both in his
doing good, his abstaining from evil, and his
using the ordinances of God.
But, here, it will probably be inquired, is
it possible that any man living should go
so far as this and nevertheless be only
almost a Christian?
What more than this can be implied in
the being a Christian altogether?
I answer, first, that it is possible to
go thus far and yet be but almost
a Christian, I learn, not only from the
oracles of God, but also from the sure
testimony of experience.
Brethren, great is my boldness toward you in
this behalf, and forgive me this wrong if
I declare my own folly upon the housetop
for yours and the gospel's sake.
Suffer me, then, to speak freely of myself
even as of another man.
I am content to be abased, so ye
may be exalted, and to be yet more
vile for the glory of my Lord.
I did go thus far for many years,
as many of this place can testify, using
diligence to askew all evil and to have
a conscience void of offense, redeeming the time,
buying up every opportunity of doing all good
to all men, constantly and carefully using all
the public and all the private means of
grace, endeavoring after a steady seriousness of behavior
at all times and in all places, and,
God is my record, before whom I stand,
doing all this in sincerity, having a real
design to serve God, a hearty desire to
do His will in all things, to please
Him who had called me to fight the
good fight and to lay hold of eternal
life.
Yet my own conscience beareth me witness in
the Holy Ghost that all this time I
was but almost a Christian.
Part 2 If it be inquired, what more
than this is implied in the being altogether
a Christian, I answer first, the love of
God.
For thus saith His word, Thou shalt love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart
and with all thy soul and with all
thy mind and with all thy strength.
Such a love is this as engrosses the
whole heart, as rikes up all the affections,
as fills the entire capacity of the soul
and employs the utmost extent of all its
faculties.
He that thus loves the Lord his God,
his spirit continually rejoiceth in God his Saviour.
His delight is in the Lord, his Lord
and His all, to whom in everything he
giveth thanks.
All his desire is unto God and to
the remembrance of His name.
His heart is ever crying out, Whom have
I in heaven but Thee?
And there is none upon earth that I
desire beside Thee.
Indeed, what can he desire beside God?
Not the world or the things of the
world, for he is crucified to the world
and the world crucified to him.
He is crucified to the desire of the
flesh, the desire of the eye and the
pride of life.
Yea, he is dead to pride of every
kind, for love is not puffed up, but
he that dwelling in love dwelleth in God
and God in him is less than nothing
in his own eyes.
The second thing implied in the being altogether
a Christian is the love of our neighbour.
For thus said our Lord in the following
words, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.
If any man ask, Who is my neighbour?
We reply, Every man in the world, every
child of his who is the father of
the spirits of all flesh.
Nor may we in any wise accept our
enemies or the enemies of God and their
own souls.
But every Christian loveth these also as himself,
yea, as Christ loved us.
He that would more fully understand what manner
of love this is, may consider St. Paul's
description of it.
It is longsuffering and kind, it envieth not,
it is not rash or hasty in judging,
it is not puffed up, but maketh him
that loves the least and servant of all.
Love doth not behave itself unseemly, but becometh
all things to all men.
She seeketh not her own, but only the
good of others, that they may be saved.
Love is not provoked, it casteth out wrath,
which he who hath is wanting in love.
It thinketh no evil, it rejoiceth not in
iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth.
It covereth all things, believeth all things, hopeth
all things, endureth all things.
There is yet one more thing that may
be separately considered, though it cannot actually be
separate from the preceding, which is implied in
the being altogether a Christian, and that is
the ground of all, even faith.
Very excellent things are spoken of this throughout
the oracles of God.
Everyone, saith the beloved disciple, that believeth, is
born of God.
To as many as received him gave he
power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his name.
And this is the victory that overcometh the
world, even our faith.
Yea, our Lord himself declares, He that believeth
in the Son hath everlasting life, and cometh
not into condemnation, but is passed from death
unto life.
But here let no man deceive his own
soul.
It is diligently to be noted the faith
which brings not forth repentance and love and
all good works is not that right living
faith, but a dead and devilish one.
For even the devils believe that Christ was
born of a virgin, that he wrought all
kinds of miracles, declaring himself very God, that
for our sakes he suffered a most painful
death to redeem us from death everlasting, that
he rose again the third day, that he
ascended into heaven and sitteth at the right
hand of the Father, and at the end
of the world shall come again to judge
both the quick and dead.
These articles of our faith the devils believe,
and so they believe all that is written
in the Old and New Testament.
And yet for all this faith they be
but devils.
They remain still in their damnable estate lacking
the very true Christian faith, homily on the
salvation of man.
The right and true Christian faith is, to
go on the words of our own church,
not only to believe that Holy Scripture and
the articles of our faith are true, but
also to have a sure trust and confidence
to be saved from everlasting damnation by Christ.
It is a sure trust and confidence which
a man hath in God, that by the
merits of Christ his sins are forgiven, and
he reconciled to the favor of God, whereof
doth follow a loving heart to obey his
commandments.
Now, whosoever has this faith which purifies the
heart by the power of God who dwelleth
therein, from pride, anger, desire, from all unrighteousness,
from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, which
fills it with love stronger than death, both
to God and to all mankind, love that
doeth the works of God, glorying to spend
and to be spent for all men, and
that endureth with joy not only the reproach
of Christ, the being mocked, despised, and hated
of all men, but whatsoever the wisdom of
God permits the malice of men or devils
to inflict, whosoever has this faith thus working
by love is not almost only, but altogether
a Christian.
But who are the living witnesses of these
things?
I beseech you, brethren, as in the presence
of that God before whom hell and destruction
are without a covering, how much more the
hearts of the children of men, that each
of you would ask his own heart, Am
I of that number?
Do I so far practice justice, mercy, and
truth as even the rules of heathen honesty
require?
If so, have I the very outside of
a Christian, the form of godliness?
Do I abstain from evil, from whatsoever is
forbidden in the written word of God?
Do I, whatever good my hand findeth to
do, do it with my might?
Do I seriously use all the ordinances of
God at all opportunities?
And is all this done with a sincere
design and desire to please God in all
things?
Are not many of you conscious that you
never came thus far, that you have not
been even almost a Christian, that you have
not come up to the standard of heathen
honesty, at least not to the form of
Christian godliness, much less hath God seen sincerity
in you, a real design of pleasing him
in all things?
You never so much as intended to devote
all your words and works, your business, studies,
diversions to his glory.
You never even designed or desired that whatsoever
you did should be done in the name
of the Lord Jesus, and, as such, should
be a spiritual sacrifice acceptable to God through
Christ.
But, supposing you had, do good designs and
good desires make a Christian?
By no means, unless they are brought to
good effect.
Hell is paid, saith one, with good intentions.
The great question of all, then, still remains.
Is the love of God shed abroad in
your heart?
Can you cry out, My God and my
all?
Do you desire nothing but him?
Are you happy in God?
Is he your glory, your delight, your crown
of rejoicing?
And is this commandment written in your heart,
that he who loveth God love his brother
also?
Do you then love your neighbor as yourself?
Do you love every man, even your enemies,
even the enemies of God, as your own
soul, as Christ loved you?
Yea, dost thou believe that Christ loved thee
and gave himself for thee?
Hast thou faith in his blood?
Believest thou the Lamb of God hath taken
away thy sins and cast them as a
stone into the depth of the sea?
That he hath blotted out the handwriting that
was against thee, taking it out of the
way, nailing it to his cross?
Hast thou indeed redemption through his blood, even
the remission of thy sins?
And doth his Spirit bear witness with thy
spirit that thou art a child of God?
The God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who now standeth in the midst of
us, knoweth that if any man die without
this faith and this love, good it were
for him that he had never been born.
Awake then, thou that sleepest, and call upon
thy God.
Call in the day when he may be
found.
Let him not rest till he make his
goodness to pass before thee, till he proclaim
unto thee the name of the Lord, the
Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, long
-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping
mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and
sin.
Let no man persuade thee by vain words
to rest short of this prize of thy
high calling.
But cry unto him day and night, who,
while we were without strength, died for the
ungodly, until thou knowest in whom thou hast
believed, and canst say, My Lord and my
God.
Remember, always to pray and not to faint,
till thou also canst lift up thy hand
unto heaven and declare to him that liveth
for ever and ever, Lord, thou knowest all
things, thou knowest that I love thee.
May we all thus experience what it is
to be, not almost only, but altogether Christians,
being justified freely by his grace through the
redemption that is in Jesus.
Knowing we have a peace with God through
Jesus Christ, rejoicing in hope of the glory
of God, and having the love of God
shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Ghost given unto us.
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Thank you.