Tag: methodist

John Wesley on Money

John Wesley had strict teachings on the use of money. He pointed out 3 principles: gain all, save all and give all.

1. Gain All You Can
It is a good thing to be able to work. Work is a blessing to God. To Wesley, money should be earned in the right way: honestly, ethically and responsibly. God has entrusted us to be productive and diligent in our work. We are to gain all the money that we can but here is a caution, never at the expense of our health, our soul, or the well-being of others.

2. Save All You Can
Wesley encouraged believers to live simply and avoid unnecessary spending on vanity or personal-comfort. waste money away. Wealth is not to be hoarded for personal comfort or self-indulgence, but  to be stewarded wisely.

3. Give All You Can
Money is an excellent gift from God, but it is not meant for selfish pleasure. Wesley taught that the true purpose of wealth is to bless others, to improve the quality of life for others and to help those in need. He urged Methodists to live frugally so we could give generously.

Money is a powerful tool for doing good—but only when used with the right heart and pure intention.

John Wesley recognised that money is not evil. As the Bible says, “10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Timothy 6:10).

Money itself is not a bad thing. It is a system of value that people agree to use for exchanging goods and services. We buy goods and services using money.

However, is the desire for the excessive of money, and seeing money as the ultimate source of importance and happiness in life which lead people away from God. The desire for wealth can cause someone to do unethical things which will cause many sorrows, regrets and pains to them and those around them.

John Wesley said,“When I have money, I get rid of it quickly, lest it find a way into my heart.”
Of course, he did not mean reckless spending. He meant that money shall have no control over his heart, his life or his ministry.

How shall we invest in the life and the resources God has entrusted to us?

“My Heart Is Strangely Warm”

Aldersgate Sunday is important to us as Methodists because it symbolizes the heart of Methodism: our faith is not just intellectual or ritualistic but our faith is deeply personal and transformative. It transforms us from within because of God’s grace.

On May 24, 1738, John Wesley (the man who started the Methodist movement) reluctantly attended a meeting on Aldersgate Street in London. While the preacher was reading Martin Luther’s preface to the Book of Romans, Wesley recalled:

“I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, 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.”

This moment was the turning point in his life.

Before this experience at the Aldersgate, John Wesley was a dedicated Anglican priest. He was ordained as a priest in the Church of England in 1728 after graduating from his studies at Oxford. He was deeply committed, and passionate about his ministry as an Anglican priest. He never left the Anglican church although he started the Methodist movement.

John Wesley was passionate about his ministry but he actually had doubts and was uncertainty about his own salvation. He knew God with his mind. He had knowledge about God in His mind. But he did not know God with his heart. It was only at Aldersgate, that John Wesley experienced a deep, personal assurance of God’s love and grace.

Before the Aldersgate experience, John Wesley only knew God in his head. Only from this experience, he truly understands the love that comes from God. His ministry was transformed from this point on.

John Wesley changed from a formal, works-based approach to a faith-centered and evangelical approach. This Aldersgate event reignited Wesley’s ministry and as a result, it launched the Methodist revival—a movement focused on transformation, grace, and active discipleship.

Soon after Aldersgate, he began preaching outdoors to reach people who were not attending church. He rode on horseback to preach anywhere he could: in the marketplace, town squares, open field, rural areas. This approach brought the Gospel to thousands, especially among the working class and the poor.

In his lifetime, he travelled around 400,000km on horseback throughout Britain and Ireland, preached more than 40,000 sermons and wrote about 200 books. He also wrote journals.

The impact of the Revival in Britain was immeasurable. It changed the lives of thousands of working class families and the society was slowly transformed for the better. Many historians believed that if not had been for the Methodist revival, Britain might have had a blood revolution like similar to the French Revolution in 1789.

From England, the revival spread to Wales, Scotland and Ireland and later to the United Sates. Today, we have Methodist churches around the world.  

John Wesley said, “the world is my parish”. This means, he would preach anywhere, not confined to a church or to a specific group of people.  He believed that every person, regardless of class, status, or location, deserved to hear the message of salvation. And that God’s love is for all peoples.

Today, we have been deeply blessed by his teachings and his missionary effort to rescue as many souls as he could. I personally am greatly encouraged and blessed as I continue to study his theology as a pastor of the Methodist Church.