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John Wesley’s Sermon “Catholic Spirit”: A Brief Summary

11 Wednesday Aug 2021

Posted by Kevin M. Watson in Uncategorized

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"Catholic Spirit", John Wesley, John Wesley Sermons, sermons

John Wesley, Justification by Faith

This is the 34th sermon in this series. It is very encouraging to see how many people are reading these posts and clicking through to read the sermon itself. Just joining the growing number of people reading these sermons? Feel free to start at the beginning by reading the first sermon by John Wesley in this series, “Salvation by Faith,” or jump right in with us!


Background:

Did you know that many of John Wesley’s sermons are part of the formal doctrinal teaching of multiple Wesleyan/Methodist denominations? Wesley’s sermons have particular authority because these were the main way he taught Methodist doctrine and belief.

“Catholic Spirit” is the 34th sermon of the Wesleyan Standard Sermons. Of all of Wesley’s sermons, “Catholic Spirit” may be the most frequently cited today by contemporary Methodists. In my view, the sermon is often misused to justify a big-tent vision for Methodism. But the sermon is intentionally titled “Catholic Spirit” and not “Methodist Spirit.” In other words, the sermon provides a vision for how Christians can extend love and goodwill towards one another when they disagree on matters of belief and practice that prevent them from being in the same denomination. Click here and here to read posts I’ve written that unpack how this sermon is often misused or misunderstood. This is a powerful and convicting sermon when Wesley’s words are read carefully and on their own terms.

In hopes of sparking interest in Wesley’s sermons and Methodism’s doctrinal heritage, here is my very short summary of “Catholic Spirit.” I hope it will inspire you to read the sermon in its entirety yourself. Links to the sermon and other resources are included at the end of this post.


Key quote: 

“But while he is steadily fixed in his religious principles in what he believes to be the truth as it is in Jesus; while he firmly adheres to that worship of God which he judges to be most acceptable in his sight; and while he is united by the most tender and close ties to one particular congregation, his heart is enlarged toward all mankind, those he knows and those he does not; he embraces with strong and cordial affection both neighbours and strangers, friends and enemies. This is catholic or universal love. And he that has this is of a catholic spirit. For love alone gives the title to this character: catholic love is a catholic spirit. [III.4]


One sentence summary:  

This sermon describes the love and good-will that Christians ought to have towards one another across denominational or confessional lines; they can be united in love though they cannot be united in one body.


Scripture passage for the sermon:

“And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rehab coming to meet him. And he saluted him and said, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand.”

– 2 Kings 10:15


Outline of “Catholic Spirit”

1. The royal law of love is due to all mankind.
2. We have a special obligation to love God.
3. Daily experience shows that people do not love one another as God has commanded. This is because “they cannot all think alike” and “they cannot all walk alike.”
4. “But although a difference in opinions or modes of worship may prevent an entire external union, yet need it prevent our union in affection? Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike?”
5. Wesley introduces the Scripture he chose for the sermon as a way into his “Catholic spirit”

I. First, “Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart?”
1. There is no questioning at the outset of Jehonadab’s opinions, though there were certainly points of difference.
2. Jehu “lets Jehonadab abound in his own sense.”
3. “It is an unavoidable consequence of the present weakness and shortness of human understanding that several men will be of several minds, in religion as well as in common life.”
4. Everyone believes that their opinions are true. But we cannot be certain that all of our opinions are true. Indeed, some of them are almost certainly false. But we don’t know which ones, or we would change our minds.
5. “Who can tell how far invincible ignorance… may extend.”
6. “Every wise man, therefore, will allow others the same liberty of thinking which he desires they should allow him; and will no more insist on their embracing his opinions than he would have them to insist on his embracing theirs.”
7. Secondly, Jehu did not question Jehonadab’s way of worshipping.
8. “As long as there are various opinions, there we be various ways of worshiping God; since a variety of opinion necessarily implies a variety of practice.”
9. How do we choose among so much variety of belief and practice? “No man can choose for, or prescribe to, another. But everyone must follow the dictates of his own conscience, in simplicity and godly sincerity.”
10. “Although every follower of Christ is obliged… to be a member of some particular congregation… none can be obliged by any power on earth but that of his own conscience to prefer this or that congregation to another, this or that particular manner of worship.”
11. “I dare not, therefore, presume to impose my mode of worship on any other.” Wesley also includes form of church government, liturgy or form of prayer, posture and manner of receiving the Lord’s Supper, and administration of baptism in this category.
12. What is, then, implied in the question: “Is your heart right, as my heart is with your heart?” First: “Is your heart right with God?” Wesley here includes a variety of doctrines as required: “Do you believe his being and his perfections? HIs eternity, immensity, wisdom, power?”
13. “Do you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ?” Wesley again includes here a litany of questions that require affirmative assent, such as “Having absolutely relinquished all your own works, your own righteousness, have you ‘submitted yourself to the righteousness of God which is by faith in Christ Jesus?'”
14. “Do you love God… ‘with all your heart, and with all your mind, and with all your soul, and with all your strength’? … Has the love of God cast the love of the world out of your soul?”
15. “Are you employed in doing not your own will, but the will of him that sent you?”
16. “Are you more afraid of displeasing God than of either death or hell?”
17. “Is your heart right toward your neighbor? Do you love as yourself, all mankind, without exception?”
18. “Do you show your love by your works? While you have time, as you have opportunity, do you in fact ‘do good to all men?'”

II. “If it be, give me your hand.”
1. “I do not mean, ‘Be of my opinion.'”
2. “I do not mean, ‘Embrace my modes of worship,’ or, ‘I will embrace yours.’… We must both act as each is fully persuaded in his own mind. He includes form or government or church polity, infant baptism, and communion in the category where differences do not prevent “catholic spirit.”[This is a key paragraph that shows that Wesley could not have intended this paragraph to apply for relationships within one denomination, but was intended to be applied across denominations.]
3. “I mean, first, love me.”
4. “Love me… with the love that is long-suffering and kind; that is patient.”
5. “I mean, secondly, commend me to God in all your prayers.”
6. “I mean, thirdly, provoke me to love and to good works.”
7. “I mean, lastly, love me not in word only, but in deed and truth.”
8. “Two things should be observed with regard to what has been spoken under this last head: One, that whatever love, whatever offices of love, whatever spiritual or temporal assistance, I claim from him whose heart is right, as my heart is with his, the same I am ready, by the grace of God, according to my measure, to give him: Two, that I have not made this claim on behalf of myself alone, but of all who heart is right toward God and man, that we may all love one another as Christ has loved us.”

III. From the previous, we can learn what a “catholic spirit” is.
1. “There is scarcely any expression which has been more grossly misunderstood, and more dangerously misapplied, than this: but it will be easy for any who calmly considered the preceding observations to correct any such misapprehensions of it, and to prevent any such misapplication.
… First, a catholic spirit is not speculative latitudinarianism. It is not an indifference to all opinions: this is the spawn of hell, not the offspring of heaven. This unsettledness of thought, this being ‘driven to and fro, and tossed about with every wind of doctrine,’ is a great curse, not a blessing; an irreconcilable enemy, not a friend, to true catholicism.
2. Second, “a catholic spirit is not any kind of practical latitudinarianism. It is not indifference as to public worship, or as to the outward manner of performing it.
3. Third, “a catholic spirit is not indifference to all congregations.
4. “But while he is steadily fixed in his religious principles in what he believes to be the truth as it is in Jesus; while he firmly adheres to that worship of God which he judges to be most acceptable in his sight; and while he is united by the most tender and close ties to one particular congregation, his heart is enlarged toward all mankind, those he knows and those he does not; he embraces with strong and cordial affection both neighbours and strangers, friends and enemies. This is catholic or universal love. And he that has this is of a catholic spirit. For love alone gives the title to this character: catholic love is a catholic spirit.
5. “A mean of a catholic spirit is one who… gives his hand to all whose hearts are right with his heart.”
6. “You, O man of God, think on these things! If you are already in this way, go on. If you have until now mistaken the path, thank God who has brought you back! And now run the race which is set before you, in the royal way of universal love. Take heed, lest you be either wavering in your judgment or hardened in your sympathies: but keep an even pace, rooted in the faith once delivered to the saints, and grounded in love, in true catholic love, till you are swallowed up in love for ever and ever!”


Resources:

Read “Catholic Spirit” in its entirety.

Check out my brief summaries of the first thirty-three Standard Sermons:

“Salvation by Faith”

“The Almost Christian”

“Awake, Thou That Sleepest”

“Scriptural Christianity“

“Justification by Faith“

“The Righteousness of Faith“

“The Way to the Kingdom“

“The First-Fruits of the Spirit“

“The Spirit of Bondage and of Adoption“

“The Witness of the Spirit, I“

“The Witness of Our Own Spirit“

“The Means of Grace“

“The Circumcision of the Heart“

“The Marks of the New Birth“

“The Great Privilege of those that are Born of God“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the First“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Second“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Third“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Fourth“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Fifth“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Sixth“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Seventh“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Eighth“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Ninth“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Tenth“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Eleventh“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Twelfth“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Thirteenth“

“The Original, Nature, Properties, and Use of the Law“

“The Law Established through Faith, I“

“The Law Established through Faith, II“

“The Nature of Enthusiasm“

“A Caution against Bigotry“


I highly recommend the critical edition of Wesley’s sermons, which has excellent references that show his reliance on Scripture throughout his preaching. There are four volumes if you want every known Wesley sermon. The sermon outlined in this post is in volume II. These books aren’t cheap, but this is the most important publication by Abingdon since its release. And they are designed to last. Highly recommended!

There is also a three volume edition of Wesley’s sermons in modern English, which is easier to read if you find the 18th century English frustrating. Here is the first volume.

William J. Abraham has just published a three volume edition of the 44 Standard Sermons, with his own commentary. I just received my copy and am very excited to get into them! Check them out here. We are now in the third volume of Abraham’s edition.


Kevin M. Watson is a professor at Candler School of Theology, Emory University. He teaches, writes, and preaches to empower community, discipleship, and stewardship of our heritage. Click here to get future posts emailed to you. Affiliate links used in this post.

John Wesley’s Sermon “A Caution against Bigotry”: A Brief Summary

13 Tuesday Apr 2021

Posted by Kevin M. Watson in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

"A Caution against Bigotry", John Wesley, John Wesley Sermons, sermons

John Wesley, Justification by Faith

This is the 33rd sermon in this series. It is very encouraging to see how many people are reading these posts and clicking through to read the sermon itself. Just joining the growing number of people reading these sermons? Feel free to start at the beginning by reading the first sermon by John Wesley in this series, “Salvation by Faith,” or jump right in with us!


Background:

Did you know that many of John Wesley’s sermons are part of the formal doctrinal teaching of multiple Wesleyan/Methodist denominations? Wesley’s sermons have particular authority because these were the main way he taught Methodist doctrine and belief.

“A Caution against Bigotry” is the 33rd sermon of the Wesleyan Standard Sermons. This sermon is written in the context of Wesley’s leadership of Methodism as a renewal movement within the Church of England and the tensions that were often just below the surface between his ordination as a priest in the Church of England and his leadership of Methodism. Wesley’s use of lay preachers, in particular, was controversial and is an important part of the background of this sermon [see III.5-12 of this sermon]. In other words, the sermon should be read in part as an appeal for not interfering with lay preachers whose ministry bears fruit [they are “casting out devils”] by leaders within the Church of England. The sermon has a variety of intriguing applications in the contemporary context.

In hopes of sparking interest in Wesley’s sermons and Methodism’s doctrinal heritage, here is my very short summary of “A Caution against Bigotry.” I hope it will inspire you to read the sermon in its entirety yourself. Links to the sermon and other resources are included at the end of this post.


Key quote: 

‘But what is a sufficient, reasonable proof that a man does (in the sense above) cast out devils?’ The answer is easy. Is there full proof, first, that a person before us was a gross, open sinner? Secondly, that he is not so now; that he has broke off his sins, and lives a Christian life? And thirdly, that his change was wrought by his hearing this man preach? If these three points be plain and undeniable, then you have sufficient, reasonable proof, such as you cannot resist without willful sin, that this man casts out devils. [III.3]


One sentence summary:  

This sermon warns against interfering with the work of people outside of your own tribe whom God is using to bring sinners to repentance and from evil to good.


Scripture passage for the sermon:

“And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and we forbade him, because he followeth not us. And Jesus said, Forbid him not.”

– Mark 9: 38-39


Outline of “A Caution against Bigotry”

1. Wesley introduces the context of Mark 9: 38-39.
2. What is the relevance of this passage, “Seeing no man now ‘casts out devils”?
3. This sermon will show “first, in what sense men may, and do now, ‘cast out devils’; secondly, what we may understand by, ‘He followeth not us.’ I shall thirdly, explain our Lord’s direction, “Forbid him not,’ and conclude with an inference from the whole.”

I. First, “in what sense men may, and do now, ‘cast out devils.'”
1. “We should remember that (according to the scriptural account) as God dwells and works in the children of light, so the devil dwells and works in the children of darkness.”
2. The devil is one “who ‘ruleth the darkness’ or wickedness ‘of this world’, of worldly men and all their dark designs and actions, by keeping possession of their hearts, setting up his throne there, and bringing every thought into obedience to himself.”
3. “It is therefore an unquestionable truth that the god and prince of this world still possesses all who know not God… It was then his aim to drive mankind into superstition. Therefore he wrought as openly as he could. But ’tis his aim to drive us into infidelity. Therefore he works as privately as he can; for the more secret he is, the more he prevails.”
4. “There are countries even now where he works as openly as aforetime… But with you he is pursuing a different point. He is to make you idolize yourselves, to make you wiser in your own eyes than God himself, than all the oracles of God.”
5. “The prince of darkness therefore does not appear while he rules over these his willing subjects. The conqueror holds his captives so much the safer because they imagine themselves at liberty. Thus the ‘strong one armed keepeth his house, and his goods are in peace’: neither the deist nor nominal Christian suspects he is there; so he and they are perfectly at peace with each other.”
6. “He blinds the eyes of their understanding so that the light of the glorious gospel of Christ cannot shine upon them. He chains their souls down to earth and hell with the chains of their own vile affections. He binds them down to the earth by love of the world, love of money, of pleasure, of praise. And by pride, envy, anger, hate, revenge, he causes their souls to draw nigh unto hell; acting the more secure and uncontrolled because they know not that he acts at all.”
7. Wesley uses the example of “the admired, the virtuous Romans” to show how easily we can see the “cause from its effects.”
8. Dion Cassius is cited to illustrate the “gluttony and lewdness” of Rome.
9. “As gross and palpable are the works of the devil among many (if not all) the modern heathens.”
10. “It were to be wished that none but heathens had practised such gross, palpable works of the devil. But we dare not say so. Even in cruelty and bloodshed, how little have the Christians come behind them!… Our own countrymen, too, have wantoned in blood, and exterminated whole nations: plainly proving thereby what spirit it is that dwells and works in the children of disobedience.”
11. “These monsters might almost make us overlook the works of the devil that are wrought in our own country. But, alas! We cannot open our eyes even here without seeing them on every side. It is small proof of his power that common swearers, drunkards, whoremongers, adulterers, thieves, robbers, sodomites, murderers, are still found in every part of our land?”
12. “He less openly but no less effectually works in dissemblers, talebearers, liars, slanderers; in oppressors and extortioners; in the perjured, the seller of his friend, his honor, his conscience, his country.”
13. “If you consider this you cannot but see in what sense men may now also ‘cast out devils’; yea, and every minister of Christ does cast them out, if his Lord’s work prosper in his hand. By the power of God attending his Word he brings these sinners to repentance: an entire inward as well as outward change, from all evil to all good. And this is in a sound sense to ‘cast out devils,’ out of the souls wherein they had hitherto dwelt.”
14. “All this is indeed the work of God. It is God alone who can cast out Satan. But he is generally pleased to do this by man, as an instrument in his hand.”

II. What does Mark 9: 38-39 mean by “He followeth not us.”
1. At one level, it means it is someone we do not know.
2. At another level it may mean, “He is not of our party.”
3. Third, it may mean, “He differs from us in our religious opinions.” Given the variety of Christian traditions, it is not surprising that there are many different opinions in the Christian church.
4. Fourth, the phrase may refer to difference in practice (such as the administration of the sacrament). “Now the unavoidable consequence of any of these differences will be that he who thus differs from us must separate himself with regard to those points from our society. In this respect therefore ‘he followeth not us;’ he is ‘not (as we phrase it) of our church.'”
5. “In a far stronger sense ‘he followeth not us’ who is not only of a different church, but of such a church as we account to be in many respects anti scriptural and antichristian: a church which we believe to be utterly false and erroneous in her doctrines, as well as very dangerously wrong in her practice.”
6. Once there is disagreement in opinions and practice, sharpness and bitterness often arise. “An almost necessary consequence of this will be, they will speak in the same manner as they think of us. They will set themselves in opposition to us, and, as far as they are able hinder our work, seeing it does not appear to them to be the work of God, but either of man or of the devil.”
7. Wesley thinks the Gospel of Mark means it in a lower sense, but he put it in the strongest terms possible so that “being forewarned of the temptation in its full strength we may in no case yield to it and fight against God.”

III. An explanation of Jesus’s command “Forbid him not.”
1. If we see someone we don’t know and is not a part of our Church, who differs from us in judgment, practice, and affection, “casting out devils” we should not interfere with their work.
2. Because of our own prejudices, it will be very difficult for us to believe someone who is not apart of us is indeed “casting out devils.”
3. What is the proof that someone has “cast out devils?” “The answer is easy. Is there full proof, first, that a person before us was a gross, open sinner? Secondly, that he is not so now; that he has broke off his sins, and lives a Christian life? And thirdly, that his change was wrought by his hearing this man preach? If these three points be plain and undeniable, then you have sufficient, reasonable proof, such as you cannot resist without willful sin, that this man casts out devils.”
4. If so, “forbid him not.” If you succeeded in interfering with this work and convinced the person to stop, “many souls might perish in their iniquity, but their blood would God require at your hands.”
5. Don’t forbid laity from “casting out devils.”
6. Wesley engages the concern “I do not know that he is sent of God.” He responds by citing John 9: 30, 33.
7. Wesley argues that it is “highly expedient” that preachers have and outward as well as an inward call. But he denies that it is “absolutely necessary.”
8. Wesley argues that the apostolic age gives warrant for lay preaching. [Wesley used lay preachers extensively, which was controversial within the Church of England.]
9. Before someone is ordained, their lives should be examined to see if they are “holy and unblameable.” And they should be given a chance to preach to see “whether they have such gifts as are absolutely and indispensably necessary in order to edify the church of Christ.”
10. “‘But what if a man has these? And has brought sinners to repentance? And yet the bishop will not ordain him?’ Then the bishop does ‘forbid him to cast out devils.’ But I dare not forbid him.”
11. “And whosoever thou art that dearest God, ‘forbid him not,’ either directly or indirectly.”
12. “Yea, if you would observe our Lord’s direction in its full meaning and extent, then remember his word, ‘He that is not for us is against us, and he that gatherers not with me, scattereth.’ He that gathereth not men into the kingdom of God assuredly scatters them from it. For there can be no neuter in this war: everyone is either on God’s side or on Satan’s.”

IV. “If we willingly fail in any of these points, if we either directly or indirectly forbid him ‘because he followeth not us,’ then we are ‘bigots.'”
1. “This is the inference I draw from what has been said. But the term ‘bigotry,’ I fear, as frequently as it is used, is almost as little understood as ‘enthusiasm.’ It is too strong an attachment to, or fondness for, our own party, opinion, Church, and religion. Therefore he is a bigot who is so fond of any of these, so strongly attached to them, as to forbid any who casts out devils, because he differs from himself in any or all these particulars.”
2. “You beware of this.” Do not directly or indirectly forbid anyone from “casting out devils.”
3. “Examine yourself: ‘Do I not indirectly, at least, forbid him on any of these grounds? Am I not sorry that God should thus own and bless a man that holds such erroneous opinions? Do I not discourage him because he is not of my Church?… Do I show no anger, contempt, or unkindness of any sort, either in my words or actions?”
4. Wesley puts it as strongly as he can by naming groups his audience would be most likely to despise if they were “casting out devils.”
5. “If you will avoid all bigotry, go on. In every instance of this kind, whatever the instrument be, acknowledge the finger of God. And not only acknowledge but rejoice in his work, and praise his name with thanksgiving.”
6. A final caution: someone else’s bigotry does not justify your own.


Resources:

Read “A Caution against Bigotry” in its entirety.

Check out my brief summaries of the first thirty-one Standard Sermons:

“Salvation by Faith”

“The Almost Christian”

“Awake, Thou That Sleepest”

“Scriptural Christianity“

“Justification by Faith“

“The Righteousness of Faith“

“The Way to the Kingdom“

“The First-Fruits of the Spirit“

“The Spirit of Bondage and of Adoption“

“The Witness of the Spirit, I“

“The Witness of Our Own Spirit“

“The Means of Grace“

“The Circumcision of the Heart“

“The Marks of the New Birth“

“The Great Privilege of those that are Born of God“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the First“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Second“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Third“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Fourth“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Fifth“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Sixth“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Seventh“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Eighth“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Ninth“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Tenth“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Eleventh“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Twelfth“

“Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, Discourse the Thirteenth“

“The Original, Nature, Properties, and Use of the Law“

“The Law Established through Faith, I“

“The Law Established through Faith, II“

“The Nature of Enthusiasm“


I highly recommend the critical edition of Wesley’s sermons, which has excellent references that show his reliance on Scripture throughout his preaching. There are four volumes if you want every known Wesley sermon. The sermon outlined in this post is in volume II. These books aren’t cheap, but this is the most important publication by Abingdon since its release. And they are designed to last. Highly recommended!

There is also a three volume edition of Wesley’s sermons in modern English, which is easier to read if you find the 18th century English frustrating. Here is the first volume.


Kevin M. Watson is a professor at Candler School of Theology, Emory University. He teaches, writes, and preaches to empower community, discipleship, and stewardship of our heritage. Click here to get future posts emailed to you. Affiliate links used in this post.

New in Wesleyan Scholarship: The Sermons of John Wesley

09 Friday Aug 2013

Posted by Kevin M. Watson in Book Review, Christian Living, Methodist History, Wesley

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Book Review, Early Methodism, John Wesley, sermons

The Sermons of John Wesley: A Collection for the Christian Journey, edited by Kenneth J. Collins and Jason E. Vickers is now in print. I have been anticipating the arrival of this book since I was asked to write an endorsement of it last fall. Here is the full endorsement I originally wrote:

Collins and Vickers have provided a collection of John Wesley’s sermons that is a gift to both the church and the academy. The organization according to the Wesleyan way of salvation appropriately emphasizes Christian formation and the potential for the sermons to function as a means of grace. The decisions about which ones to include (especially including all of the standard forty-four sermons) provides important continuity with Wesley’s own decisions about which of his sermons were the most essential for the “people called Methodists.”

This volume provides an alternative to the standard one volume collection of Wesley’s sermons, John Wesley’s Sermons: An Anthology, edited by Albert C. Outler and Richard P. Heitzenrater. The Oulter and Heitzenrater volume is the one I read when I was in seminary and I expect that it will continue to be used in many seminary courses. John Wesley’s Sermons is an exceptional volume that uses the critical edition of Wesley’s sermons from the Bicentennial Edition of the Works of John Wesley and was edited by two heavy-weights of Wesleyan studies.

A reasonable question, then, would be: Why the need for a new collection of Wesley’s sermons?

Collins and Vickers anticipate this question in their introduction to the volume. The key contribution that the volume makes is that it contains all of the original forty-four sermons that were printed in the edition of Wesley’s Sermons on Several Occasions. These sermons were included in the “Model Deed” that stipulated that Methodist preachers must not preach or teach doctrine contrary to that which was contained in this collection. Collins and Vickers argue that “when Wesley drafted this disciplinary instrument, he obviously viewed these forty-four sermons, and not his entire sermon corpus, as being of remarkable and distinct value in the ongoing life of Methodism” (xiii). The Outler and Heitzenrater volume, on the other hand, omits nineteen of the forty-four sermons. A strength of this new collection, then, is that it contains all these sermons, which Wesley indicated were of particular value for the “people called Methodists,” in one volume.

The Collins and Vickers volume also contains eight of the nine sermons that Wesley added in 1771, omitting the sermon “On the Death of George Whitefield.”

This new volume has the advantage of presenting a (nearly) complete collection of the entirety of the sermons Wesley identified as having particular significance for early Methodism. It also includes an additional eight sermons that the editors felt were particularly helpful in “pass[ing] on the legacy of the Methodist tradition in a practical and relevant way to the current generation” (xix).

As indicated in my endorsement of the book, I think the most important contribution of this volume is that it is organized according to the Way of Salvation. The Outler and Heitzenrater volume was organized to focus on the development of Wesley’s thought over the course of his own life. This approach has significant value for seminars in Methodist history and doctrine. The main strength of the organization of the Collins and Vickers volume, on the other hand, is that it can readily function as a catechetical tool for helping form contemporary Wesleyans in their own theological tradition.

For more on The Sermons of John Wesley, including some insightful questions about the collection, see Fred Sanders’s interview with co-editor Jason Vickers at Patheos.

The Sermons of John Wesley: A Collection for the Christian Journey will be an important resource for helping to form the next generation of Wesleyans in the Christian faith.

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