Spring 1999 - Quarterly Review

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Board." There is no question, however, that Wesley was on a mission;indeed, he was single-minded in his pursuit of it throughout his longlife.In this essay I intend to look at Wesley's theology of missionevangelization through:• his general understanding of missions;• his vision of spreading holiness and happiness throughout the earth;• his concerns about the state of the church in his day and how thoseconcerns can serve as lessons for a present-day perspective onmission evangelization.In this kind of exercise there is often the expectation that some newangle or approach might cast a whole new light on our usual view ofthe topic. In contrast, I see this exercise as an opportunity to remembersomething vital and still illuminating about Wesleyan thought that canbridge the centuries and speak to the challenges of our day.Wesley and the General Spread of the GospelWesley wrote one sermon dealing specifically with the general spreadof the gospel. In it he articulated a vision for world missions: that"uninterrupted holiness and happiness shall cover the earth." Entitled*The General Spread of the Gospel," this sermon depicted the worldas full of ignorance about Christ. A Mr. Brerewood, who served asWesley's investigator, reported that only five in 30 people in the worldwere even nominal Christians. Even this calculation might have been ahigh estimate, said Wesley, since new nations had been discoveredafter Brerewood made his findings known. 1Wesley revealed his eighteenth-century European bias in saying thatWestern churches have "preeminence over [non-Western].., theyhave abundantly more knowledge: they have more scriptural and morerational modes of worship." Yet—and this was the real point he wastrying to score—even Westerners were as far from holiness andrighteousness and the mind of Christ "as hell is from heaven!"Therefore, Wesley asked, how was it possible to reconcile the sorrystate of humankind with the wisdom or goodness of God? Heanswered this question by affirming confidence in God's desire torespond to the world and "be jealous of his honor "Here Wesleyarticulated a vision statement for the general spread of the gospel:'The loving knowledge of God, producing uniform, uninterrupted74 QUARTERLY REVIEW / SPRING <strong>1999</strong>
holiness and happiness, shall cover the earth; shall fill every soul ofman." 2Wesley's distinctly Arminian theology asserted that humanshave a definite say in their own destiny. God gives humans this ability,since it is God's grace working in the individual that allows him or herto respond to God's love. Nevertheless, humans are charged with theresponse-ability to choose life or death set before them.Wesley saw the same grace at work in the conversion of nations."Now in the same manner as God has converted so many to himselfwithout destroying their liberty, he can undoubtedly convert wholenations, or the whole world; and it is as easy to him to convert aworld, as one individual soul." Wesley pointed to the humblebeginnings of Methodists in Oxford as a case in point. Holinessbecame the key word for a movement that began to spread to widerand wider circles, from Britain to Ireland to North America. Wesleyasserted that God will continue to carry on his work in the samemanner. He envisioned that work spreading out to America andthroughout Europe. Wherever it went, it would spread "theexperimental knowledge and love of God, of inward and outwardholiness." First it would spread among countries where there wasProtestantism and Roman Catholicism, and then to the "merelyPopish," and on to the remotest parts of the world. 3If human beings have the ability to respond to this spreading of thegospel, then they also possess the capacity to thwart it. For Wesley, thegreat stumblingblock against the spread of the gospel was murmuringamong Christians. By this Wesley meant behavior that reflectedpoorly on one's faith. South Americans today might talk of someonewhose actions or lifestyle give a mal testimonio, a poor witness.Wesley called for the opposite of this, which was an authenticpersonal witness of the truth of the gospel through one's life. Thosewho are not Christian, argued Wesley, will be drawn to the truth ofChrist by "seeing the Christians steadily and uniformly practice whatis agreeable to the law written in their hearts " 4 When the obstacleof "murmuring" is removed, Christians will have more authority andtheir witness will be stronger. When the world sees the holy lives ofChristians, it will not be able to resist the gospel. 5The problem remained, however, how to reach those nations wherethe gospel was completely unknown. In Reasonable Enthusiast HenryRack writes that Wesley's attitude on missions varied from oneoccasion to another. Like the Methodist movement itself, Wesley oftenresponded to enthusiastic initiatives of his workers rather thanHOLINESS AND HAPPINESS SHALL COVER THE EARTH 75
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Editorial BoardTed A. CampbellWesle
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add to it add to it To add complete
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Thomas E. FrankMinding What We Say:
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ulbs into the bright sunshine. But
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and reinforces the individual's ide
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question is not whether all persons
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marketed to consumers. To achieve t
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Kairos is also a word central to Je
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Notes1. "Large Minutes" of the Meth
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You have nothing to do but to save
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Jesus promises that those people wh
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Spring 1999 - Quarterly Review

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