“Salvation By Faith”
John Wesley Sermon Series
(taken from John Wesley on Christian Beliefs, The Standard Sermons in Modern English, Vol. 1, Abingdon Press:2002)
Ephesians 2:1-10
July 6, 2003
I. Introduction – Freedom is a result of salvation!
We have freedom today, because many fought and died for it.
We have freedom today, because our nation was founded on Spiritual rather than totalitarian doctrines.
We have freedom today, because God has blessed America.
And, in response, we who claim God in America, seek to bless Him.
Welsey’s Aldersgate “freedom-searching” experience…
It is commonly believed that in December of 1737 and throughout that winter, John Wesley suffered from severe depression which brought him to the brink of death.
Even though he had been a priest in the Anglican church for a decade,
Even though he thought himself to be a learned and scholarly person,
Even though he should have been the person with all the answers….
He found himself struggling with even the basic beliefs of his faith…including his salvation…
That is, until May 24, 1738 -
5 a.m. – Devotions – where he read the words of 2 Peter 1:4 – “…These are give unto us
exceeding great and precious promises, even that ye should be partakers of the divine nature.”
As he went out for the day, he opened the Bible again on the words of Mark 12:34 “Thou
art not far from the kingdom of God.”
In the afternoon, he went to St. Paul’s Cathedral to hear the choir sing “Out of the deep
have I called unto thee, O Lord. Lord, hear my voice. O let thine ears consider the voice of my complaint…”
Then, that evening, something happened… hear these words from Wesley’s personal journal….
“In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther’s Preface to the Epistle to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while he was describing the change which God works in the heart through faith in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone for my 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…I was now thoroughly convinced; and, by the grace of God, I resolved to seek it unto the end…”
(John Wesley’s JOURNAL, May 24, 1738 (13) The Works of John Wesley Bicentennial Edition, Vol.18, Journals & Diaries, I, p. 249-250, Copyright 1988.)
John Wesley, for the first time, came to a true understanding of the freedom his faith offered. And 18 days after his experience, he found himself preaching again at Oxford. This time with a new zeal for being saved by grace through faith.
II. What this saving faith is not…
- This saving faith is not the same as other faith.
While it includes practicing virtue, justice, mercy, and truth toward our fellow human beings, it is expected that those completely outside the knowledge of God have this minimum level of faith as well. This saving faith is more.
- Saving faith is not merely the intellectual knowledge held even by the demons.
They know that God “was revealed in the flesh” that he will “put his enemies under his feet,” and that “all Scripture is inspired by God.” Even the demons believe these things and they tremble in the presence of Jesus Christ. This saving faith is more.
- This saving faith is not the faith that the apostles had prior to Christ’s resurrection.
Even though Peter was quick to say, “We have left everything to follow you!” the disciples sense of saving faith was clouded by Christ’s presence. No, this saving faith is more.
II. What this saving faith is
- Saving faith is putting your full trust in Christ.
Wesley said that “Saving faith is not merely a speculative, rational thing, a cold, lifeless assent, or a train of ideas in the head. It is primarily a disposition of the heart. Scripture declares, “If you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Putting our full trust in Christ is this saving faith.
- Saving faith understands the necessity of Christ’s death and resurrection. Our passage in Ephesians says “But God who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loves us, even where we were dead in sin, made us alive together with Christ…” why? “…so that in the ages to come, God might show the exceeding riches of his grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Understanding that cross, and what was done there for us, is this saving faith.
- Here these words from Wesley, “Thus, Christian faith is more than an intellectual assent to the entire gospel of Christ. It also means a complete reliance on the blood of Christ; it is full trust in the merits of his life, death, and Resurrection. Saving faith is a resting upon Christ as our atonement and our life – a savior who gave himself for us and lives in us…In a word, Christ is our saving faith. Christ is our salvation.”
For Wesley, all that he had know before about salvation had now completely been rewritten. Some rejected this “new kind of preaching.” But this concept of “salvation by faith” swept throughout England and became the cornerstone of the Methodist movement with in the new colonies, and is the backbone by we, as Methodists around the globe, stand.
III. How do we stand in this saving faith?
First, we were justified by grace in this faith…
Our Bibles tell us that “the righteousness of God comes through in Jesus Christ who redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. God erased the record that stood against us with its legal demands. He set this aside, nailing it to the cross..”
Paul told the church of Ephesus, It is not your works, but the works of Christ that have allowed you to come this far. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God, not of works, let anyone should boast.”
It is not us, but God working in us from the beginning of time, to bring his creation closer to Him.” Justification means deliverance…deliverance from the power of sin, through Christ who lives in us. We live as a justified people, experiencing our salvation by faith.
Second, we sanctified by grace in this faith…
Since we do live and our justified through this faith, Christian believes are saved from the power and guilt of sin in our daily standing…
We are no longer in bondage. Sin no longer rules our lives. We are no longer held captive, but are given a power greater than sin to overcome it. By God’s grace and the work of the Spirit, sin becomes something that may be resisted and conquered.
Through the sanctifying nature of Christ, we “who have all fallen short of the glory of God” can rest assured that as we grow spiritually, we receive that “pure spiritual milk” as newborns and continue from faith to faith, from grace to grace, until we come to maturity “to the measure of the stature of Christ.”
Third, we are promised, that we one day we will be glorified, be made perfect, with Him.
Since we are justified and sanctified, we move forward until that day when we will be glorified when we’re face to face with our Lord and Savior.
Do we stumble along the way…of course we do…but through our faith we have salvation.
Do we miss blessings that could have been…of course we do…but through our faith we have
salvation.
Do we get angry, revengeful, hurtful and all the rest…of course we do…but through our faith,
we have salvation.
Because of that faith, there will come a day when we will find ourselves glorified, not by what we have done, but by what God has been able to accomplish through us because of what His Son did for us.
We live out this saving faith, by realizing we’re justified, sanctified, and one day glorified.
Conclusion – for those of you with this faith..think back the moment of your salvation…(could be at an altar rail…at your baptism or conformation…could be that first recollection of Christ’s love for you…)
Do you remember feeling like the weights were taken off your shoulders?
Do you remember knowing, beyond the shadow of all doubt, where you were going once your physical life ended?
Do you remember how easy it was to give to God everything? to accept the offer given to you through his Son Jesus Christ?
This morning I invite you to remember.
In the act of Communion, we are reminded of the salvation that is offered to us…
In the act of Communion, we are invited to come and celebrate what Christ did for us.
In the act of Communion, we are called to remember and to be thankful…
This morning, as we take Communion, I invite you to experience again the joy of salvation. I invite you again to experience your faith in the way that Christ intended.
It took Wesley thirty-five years of his life until he got it, please don’t wait that long…
And if you are here this morning and have never accepted Christ, you’ve never experienced the justifying, sanctifying and glorifying nature of God’s grace in your life, please don’t hesitate to come forward, allowing this Communion to be your first step.
May 24, 1938 was a day that changed Wesley’s life forever. May this be your day!
Let us pray….
Gracious God, Heavenly Father, Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer,
On the night in which Jesus was betrayed for our salvation….(intinction)
Pour out your Holy Spirit on us gather here,and on these gifts of bread and wine. Make them be for us symbols of the body and blood of Christ, that we may be for the world the body of Christ, redeemed by his blood.
By your Spirit, make us one with Christ, one with each other, and one in ministry to all the world, until Christ comes in final victory, and we feast at his heavenly banquet.
Through your Son, Jesus Christ,who is the author and finisher of our saving faith, with the Holy Spirit in your holy church, we give all honor and glory to you, now and forever. Amen.
Communion
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Closing Hymn #385 – Let Us Plead for Faith Alone
(to the tune of #192 – There’s A Spirit in the Air)
Benediction – Wesley ended his sermon in with these words…
“Child of faith, your strength is always “made perfect in weakness!” Go forth then, little child who trusts in Christ, and his “right hand will display awesome deeds!” Although (at times you may feel) as helpless and weak as is a newborn infant, the devil will not be able to stand before you. You shall prevail over him, and subdue him, and overthrown him , and trample him under your feet. You shall march on, under the great Captain of your salvation, conquering and to conquer until all your enemies are destroyed, and “death has been swallowed up in victory.”
Thanks be to God, who give us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ, to who, with the Father and the Holy Spirit blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen!”
Note: If for any reason you did not find this sermon helpful, please let me know by contacting me at gb@clergy.net. Your input will help me personally and my congregation as I learn professionally.
