He
had no one to help him become a lawyer or a politician. He was not
interested in the army. He had no desire to be a doctor. Therefore, the
only obvious career move in those days for a man of his background was
to become a clergyman in the Church of England.
He
tried to make himself acceptable to God by keeping the whole law,
inwardly and outwardly. He got up early. He prayed. He denied himself.
He tried to earn forgiveness and peace by increased effort. But he
‘groaned under a heavy yoke’.
On
24 May, 1738 at 8.45am he heard someone reading a book by the great
reformer, Martin Luther. He later recalled, ‘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 salvation; and an
assurance was given [to] me that He had taken away my sins, even mine,
and saved me from the law of sin and death.’
John
Wesley became one of the greatest preachers ever, preaching over 40,000
sermons centered on freedom through faith in Jesus Christ. He had, as he
put it, ‘exchanged the faith of a servant for the faith of a son’.
Jesus
Christ is the supreme liberator, and becoming a Christian is the
supreme act of liberation. ‘Freedom’ is the word that best sums up the
Christian life.