This will be the first installment in my series on John Wesley’s sermons. I chose to begin with “The More Excellent Way.”
If you’d like to view the text online, it’s available on this website. I’m working from “The Complete Sermons” book available on Amazon.
The point of Wesley’s sermon is to show Christians how to choose the higher road of Christianity as opposed to the lower road. The scripture of focus for this sermon is:
I Corinthians 12:31:
“Covet earnestly the best gifts; And yet I show to you a more excellent way.”
Many of you are familiar with the Gifts of The Spirit (Tongues, Gift of Healing, Prophecy, Interpretation of Tongues, and so forth). You can find them in I Corinthians 12
Wesley begins by saying that these gifts are desirable, but he is also going to show you a MORE EXCELLENT WAY.
Why? It is possible to have all the gifts above and still be missing something in your life. That these are not the highest things for a Christian to obtain.
By the way, it is clear from this sermon that Wesley is not a cessationist.
2. “It does not appear these extraordinary gifts of the Holy Ghost were common the church for more than two or three centuries.”
He goes on to say that we don’t hear much about these gifts after Constantine and the church was corrupted. Not because they weren’t available but because Christians waxed cold and behaved like the heatherns. These Christians had “only a dead form left.”
At the same time, Wesley states his sermon won’t speak of coveting these extraordinary gifts, but those that are ORDINARY.
Ordinary Gifts
At the same time, Wesley states he doesn’t wish to speak of coveting these extraordinary gifts in his sermon but those that are ORDINARY. He goes on to list a few of the ordinary gifts with their benefits:
- Convincing Speech – In order to “sound the unbelieving heart”
- Gift of Persuasion – Move the affections and enlighten the understanding
- Knowledge of Word and works of God
- Faith going beyond the power of natural causes
- Easy elocution -being able to speak clearly and articulate.
All of these ORDINARY gifts make the believer more useful for the body of Christ. They all would clearly allow us to bear witness in a better way. Notice how many of these gifts are verbal and speaking.
However, while these gifts are great, Wesley pivots furthers:
“These gifts we may innocently desire: but there is a MORE EXCELLENT WAY”
The way of Love.
Here Wesley is using I Corinthians 13:1 to make his point:
“Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.”
Without Love, nothing we do is of any profit. Wesley continues on and says, now it’s time to look at the excellent way in a different manner. Here begins the introduction of his High Road and Low Road Christianity viewpoint:
High Road Christianity
The High Road is characterized by:
- Abstaining from Evil
- Zealous towards good works
- Striving to attain the mind of Christ
- Walking as the Master walked
- Universal self-denial
- Doing whatever is needed to arrive at a state of holiness
Low Road Christianity is doing just enough to “get by.” Only momentarily taking God into consideration.
5. Wesley states, “Leaving the first principles of the doctrine of Christ, to go on to perfection………to be filled with all the FULLNESS of God.”
God desires us to take the high road-In order to do so, we must die daily to our self. We must obediently follow his will and not our own. Wesley then begins enlightening us on a very detailed method to take this higher road. It covers everything from sleep, business, to conversation and finance.
Wesley’s Method of High Road Christianity
- Don’t sleep too much. He says 6-7 hours instead of 9+ hours.
- Consider God’s end in all of our labours.
- In our business, forget our own will and follow God’s
- In your business, do unto others as you would have them do to you (Justice and mercy are traits to seek).
- Do not aim at pleasure, riches or anything the world offers but the GLORY OF GOD.
- Vary our prayer life depending on our disposition (sorrowful, joyful, etc).
- To always bless the food God has given us
- Don’t eat to excess; plain/wholesome food
It’s clear that we aren’t to be lazy Christians. We are to be about the Father’s business and putting his will first in our own business.
High Road Conversation
- Be about good subjects-nothing profane/immodest/unkind
- About things that concern you, not stuff that’s none of your business
- “To the use of edifying”
- Entertaining
- “Ministers grace to the hearers”
Next, Wesley goes on to say his conscience would not let him see a tragedy in an English theatre due to the profaneness and debauchery. Nor could he play cards without it bothering his conscience. It’s funny to read this in our own modern times. However, Wesley does add-“I leave them to their own Master: to him let them stand or fall.” Essentially saying your conscience should determine if you are okay with these things as a Christian. It shows that in some cases, what might bother one will be okay to another.
According to Wesley, better activities are things like gardening, reading about history, visiting the sick, studying natural philosophy, and reading poetry. These are all edifying.
High Road Money
Anyone that has read much Wesley knows he was a big giver and did not seek material wealth. Here he says if you have no family, after you’ve provided for yourself, give the rest away.
If you do have family, don’t allow them any less or more than you have allowed yourself. After everyone in your family is taken care of, fix yourself to “gain no more.”
“I charge you in the name of God, do not increase your substance!”
You can see Wesley sees greed as this incredible danger ready to pounce on man at any moment. That there is no reason to lay up your treasures on earth. The strength of his words increase:
“And this our Lord as flatly forbids as murder and adultery.”
Wow, this is something that a lot of prosperity preachers need to hear today! There are so many great John Wesley quotes here:
“Every pound you put into the earthly bank is sunk: It brings no interest above. But every pound you give to the poor is put into the bank of heaven. And it will bring glorious interest” (VI: 5)
Wesley ends with this incredibly quote:
“From this moment, God being my helper, I will lay up no more treasure upon earth: This one thing I will do, I will lay up treasure in heaven; I will render unto God the things that are God’s; I will give him all my goods, and all my heart.” (VI:6)
I hope you enjoyed this look at John Wesley’s “The More Excellent Way.” Stay tuned for more and may it inspire you to take the High Road!