John Wesley and William Wilberforce

William Wilberforce

Fighting Slavery
While George Whitefield was seeking to improve the treatment of slaves in America, and to bring them to Christ, John Wesley could, from the relative comfort of England, see far more objectively: Slavery must not merely be adjusted or improved – it must be abolished altogether!

Wesley had not come to this conclusion all at once. Like Whitefield, he was appalled at the treatment of the slaves he had seen in America, but he had not then thought it a crime.

He later met John Newton, a former slave trader who had been converted and had quit the trade. But apparently neither of the two Johns had yet seen the need to oppose slavery.

The value of reading widely

Anthony Benezet's Historical Account of Slavery

The change came when he read an account of slavery written by American Quaker, Anthony Benezet, which described in detail the reality of slavery.

Wesley was horrified by the brutality and shamed by the heartlessness of such wickedness and became determined to go to print.

Thoughts on Slavery by John Wesley

In 1774 he published ‘Thoughts on Slavery’ in which he wrote,

‘If therefore you have any regard to justice, (to say nothing of mercy, nor of the revealed law of GOD) render unto all their due. Give liberty to whom liberty is due, that is to every child of man, to every partaker of human nature.

‘Let none serve you but by his own act and deed, by his own voluntary choice. Away with all whips, all chains, all compulsion! Be gentle towards men. And see that you invariably do unto every one, as you would he should do unto you.’ (‘Thoughts on Slavery’ by John Wesley)

It was primarily through reading the words of Wesley in this short publication that John Newton came to see that slavery was indeed a crime.

The value of writing letters
John Wesley influenced many of the major players in the fight against slavery in 18th Century Britain and America.

In fact, his very last letter was sent to a young politician named William Wilberforce, who would spend much of his political life fighting for the abolition of the slave trade.

Wesley’s last letter
To Wilberforce he wrote,

‘DEAR SIR,

Unless the divine power has raised you up to be as Athanasius contra mundum, [an 'Athanasius against the world.'] I see not how you can go through your glorious enterprise in opposing that execrable villainy, which is the scandal of religion, of England, and of human nature.

‘Unless God has raised you up for this very thing, you will be worn out by the opposition of men and devils.

‘But if God be for you, who can be against you? Are all of them together stronger than God? O be not weary of well doing.

‘Go on, in the name of God and in the power of His might, till even American slavery (the vilest that ever saw the sun) shall vanish away before it.

‘Reading this morning a tract wrote by a poor African, I was particularly struck by that circumstance, that a man who has a black skin, being wronged or outraged by a white man, can have no redress; it being a law in all our Colonies that the oath of a black against a white goes for nothing. What villainy is this!
‘That He who has guided you from youth up may continue to strengthen you in this and all things is the prayer of, dear sir,

Your affectionate servant,

John Wesley’ (from the WCO)

Wesley’s passion and encouragement, and his last letter, helped the young Wilberforce to fight successfully until the British parliament finally signed the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833.

More next time…

© 2010 Lex Loizides

Wesley and the Surprise of the Holy Spirit’s Power

During times of revival one of the greatest challenges is surely the effects upon those who are directly impacted by the Spirit’s power.

Paul talked about the importance of ‘demonstrations of the Spirit and of power’. (1 Cor 2:4)

It seems in 1739, as such things were taking place, Whitefield and Wesley were initially passive about the effects, the outcries, the falling down that was taking place amongst certain people who heard them.

Those who were overwhelmed physically in the meetings were not necessarily believers, but even sometimes those who were opposing the work.

‘The groanings of some, the cries of others’

Wesley notes the different reactions of those who witnessed such things. His comments assume impartiality. He was careful not to hinder what was happening in the meetings. In fact, it’s likely that he would have not been able to stop what was happening.

In his Journal entry of May 1^st 1739 he writes, ‘Many were offended again, and indeed much more than before.

‘For at Baldwin Street, my voice could scarce be heard amidst the groanings of some, and the cries of others, calling aloud to Him that is ‘mighty to save’.

‘I desired all that were sincere of heart to beseech with me the Prince exalted for us, that he would ‘proclaim his deliverance to the captives’.

‘And he soon showed that he heard our voice. Many of those who had been long in darkness saw the dawn of a great light; and ten persons, I afterwards found, then began to say in faith, ‘My Lord and my God.’

A frustrated and then thunderstruck Quaker

‘A Quaker, who stood by, was not a little displeased at the dissimulation of those creatures, and was biting his lip and knitting his brows, when he dropped down as thunderstruck.

‘The agony he was in was even terrible to behold. We besought God not to lay folly to his charge. And he soon lifted up his head and cried aloud, ‘Now I now thou art a prophet of the Lord.’ (All quotes from John Wesley Journals, Vol 1, p.189-190, Baker edition)

I don’t think Wesley is trying to puff himself up by recording the man’s words. But whereas the Quaker had been sceptical of the whole event, he now realised that God was working.

Some thoughts for us as we seek Revival

The question for us is, would we invite our non-Christian friends to this? My own answer is simply this, that in a time of outpouring, or revival, clearly God is working in a concentrated way. The posture of the leaders is critical.

But Wesley could hardly be heard because so much was happening in the congregation. We ought to desire God’s spirit to sweep through a town, congregation, meeting and accomplish His purposes.

That is very different to a situation where in a church meeting one or two individuals appear to be behaving strangely in a very public way, and where this behaviour is, by implication, presented as authoritative confirmation of God’s presence or favour. God’s Spirit may indeed be working there, and, it’s true, maybe only in one or two people. But in terms of handling that situation, I would refer us to 1 Corinthians 14 where Paul argues for the kind of leadership that brings security (peace and order) even in the context of seeking to release the powerful charismatic gifts in the congregation.

Where there is a delight in disorder we have gone beyond the bounds of the New Testament and we must regain our missional perspective. But when God breaks in with real power, especially in the context of mission, we should not to try and tie everything down and become guilty of quenching the Spirit.

These things can be difficult to discern and to lead, as we’ll see when we come on to the Welsh Revival of 1904, but our hope and prayer is surely that God would break in. That’s where our need is right now.

© 2009 Lex Loizides