Free Grace

He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? ROMANS 8:32

This is the chapter in which Wesley must be handled most carefully, because it concerns a quarrel between good men. In the first years of the revival Wesley preached at Bristol, and then published, a sermon called Free Grace. It was an attack on the doctrine of predestination as taught by many of his fellow evangelicals, and above all by his friend George Whitefield, whose preaching had done so much to begin the awakening. The sermon split the revival into two streams, and the division has never fully healed. It deserves to be understood, both for what Wesley was defending and for what he got wrong.

Free in all, and free for all

The positive heart of the sermon is a single phrase, and it is a noble one. “The grace or love of God, whence cometh our salvation, is FREE IN ALL, and FREE FOR ALL.”

Free in all, Wesley explains, means that grace does not depend on any power or merit in the person who receives it. It does not depend on good works, or good tempers, or good desires, or even on faith considered as our own achievement. All these are the fruits of grace, not its cause. Whatever good is in anyone, God is the author of it.

For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? 1 CORINTHIANS 4:7

On this point Wesley and Whitefield were entirely agreed. Both preached salvation by grace alone through faith alone, and both gave God all the glory.

Free for all, Wesley goes on, is where they parted. Wesley believed that God’s saving grace is offered to every human being without exception, that Christ died for all, and that no one is lost because God decreed it, but only because he refused the grace that was given him. He held that the doctrine of an eternal decree, by which some are chosen for salvation and the rest passed over, could not be squared with this.

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 1 TIMOTHY 2:3–4

Wesley’s arguments

The body of the sermon is a list of objections to predestination, pressed with all Wesley’s logical force. If the number of the saved is fixed from eternity, he argues, then preaching is in vain, since it can change nothing. The doctrine tends to destroy holiness, because it removes the motives Scripture offers, the hope of reward and the fear of punishment. It tends to destroy the comfort of religion, since no one can be sure he is elect. It tends to destroy zeal for good works, and especially for doing good to the souls of others. It sets Scripture against itself, since the Bible is full of universal invitations and warnings.

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 2 PETER 3:9

And then, in the most notorious passage, Wesley says that the doctrine is full of blasphemy, because it represents the most holy God as worse than the devil, more false, more cruel and more unjust. He adds that he loves the persons who hold it even while he abhors the doctrine, and he asks his readers to pray for them. But the words were said, and they wounded.

Where he was right

Wesley was defending something precious. He could not bear the thought that any human being might be told, in effect, that the gospel was not for him. He had seen the despair of people who feared they were not among the elect, and he had seen others grow careless on the assumption that they were. His whole ministry rested on the conviction that he could say to anyone, in any field or prison, that Christ died for you.

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. MATTHEW 11:28

His insistence that God’s love is real toward every person, and that the invitations of Scripture are sincere, is a word the whole church needs. So is his conviction that the doctrine of election must never be used to excuse sin or to make evangelism seem pointless.

Where he was unfair

But he was not fair to his opponents, and honesty requires that this be said plainly.

Wesley argued as though his opponents’ doctrine must lead to the consequences he drew from it, and then charged them with those consequences. But Whitefield and the careful Calvinists of the day did not believe that preaching was vain; they preached with a zeal that equalled Wesley’s. They did not think holiness unnecessary; many of them were among the holiest people of the century. They did not believe God was cruel; they believed that He was just in condemning sinners and wonderfully merciful in saving any. Whitefield answered in a published letter, firm but affectionate, arguing that Wesley had misrepresented the doctrine he attacked.

It must also be said that the Calvinists’ reading of passages such as Romans nine and Ephesians one is a serious reading, held by some of the most careful interpreters in the history of the church, and not simply a failure to see what is obvious. Wesley’s own reading has its difficulties as well as its strengths.

Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will. EPHESIANS 1:5

The friendship that survived

The best part of this story is how it ended. Wesley and Whitefield did not agree, but they did not stop loving each other. They came to an understanding that allowed each to preach in his own way, and in later years the old affection was openly renewed. When Whitefield died in America in 1770, it was Wesley who preached his funeral sermon in London, and it is printed among Wesley’s collected sermons.

In it Wesley sums up the doctrines his friend everywhere insisted on, and he does it in two phrases they held in common: “the new birth, and justification by faith”. He urges his hearers to keep close to these good, old, unfashionable doctrines, and even more to drink into Whitefield’s spirit. It is a generous sermon. It is also a model for Christians who disagree on questions of this kind: hold your convictions, argue them honestly, and do not let them cost you your love for a brother.

Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. EPHESIANS 4:3

FOR REFLECTION AND ACTION

1. Thank God that His grace is free in all: that nothing in you earned it, not even your faith.

2. Whatever your view of election, ask whether you speak to others as though the gospel is truly for them.

3. Think of a Christian with whom you disagree on an important doctrine. Pray for them by name and thank God for their faithfulness.

4. If you have ever argued against a view by charging its holders with consequences they reject, consider how you might state their view fairly.

5. Read Free Grace and Wesley’s sermon on the death of Whitefield together, and notice the difference in tone.

A PRAYER

Father, You spared not Your own Son, but gave Him up for us all. Thank You that Your grace is free, and that nothing in me deserved it.

Give me Wesley’s longing that every person should hear that Christ died for them, and give me more charity than he sometimes showed to those who see these things differently.

Keep me from turning doctrine into a weapon against my brothers and sisters.

Let me hold the truth firmly and love Your people warmly, until we all see face to face. Amen.