Wesley’s sermons are filled with references to the church’s responsiblity toward the poor. I also think he understood that evangelism is more than just words. Reflecting on Matthew 25, he replies to those who wonder “what does it avail to feed or clothe men’s bodies, if they are just dropping into everlasting fire?” To which he response, “whether they will finally be lost or saved, you are expressly commanded to feed the hungry, and clothe the naked. If you can, and do not, whatever becomes of them, you shall go away into everlasting fire” (The Works of John Wesley, Vol 1, Sermons).
“Wesley himself did more than just talk about social reform. Among other things, he agitated for prinson, liquor and labor reform; set up loan funds for the poor; campaigned against the slave trade and smuggling; opened a dispensary and gave medicines to the poor; worked to solve unemployment; and personally gave away considerable sums of money to persons in need” (Howard Snyder, Problem of the Wineskins: Church Renewal in Technological Age
, 172).
Posted by Chip Anderson at 05:35 AM. Filed under: Wasted Evangelism •
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