It is estimated that John Wesley traveled around 250,000 miles and preached over 40,000 sermons in a span of 66 years. This series by Mark K. Olson, taken from his website Wesleyscholar.com, includes summaries and links to some of Wesley’s most famous and important sermons. This third installment is on Wesley’s sermon “Free Grace” from 1739.
Free Grace
Romans 8:32
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.
Introduction
Albert Outler remarked that this sermon is noteworthy for helping to spark a major schism in the ranks of the English Evangelicals. When the Evangelical Revival broke out in the late 1730s, there was no division between the major theological traditions that comprised the Revival: Calvinism, Arminianism, and Pietistic Lutheranism.
The work in Bristol in early 1739 was led by George Whitefield who was Calvinistic in his convictions. Whitefield was planning a return trip to America and realized the need for someone who was more skilled than him at organizing the converts into societies and bands. So, he invited John Wesley to come and supervise the work in his absence. Wesley arrived on March 31 and began field preaching the next day, with Whitefield’s blessing. Soon, word spread that Wesley differed from Whitefield on the matter of predestination.
It also became obvious to Wesley that a response was needed, and he drew lots for spiritual guidance on the matter (following the apostolic practice outlined in Acts 1:26). The lot fell on “preach and print.” Three days later, on April 29th, Wesley “declared openly” at several locations “against ‘the horrible decree’” of absolute predestination (as taught by the Calvinists). Soon after he printed the sermon under the title, Free Grace.
As a standalone publication, the sermon went through ten or eleven editions during Wesley’s lifetime. Free Grace represents one of Wesley’s more controversial sermons since it helped spark the schism between himself and Whitefield. Wesley later decided not to include it in his collected Works. However, later editions of Wesley’s Works placed the sermon among his controversial writings.
Core Principles
Free Grace represents a stringent critique of the Calvinist doctrine of predestination. At the outset, the reader should understand that Wesley makes no distinction between the spectrum of views held by Calvinists on the subject. He simply assumes a double predestination doctrine for all Calvinists – that is, God eternally decrees some people to life and elects the rest to damnation. Not every Calvinist subscribes to this viewpoint (then and now). But Wesley felt their belief in absolute predestination implied it, even if some Calvinists denied the decree of reprobation. So, when reading the sermon, it is important to remember that this is the doctrine of predestination that Wesley opposes.
Despite the sermon’s argumentative tone, it remains an important resource for Wesley’s own understanding of election and predestination. He begins by asserting how freely God loves the entire world. He speaks of God so loving every person that he gave his own Son to die for their salvation. Thus, Wesley concludes that if God loves us this much, he will surely give us all things necessary for our salvation. This is the foundation of his Arminian perspective.
While Protestants often define grace as divine favor and link it to God’s merciful disposition, in Free Grace Wesley connects divine grace to God’s universal love. From this premise Wesley argues that saving grace is “free in all, and free for all.” As the author and source of all good in every person, God’s grace is “free in all.” As an expression of God’s universal good will, his grace is “free to all.” No one is excluded or left out because of a divine decree. God is active in reaching out to every man, woman, and child so they may know and love him.
Towards the end of the sermon Wesley redefines what God eternally decreed in the past. Instead of the Reformed notion that God decided beforehand to save some people and to damn the rest, Wesley asserts that God decreed the plan of salvation that is available to all by free grace (In a later sermon he will argue that believers are predestined to be conformed to Christ). Even though everyone is in bondage to sin and cannot save themselves (Wesley affirmed total depravity), free grace enables all people have a choice to accept or reject God’s provision. And since God is omniscient, he already knows who will accept and persevere in the faith. In the end there are no surprises to God.
This is the substance of Wesley’s Arminian doctrine of predestination, or what he called “universal redemption.”
Wesley’s Arguments
In the sermon Free Grace Wesley presents a series of arguments against the doctrine of absolute predestination. It is not necessary in this summary to walk through every one of them to understand Wesley’s Arminian perspective on election and predestination. He first tackles the question whether someone can support an eternal decree of some people to salvation and not simultaneously affirm an eternal decree of reprobation for the rest. For Wesley, the first decree logically assumes the latter one even if someone will not acknowledge it.
Other arguments focus on the logical necessity of the elect being saved, no matter what they believe or do – or not believe or do. In other words, absolute election means the chosen will be saved no matter what. Now this argument really aimed at the notion of antiniomianism – that obedience to Christ does not matter concerning final salvation. With all the warnings and exhortations to holy living in scripture, Wesley considered antinomianism to be spiritual poison to the health of a soul. Bottom line — Wesley did not see holiness as merely an option for the believer. And he often looked to Hebrews 12:14 for support (“Without holiness no one will see the Lord”).
Wesley also felt the doctrine of absolute predestination undercut the gospel proclamation that God loves everyone, and that Christ died for every person. For Wesley, verses like John 3:16 and 1 John 2:1-2 clearly teach a general atonement for the entire human race. Since Calvinists in the 18th century tended to affirm that Christ died only for the elect – that is, those eternally decreed to salvation – this suggested that God did not love the non-elect. Wesley saw this as contrary to the gospel and God’s explicit statements in his word about his desire to see every person saved.
The reader is encouraged to work through the sermon and examine the arguments that Wesley makes. Whether we agree or disagree with Wesley, Free Grace is a helpful resource for learning about the Arminian perspective on this vital biblical doctrine. Here are two early editions of the sermon:
