a name given in derision at different times to religious
persons and parties which have appeared in this country; but which now
principally designates the followers of the Rev. John Wesley. The
societies raised up by the instrumentality of the Rev. George Whitefield
were also called Methodists, and in Wales especially are still known by
that appellation. For distinction’s sake, therefore, and also because a
number of smaller sects have broken off from the Methodist societies
since Mr. Wesley’s death, the religious body which he raised up and left
organized under his rules, have of late been generally denominated the
WESLEYAN METHODISTS. In the year 1729, Mr. John Wesley, being then
fellow of Lincoln College, began to spend some evenings in reading the
Greek Testament with Charles Wesley, student, and Mr. Morgan, commoner
of Christ Church, and Mr. Kirkham, of Merton College. Not long after,
two or three of the pupils of Mr. John Wesley, and one pupil of Mr.
Charles Wesley, obtained leave to attend these meetings. They then began
to visit the sick in different parts of the town, and the prisoners
also, who were confined in the castle. Two years after, they were joined
by Mr. Ingham, of Queen’s College, Mr. Broughton, and Mr. Hervey; and in
1735, by the celebrated Mr. George Whitefield, then in his eighteenth
year. At this time their number in Oxford amounted to about fourteen.
They obtained the name of Methodists, from the exact regularity of their
lives, and the manner of spending their time. In October, 1735, John and
Charles Wesley, Mr. Ingham, and Mr. Delamotte, son of a merchant in
London, embarked for Georgia, having been engaged by the trustees of
that colony as chaplains; but their ultimate design was to preach the
Gospel to the Indians. No favourable opportunity offering itself for
this pious work, and the strict and faithful preaching of the Wesleys
having involved them in much persecution, and many disputes with the
colonists, they returned to England, Mr. Charles Wesley in 1737, Mr.
John Wesley in 1738. On the passage to America, and while in Georgia,
Mr. John had met with several pious Moravians; whose doctrines of
justification by faith alone, conscious pardon of sin, and peace with
God, confirmed by their own calmness in danger and freedom from the fear
of death, greatly impressed him. On his return to England, he was more
fully instructed in these views by Bohler, a Moravian minister; and
having proved their truth in his own experience, he began to preach in
the churches of the metropolis, and other places, and then in rooms,
fields, and streets, the doctrine of salvation by faith. In this his
brother Charles was his zealous coadjutor; and the effect was the
awakening of great multitudes to a religious concern, and the
commencement of a great revival of religion throughout the land, which
has in its effects extended itself to the most distant parts of the
world. At the time of Mr. Wesley’s death, the societies in connection
with him in Europe, America, and the West Indies, amounted to eighty
thousand members; they are now [1831] upward of three hundred thousand,
beside about half a million in the United States of America, who since
the acquisition of independence by that country have formed a separate
church. The rules of this religious society were drawn up by Messrs.
John and Charles Wesley in 1743, and continue to be in force. They state
the nature and design of a Methodist society in the following words:
“Such a society is no other than a company of men, having the form and
seeking the power of godliness: united, in order to pray together, to
receive the word of exhortation, and to watch over one another in love,
that they may help each other to work out their own salvation. That it
may the more easily be discerned whether they are indeed working out
their own salvation, each society is divided into smaller companies,
called classes, according to their respective places of abode. There are
about twelve persons, sometimes fifteen, twenty, or even more, in each
class; one of whom is styled the leader. It is his business, 1. To see
each person in his class once a week, at least, in order to inquire how
their souls prosper; to advise, reprove, comfort, or exhort, as occasion
may require; to receive what they are willing to give to the poor, or
toward the support of the Gospel. 2. To meet the minister and the
stewards of the society once a week, to inform the minister of any that
are sick, or of any that walk disorderly and will not be reproved; to
pay to the stewards what they have received of their several classes in
the week preceding; and to show their account of what each person has
contributed. There is only one condition previously required of those
who desire admission into these societies, namely, a desire to flee from
the wrath to come; to be saved from their sins: but wherever this is
really fixed in the soul, it will be shown by its fruits. It is
therefore expected of all who continue therein, that they should
continue to evidence their desire of salvation, 1. By doing no harm; by
avoiding evil in every kind, especially that which is most generally
practised, such as taking the name of God in vain; profaning the day of
the Lord, either by doing ordinary work thereon, or by buying or
selling; drunkenness; buying and selling spirituous liquors, or drinking
them, unless in cases of extreme necessity; fighting, quarrelling,
brawling; brother going to law with brother; returning evil for evil, or
railing for railing; the using many words in buying or selling; the
buying or selling uncustomed goods; the giving or taking things on
usury, that is, unlawful interest; uncharitable or unprofitable
conversation, particularly speaking evil of magistrates or of ministers;
doing to others as we would not they should do unto us; doing what we
know is not for the glory of God, as the putting on of gold or costly
apparel; the taking such diversions as cannot be used in the name of the
Lord Jesus; singing those songs, or reading those books, which do not
tend to the knowledge or love of God; softness, or needless
self-indulgence; laying up treasure upon earth; borrowing without a
probability of paying; or taking up goods, without a probability of
paying for them. It is expected of all who continue in these societies,
that they should continue to evidence their desire of salvation, 2. By
doing good; by being in every kind merciful after their power, as they
have opportunity; doing good of every possible sort, and, as far as
possible, to all men; to their bodies, of the ability which God giveth,
by giving food to the hungry, by clothing the naked, by visiting or
helping them that are sick or in prison; to their souls, by instructing,
reproving, or exhorting all we have any intercourse with; trampling
under foot that enthusiastic doctrine of devils,--that we are not to do
good unless our hearts be free to it: by doing good, especially to them
that are of the household of faith, or groaning so to be; employing them
preferably to others; buying one of another; helping each other in
business, and so much the more as the world will love its own, and them
only; by all possible diligence and frugality, that the Gospel be not
blamed; by running with patience the race set before them, denying
themselves, and taking up their cross daily; submitting to bear the
reproach of Christ; to be as the filth and off-scouring of the world,
and looking that men should say all manner of evil of them falsely for
the Lord’s sake. It is expected of all who continue in these societies,
that they should continue to evidence their desire of salvation, 3. By
attending on all the ordinances of God: such are, the public worship of
God; the ministry of the word either read or expounded; the supper of
the Lord; family and private prayer; searching the Scriptures, and
fasting and abstinence. These are the general rules of our societies,
all which we are taught of God to observe, even in his written word, the
only rule, and the sufficient rule, both of our faith and practice; and
all these we know his Spirit writes on every truly awakened heart. If
there be any among us who observe them not, who habitually breaks any of
them, let it be made known to them who watch over that soul, as they
that must give an account. We will admonish him of the error of his
ways; we will bear with him for a season; but then, if he repent not, he
hath no more place among us: we have delivered our own souls.”
The effect produced by the preaching of the two brothers in various
parts of the kingdom, and those frequently the most populous and rude,
rendered it necessary to call out preachers to their assistance, and
especially since the clergy generally remained negligent, and rather
opposed and persecuted, than encouraged, the Wesleys in their endeavours
to effect a national reformation. The association of preachers with
themselves in the work led to an annual meeting of the ministers, then
and since called the conference. The first conference was held in June
1744, at which Mr. Wesley met his brother, two or three other clergymen,
and a few of the preachers, whom he had appointed to come from various
parts, to confer with them on the affairs of the societies. Monday, June
25,” observes Mr. Wesley, and the five following days, we spent in
conference with our preachers, seriously considering by what means we
might the most effectually save our own souls, and them that heard us;
and the result of our consultations we set down to be the rule of our
future practice.” Since that time a conference has been annually held;
Mr. Wesley himself having presided at forty-seven. The subjects of their
deliberations were proposed in the form of questions, which were amply
discussed; and the questions, with the answers agreed upon, were
afterward printed under the title of Minutes of several Conversations
between the Rev. Mr. Wesley and others,” commonly called Minutes of
Conference.
As the kingdom had been divided into circuits, to each of which several
preachers were appointed for one or two years, a part of the work of
every conference was to arrange these appointments and changes. In the
early conferences various points of doctrine were discussed with
reference to the agreement of all in a common standard; and when this
was settled, and the doctrinal discussions discontinued, new regulations
continued to be adopted, as the state of the societies, and the
enlarging opportunities of doing good, required. The character of all
those who were engaged in the ministry was also annually examined; and
those who had passed the appointed term of probation, were solemnly
received into the ministry. All the preachers were itinerants, and,
animated by the example of Mr. Wesley, went through great labours, and
endured many privations and persecutions, but with such success that
societies and congregations were in a few years raised up in almost
every part of England, and in a very considerable number of places in
Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. The doctrines held by the Methodists, Mr.
Wesley declared repeatedly in his writings to be those contained in the
Articles of the church of England; for he understood the article on
predestination, as many others have done, in a sense not contrary to the
doctrine of the redemption and the possible salvation of the whole human
race. It will, therefore, be merely necessary to state those views of
certain doctrines which it has been thought the Wesleyan Methodists hold
in a somewhat peculiar way, or on which they have been most liable to
misrepresentation.
They maintain the total fall of man in Adam, and his utter inability to
recover himself, or take one step toward his recovery, without the grace
of God preventing him, that he may have a good will, and working with
him when he has that good will.” They assert that Christ, by the grace
of God, tasted death for every man.” This grace they call free, as
extending itself freely to all. They say that Christ is the Saviour of
all men, especially of them that believe;” and that, consequently, they
are authorized to offer salvation to all, and to preach the Gospel to
every creature.” They hold justification by faith. Justification,” says
Mr. Wesley, “sometimes means our acquittal at the last day, Matt. xii,
37: but this is altogether out of the present question; for that
justification whereof our Articles and Homilies speak, signifies present
forgiveness, pardon of sins, and consequently acceptance with God, who
therein declares his righteousness, or justice, and mercy, by or for the
remission of sins that are past, Romans iii, 25, saying, ‘I will be
merciful to thy unrighteousness, and thine iniquities I will remember no
more.’ I believe the condition of this is faith, Rom. iv, 5, &c; I mean,
not only that without faith we cannot be justified, but also that as
soon as any one has true faith, in that moment he is justified. Faith,
in general, is a divine supernatural evidence, or conviction, of things
not seen, not discoverable by our bodily senses, as being either past,
future, or spiritual. Justifying faith implies, not only a divine
evidence, or conviction, that ‘God was in Christ, reconciling the world
unto himself,’ but a full reliance on the merits of his death, a sure
confidence that Christ died for my sins; that he loved me, and gave
himself for me: and the moment a penitent sinner believes this, God
pardons and absolves him.” This faith, Mr. Wesley affirms, “is the gift
of God. No man is able to work it in himself. It is a work of
Omnipotence. It requires no less power thus to quicken a dead soul, than
to raise a body that lies in the grave. It is a new creation; and none
can create a soul anew but He who at first created the heavens and the
earth. It is the free gift of God, which he bestows not on those who are
_worthy_ of his favour, not on such as are _previously holy_, and so
_fit_ to be crowned with all the blessings of his goodness; but on the
ungodly and unholy, on those who till that hour were fit only for
everlasting destruction; those in whom is no good thing, and whose only
plea was, ‘God be merciful to me, a sinner!’ No merit, no goodness, in
man, precedes the forgiving love of God. His pardoning mercy supposes
nothing in us but a sense of mere sin and misery; and to all who see and
feel and own their wants, and their utter inability to remove them, God
freely gives faith, for the sake of Him in whom he is always well
pleased. Good works follow this faith, Luke vi, 43, but cannot go before
it; much less can sanctification, which implies a continued course of
good works springing from holiness of heart.” As to repentance he
insisted that it is conviction of sin, and that repentance, and works
meet for repentance, go before justifying faith; but he held, with the
church of England, that all works, before justification, had the nature
of sin;” and that, as they had no root in the love of God, which can
only arise from a persuasion of his being reconciled to us, they could
not constitute a moral worthiness preparatory to pardon. That true
repentance springs from the grace of God, is most certain; but, whatever
fruits it may bring forth, it changes not man’s _relation_ to God. He is
a sinner, and is justified _as such_; for it is not a saint, but a
sinner, that is forgiven, and under the notion of a sinner.” God
justifieth the ungodly, not the godly. Repentance, according to his
statement, is necessary to true faith; but faith alone is the direct and
immediate instrument of pardon. They hold also the direct internal
testimony of the Holy Spirit to the believer’s adoption; for an
exposition of which see HOLY SPIRIT.
They maintain also that, by virtue of the blood of Jesus Christ, and the
operations of the Holy Spirit, it is their privilege to arrive at that
maturity in grace, and participation of the divine nature, which
excludes sin from the heart, and fills it with perfect love to God and
man. This they denominate Christian perfection. On this doctrine Mr.
Wesley observes, “Christian perfection does not imply an exemption from
ignorance or mistake, infirmities or temptations; but it implies the
being so crucified with Christ, as to be able to testify, ‘I live not,
but Christ liveth in me,’ Gal. ii, 23, and ‘hath purified their hearts
by faith,’ Acts xv, 9.” Again: To explain myself a little farther on
this head: 1. Not only sin, properly so called, that is, a voluntary
transgression of a known law; but sin, improperly so called, that is, an
involuntary transgression of a divine law known or unknown, needs the
atoning blood. 2. I believe there is no such perfection in this life as
excludes these involuntary transgressions, which I apprehend to be
naturally consequent on the ignorance and mistakes inseparable from
mortality. 3. Therefore, sinless perfection is a phrase I never use,
lest I should seem to contradict myself. 4. I believe a person filled
with the love of God is still liable to these involuntary
transgressions. 5. Such transgressions you may call sins, if you please;
I do not, for the reasons above mentioned.”
The rules of the Methodist societies have been already given; but, in
order to have a general view of their ecclesiastical economy, it must be
remarked, that a number of these societies united together form what is
called a circuit. A circuit generally includes a large market town, and
the circumjacent villages to the extent of ten or fifteen miles. To one
circuit two or three, and sometimes four, preachers are appointed, one
of whom is styled the superintendent; and this is the sphere of their
labour for at least one year, or not more than three years. Once a
quarter the preachers meet all the classes, and speak personally to each
member. Those who have walked orderly the preceding quarter then receive
a ticket. These tickets are in some respects analogous to the _tesseræ_
of the ancients, and answer all the purposes of the commendatory letters
spoken of by the Apostle. Their chief use is to prevent imposture. After
the visitation of the classes a meeting is held, consisting of all the
preachers, leaders, and stewards in the circuit. At this meeting the
stewards deliver their collections to a circuit steward, and every thing
relating to temporal matters is publicly settled. At this meeting the
candidates for the ministry are proposed, and the stewards, after
officiating a definite period, are changed. A number of circuits, from
five to ten, more or fewer, according to their extent, form a district,
the preachers of which meet annually. Every district has a chairman, who
fixes the time of meeting. These assemblies have authority, 1. To
examine candidates for the ministry, and probationers, and to try and
suspend preachers who are found immoral, erroneous in doctrine, or
deficient in abilities. 2. To decide concerning the building of chapels.
3. To examine the demands from the poorer circuits respecting the
support of the preachers and of their families, from the public funds.
4. To elect a representative to attend and form a committee to sit
previously to the meeting of the conference, in order to prepare a
draught of the stations of all the preachers for the ensuing year. The
judgment of this meeting is conclusive until conference, to which an
appeal is allowed in all cases.
The conference, strictly speaking, consists only of a hundred of the
senior preachers, according to the arrangements prescribed in a deed of
declaration, executed by Mr. Wesley, and enrolled in chancery. But the
preachers elected at the preceding district meetings as representatives,
the superintendents of the circuits, and such preachers as the districts
allow to attend, sit and vote usually as one body. At the conference,
every preacher’s character undergoes the strictest scrutiny; and if any
charge be proved against him, he is dealt with accordingly. The
preachers are also stationed, the proceedings of the subordinate
meetings reviewed, and the state of the connection at large is
considered. The conference is commonly held in London, Leeds, Bristol,
Manchester, Liverpool, and Sheffield, in rotation, at the latter end of
July.
By the minutes of the last conference, 1831, it appears that this
religious body had three hundred and sixty-three circuits in England,
Wales, and Scotland; forty-five in Ireland; and a hundred and fifty-six
mission stations, most of them being also circuits, in Sweden, France,
the Mediterranean, Continental India, Ceylon, the South Seas, Africa,
the West Indies, and British America. The number of members in the
societies were, in Great Britain, two hundred and forty-nine thousand
one hundred and nineteen; in Ireland, twenty-two thousand four hundred
and seventy; in the foreign stations, forty-two thousand seven hundred
and forty-three. Their regular preachers were eight hundred and
forty-six in Great Britain; in Ireland, a hundred and forty-six; in
foreign stations, exclusive of catechists, a hundred and eighty-seven.
[The preceding account, so far as it respects the original history, the
doctrines, and the moral discipline of Wesleyan Methodists, is equally
applicable to those in America and in Europe. The Methodist Episcopal
Church in the United States, however, which became a distinct and
independent church in the year 1784, differs considerably in its
organization, and in the details of its ecclesiastical economy, from the
British Wesleyan connection. The circuits, into which the whole field of
labour occupied by the itinerant ministry is divided, are in general
much larger, nor is any preacher allowed to remain on them more than two
years successively. Of these circuits, from five or six to fifteen or
more, according to circumstances, constitute a district. Of the
districts, from four or five to six or eight, usually, comprise the
tract of country embraced within the boundaries of an annual conference;
and of annual conferences, the whole of the United States and
Territories, agreeably to the minutes of the last year, (1831,) were
divided into nineteen. From all these annual conferences, delegates, in
a certain prescribed ratio, are sent once in four years to constitute a
general conference, the highest ecclesiastical assemblage among American
Wesleyan Methodists. The minister or preacher first named of those
appointed to each circuit or station, is thereby invested with the
pastoral charge thereof, and is usually denominated the preacher in
charge. Each district is committed to the care of an elder, denominated
the presiding elder, who is appointed annually, and may remain four
years successively on a district, but not longer; and all the districts
comprising the whole extent of the church, are under the general
superintendence of the bishops. These at present, (April, 1832,) are
four in number, and like all others of our stated ministry, are required
to be itinerant. If they cease to travel at large, without the consent
of the general conference, they forfeit the exercise of their episcopal
functions. Their visitations are annual and alternate, on a preconcerted
plan, through the bounds of the entire work. They preside in the annual
and general conferences, station the preachers, with (by established
usage) the counsel of the presiding elders, and are jointly and
severally responsible to the general conference for their administration
and conduct. (See also the articles EPISCOPALIANS,” and IMPOSITION OF
HANDS.”)
For a more minute detail of the ecclesiastical economy, spiritual and
temporal, of American Wesleyan Methodists, (which would lead us too far
for a work of this sort,) reference may be had to the small volume
published at the Conference Office, entitled ‘_The Doctrines and
Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church_.’
By the minutes of the annual conferences for the last year, (1831,)
there were in the communion of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the
United States, five hundred and thirteen thousand one hundred and
twenty-four members; of whom four hundred and thirty-seven thousand and
twenty-four were whites, seventy-one thousand five hundred and
eighty-nine coloured, and four thousand five hundred and one Indians.
The number of itinerant ministers was two thousand and ten, of whom one
hundred and thirty four were superannuated, or worn out. In addition to
these, there are also several thousand local ministers and preachers,
many of whom were once itinerant; and who, though not statedly devoted
to the work of the ministerial office, as the itinerant ministers are,
yet, by their valuable services on the Sabbath, or at other times
occasionally in their respective vicinities, constitute an important
auxiliary branch of the system, and contribute much to its compactness
and efficiency.
Beside the above, there are in the United States several smaller
associations of persons bearing the name of Methodists, who hold and
teach, in general, the doctrines of Wesleyan Methodists, but are not in
connection with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and differ from it in
various points of ecclesiastical economy and discipline.
The Wesleyan Methodists in Upper Canada, who were formerly in connection
with the church in the United States, have recently, with the consent of
the general conference of the latter body, been constituted a distinct
church, under an episcopal form. Its organization, however, has not yet
been completed by the consecration of a bishop, though we understand
that a reverend individual has been selected, who will probably shortly
be set apart for that holy office. This branch of the American Wesleyan
Methodists, agreeably to their minutes for the year 1831, consisted of
sixty-five itinerant ministers, and twelve thousand five hundred and
sixty-three members; of whom one thousand two hundred and thirty-three
were Indians.]
persons and parties which have appeared in this country; but which now
principally designates the followers of the Rev. John Wesley. The
societies raised up by the instrumentality of the Rev. George Whitefield
were also called Methodists, and in Wales especially are still known by
that appellation. For distinction’s sake, therefore, and also because a
number of smaller sects have broken off from the Methodist societies
since Mr. Wesley’s death, the religious body which he raised up and left
organized under his rules, have of late been generally denominated the
WESLEYAN METHODISTS. In the year 1729, Mr. John Wesley, being then
fellow of Lincoln College, began to spend some evenings in reading the
Greek Testament with Charles Wesley, student, and Mr. Morgan, commoner
of Christ Church, and Mr. Kirkham, of Merton College. Not long after,
two or three of the pupils of Mr. John Wesley, and one pupil of Mr.
Charles Wesley, obtained leave to attend these meetings. They then began
to visit the sick in different parts of the town, and the prisoners
also, who were confined in the castle. Two years after, they were joined
by Mr. Ingham, of Queen’s College, Mr. Broughton, and Mr. Hervey; and in
1735, by the celebrated Mr. George Whitefield, then in his eighteenth
year. At this time their number in Oxford amounted to about fourteen.
They obtained the name of Methodists, from the exact regularity of their
lives, and the manner of spending their time. In October, 1735, John and
Charles Wesley, Mr. Ingham, and Mr. Delamotte, son of a merchant in
London, embarked for Georgia, having been engaged by the trustees of
that colony as chaplains; but their ultimate design was to preach the
Gospel to the Indians. No favourable opportunity offering itself for
this pious work, and the strict and faithful preaching of the Wesleys
having involved them in much persecution, and many disputes with the
colonists, they returned to England, Mr. Charles Wesley in 1737, Mr.
John Wesley in 1738. On the passage to America, and while in Georgia,
Mr. John had met with several pious Moravians; whose doctrines of
justification by faith alone, conscious pardon of sin, and peace with
God, confirmed by their own calmness in danger and freedom from the fear
of death, greatly impressed him. On his return to England, he was more
fully instructed in these views by Bohler, a Moravian minister; and
having proved their truth in his own experience, he began to preach in
the churches of the metropolis, and other places, and then in rooms,
fields, and streets, the doctrine of salvation by faith. In this his
brother Charles was his zealous coadjutor; and the effect was the
awakening of great multitudes to a religious concern, and the
commencement of a great revival of religion throughout the land, which
has in its effects extended itself to the most distant parts of the
world. At the time of Mr. Wesley’s death, the societies in connection
with him in Europe, America, and the West Indies, amounted to eighty
thousand members; they are now [1831] upward of three hundred thousand,
beside about half a million in the United States of America, who since
the acquisition of independence by that country have formed a separate
church. The rules of this religious society were drawn up by Messrs.
John and Charles Wesley in 1743, and continue to be in force. They state
the nature and design of a Methodist society in the following words:
“Such a society is no other than a company of men, having the form and
seeking the power of godliness: united, in order to pray together, to
receive the word of exhortation, and to watch over one another in love,
that they may help each other to work out their own salvation. That it
may the more easily be discerned whether they are indeed working out
their own salvation, each society is divided into smaller companies,
called classes, according to their respective places of abode. There are
about twelve persons, sometimes fifteen, twenty, or even more, in each
class; one of whom is styled the leader. It is his business, 1. To see
each person in his class once a week, at least, in order to inquire how
their souls prosper; to advise, reprove, comfort, or exhort, as occasion
may require; to receive what they are willing to give to the poor, or
toward the support of the Gospel. 2. To meet the minister and the
stewards of the society once a week, to inform the minister of any that
are sick, or of any that walk disorderly and will not be reproved; to
pay to the stewards what they have received of their several classes in
the week preceding; and to show their account of what each person has
contributed. There is only one condition previously required of those
who desire admission into these societies, namely, a desire to flee from
the wrath to come; to be saved from their sins: but wherever this is
really fixed in the soul, it will be shown by its fruits. It is
therefore expected of all who continue therein, that they should
continue to evidence their desire of salvation, 1. By doing no harm; by
avoiding evil in every kind, especially that which is most generally
practised, such as taking the name of God in vain; profaning the day of
the Lord, either by doing ordinary work thereon, or by buying or
selling; drunkenness; buying and selling spirituous liquors, or drinking
them, unless in cases of extreme necessity; fighting, quarrelling,
brawling; brother going to law with brother; returning evil for evil, or
railing for railing; the using many words in buying or selling; the
buying or selling uncustomed goods; the giving or taking things on
usury, that is, unlawful interest; uncharitable or unprofitable
conversation, particularly speaking evil of magistrates or of ministers;
doing to others as we would not they should do unto us; doing what we
know is not for the glory of God, as the putting on of gold or costly
apparel; the taking such diversions as cannot be used in the name of the
Lord Jesus; singing those songs, or reading those books, which do not
tend to the knowledge or love of God; softness, or needless
self-indulgence; laying up treasure upon earth; borrowing without a
probability of paying; or taking up goods, without a probability of
paying for them. It is expected of all who continue in these societies,
that they should continue to evidence their desire of salvation, 2. By
doing good; by being in every kind merciful after their power, as they
have opportunity; doing good of every possible sort, and, as far as
possible, to all men; to their bodies, of the ability which God giveth,
by giving food to the hungry, by clothing the naked, by visiting or
helping them that are sick or in prison; to their souls, by instructing,
reproving, or exhorting all we have any intercourse with; trampling
under foot that enthusiastic doctrine of devils,--that we are not to do
good unless our hearts be free to it: by doing good, especially to them
that are of the household of faith, or groaning so to be; employing them
preferably to others; buying one of another; helping each other in
business, and so much the more as the world will love its own, and them
only; by all possible diligence and frugality, that the Gospel be not
blamed; by running with patience the race set before them, denying
themselves, and taking up their cross daily; submitting to bear the
reproach of Christ; to be as the filth and off-scouring of the world,
and looking that men should say all manner of evil of them falsely for
the Lord’s sake. It is expected of all who continue in these societies,
that they should continue to evidence their desire of salvation, 3. By
attending on all the ordinances of God: such are, the public worship of
God; the ministry of the word either read or expounded; the supper of
the Lord; family and private prayer; searching the Scriptures, and
fasting and abstinence. These are the general rules of our societies,
all which we are taught of God to observe, even in his written word, the
only rule, and the sufficient rule, both of our faith and practice; and
all these we know his Spirit writes on every truly awakened heart. If
there be any among us who observe them not, who habitually breaks any of
them, let it be made known to them who watch over that soul, as they
that must give an account. We will admonish him of the error of his
ways; we will bear with him for a season; but then, if he repent not, he
hath no more place among us: we have delivered our own souls.”
The effect produced by the preaching of the two brothers in various
parts of the kingdom, and those frequently the most populous and rude,
rendered it necessary to call out preachers to their assistance, and
especially since the clergy generally remained negligent, and rather
opposed and persecuted, than encouraged, the Wesleys in their endeavours
to effect a national reformation. The association of preachers with
themselves in the work led to an annual meeting of the ministers, then
and since called the conference. The first conference was held in June
1744, at which Mr. Wesley met his brother, two or three other clergymen,
and a few of the preachers, whom he had appointed to come from various
parts, to confer with them on the affairs of the societies. Monday, June
25,” observes Mr. Wesley, and the five following days, we spent in
conference with our preachers, seriously considering by what means we
might the most effectually save our own souls, and them that heard us;
and the result of our consultations we set down to be the rule of our
future practice.” Since that time a conference has been annually held;
Mr. Wesley himself having presided at forty-seven. The subjects of their
deliberations were proposed in the form of questions, which were amply
discussed; and the questions, with the answers agreed upon, were
afterward printed under the title of Minutes of several Conversations
between the Rev. Mr. Wesley and others,” commonly called Minutes of
Conference.
As the kingdom had been divided into circuits, to each of which several
preachers were appointed for one or two years, a part of the work of
every conference was to arrange these appointments and changes. In the
early conferences various points of doctrine were discussed with
reference to the agreement of all in a common standard; and when this
was settled, and the doctrinal discussions discontinued, new regulations
continued to be adopted, as the state of the societies, and the
enlarging opportunities of doing good, required. The character of all
those who were engaged in the ministry was also annually examined; and
those who had passed the appointed term of probation, were solemnly
received into the ministry. All the preachers were itinerants, and,
animated by the example of Mr. Wesley, went through great labours, and
endured many privations and persecutions, but with such success that
societies and congregations were in a few years raised up in almost
every part of England, and in a very considerable number of places in
Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. The doctrines held by the Methodists, Mr.
Wesley declared repeatedly in his writings to be those contained in the
Articles of the church of England; for he understood the article on
predestination, as many others have done, in a sense not contrary to the
doctrine of the redemption and the possible salvation of the whole human
race. It will, therefore, be merely necessary to state those views of
certain doctrines which it has been thought the Wesleyan Methodists hold
in a somewhat peculiar way, or on which they have been most liable to
misrepresentation.
They maintain the total fall of man in Adam, and his utter inability to
recover himself, or take one step toward his recovery, without the grace
of God preventing him, that he may have a good will, and working with
him when he has that good will.” They assert that Christ, by the grace
of God, tasted death for every man.” This grace they call free, as
extending itself freely to all. They say that Christ is the Saviour of
all men, especially of them that believe;” and that, consequently, they
are authorized to offer salvation to all, and to preach the Gospel to
every creature.” They hold justification by faith. Justification,” says
Mr. Wesley, “sometimes means our acquittal at the last day, Matt. xii,
37: but this is altogether out of the present question; for that
justification whereof our Articles and Homilies speak, signifies present
forgiveness, pardon of sins, and consequently acceptance with God, who
therein declares his righteousness, or justice, and mercy, by or for the
remission of sins that are past, Romans iii, 25, saying, ‘I will be
merciful to thy unrighteousness, and thine iniquities I will remember no
more.’ I believe the condition of this is faith, Rom. iv, 5, &c; I mean,
not only that without faith we cannot be justified, but also that as
soon as any one has true faith, in that moment he is justified. Faith,
in general, is a divine supernatural evidence, or conviction, of things
not seen, not discoverable by our bodily senses, as being either past,
future, or spiritual. Justifying faith implies, not only a divine
evidence, or conviction, that ‘God was in Christ, reconciling the world
unto himself,’ but a full reliance on the merits of his death, a sure
confidence that Christ died for my sins; that he loved me, and gave
himself for me: and the moment a penitent sinner believes this, God
pardons and absolves him.” This faith, Mr. Wesley affirms, “is the gift
of God. No man is able to work it in himself. It is a work of
Omnipotence. It requires no less power thus to quicken a dead soul, than
to raise a body that lies in the grave. It is a new creation; and none
can create a soul anew but He who at first created the heavens and the
earth. It is the free gift of God, which he bestows not on those who are
_worthy_ of his favour, not on such as are _previously holy_, and so
_fit_ to be crowned with all the blessings of his goodness; but on the
ungodly and unholy, on those who till that hour were fit only for
everlasting destruction; those in whom is no good thing, and whose only
plea was, ‘God be merciful to me, a sinner!’ No merit, no goodness, in
man, precedes the forgiving love of God. His pardoning mercy supposes
nothing in us but a sense of mere sin and misery; and to all who see and
feel and own their wants, and their utter inability to remove them, God
freely gives faith, for the sake of Him in whom he is always well
pleased. Good works follow this faith, Luke vi, 43, but cannot go before
it; much less can sanctification, which implies a continued course of
good works springing from holiness of heart.” As to repentance he
insisted that it is conviction of sin, and that repentance, and works
meet for repentance, go before justifying faith; but he held, with the
church of England, that all works, before justification, had the nature
of sin;” and that, as they had no root in the love of God, which can
only arise from a persuasion of his being reconciled to us, they could
not constitute a moral worthiness preparatory to pardon. That true
repentance springs from the grace of God, is most certain; but, whatever
fruits it may bring forth, it changes not man’s _relation_ to God. He is
a sinner, and is justified _as such_; for it is not a saint, but a
sinner, that is forgiven, and under the notion of a sinner.” God
justifieth the ungodly, not the godly. Repentance, according to his
statement, is necessary to true faith; but faith alone is the direct and
immediate instrument of pardon. They hold also the direct internal
testimony of the Holy Spirit to the believer’s adoption; for an
exposition of which see HOLY SPIRIT.
They maintain also that, by virtue of the blood of Jesus Christ, and the
operations of the Holy Spirit, it is their privilege to arrive at that
maturity in grace, and participation of the divine nature, which
excludes sin from the heart, and fills it with perfect love to God and
man. This they denominate Christian perfection. On this doctrine Mr.
Wesley observes, “Christian perfection does not imply an exemption from
ignorance or mistake, infirmities or temptations; but it implies the
being so crucified with Christ, as to be able to testify, ‘I live not,
but Christ liveth in me,’ Gal. ii, 23, and ‘hath purified their hearts
by faith,’ Acts xv, 9.” Again: To explain myself a little farther on
this head: 1. Not only sin, properly so called, that is, a voluntary
transgression of a known law; but sin, improperly so called, that is, an
involuntary transgression of a divine law known or unknown, needs the
atoning blood. 2. I believe there is no such perfection in this life as
excludes these involuntary transgressions, which I apprehend to be
naturally consequent on the ignorance and mistakes inseparable from
mortality. 3. Therefore, sinless perfection is a phrase I never use,
lest I should seem to contradict myself. 4. I believe a person filled
with the love of God is still liable to these involuntary
transgressions. 5. Such transgressions you may call sins, if you please;
I do not, for the reasons above mentioned.”
The rules of the Methodist societies have been already given; but, in
order to have a general view of their ecclesiastical economy, it must be
remarked, that a number of these societies united together form what is
called a circuit. A circuit generally includes a large market town, and
the circumjacent villages to the extent of ten or fifteen miles. To one
circuit two or three, and sometimes four, preachers are appointed, one
of whom is styled the superintendent; and this is the sphere of their
labour for at least one year, or not more than three years. Once a
quarter the preachers meet all the classes, and speak personally to each
member. Those who have walked orderly the preceding quarter then receive
a ticket. These tickets are in some respects analogous to the _tesseræ_
of the ancients, and answer all the purposes of the commendatory letters
spoken of by the Apostle. Their chief use is to prevent imposture. After
the visitation of the classes a meeting is held, consisting of all the
preachers, leaders, and stewards in the circuit. At this meeting the
stewards deliver their collections to a circuit steward, and every thing
relating to temporal matters is publicly settled. At this meeting the
candidates for the ministry are proposed, and the stewards, after
officiating a definite period, are changed. A number of circuits, from
five to ten, more or fewer, according to their extent, form a district,
the preachers of which meet annually. Every district has a chairman, who
fixes the time of meeting. These assemblies have authority, 1. To
examine candidates for the ministry, and probationers, and to try and
suspend preachers who are found immoral, erroneous in doctrine, or
deficient in abilities. 2. To decide concerning the building of chapels.
3. To examine the demands from the poorer circuits respecting the
support of the preachers and of their families, from the public funds.
4. To elect a representative to attend and form a committee to sit
previously to the meeting of the conference, in order to prepare a
draught of the stations of all the preachers for the ensuing year. The
judgment of this meeting is conclusive until conference, to which an
appeal is allowed in all cases.
The conference, strictly speaking, consists only of a hundred of the
senior preachers, according to the arrangements prescribed in a deed of
declaration, executed by Mr. Wesley, and enrolled in chancery. But the
preachers elected at the preceding district meetings as representatives,
the superintendents of the circuits, and such preachers as the districts
allow to attend, sit and vote usually as one body. At the conference,
every preacher’s character undergoes the strictest scrutiny; and if any
charge be proved against him, he is dealt with accordingly. The
preachers are also stationed, the proceedings of the subordinate
meetings reviewed, and the state of the connection at large is
considered. The conference is commonly held in London, Leeds, Bristol,
Manchester, Liverpool, and Sheffield, in rotation, at the latter end of
July.
By the minutes of the last conference, 1831, it appears that this
religious body had three hundred and sixty-three circuits in England,
Wales, and Scotland; forty-five in Ireland; and a hundred and fifty-six
mission stations, most of them being also circuits, in Sweden, France,
the Mediterranean, Continental India, Ceylon, the South Seas, Africa,
the West Indies, and British America. The number of members in the
societies were, in Great Britain, two hundred and forty-nine thousand
one hundred and nineteen; in Ireland, twenty-two thousand four hundred
and seventy; in the foreign stations, forty-two thousand seven hundred
and forty-three. Their regular preachers were eight hundred and
forty-six in Great Britain; in Ireland, a hundred and forty-six; in
foreign stations, exclusive of catechists, a hundred and eighty-seven.
[The preceding account, so far as it respects the original history, the
doctrines, and the moral discipline of Wesleyan Methodists, is equally
applicable to those in America and in Europe. The Methodist Episcopal
Church in the United States, however, which became a distinct and
independent church in the year 1784, differs considerably in its
organization, and in the details of its ecclesiastical economy, from the
British Wesleyan connection. The circuits, into which the whole field of
labour occupied by the itinerant ministry is divided, are in general
much larger, nor is any preacher allowed to remain on them more than two
years successively. Of these circuits, from five or six to fifteen or
more, according to circumstances, constitute a district. Of the
districts, from four or five to six or eight, usually, comprise the
tract of country embraced within the boundaries of an annual conference;
and of annual conferences, the whole of the United States and
Territories, agreeably to the minutes of the last year, (1831,) were
divided into nineteen. From all these annual conferences, delegates, in
a certain prescribed ratio, are sent once in four years to constitute a
general conference, the highest ecclesiastical assemblage among American
Wesleyan Methodists. The minister or preacher first named of those
appointed to each circuit or station, is thereby invested with the
pastoral charge thereof, and is usually denominated the preacher in
charge. Each district is committed to the care of an elder, denominated
the presiding elder, who is appointed annually, and may remain four
years successively on a district, but not longer; and all the districts
comprising the whole extent of the church, are under the general
superintendence of the bishops. These at present, (April, 1832,) are
four in number, and like all others of our stated ministry, are required
to be itinerant. If they cease to travel at large, without the consent
of the general conference, they forfeit the exercise of their episcopal
functions. Their visitations are annual and alternate, on a preconcerted
plan, through the bounds of the entire work. They preside in the annual
and general conferences, station the preachers, with (by established
usage) the counsel of the presiding elders, and are jointly and
severally responsible to the general conference for their administration
and conduct. (See also the articles EPISCOPALIANS,” and IMPOSITION OF
HANDS.”)
For a more minute detail of the ecclesiastical economy, spiritual and
temporal, of American Wesleyan Methodists, (which would lead us too far
for a work of this sort,) reference may be had to the small volume
published at the Conference Office, entitled ‘_The Doctrines and
Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church_.’
By the minutes of the annual conferences for the last year, (1831,)
there were in the communion of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the
United States, five hundred and thirteen thousand one hundred and
twenty-four members; of whom four hundred and thirty-seven thousand and
twenty-four were whites, seventy-one thousand five hundred and
eighty-nine coloured, and four thousand five hundred and one Indians.
The number of itinerant ministers was two thousand and ten, of whom one
hundred and thirty four were superannuated, or worn out. In addition to
these, there are also several thousand local ministers and preachers,
many of whom were once itinerant; and who, though not statedly devoted
to the work of the ministerial office, as the itinerant ministers are,
yet, by their valuable services on the Sabbath, or at other times
occasionally in their respective vicinities, constitute an important
auxiliary branch of the system, and contribute much to its compactness
and efficiency.
Beside the above, there are in the United States several smaller
associations of persons bearing the name of Methodists, who hold and
teach, in general, the doctrines of Wesleyan Methodists, but are not in
connection with the Methodist Episcopal Church, and differ from it in
various points of ecclesiastical economy and discipline.
The Wesleyan Methodists in Upper Canada, who were formerly in connection
with the church in the United States, have recently, with the consent of
the general conference of the latter body, been constituted a distinct
church, under an episcopal form. Its organization, however, has not yet
been completed by the consecration of a bishop, though we understand
that a reverend individual has been selected, who will probably shortly
be set apart for that holy office. This branch of the American Wesleyan
Methodists, agreeably to their minutes for the year 1831, consisted of
sixty-five itinerant ministers, and twelve thousand five hundred and
sixty-three members; of whom one thousand two hundred and thirty-three
were Indians.]