Justification by Faith

People had almost completely lost sight of the great doctrine of justification by faith that Luther had taught so clearly. The Catholic principle of trusting to good works for salvation had taken its place. Whitefield and the Wesleys were sincere seekers for God's favor. They had been taught that they could obtain it by living uprightly and by keeping the rules of the church.LF 108.3

Once when Charles Wesley became ill and expected to die soon, someone asked him on what basis he hoped to have eternal life. His answer: “I have used my best efforts to serve God.” The friend did not seem fully satisfied with this answer. Wesley thought: “What! ... Would he rob me of my efforts? I have nothing else in which to trust.”^{8John Whitehead, Life of the Rev. Charles Wesley, page 102.} This was the kind of darkness that had settled on the church, turning people from their only hope of salvation—the blood of the crucified Redeemer.LF 108.4

Wesley and his associates came to see that God's law extends to the thoughts as well as to the words and actions. By diligent and prayerful efforts they tried to subdue the evils of the natural heart. They lived a life of self-denial and humiliation, carefully following every practice that they thought could help them become holy enough to win God's favor. But their efforts failed to free them from sin's condemnation or to break its power.LF 108.5

The fires of divine truth had nearly died out on the altars of Protestantism, but they were about to be relit from the ancient torch handed down by the Christians of Bohemia. Some of these, who found safety in Saxony, kept the ancient faith alive. Light came to Wesley from these Christians.LF 108.6

John and Charles Wesley were sent on a mission to America. A company of Moravians was also on board the ship. On the journey they encountered violent storms, and John, face to face with death, realized he did not have the assurance of peace with God. The Germans showed a calmness and trust that he didn’t know. “Long before this,” he said, “I had observed the great seriousness of their behavior.... Now there was an opportunity to see whether they were delivered from the spirit of fear, as well as from that of pride, anger, and revenge. In the middle of the psalm that began their religious service, the sea broke over the ship, split the mainsail in pieces, covered the ship, and poured in between the decks as if the great deep had already swallowed us up. A terrible screaming began among the English. The Germans calmly sang on. I asked one of them afterwards, ‘Were you not afraid?’ He answered, ‘I thank God, no.’ I asked, ‘But were not your women and children afraid?’ He replied calmly, ‘No, our women and children are not afraid to die.’”^{9John Whitehead, Life of the Rev. Charles Wesley, page 10.}LF 108.7