John Wesley was an English cleric, theologian, and evangelist, who was a leader of a revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies he founded became the dominant form of the independent Methodist movement that continues to this day. These John Wesley quotes will motivate you.
Best John Wesley Quotes
- “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.” ~ John Wesley
- “I have never known more than fifteen minutes of anxiety or fear. Whenever I feel fearful emotions overtaking me, I just close my eyes and thank God that He is still on the throne reigning over everything and I take comfort in His control over the affairs of my life.” ~ John Wesley
- “Condemn no man for not thinking as you think. Let everyone enjoy the full and free liberty of thinking for himself. Let every man use his own judgment since every man must give an account of himself to God. Abhor every approach, in any kind or degree, to the spirit of persecution, if you cannot reason nor persuade a man into the truth, never attempt to force a man into it. If love will not compel him to come, leave him to God, the judge of all.” ~ John Wesley
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“The church changes the world not by making converts but by making disciples.” ~ John Wesley
- “What one generation tolerates, the next generation will embrace.” ~ John Wesley
- “Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin and desire nothing but God, and I care not whether they be clergymen or laymen, they alone will shake the gates of Hell and set up the kingdom of Heaven upon Earth.” ~ John Wesley
- “Lord, I am no longer my own, but Yours. Put me to what You will, rank me with whom You will. Let be employed by You or laid aside for You, exalted for You or brought low by You. Let me have all things, let me have nothing, I freely and heartily yield all things to Your pleasure and disposal. And now, O glorious and blessed God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, You are mine and I am Yours. So be it. Amen.” ~ John Wesley
- “Whosoever will reign with Christ in heaven, must have Christ reigning in him on earth” ~ John Wesley
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“We should be rigorous in judging ourselves and gracious in judging others.” ~ John Wesley
- “Let your words be the genuine picture of your heart.” ~ John Wesley
- “Get on fire for God and men will come and see you burn.” ~ John Wesley
- “People who wish to be offended will always find some occasion for taking offense.” ~ John Wesley
- “Reading Christians are growing Christians. When Christians cease to read, they cease to grow.” ~ John Wesley
- “I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.” ~ John Wesley
- “Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion? Without all doubt, we may. Herein all the children of God may unite, notwithstanding these smaller differences.” ~ John Wesley
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“In all cases, the Church is to be judged by the Scripture, not the Scripture by the Church.” ~ John Wesley
- “Do no harm. Do good. Stay in love with God.” ~ John Wesley
- “Humility and patience are the surest proofs of the increase of love.” ~ John Wesley
- “You have one business on earth – to save souls.” ~ John Wesley
- “The Church recruited people who had been starched and ironed before they were washed.” ~ John Wesley
- “October 6, 1774 I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election, and advised them 1. To vote, without fee or reward, for the person they judged most worthy 2. To speak no evil of the person they voted against, and 3. To take care their spirits were not sharpened against those that voted on the other side.” ~ John Wesley
- “Do you not know that God entrusted you with that money (all above what buys necessities for your families) to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to help the stranger, the widow, the fatherless; and, indeed, as far as it will go, to relieve the wants of all mankind? How can you, how dare you, defraud the Lord, by applying it to any other purpose?” ~ John Wesley
- “Do you know why that cow looks over that wall? She looks over the wall because she cannot see through it, and that is what you must do with your troubles… Look over and above them.” ~ John Wesley
- “By justification, we are saved from the guilt of sin…by sanctification, we are saved from the power and root of sin” ~ John Wesley
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“Anything that cools my love for Christ is the world.” ~ John Wesley
- “Nothing short of God can satisfy your soul.” ~ John Wesley
- “Making an open stand against all the ungodliness and unrighteousness which overspreads our land as a flood is one of the noblest ways of confessing Christ in the face of His enemies.” ~ John Wesley
- “One of the greatest evidences of God’s love to those that love him is, to send them afflictions, with grace to bear them.” ~ John Wesley
- “I learned more about Christianity from my mother than from all the theologians in England.” ~ John Wesley
- “I want the whole Christ for my Savior, the whole Bible for my book, the whole Church for my fellowship, and the whole world for my mission field.” ~ John Wesley
- “If I had 300 men who feared nothing but God, hated nothing but sin, and were determined to know nothing among men but Jesus Christ and Him crucified, I would set the world on fire.” ~ John Wesley
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“The best of all is God with us” ~ John Wesley
- “When a man becomes a Christian, he becomes industrious, trustworthy and prosperous. Now, if that man, when he gets all he can and saves all he can, does not give all he can, I have more hope for Judas Iscariot than for that man!” ~ John Wesley
- “Proceed with much prayer, and your way will be made plain.” ~ John Wesley
- “As long as you feel your own weakness and helplessness, you will find help from above.” ~ John Wesley
- “Not, how much of my money will I give to God, but, how much of God’s money will I keep for myself?” ~ John Wesley
- “If we cannot think alike, at least we may love alike; and can anything but love beget love?” ~ John Wesley
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“Prayer is where the action is.” ~ John Wesley
- “Before I can preach love, mercy, and grace, I must preach sin, Law, and judgment. Preach 90% Law and 10% grace.” ~ John Wesley
- “Let me do all the good I can, to all the people I can, as often as I can, for I shall not pass this way again.” ~ John Wesley
- “Vice does not lose its character by becoming fashionable.” ~ John Wesley
- “My fear is not that our great movement, known as the Methodists, will eventually cease to exist or one day die from the earth. My fear is that our people will become content to live without the fire, the power, the excitement, the supernatural element that makes us great.” ~ John Wesley
- “You have nothing to do but to save souls. Therefore spend and be spent in this work. And go not only to those that need you, but to those that need you most. It is not your business to preach so many times, and to take care of this or that society; but to save as many souls as you can; to bring as many sinners as you possibly can to repentance.” ~ John Wesley
- “I continue to dream and pray about a revival of holiness in our day that moves forth in mission and creates authentic community in which each person can be unleashed through the empowerment of the Spirit to fulfill God’s creational intentions.” ~ John Wesley
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“Singing is as much the language of holy joy as praying is of holy desire.” ~ John Wesley
- “I believe in my heart that faith in Jesus Christ can and will lead us beyond an exclusive concern for the well-being of other human beings to the broader concern for the well-being of the birds in our backyards, the fish in our rivers, and every living creature on the face of the earth.” ~ John Wesley
- “I judge all things only by the price they shall gain in eternity.” ~ John Wesley
- “Wherever riches have increased, the essence of religion has decreased in the same proportion.” ~ John Wesley
- “I want to know one thing: The way to Heaven. How to land safe on that happy shore.” ~ John Wesley
- “Think not the bigotry of another is any excuse for your own.” ~ John Wesley
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“I have so much to do that I spend several hours in prayer before I am able to do it.” ~ John Wesley
- “When I was young I was sure of everything; in a few years, having been mistaken a thousand times, I was not half so sure of most things as I was before; at present, I am hardly sure of anything but what God has revealed to me.” ~ John Wesley
- “Ever since the religion of Islam appeared in the world, the espousers of it…have been as wolves and tigers to all other nations, rending and tearing all that fell into their merciless paws, and grinding them with their iron teeth; that numberless cities are raised from the foundation, and only their name remaining; that many countries, which were once as the garden of God, are now a desolate wilderness; and that so many once numerous and powerful nations are vanished from the earth! Such was, and is at this day, the rage, the fury, the revenge, of these destroyers of humankind.” ~ John Wesley
- “If doing a good act in public will excite others to do more good, then ‘Let your light shine to all.’ Miss no opportunity to do good.” ~ John Wesley
- “Money never stays with me. It would burn me if it did. I throw it out of my hands as soon as possible, lest it should find its way into my heart.” ~ John Wesley
- “Bring me a worm that can comprehend a man, and then I will show you a man that can comprehend the Triune God.” ~ John Wesley
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“Untold millions are still untold.” ~ John Wesley
- “The first priority of my life is to be holy, and the second goal of my life is to be a scholar.” ~ John Wesley
- “Oh Lord, let me not live to be useless.” ~ John Wesley
- “In souls filled with love, the desire to please God is continual prayer.” ~ John Wesley
- “Having, First, gained all you can, and, Secondly saved all you can, Then give all you can.” ~ John Wesley
- “Catch on fire and people will come for miles to see you burn.” ~ John Wesley
- “Beware you be not swallowed up in books! An ounce of love is worth a pound of knowledge.” ~ John Wesley
- “For as long as love takes up the whole heart, what room is there for sin therein?” ~ John Wesley
- “Until my work on this earth is done, I am immortal. But when my work for Christ is done … I go to be with Jesus” ~ John Wesley
