35+ Best John Wesley Quotes From The English Theologian And Evangelist

Rajnandini Roychoudhury
Dec 12, 2023 By Rajnandini Roychoudhury
Originally Published on Feb 09, 2021
Edited by Monisha Kochhar
John Wesley
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John Wesley was an English cleric, evangelist, and theologian best known for pioneering the Methodism movement in the Church of England.

The term 'Methodism' was derived from the methodical way in which the followers carried out their beliefs and faiths. John Wesley felt the need to start the movement and provide structure to the followers of the church after he witnessed the Anglican Church marginalize and desert its believers in the midst of the American revolution.  

The Methodist quadrilateral or the Wesleyan quadrilateral is a methodology minted by Albert C. Outler, a Methodist leader, to study the works of John Wesley.

The four methods or the four sources are utilized as the basis of theological debate and discussion and pertain to four distinct foundations. The four methods or sources are scripture, reason, tradition, and Christian experience.

"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 you ever can," is a famous quote attributed to Wesley, but it has been disputed by various scholars and academics as being misattributed to him.

There is also no trace of John Wesley ever mentioning "Catch on fire with enthusiasm, and people will come for miles to watch you burn" either. There are many John Wesley quotes on worship and John Wesley quotes on voting for you in this article.

Here are the best John Wesley quotes all for you!

If you would like to read some other articles with cool quotes, you can check out Smith Wigglesworth and Jonathan Edwards quotes.

Best John Wesley Quotes

Old books on a wooden shelf.

If you're looking for famous John Wesley quotes, then you will find those here! Here are the best John Wesley quotes.

1. "O never give me over to my own heart's desires, nor let me follow my own imaginations!"

- John Wesley.

2. "Think and let think."

- John Wesley.

3. "Good people avoid sin because they love goodness, Wicked people avoid sin because they fear punishment."

- John Wesley.

4. "Once in seven years I burn all my sermons; for it is a shame if I cannot write better sermons now than I did seven years ago."

- John Wesley.

5. "I learned more about Christianity from my mother than from all the theologians in England."

- John Wesley.

6. "Though I am always in haste, I am never in a hurry."

- John Wesley.

7. "I would not tell one lie to save the souls of all the world."

- John Wesley.

8. "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.

9. "At all times it is of use to have a friend to whom you can pour your heart without any disguise or reserve."

- John Wesley.

10. "All worldly joys are less than that one joy of doing kindnesses."

- John Wesley.

11. "The longer I live, the larger allowances I make for human infirmities."

- John Wesley.

12. "Be not so positive; especially with regard to things which are neither easy nor necessary to be determined."

- John Wesley.

13. "Let your words be the genuine picture of your heart."

- John Wesley.

14. "Vice does not lose its character by becoming fashionable."

- John Wesley.

15. "Light yourself on fire with passion and people will come from miles to watch you burn."

- John Wesley.

16. God grant that I may never live to be useless!

- John Wesley.

John Wesley Quotes On Love

These John Wesley quotations on love will make you introspect about your viewpoint on love.

17. "Beware you be not swallowed up in books! An ounce of love is worth a pound of knowledge."

- John Wesley.

18. "I observed, 'Love is the fulfilling of the law, the end of the commandment.' It is not only 'the first and great' command, but all the commandments in one."

- John Wesley.

19. "Humility and patience are the surest proofs of the increase of love."

- John Wesley.

20. "Even those who are farthest out of the way never compel to come in by any other means than reason, truth, and love."

- John Wesley.

John Wesley Quotes On Money

Here are some quotes from John Wesley on money.

21. "Money never stays with me. It would burn me if it did."

- John Wesley.

22. "Earn all you can, give all you can, save all you can."

- John Wesley.

23. "Do not impute to money the faults of human nature."

- John Wesley.

24. "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?"

- John Wesley.

25. "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.

26. "I judge all things only by the price they shall gain in eternity."

- John Wesley.

Religious John Wesley Quotes On Prayer And God

If you want to know what John Wesley thought about prayer, all you need to do is read this list. This next group of quotes is great for people who are looking for John Wesley Methodist quotes, John Wesley grace quotes, quotations on sin, and quotations on grace.

27. "God does nothing except in response to believing prayer."

- John Wesley.

28. "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.

29. "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.

30. "Cleanliness is indeed next to godliness."

- John Wesley.

31. "You have one business on earth – to save souls."

- John Wesley.

33. "In souls filled with love, the desire to please God is continual prayer."

- John Wesley.

34. "Give me one hundred preachers who fear nothing but sin, and desire nothing but God, and I care not a straw whether they be clergymen or laymen; such alone will shake the gates of hell and set up the kingdom of heaven upon Earth"

- John Wesley.

35. "The best thing of all is God is with us"

- John Wesley.

36. "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.

37. "Give me 100 men who hate nothing but sin and love God with all their hearts and I will shake the world for Christ!"

- John Wesley.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly quotesfor everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for John Wesley Quotes then why not take a look at Thomas More quotes, or Thank You God quotes.

‍Main image credit: Chris Lawrence Travel / Shutterstock.com
 

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Written by Rajnandini Roychoudhury

Bachelor of Arts specializing in English, Master of Arts specializing in English

Rajnandini Roychoudhury picture

Rajnandini RoychoudhuryBachelor of Arts specializing in English, Master of Arts specializing in English

With a Master of Arts in English, Rajnandini has pursued her passion for the arts and has become an experienced content writer. She has worked with companies such as Writer's Zone and has had her writing skills recognized by publications such as The Telegraph. Rajnandini is also trilingual and enjoys various hobbies such as music, movies, travel, philanthropy, writing her blog, and reading classic British literature. 

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