John Wesley

The John Wesley Reader on Christian Perfection. (The Jhn Wesley Christian Perfection Library) Annotated edition

JOHN WESLEY (1703-1791) is the chief architect and source of inspiration for the modern doctrine of Christian perfection. From the year 1725, when Wesley was "exceedingly affected" and resolved to "dedicate all (his) life to God," holiness became the DNA of his spiritual temperament. For the next sixty-six years Wesley taught and proclaimed a gospel of holy love, gra-ciously given to sinful humanity in Jesus Christ, for the recovery of the di-vine image lost by the first Adam. Yet the vision of perfect love did not take shape overnight. The path Wesley journeyed in developing his theology of holiness was often arduous, at times turbulent, became personally painful at specific junc-tures, and was long. It took Wesley many years to work through the particu-lars of his theological principles and finally integrate them into a holistic theological system. For the first time all the significant writings from Wesley's pen on the subject of holiness are brought together in a reader format that tells the story how he developed his theology of Christian perfection. All periods of Wesley's ministry are included-early, middle, and late. Selections from the entire Wesley corpus are included: sermons, journal, letters, commentary notes, tracts, and other writings. Introductions offer historical context and alert the reader to major themes and motifs. Study guides are included for personal and group study. Whether one agrees or disagrees with John Wesley on the subject of Christian holiness, all will be challenged to reflect more deeply on the nature of Christian discipleship and what it means to be a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. Mark K. Olson is an ordained minister in The Church of the Nazarene and resides in Antioch, California. He has spent many years researching John Wesley's life, ministry and writings. His other publications are John Wesley's 'A Plain Account of Christian Perfection': The Annotated Edition and John Wesley's Theology of Christian Perfection: Developments in Doc-trine & Theological System.