Heroes: Charles Simeon Takes on John Wesley (kind of)
27 Dec
The Anglican pastor, Charles Simeon, is on of my heroes because he persevered for 49 years as the vicar of Holy Trinity church, Cambridge in the midst of the most scathing and degrading persecution and opposition – particularly from within his own congregation.
One afternoon he was asked by his friend, Joseph Gurney, how he had surmounted persecution and outlasted all the great prejudice against him in his 49-year ministry.
He said to Gurney, “My dear brother, we must not mind a little suffering for Christ’s sake. When I am getting through a hedge, if my head and shoulders are safely through, I can bear the pricking of my legs. Let us rejoice in the remembrance that our holy Head has surmounted all His suffering and triumphed over death. Let us follow Him patiently; we shall soon be partakers of His victory”.
–Great stuff!
I also love this account of his conversation with John Wesley on the topic of Calvinism. Apparently Simeon didn’t want to be known as a Calvinist or an Arminian, but instead wanted to be known as a ‘Biblicist’ (which obviously means he was a Calvinist, right?).
Anyway, here’s a transcript of a conversation that probably serves to remind us ‘Young, Restless, and Reformed’ types to be more gracious and pull our heads in every now and then:
Wesley: Yes, I do indeed.
Simeon: And do you utterly despair of recommending yourself to God by anything you can do; and look for salvation solely through the blood and righteousness of Christ?
Wesley: Yes, solely through Christ.
Simeon: But, Sir, supposing you were at first saved by Christ, are you not somehow or other to save yourself afterwards by your own works?
Wesley: No, I must be saved by Christ from first to last.
Simeon: Allowing, then, that you were first turned by the grace of God, are you not in some way or other to keep yourself by your own power?
Wesley: No.
Simeon: What then, are you to be upheld every hour and every moment by God, as much as an infant in its mother’s arms?
Wesley: Yes, altogether.
Simeon: And is all your hope in the grace and mercy of God to preserve you unto His heavenly kingdom?
Wesley: Yes, I have no hope but in Him.
Simeon: Then, Sir, with your leave I will put up my dagger again; for this is all my Calvinism; this is my election, my justification by faith, my final perseverance: it is in substance all that I hold, and as I hold it; and therefore, if you please, instead of searching out terms and phrases to be a ground of contention between us, we will cordially unite in those things wherein we agree.
Wise words from an Anglican bloke whom God used powerfully to reform the church and spread the gospel to the ends of the earth.
I’ve oft speculated that Calvinism is little more than God’s perspective, which when we draw too near to (as in Romans 9) we grow uncomfortable, as it is too much for us to really comprehend from our own. And yet when we consider the alternative (that God is not truly sovereign, and our salvation is not truly in his loving and powerful grip), it is too terrible to be true. Predestination is always best considered in the context of assurance, as that is how Paul introduces it. Questions that delve too deeply (“Then why does God still blame us? For who resists his will?)” go beyond our finite comprehension and are best left to trust and faith (“But who are you, O man, to talk back to God?”).
Too true Brother.
My policy is to fight for Calvinism when it’s clear that a certain section of Bible is being contradicted, or misinterpreted in some way…
However, if a brother or sister introduces themselves to me as an Arminian (which happens b/c for some reason I’m notoriously known as “one of those 5-pointers”) – I choose to embrace them as fellow believers who love and follow Jesus.
In the eternal scheme of things, whether or not someone believes in free will (etc. etc. etc.) isn’t that important – we should spend more time sharing the good news about our sovereign God with unbelievers than wasting that time in endless arguments about the doctrines of grace.
Rant over.