The first emphasis shines through in Wesley's most pointed definition of salvation: “By salvation I mean, not barely (according to the vulgar notion) deliverance from hell, or going to heaven, but a present deliverance from sin, a restoration of the soul to its primitive health … the renewal of our souls after the image of God in righteousness and true holiness, in justice, mercy, and truth” ( Farther Appeal to Men of Reason and Religion, Pt. Not just forgiveness, but spiritual transformation Rather than acquiescing in this comparative justification, Wesley's precedent would suggest that we, his present heirs, should probe our assumptions about salvation: Have we settled for the anemic understanding that he was contesting? Does this help explain why we fail so often to embody the fullness of salvation in our lives and in our outreach to others? The best way to answer such questions is to gain a better sense of the emphases in Wesley's understanding of the salvation that God offers in and through Christ. The only consolation offered is that few Christian traditions appear to be doing better.
Both insiders and observers are more likely to speak again of mediocrity and ineffectiveness. This vitality is less evident today in the various Methodist and Holiness communities descended from Wesley's ministry. The characteristic doctrinal emphases and distinctive practices of early Methodism were central expressions of these focal efforts, and the resulting spiritual vitality of the movement is well-known. In response, he focused his renewal efforts on reclaiming an understanding and embodiment of the holistic salvation that he found affirmed in Scripture and the broad Christian tradition.
As John Wesley contemplated the mediocrity of moral character and the ineffectiveness in social impact of Christians in eighteenth-century England, he became convinced that a central cause was the anemic understanding of salvation assumed so broadly in the church.
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