John Wesley SERMON 3
(text from the 1872 edition)
AWAKE, THOU THAT SLEEPEST
Preached on Sunday April 4, 1742, before the
University of Oxford, by the Rev. Charles Wesley, M.A. Student
of Christ-Church.
"Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ
shall give thee light." Eph. 5:14.
In discoursing on these words, I shall, with the help of God, --
First. Describe the sleepers, to whom they are spoken:
Secondly. Enforce the exhortation, "Awake, thou that sleepest,
and arise from the dead:" And,
Thirdly. Explain the promise made to such as do awake and arise:
"Christ shall give thee light."
I. 1. And first, as to the sleepers here spoken to. By sleep is
signified the natural state of man; that deep sleep of the soul,
into which the sin of Adam hath cast all who spring from his
loins: That supineness, indolence, and stupidity, that
insensibility of his real condition, wherein every man comes
Into the world, and continues till the voice of God awakes him.
2. Now, "they that sleep, sleep in the night." The state of
nature is a state of utter darkness; a state wherein "darkness
covers the earth, and gross darkness the people." The poor
unawakened sinner, how much knowledge soever he may have as to
other things, has no knowledge of himself: in this respect "he
knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know." he knows not that he
is a fallen spirit, whose only business in the present world, is
to recover from his fall, to regain that image of God wherein he
was created. he sees no necessity for the one thing needful,
even that inward universal change, that "birth from above,"
figured out by baptism, which is the beginning of that total
renovation. that sanctification of spirit, soul, and body,
"without which no man shall see the Lord."
3. Full of all diseases as he is, he fancies himself in perfect
health. Fast bound in misery and iron, he dreams that he is at
liberty. he says, "Peace! Peace!" while the devil, as "a strong,
man armed," is in full possession of his soul. he sleeps on
still and takes his rest, though hell is moved from beneath to
meet him; though the pit from whence there is no return hath
opened its mouth to swallow him up. A fire is kindled around
him, yet he knoweth it not; yea, it burns him, yet he lays it
not to heart.
4. By one who sleeps, we are, therefore, to understand (and
would to God we might all understand it!) a sinner satisfied in
his sins; contented to remain in his fallen state, to live and
die without the image of God; one who is ignorant both of his
disease, and of the only remedy for it; one who never was
warned, or never regarded the warning voice of God, "to flee
from the wrath to come;" one that never yet saw he was in danger
of hell-fire, or cried out in the earnestness of his soul, "What
must I do to be saved?"
5. If this sleeper be not outwardly vicious, his sleep is
usually the deepest of all: whether he be of the Laodicean
spirit, "neither cold nor hot," but a quiet, rational,
inoffensive, good-natured professor of the religion of his
fathers; or whether he be zealous and orthodox, and, "after the
most straitest sect of our religion," live "a Pharisee;" that
is, according to the scriptural account, one that justifies
himself; one that labours to establish his own righteousness, as
the ground of his acceptance with God.
6. This is he, who, "having a form of godliness, denies the
power thereof;" yea, and probably reviles it, wheresoever it is
found, as mere extravagance and delusion. Meanwhile, the
wretched self-deceiver thanks God, that he is "not as other men
are; adulterers, unjust, extortioners": no, he doeth no wrong to
any man. he "fasts twice in a week," uses all the means of
grace, is constant at church and sacrament, yea, and "gives
tithes of all that he has;" does all the good that he can
"touching the righteousness of the law," he is "blameless": he
wants nothing of godliness, but the power; nothing of religion,
but the spirit; nothing of Christianity, but the truth and the
life.
7. But know ye not, that, however highly esteemed among men such
a Christian as this may be, he is an abomination in the sight of
God, and an heir of every woe which the Son of God, yesterday,
to-day, and for ever, denounces against "scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites"? he hath "made clean the outside of the cup and the
platter," but within is full of all filthiness. "An evil disease
cleaveth still unto him, so that his inward parts are very
wickedness." Our Lord fitly compares him to a "painted sepulchre,"
which "appears beautiful without;" but, nevertheless, is "full
of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness." The bones indeed
are no longer dry; the sinews and flesh are come upon them, and
the skin covers them above: but there is no breath in them, no
Spirit of the living God. And, "if any man have not the Spirit
of Christ, he is none of his." "Ye are Christ's, if so be that
the Spirit of God dwell in you": but, if not, God knoweth that
ye abide in death, even until now.
8. This is another character of the sleeper here spoken to. he
abides in death, though he knows it not. he is dead unto God,
"dead in trespasses and sins." For, "to be carnally minded is
death " Even as it is written, "By one man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men;" not
only temporal death, but likewise spiritual and eternal. "In
that day that thou eatest," said God to Adam, "thou shalt surely
die;" not bodily (unless as he then became mortal), but
spiritually: thou shalt lose the life of thy soul; thou shalt
die to God: shalt be separated from him, thy essential life and
happiness.
9. Thus first was dissolved the vital union of our soul with
God; insomuch that "in the midst of" natural "life, we are" now
in spiritual "death." And herein we remain till the Second Adam
becomes a quickening Spirit to us; till he raises the dead, the
dead in sin, in pleasure, riches or honours. But, before any
dead soul can live, he "hears" (hearkens to) "the voice of the
Son of God": he is made sensible of his lost estate, and
receives the sentence of death in himself. he knows himself to
be "dead while he liveth;" dead to God, and all the things of
God; having no more power to perform the actions of a living
Christian, than a dead body to perform the functions of a living
man.
10. And most certain it is, that one dead in sin has not "senses
exercised to discern spiritual good and evil." "Having eyes, he
sees not; he hath ears, and hears not." he doth not "taste and
see that the Lord is gracious." he "hath not seen God at any
time," nor "heard his voice," nor "handled the word of life." In
vain is the name of Jesus "like ointment poured forth, and all
his garments smell of myrrh, aloes, and cassia." The soul that
sleepeth in death hath no perception of any objects of this
kind. his heart is "past feeling," and understandeth none of
these things.
11. And hence, having no spiritual senses, no inlets of
spiritual knowledge, the natural man receiveth not the things of
the Spirit of God; nay, he is so far from receiving them, that
whatsoever is spiritually discerned is mere foolishness unto
him. he is not content with being utterly ignorant of spiritual
things, but he denies the very existence of them. And spiritual
sensation itself is to him the foolishness of folly. "How,"
saith he, "can these things be? How can any man know that he is
alive to God?" Even as you know that your body is now alive.
Faith is the life of the soul; and if ye have this life abiding
in you, ye want no marks to evidence it to yourself, but _elegchos
pneumatos_, that divine consciousness, that witness of God,
which is more and greater than ten thousand human witnesses.
12. If he doth not now bear witness with thy spirit, that thou
art a child of God, O that he might convince thee, thou poor
unawakened sinner, by his demonstration and power, that thou art
a child of the devil! O that, as I prophesy, there might now be
"a noise and a shaking;" and may "the bones come together, bone
to his bone!" Then "come from the four winds, O Breath! and
breathe on these slain, that they may live!" And do not ye
harden your hearts, and resist the Holy Ghost, who even now is
come to convince you of sin, "because you believe not on the
name of the only begotten Son of God."
II. 1. Wherefore, "awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the
dead." God calleth thee now by my mouth; and bids thee know
thyself, thou fallen spirit, thy true state and only concern
below. "What meanest thou, O sleeper? Arise! Call upon thy God,
if so be thy God will think upon thee, that thou perish not." A
mighty tempest is stirred up round about thee, and thou art
sinking into the depths of perdition, the gulf of God's
judgements. If thou wouldest escape them, cast thyself into
them. "Judge thyself, and thou shalt not be judged of the Lord."
2. Awake, awake! Stand up this moment, lest thou "drink at the
Lord's hand the cup of his fury." Stir up thyself to lay hold on
the Lord, the Lord thy Righteousness, mighty to save! "Shake
thyself from the dust." At least, let the earthquake of God's
threatenings shake thee. Awake, and cry out with the trembling
jailer, "What must I do to be saved?" And never rest till thou
believest on the Lord Jesus, with a faith which is his gift, by
the operation of his Spirit.
3. If I speak to any one of you, more than to another, it is to
thee, who thinkest thyself unconcerned in this exhortation. "I
have a message from God unto thee." In his name, I warn thee "to
flee from the wrath to come." Thou unholy soul, see thy picture
in condemned Peter, lying in the dark dungeon, between the
soldiers, bound with two chains, the keepers before the door
keeping the prison. The night is far spent, the morning is at
hand, when thou art to be brought forth to execution. And in
these dreadful circumstances, thou art fast asleep; thou art
fast asleep in the devil's arms, on the brink of the pit, in the
jaws of everlasting destruction!
4. O may the Angel of the Lord come upon thee, and the light
shine into thy prison! And mayest thou feel the stroke of an
Almighty Hand, raising thee, with, "Arise up quickly, gird
thyself, and bind on thy sandals, cast thy garment about thee,
and follow Me."
5. Awake, thou everlasting spirit, out of thy dream of worldly
happiness! Did not God create thee for himself? Then thou canst
not rest till thou restest in him. Return, thou wanderer! Fly
back to thy ark, This is not thy home. Think not of building
tabernacles here. Thou art but a stranger, a sojourner upon
earth; a creature of a day, but just launching out into an
unchangeable state. Make haste. Eternity is at hand. Eternity
depends on this moment. An eternity of happiness, or an eternity
of misery!
6. In what state is thy soul? Was God, while I am yet speaking,
to require it of thee, art thou ready to meet death and
judgement? Canst thou stand in his sight, who is of "purer eyes
than to behold iniquity"? Art thou "meet to be partaker of the
inheritance of the saints in light"? Hast thou "fought a good
fight, and kept the faith"? Hast thou secured the one thing
needful? Hast thou recovered the image of God, even
righteousness and true holiness? Hast thou put off the old man,
and put on the new? Art thou clothed upon with Christ?
7. Hast thou oil in thy lamp? grace in thy heart? Dost thou
"love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy mind
and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength"? Is that mind
in thee, which was also in Christ Jesus? Art thou a Christian
indeed, that is, a new creature? Are old things passed away, and
all things become new?
8. Art thou a "partaker of the divine nature"? Knowest thou not,
that "Christ is in thee, except thou be reprobate"? Knowest
thou, that God "dwelleth in thee, and thou in God, by his
Spirit, which he hath given thee"? Knowest thou not that "thy
body is a temple of the Holy Ghost, which thou hast of God"?
Hast thou the witness in thyself? the earnest of thine
inheritance? Hast thou "received the Holy Ghost"? Or dost thou
start at the question, not knowing "whether there be any Holy
Ghost"?
9. If it offends thee, be thou assured, that thou neither art a
Christian, nor desirest to be one. Nay, thy very prayer is
turned into sin; and thou hast solemnly mocked God this very
day, by praying for the inspiration of his Holy Spirit, when
thou didst not believe there was any such thing to be received.
10. Yet, on the authority of God's Word, and our own Church, I
must repeat the question, "Hast thou received the Holy Ghost?"
If thou hast not, thou art not yet a Christian. For a Christian
is a man that is "anointed with the Holy Ghost and with power."
Thou art not yet made a partaker of pure religion and undefiled.
Dost thou know what religion is? --that it is a participation of
the divine nature; the life of God in the soul of man; Christ
formed in the heart; "Christ in thee, the hope of glory;"
happiness and holiness; heaven begun upon earth; "a kingdom of
God within thee; not meat and drink," no outward thing; "but
righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost;" an
everlasting kingdom brought into thy soul; a "peace of God that
passeth all understanding;" a "joy unspeakable, and full of
glory"?
11. Knowest thou, that "in Jesus Christ, neither circumcision
availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith that worketh by
love;" but a new creation? Seest thou the necessity of that
inward change, that spiritual birth, that life from the dead,
that holiness? And art thou throughly convinced, that without it
no man shall see the Lord? Art thou labouring after it?
--"giving all diligence to make thy calling and election sure,"
"working out thy salvation with fear and trembling," "agonizing
to enter in at the strait gate"? Art thou in earnest about thy
soul? And canst thou tell the Searcher of hearts, "Thou, O God,
art the thing that I long for! Lord, Thou knowest all things;
Thou knowest that I would love Thee!"
12. Thou hopest to be saved; but what reason hast thou to give
of the hope that is in thee? Is it because thou hast done no
harm? or, because thou hast done much good? or, because thou art
not like other men; but wise, or learned, or honest, and morally
good; esteemed of men, and of a fair reputation? Alas! all this
will never bring thee to God. It is in his account lighter than
vanity. Dost thou know Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent? Hath he
taught thee, that "by grace we are saved through faith; and that
not of ourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any
man should boast"? Hast thou received the faithful saying as the
whole foundation of thy hope, "that Jesus Christ came into the
world to save sinners"? Hast thou learned what that meaneth, "I
came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance? I am
not sent, but unto the lost sheep"? Art thou (he that heareth,
let him understand!) lost, dead, damned already? Dost thou know
thy deserts? Dost thou feel thy wants? Art thou "poor in
spirit"? mourning for God, and refusing to be comforted? Is the
prodigal "come to himself," and well content to be therefore
thought beside himself" by those who are still feeding upon the
husks which he hath left? Art thou willing to live godly in
Christ Jesus? And dost thou therefore suffer persecution? Do men
say all manner of evil against thee falsely, for the Son of
Man's sake?
13. O that in all these questions ye may hear the voice that
wakes the dead; and feel that hammer of the Word, which breaketh
the rocks in pieces! "If ye will hear his voice to-day, while it
is called to-day, harden not your hearts." Now, "awake, thou
that sleepest" in spiritual death, that thou sleep not in death
eternal! Feel thy lost estate, and "arise from the dead." Leave
thine old companions in sin and death. Follow thou Jesus, and
let the dead bury their dead. "Save thyself from this untoward
generation." "Come out from among them, and be thou separate,
and touch not the unclean thing, and the Lord shall receive
thee." "Christ shall give thee light."
III. 1. This promise, I come, lastly, to explain. And how
encouraging a consideration is this, that whosoever thou art,
who obeyest his call, thou canst not seek his face in vain! If
thou even now "awakest, and arisest from the dead," he hath
bound himself to "give thee light." "The Lord shall give thee
grace and glory;" the light of his grace here, and the light of
his glory when thou receivest the crown that fadeth not away.
"Thy light shall break forth as the morning, and thy darkness be
as the noon-day." "God, who commanded the light to shine out of
darkness, shall shine in thy heart; to give the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." On them that fear the
Lord shall "the Sun of Righteousness arise with healing in his
wings." And in that day it shall be said unto thee, "Arise,
shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen
upon thee." For Christ shall reveal himself in thee: and he is
the true Light.
2. God is light, and will give himself to every awakened sinner
that waiteth for him; and thou shalt then be a temple of the
living God, and Christ shall "dwell in thy heart by faith;" and,
"being rooted and grounded in love, thou shalt be able to
comprehend with all saints, what is the breadth, and length, and
depth, and height of that love of Christ which passeth
knowledge."
3. Ye see your calling, brethren. We are called to be "an
habitation of God through his Spirit;" and, through his Spirit
dwelling in us, to be saints here, and partakers of the
inheritance of the saints in light. So exceeding great are the
promises which are given unto us, actually given unto us who
believe! For by faith "we receive, not the spirit of the world,
but the Spirit which is of God" --the sum of all the promises--
"that we may know the things that are freely given to us of
God."
4. The Spirit of Christ is that great gift of God, which at
sundry times, and in divers manners, he hath promised to man,
and hath fully bestowed since the time that Christ was
glorified. Those promises, before made to the fathers, he hath
thus fulfilled: "I will put My spirit within you, and cause you
to walk in My statutes" (Ezek. 36:27). "I will pour water upon
him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground; I will pour
My Spirit upon thy seed, and My blessing upon thine offspring
(Isa. 44:3).
5. Ye may all be living witnesses of these things; of remission
of sins, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. "If thou canst believe,
all things are possible to him that believeth." "Who among you
is there that feareth the Lord, and" yet walketh on "in
darkness, and hath no light?" I ask thee, in the name of Jesus,
Believest thou that his arm is not shortened at all? that he is
still mighty to save? that he is the same yesterday, to-day, and
for ever? that he hath now power on earth to forgive sins? "Son,
be of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven." God, for Christ's
sake, hath forgiven thee. Receive this, "not as the word of man;
but as it is indeed, the word of God;" and thou art justified
freely through faith. Thou shalt be sanctified also through
faith which is in Jesus, and shalt set to thy seal, even thine,
that "God hath given unto us eternal life, and this life is in
his Son."
6. Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you, and suffer ye
the word of exhortation, even from one the least esteemed in the
Church. Your conscience beareth you witness in the Holy Ghost,
that these things are so, if so be ye have tasted that the Lord
is gracious. "This is eternal life, to know the only true God,
and Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent." This experimental
knowledge, and this alone, is true Christianity. he is a
Christian who hath received the Spirit of Christ. he is not a
Christian who hath not received him. Neither is it possible to
have received him, and not know it. "For, at that day" (when he
cometh, saith our Lord), "ye shall know that I am in My Father,
and you in Me, and I in you." This is that "Spirit of Truth,
whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither
knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and
shall be in you" (John 14:17).
7. The world cannot receive him, but utterly reject the Promise
of the Father, contradicting and blaspheming. But every spirit
which confesseth not this is not of God. Yea, "this is that
spirit of Antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come
into the world; and even now it is in the world." he is
Antichrist whosoever denies the inspiration of the Holy Ghost,
or that the indwelling Spirit of God is the common privilege of
all believers, the blessing of the gospel, the unspeakable gift,
the universal promise, the criterion of a real Christian.
8. It nothing helps them to say, "We do not deny the assistance
of God's Spirit; but only this inspiration, this receiving the
Holy Ghost: and being sensible of it. It is only this feeling of
the Spirit, this being moved by the Spirit, or filled with it,
which we deny to have any place in sound religion." But, in only
denying this, you deny the whole Scriptures; the whole truth,
and promise, and testimony of God.
9. Our own excellent Church knows nothing of this devilish
distinction; but speaks plainly of "feeling the Spirit of
Christ" [Article 17]; of being "moved by the Holy Ghost" [Office
of consecrating Priests] and knowing and "feeling there is no
other name than that of Jesus," [Visitation of the Sick] whereby
we can receive" life and salvation. She teaches us all to pray
for the "inspiration of the Holy Spirit" [Collect before Holy
Communion]; yea, that we may be "filled with the Holy Ghost"
[Order of Confirmation]. Nay, and every Presbyter of hers
professes to receive the Holy Ghost by the imposition of hands.
Therefore, to deny any of these, is, in effect, to renounce the
Church of England, as well as the whole Christian revelation.
10. But "the wisdom of God" was always "foolishness with men."
No marvel, then, that the great mystery of the gospel should be
now also "hid from the wise and prudent," as well as in the days
of old; that it should be almost universally denied, ridiculed,
and exploded, as mere frenzy; and that all who dare avow it
still are branded with the names of madmen and enthusiasts! This
is "that falling away" which was to come--that general apostasy
of all orders and degrees of men, which we even now find to have
overspread the earth. "Run to and fro in the streets of
Jerusalem, and see if ye can find a man," a man that loveth the
Lord his God with all his heart, and serveth him with all his
strength. How does our own land mourn (that we look no farther)
under the overflowings of ungodliness! What villanies of every
kind are committed day by day; yea, too often with impunity, by
those who sin with a high hand, and glory in their shame! Who
can reckon up the oaths, curses, profaneness blasphemies; the
lying, slandering, evil-speaking; the Sabbath-breaking,
gluttony, drunkenness, revenge; the whoredoms, adulteries, and
various uncleanness; the frauds, injustice, oppression,
extortion, which overspread our land as a flood?
11. And even among those who have kept themselves pure from
those grosser abominations; how much anger and pride how much
sloth and idleness, how much softness and effeminacy how much
luxury and self-indulgence, how much covetousness and ambition,
how much thirst of praise, how much love of the world, how much
fear of man, is to be found! Meanwhile, how little of true
religion! For, where is he that loveth either God or his
neighbour, as he hath given us commandment? On the one hand, are
those who have not so much as the form of godliness; on the
other, those who have the form only: there stands the open,
there the painted, sepulchre. So that in very deed, whosoever
were earnestly to behold any public gathering together of the
people (I fear those in our churches are not to be excepted)
might easily perceive, "that the one part were Sadducees, and
the other Pharisees": the one having almost as little concern
about religion, as if there were "no resurrection, neither angel
nor spirit;" and the other making it a mere lifeless form, a
dull round of external performances, without either true faith,
or the love of God, or joy in the Holy Ghost!
12. Would to God I could except us of this place! "Brethren, my
heart's desire, and prayer to God, for you is, that ye may be
saved" from this overflowing of ungodliness; and that here may
its proud waves be stayed! But is it so indeed? God knoweth,
yea, and our own consciences, it is not. Ye have not kept
yourselves pure. Corrupt are we also and abominable; and few are
there that understand any more; few that worship God in spirit
and in truth. We, too, are "a generation that set not our hearts
aright, and whose spirit cleaveth not steadfastly unto God." he
hath appointed us indeed to be "the salt of the earth: but if
the salt hath lost its savour, it is thenceforth good for
nothing; but to be cast out, and to be trodden underfoot of
men."
13. And "shall I not visit for these things, saith the Lord?
Shall not My soul be avenged on such a nation as this?" Yea, we
know not how soon he may say to the sword, "Sword, go through
this land!" he hath given us long space to repent. he lets us
alone this year also: but he warns and awakens us by thunder.
his judgements are abroad in the earth; and we have all reason
to expect the heaviest of all, even that he "should come unto us
quickly, and remove our candlestick out of its place, except we
repent and do the first works;" unless we return to the
principles of the Reformation, the truth and simplicity of the
gospel. Perhaps we are now resisting the last effort of divine
grace to save us. Perhaps we have well-nigh "filled up the
measure of our iniquities," by rejecting the counsel of God
against ourselves, and casting out his messengers.
14. 0 God, "in the midst of wrath, remember mercy!" Be glorified
in our reformation, not in our destruction! Let us "hear the
rod, and him that appointed it!" Now that Thy "judgements are
abroad in the earth," let the inhabitants of the world "learn
righteousness!"
15. My brethren, it is high time for us to awake out of sleep
before the "great trumpet of the Lord be blown," and our land
become a field of blood. O may we speedily see the things that
make for our peace, before they are hid from our eyes! "Turn
Thou us, O good Lord, and let Thine anger cease from us. O Lord,
look down from heaven, behold and visit this vine;" and cause us
to know "the time of our visitation." "Help us, O God of our
salvation, for the glory of Thy name! O deliver us, and be
merciful to our sins, for Thy name's sake! And so we will not go
back from Thee. O let us live, and we shall call upon Thy name.
Turn us again, O Lord God of Hosts! Show the light of Thy
countenance, and we shall be whole."
"Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all
that we can ask or think, according to the power that worketh in
us, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout
all ages; world without end. --Amen!"
[Edited anonymously at the Memorial University of Newfoundland,
with corrections by George Lyons of Northwest Nazarene College
for the Wesley Center for Applied Theology.] _