The world changed on May 24, 1738…
An Anglican minister named John Wesley was invited by his brother Charles to attend a Bible study in London on Aldersgate Street. John didn’t want to go. He had recently returned from a failed mission trip in Savannah, Georgia. On the return trip home, his ship had been met by a terrible storm. He realized in that storm that despite his devout religious practice, he didn’t actually have faith in Christ. Wesley wrote, “I went to America, to convert the Indians; but oh! who shall convert me?”
At this Bible study, the preacher was reading from Martin Luther’s preface to the book of Romans. God used Luther’s reflections on Romans to change the world once again. A spark of faith was lit that night in Wesley’s life. He realized that all of his religious devotion was nothing; what he needed was to trust Jesus Christ. Describing what happened to him that night, he wrote, “I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in Christ, Christ alone, for salvation; and an assurance was given me that He had taken away my sins.”
The world would never be the same again. This night on Aldersgate Street became the spark of the Methodist
revival that would spread throughout the world.
John Wesley is not the only world-changer who found faith in Christ through the book of Romans. Saint Augustine turned to Romans in his journey towards Jesus. As did Martin Luther.
Romans has been called “the clearest gospel of all” (Martin Luther), “the most profound work in existence” (Samuel Taylor Coleridge), and “the cathedral of the Christian faith” (Frédéric Godet).
This fall, we’re going to turn our attention to this incredible letter. For an entire school year, we’ll spend our Sunday mornings walking through this masterpiece line by line. Along the way, I bet some of us find our hearts strangely warmed as we are confronted with the jaw-dropping awe of the grace of God found in Jesus Christ. I hope you’ll join us.
God is Faithful.
Pastor Spencer Smith