By: Gen. Jim – 3/31/25
Founder of the Methodist Episcopal Church, John Wesley, (1703-1791) gave a sermon called, Sacra Fames Auri” (from 1 Tim. 6:9: “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation & a snare, & into many foolish & harmful lusts which drawn men in destruction & perdition.” (NKJV).“The love of many is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, & pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” A lot to unpack here.
It does not stop there, he continues to proclaim, “command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy,” vs.17.
The apostle Paul makes several points:
1 – the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil;
2 – do not “trust in uncertain riches”; trust in the living God first & foremost”
3 – Riches are not evil in themselves, but the way one acts /reacts to riches is the warning put forth.
John Wesley
J.W.’s sermon starts out with, “O ye Methodists, here the word of the Lord! I have a message from God to all men, but to you above al. For above 40 years I have been a servant to you & to your fathers. And I have not been a reed shaken with the wind; I have testified to you the very same thing, from the first day even until now… I fear not many rich (who did believe him); I fear there is need to apply to some of you those terrible words of the apostle: ‘Go to now, ye rich men! Weep & howl for the miseries which shall come upon you. Your gold & silver is cankered, & the rust of them shall witness against you, & shall eat your flesh, as it were fire.’” Wesley quoted James 5:1-3.
Riches – the love/lust/greed for them – will DAMN one’s soul if not careful! It has been said that the lack of attention in the Pauline letters to the “rich” and to the appropriate use of “riches” is remarkable. The reason stated is because the subject is common in intertestamental Jewish wisdom literature & among contemporary Greco-Roman moralists & of the Synoptic Gospels & James evince considerable concern about the DANGERS of WEALTH. The evidence of Acts (e.g. 16:14; 17:12; 18:7,8) & analysis of names mentioned in Paul’s correspondence (e.g., Rom. 16:1-23) suggests that there were many early converts who were “well off”. Paul does write about “riches” in 1 Tim. 6:6-10, 17-19. We do not know how much Paul said verbally about riches though. He could have said plenty that he never wrote down.
J. Wesley Continues:
“O ye lovers of money, hear the Word of the Lord! Suppose ye that money can give happiness? Then you are ‘given up to strong delusion to believe a lie’; – a palpable LIE, confuted daily by a thousand experiments! Open your eyes!… Are the riches men the happiest?… Is it not a common observation, that the richest of men are, in general, the most discontented, the most miserable?”
I think of old multi-Billionaire George Soros, that miserable looking “Leftist/Marxist who supports all kinds of immoral/illegal things – out of sheer hatred for what is good & moral. He hates the family unit, America, Christians & Christianity. This piece of “sh*t” (as many call him!) does not hold back support for his intended “revolution”… to DESTROY the U.S.A.! Opposite that we have Trump & Musk – both Billionaires – who use their wealth/power to better things, not destroy them.
Wesley continues…
“Will ye leap into a pit with your eyes open? Why should you anymore ‘fall into temptation’? It cannot be but temptation will beset you, as long as you are in the body… There is no necessity for this: it is your own voluntary act & deed. Why should you any more plunge yourselves into a snare, into the trap Satan laid for you, that is ready to break your bones in pieces; to CRUSH your soul to DEATH? After fair warning, why should you sink any more into ‘foolish & hurtful desires’? desires as inconsistent with reason as they are with religion itself; desires that have done you more hurt already than all the treasures upon the earth can countervail.”
[note: one should look up the adj., “plousios”, the verbs, “plouteō” & “ploutizō”, the nouns, “ploutos” & “chrēma”, the adverb, “Plousiōs” for “rich” / “riches”. Some are used literally, others metaphorically (see 1 Tim. 6:9 = “rich” & 6:17 = “rich” / “riches”. The Greek uses several words to describe “harmful”, “drown”, “destruction”, & “perdition” (6:9) – meaning riches can & will drag one to the bottom, to submerge, to drown. The image is of drowning someone in the sea, hence, irretrievable loss.
Wesley Continues:
“Have they not hurt you already, have they not wounded you in the tenderest part, by slackening, if not utterly destroying your ‘hunger & thirst after righteousness’? Have you now the same longing that you had once for the whole image of God? Have you the same vehement desire as you formerly had, of ‘going on unto perfection’? Have they not hurt you by weakening your faith? Have you now faith’s abiding impression, realizing things to come? Do you endure, in all temptations, from pleasure or pain, ‘seeing him that is invisible’? Have you every day, every hour, an uninterrupted sense of his presence? Have they not hurt you with regard to your hope? Have you now a hope full of immortality? Are you still big with earnest expectation of all the great & precious promises? Do you now ‘taste the powers of the world to come’? Do you ‘sit in heavenly places with Christ Jesus’?
Have they not so hurt you as to stab your religion to the heart? Have they not cooled, if not quenched, your love to God?… If you lose love, you lose all!”
It is true – if we lose our love for Christ & His Word, we lose ALL! This was the condemnation of those at Ephesus – the saints had left their first love. They did work, have patience towards them who were evil/liars, BUT they had LOST their first love (see Rev. 2:1-7). We’re not told how this came about.
Wesley was concerned with how the “rich” acted toward the non-rich. He saw how the “rich” was a bad influence on his congregations:
“You once pushed on through cold or rain, or whatever cross lay in your way, to see the poor, the sick, the distressed.” If your research the early Method Church you’ll discover this to be TRUE! When no one would go out in terrible weather or travel the miles of hardships for souls, the Methodists were out there. I gave my heart to Jesus in a very small Methodist Church (Panthers, Ky. at the age of 16. I felt the Holy Spirit draw me (literally, drag me!) to the altar. This was the first time I ever felt the power & presence of God. I have ever since been a BELIEVER. Sadly, I fell away for 10 years – went into the ungodly Nat’l Guard/Army where SIN was SIN!!! At the age of 26 (10 years later) I once again gave my life to Him. This time I’ve kept my VOWS. Something new was added to my life – the baptism in the Holy Ghost (or Spirit) with tongues following… with miracles & anointing. Here I am at 79 (almost 80!) writing about my salvation experience (at 16) & my re-committing my life at 26).
Yes! I have been around multimillionaires (mostly in Montana/Calif.). They are haughty & very sinful. I’ve seen some fall, lose everything, only to grow bitter. Others I’ve seen lose all & thank God for it because they realized that riches were not the solution but the problem.
Both Deborah & myself have worked for the wealthy; we’ve worked among the very poor as well.
Wesley Continues:
“Do you now tread in the same steps? What hinders? Do you fear spoiling your silken coat? Or is there another lion in the way? Are you afraid of catching vermin? And are you not afraid lest the roaring lion should catch you? Are you afraid of him that hath said: ‘Insomuch as ye have not done it unto the least of these, ye have not done it unto Me’? What will follow? ‘Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil & his angels!”
Info.
J.W. was considered as a facile extemporaneous speaker whose oratory was colloquial, terse, & homely, but never vulgor. He was a graduate of Oxford, & a fellow of Lincoln College. He could quote English, Latin, & Greek with equal pleasure. He could quote Homer & Horace with ease. He let the “Sword that Cuts & the Fire that Burns” have their way in his preaching & writings. He targeted licentiousness in morals & luxury in dress. I think he would have a heart attack if he were to walk into some of these whore-houses called Methodist.
Wesley was born at Epworth, England, June 28th, 1703. (my birth day is June 29th, 1945). He was, by all standards, a godly “revolutionary” – striking at the Establishment & the general demoralization of the aristocratic society of his day. He visited America (as a missionary) in 1735, spending 3 years in Georgia. He died at London, March 2nd, 1791. It is a real shame the way the Methodist Church has gone, e.g. LGBTQ invasion!/wokeness!