Kingdom of God

Wesley understood the kingdom of God as a condition of the soul rather than a political entity. In Sermon 7: “The Way to the Kingdom,” he acknowledges that outward forms of worship have limited value as “occasional helps to human weakness” (Para I.4). He opposes any attempt to substitute rituals for Christ-centered faith. In his days at Oxford, Wesley insisted that members of the Holy Club follow a stringent discipline of study, prayer and good works. The celebration of time-honored traditions and orthodoxy proved insufficient, however, to bring forth the kingdom of God. Serious contemplation on earlier reliance on forms led Wesley’s conviction that true religion is a matter of the heart. His famous public declaration that his heart was “strangely warmed” at Aldersgate witnesses to his personal experience of the kingdom of God. “True religion” is characterized by Spirit-inspired joy, holiness, and peace. These are incontrovertible marks of the kingdom of God. -Wesley Study Bible pg 1209