One of the most enduring concepts associated with John Wesley—even though he used the expression only once in his entire oeuvre—is that of social holiness. In the preface to Hymns and Sacred Poems, published in 1739, Wesley wrote: “The gospel of Christ knows no religion but social; no holiness but social holiness.”1
What Wesley meant by this expression has been a subject of some debate.
Some writers have wrongly equated social holiness with social justice—a concept that has come into vogue in recent times. Theologian Andrew C. Thompson has challenged this rather sloppy association by pointing out that Wesley was emphasising the true essence of Christian existence, not political activism.2
This becomes quite clear when the phrase “no holiness but social holiness” is understood in its proper and larger context. Wesley was specifically addressing the error of what we would today describe as a purely private or individualistic religion, a piety which has no social implications whatsoever.
Here’s the full paragraph:
Directly opposite to this is the gospel of Christ. Solitary religion is not to be found there. ‘Holy solitaries’ is a phrase no more consistent with the gospel than ‘holy adulterers.’ The gospel of Christ knows of no religion but social; no holiness but social holiness. ‘Faith working by love’ is the length and breadth and depth and height of Christian perfection. ‘This commandment have we from Christ, that he who loveth God love his neighbour also’; and that we manifest our love by doing good unto all men, especially to them that are of the household of faith.3
Wesley opposes the privileging of purely inward devotion over external expressions of the faith. For him, inward and outward holiness, acts of piety and acts of mercy are profoundly related to each other. He writes:
Indeed nothing can be more sure than that Christianity cannot exist without both inward experience and outward practice of justice, mercy and truth.4
Thus, for Wesley, the Christian life can never be reduced to merely an individual spiritual pursuit. It is always lived in communion with others and expressed through acts of mercy, solidarity and collective responsibility.
Thus, for Wesley, the Christian life can never be reduced to merely an individual spiritual pursuit. It is always lived in communion with others and expressed through acts of mercy, solidarity and collective responsibility.
Social holiness, then, is scriptural holiness. It refers to a holistic understanding of the Christian life as the embodiment and expression of love of God and neighbour (Matthew 22:37–40), faith and works (James 2:14–26), and “inward experience and outward practice of justice, mercy and truth”.
Christians inspired by Wesley—especially the people called Methodists— understand this. They recognise that a privatised faith, a “solitary holiness” (as Wesley put it), is an anaemic and distorted vision of the Christian life.
Christians inspired by Wesley—especially the people called Methodists— understand this. They recognise that a privatised faith, a “solitary holiness” (as Wesley put it), is an anaemic and distorted vision of the Christian life.
They know that true holiness is nurtured in the redeemed community, in the Body of Christ, the Church. They know that authentic discipleship and piety are always manifested in the self-forgetting service of one’s neighbours.
Throughout its history, the Methodist Church in different parts of the globe has tried to embody social holiness through the provision of public education and literacy programmes. In their early history in England, Methodists worked towards the development of healthcare and welfare and were instrumental in prison reforms.
In a similar vein, The Methodist Church in Singapore (MCS) has also practised social holiness since its founding, contributing to social causes such as education.
The Methodist schools represent MCS’ educational mission. According to the MCS website, there are now 16 schools, with the newest member, ACS (Academy), starting operations this year. Its education mission states, “We are called to nurture each new generation of students, raising them to be men and women of godly character and integrity, equipped to make a responsible contribution to society.” Indeed, the Methodist schools have played an important role in the human resource development of Singapore.5
In the area of social outreach, Methodist Welfare Services (MWS) operates more than 20 community-based service centres. These centres provide a variety of services to meet the needs of society. These include nursing homes and home hospice care, family service centres and addiction support programmes.
All this testifies to the social dimension of Christian existence that Wesley described as “social holiness”, a “faith working by love”—a concept inspired and shaped by the clear teachings of Scripture.
Writing primarily to Jewish Christians dispersed throughout the Roman Empire, the apostle James exhorts them with these words:
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill’, and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead (2:14–17 NRSV).
Dr Roland Chia is Chew Hock Hin Professor of Christian Doctrine at Trinity Theological College and Theological and Research Advisor at the Ethos Institute for Public Christianity. / Photo courtesy of the Council on Education, MCS
1 John Wesley, Hymns and Sacred Poems (London: Strahan, 1739), ¶5.
2 Andrew C. Thompson, “From Societies to Society: The Shift from Holiness to Justice in the Wesleyan Tradition,” Methodist Review 3 (2011): 141-72, https://methodistreview.org/index.php/mr/article/view/56 .
3 Wesley, Hymns and Sacred Poems, ¶5.
4 Albert C. Outler, The Works of John Wesley Volume 4: Sermons IV (115-151) (Abingdon Press, 1987), 174.
5 https://www.methodist.org.sg/what-we-do/methodist-schools/