The Way to Heaven: The Gospel According to John Wesley

by Steve Harper

Is There a Way to Heaven? The great evangelist John Wesley believed there is, and he developed his theology to help people make the journey from sin to salvation. In Wesley’s “order of salvation,” God’s grace is the keynote from start to finish.The Way to Heaven is a twentieth-anniversary revision of John Wesley’s Message for Today. Dr. Steve Harper presents Wesley’s writings and the ideas of Wesley scholars in language that is clear and accessible but never simplistic. Written in the spirit of Wesley, here are “plain words for plain people.”The heart of this book is a thoughtful and inspiring look at Wesley’s theology of grace and its power to transform. Included are two new chapters. “Vision and Means” explores Wesley’s mission and methods, and “To Serve the Present Age” considers the impact and relevance of his message today. In addition, an updated reading list facilitates further study, and questions at the end of each chapter stimulate personal reflection and small group discussion.Ideal as a textbook or for personal study and reflection, this book will advance your knowledge and piety as you travel “the way to heaven.”

Genres: Theology, Religion, Faith

Audible Audio

First published July 1, 2003

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Steve Harper is a retired seminary professor who taught in the disciplines of Spiritual Formation and Wesley Studies.

He is the author of sixteen books, and has co-authored thirteen others. You can see them here at his Amazon Author Page.

Dr. Harper and his wife, Jeannie, have been married since 1970. They live in Winter Springs, Florida. They have two grown children (John and Katrina) and three grandchildren (Zoe, Isaac, and James).

Across the years, Steve was a youth minister, evangelist, and pastor in the Northwest Texas Annual Conference. He served under appointment in that Annual Conference as an Elder for 33 years. The last eight years (2004-2012) he was a member of The Florida Annual Conference. He retired in July 2012.

Steve was the first person to be selected as a John Wesley Fellow by A Foundation for Theological Education (1977). He completed his PhD in Wesley Studies at Duke University (1981), with Dr. Frank Baker serving as the Chair of his doctoral committee.

Along the way, he has served in other ministries: Co-Founder with Jeannie of Shepherd's Care, a ministry to ministers (1993-1996), Executive Director of A Foundation for Theological Education (1993-1996), Dean of the Chapel and Director of the Pathways Initiative, a ministry to equip spiritual leaders, at The Upper Room in Nashville (1996-1998).

In 1998, he became the founding Vice President and Dean of the Florida-Dunnam Campus of Asbury Seminary. He retired as vice president in 2009, but continued to teach until his retirement on December 31, 2012.

His current ministry concentrates in writing, especially the
blog: Oboedire (www.oboedire.wordpress.com).

Reviews

[Ken Peters]

Honestly, this book surprised me. It's only a short 150 pages, so it's not much more than a primer on Wesley's incredibly grace-laden theology. But Harper has an adept way of focusing on what seems to really matter, and in doing so, he describes Wesley's theology in a way that reflects Wesley's passions as much as his doctrines. So it ends up feeling like a heart-message rather than dry dogma. That left me feeling like I got to know John Wesley even though this book isn't a biography. And Harper's last chapter feels like a bonus prize as he helped me to see how Wesley's evangelistic strategies are so vitally relevant for the days in which we live. For all those reasons, I'm thankful I found this book!

[Joshua Stone]

A good introduction to Wesley and his theology. Harper make clear that for Wesley salvation from first to last is all of grace.

[Rebecca Elizabeth]

How have I not known all these years about this very clear, helpful, down-to-earth presentation of God's invitation into the good life that he desires for every person? This book is simple and accessible to anyone--from seekers of God to students of John Wesley. It was for me an unexpected treasure. I'll probably use it for small group discipleship, and I'll likely read it again for enrichment.

[Don Dunnington]

I have used this book often as a text introducing students to some basic ideas regarding Christian life in the Wesleyan tradition. It is clearly and simply written. Used recently in an 8 week church seminar and readers found it helpful.

[Greg West]

Harper opens the ears of the reader to hear God's whispers of love and truth and shows us the high calling of holiness of heart and life. Faithful to John Wesley's views on entire sanctification. He does a great job of capturing the power, the challenges and the beauty of this movement / revival.

[John]

One of the best books of theology that I have ever read. Easy to read, and both challenging and encouraging. Heartily recommended.

[Zach Waldis]

A solid short summary of Wesley's theology, if a bit basic.

[Jeff Bobin]

One of the best summaries of the theology of John Wesley I have read.

Relatively short summary and makes you want to know more.

[Richard Fitzgerald]

This was an accessible explanation of the Scriptural Way of Salvation. I thought it was structured strangely. It was almost like a simple study of Wesley's theology systematized by the process of soteriology and then some chapters added to prove Wesley has relevance to today. I think the subject would have been better served if Harper had synthesized these more and just told a contemporarily formatted way of salvation that clearly flows from Wesley's thought.

[Claire Cox-woodlief]

This is an excellent summary of where John Wesley is coming from! Great review, even if you are already Wesley scholar! The discussion questions that are provided at the end of each chapter would make this an easy resource to be used in small groups!

[Benjamin]

A very good book to find out what Methodism is about in this short read. :)

[Darcy Knight]

Not the best, but not bad either. There's not a lot out there on the basics of John Wesley, so I'm grateful to have found it for our book study.

[Grant Robertson]

Ordo Salutis.

[Kyle P]

Short but great read about Wesley's Ordo Salutis.

[Fred Eisenhut]

Ok. Gives a good description of Wesley and his ideas.

[Jt]

read for school

[Andy]

Loved it.

[Lisa Degrenia]

Great book for an approachable, yet thorough discussion of the Methodist/Wesleyan understanding of the journey of faith.

[Sarah]

4 1/2 stars...Part history, part theology! Worth the read!