Moody, J. Wilbur Chapman, and assurance of salvation

J. Wilbur Chapman was young when he placed his trust in Christ, young enough that he never could recall a specific date. This bothered him for several years, apparently until he attended one of D. L. Moody’s evangelistic meetings in Chicago. Mark Sidwell reports that Chapman met with Moody after the meeting and there became certain of his relationship with Christ:

Chapman met Moody personally when the older man counseled the younger in an after meeting. In the inquiry room, Chapman professed his lack of assurance of his salvation. Moody read John 5:24 with him and asked, “Do you believe this?” Chapman replied, “Certainly.” Moody asked, “Are you a Christian?” The younger man said, “Sometimes I think I am, and again I am fearful.” Moody said, “Read it again,” then asked again if he believed it, and Chapman again said he was unsure. “Then he seemed to lose his patience,” Chapman recalled, “and the only time I can remember Mr. Moody being sharp with me was when he turned upon me and said, “Whom are you doubting?” After Chapman thought this over, Moody said, “Read it again.” He did and Moody asked, “Do you believe this?” Chapman replied, “Yes, indeed I do.” Moody asked, “Are you a Christian?” He answered, “Yes, Mr. Moody, I am.” Chapman concluded, “From that day to this I have never questioned my acceptance with God.” Later Chapman worked in some of Moody’s campaigns, preached at his Northfield Bible Conference, and served as vice president of Moody’s Bible Institute in Chicago.¹

The tale of Moody’s ministry to Chapman still warms hearts because many Christians today struggle with doubts like those that plagued Chapman. Many treasure Moody’s text, John 5:24, because it promises salvation to all who hear the gospel and believe in God. Looking at this passage illustrates why Moody insisted that Chapman’s fears betrayed doubt in the goodness of God.

John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

An encouraging aspect of the gospel message shines through in this statement. Christ presents the good news here with enduring simplicity, calling for faith in response to the truth. True saving faith is not a product of human effort (which is more clearly stated in passages like Ephesians 2:8-9), and here Christ offers the eternal glories of heaven to anyone who will believe in Him.

As comforting as this is for a believer, Christ’s statement is exclusive. Only those who hear and believe will have this everlasting life and be saved. Elsewhere Christ becomes more restrictive, insisting that He alone is “the way,” limiting salvation to only those who approach God the Father through Himself (John 14:6). There is no hope of salvation any other way.

The simplicity (and exclusivity) of the gospel appeal became the central motivation for everything J. Wilbur Chapman later did. The need of the lost was paramount to him, apparent in this statement from Chapman, “For every lost individual in the community every Church has a measure of responsibility from which it cannot be freed until at least every legitimate means has been tried for his salvation.”²

Chapman’s efforts, largely forgotten today, have everlasting consequences. Chapman would probably agree that whether anyone remembers his evangelistic ministry today is truly beside the point. Your response to the gospel of Christ is what matters most right now, and Christ’s directions haven’t changed.

1. Sidwell, Mark. J. Wilbur Chapman and the Evangelizing of America. Fundamentalism File, Bob Jones University, Accession No. 01148006, pp. 3-4. [↩]
2. Chapman quoted in Sidwell, p. 35. [↩]