Comparison of Wesley and Whitfield on grace and predestination Essay

Comparison of Wesley and Whitfield on grace and predestination - Essay Example Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.13 V. Bibliography†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦14 I. Introduction Three prominent religious members lay behind the evangelical movement that arose in English Christianity within the 1730s when Charles, John, and Wesley came together as Methodists. George Whitefield was a Calvinist while John Wesley and his brother Charles Wesley can be considered as Arminians. The reasons for Whitefield’s dedicated attitude can partly be linked to his close friendships with American evangelicals, which led into deeper comprehension of Puritan theology and its significance to evangelism and revivals. The pa per explores the views of Wesley and Whitefield on the theology of grace and predestination. II. Background Prior to his departure, Whitefield’s sermon dwelling on â€Å"On the Nature and Necessity of Our Regeneration or New Birth in Christ Jesus† based on 2 Corinthians 5: 17 â€Å"if any man be in Christ he is a new creature.† In his sermon of 1737, â€Å"the doctrine of our generation, new birth in Christ Jesus† can be regarded as one of the most fundamental. ... agreed wholly with the Wesley that â€Å"nothing but a guarantee that people are born again that all are members of Christ united to Him by one and to the Holy Spirit that He was actuated† can fulfill the heart of man.2 The three also concurred on the nature and degree of the sanctification started through the work of the Holy Spirit within regeneration. When George Whitefield left England in 1739, he was appreciated as a leader of the evangelical awakening. Whitefield handed over his followers to John Wesley’s; nevertheless, when he returned in 1741, Whitefield found that a majority of his spiritual children were hostile to the extent that they sent threatening messages to him that God will speedily destroy him. This emanated from by the fact that, on Whitefield’s departure, Wesley had published a sermon titled â€Å"Free Grace,† which professed to be founded upon, Roman 8:32. John Wesley’s sermon, published in August 1739 and attempted to demonstr ate how God’s Grace is â€Å"free in all and free for all.† Wesley’s message was a robust critique of the doctrine of predestination and election. Wesley believed such a doctrine was a precarious one and that it blasphemed the very person and nature of God. Election represents God’s choosing whom to save and it is unconditional, given that there is no condition man must satisfy before God chooses to save him. Calvinists concur that humankind must meet the condition of faith in Christ so as to inherit eternal life; however, faith is not a condition for election, but rather election is a condition of faith. Whitefield and Wesley could not find a common ground, which split the movement between the adherents of Wesley and those of Whitefield.3 The division arose from the fact that Whitefield and Wesley did not share the