INTRODUCTION Wesleyans are often surprised to discover how Reformed John Wesley is in his understanding of original sin and salvation. Conversely, many Calvinists are forced to re-evaluate their simplistic caricatures of Wesley as they examine…
Wesley, John
Seven Minute Seminary: Ryan Danker, “Why the Church Needed Methodism”
From the video’s YouTube page, which may be accessed here: Why did the church need the 18th century Methodist movement? In today’s Seven Minute Seminary, Dr. Ryan Danker explains the relationship between Anglicanism, Puritanism, and…
Ben Witherington and Roger Olson, “Roger Olson’s Arminian Theology – Part 10”
BEN: How would you distinguish the Calvinist notion of God’s providence from the Arminian one? It is interesting to me that if one reads Wesley’s Journal, one finds the phrase ‘a singular providence of God’…
Wesley’s Advice on Voting
John Wesley On Regeneration
John Wesley was someone who focused on the practical matters of living out the Christian life. But he did not ignore the essential doctrines of the faith. In sermon #45, entitled “The New Birth”,…
Ben Witherington and Roger Olson, “Roger Olson’s Arminian Theology – Part 4”
BEN: On p. 55, you talk about Wesley’s treatise on divine sovereignty compared to Calvin’s view. Would you say that while Wesley agrees with Calvin that God is sovereign, absolutely so, and could do what…
Wesley’s 4 Questions on the Use of Money
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, preached a wealth of words about money. Wesley made enormous sums from the sale of his writings. In an age when a single man could live comfortably on $60…
Wesley’s Question, “How’s Your Doing?”
When Christians gather in small groups together, we usually greet one another with the colloquial “How are you doing?” This question can also be used to describe what happens thereafter. Many small groups that focus…
Randy L. Maddox, “Theology of John and Charles Wesley”
Please click on the link to view Randy L. Maddox, “Theology of John and Charles Wesley,” in T&T Clark Companion to Methodism, 20–35. Edited by Charles Yrigoyen, Jr. New York: T&T Clark, 2010.
Wesley’s Creedal Faith
Wesley once stated that early on the Oxford Methodists were tenaciously orthodox, “firmly believing not only the three creeds, but whatsoever they judged to be the doctrine of the Church of England, as contained in…
Wesley’s 22 questions
These are 22 questions the members of John Wesley’s Holy Club asked themselves every day in their private devotions over 200 years ago. Interesting how they are still relevant today. 1. Am I consciously or…
John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes on Romans 9
The Book of Romans Chapter 9Chapter Overview: In this chapter St. Paul, after strongly declaring his love and esteem for them, sets himself to answer the grand objection of his countrymen; namely, that the rejection…
James Pedlar, “John Wesley on Predestination”
All his life, John Wesley stood within the tradition of English Arminianism, but from the early days of the Methodist revival, his position on predestination became a particularly important and divisive issue. Of course, his…
Matt O’Reilly, Entire Sanctification in the Early Church
[Please note that SEA does not necessarily endorse Wesley’s doctrine of Entire Sanctification, but it is a position that SEA members can hold.] I’ve often heard that John Wesley’s emphasis on Entire Sanctification (or Christian Perfection)…
Assessing John Hendryx on Prevenient Grace
Monergism.com hosts articles by various Calvinists, some of which present arguments against Arminianism based on a Calvinistic hermeneutic, and others of which are a pure misrepresentation of Arminian doctrine. Having read “A Short Response to…
How John Wesley Spent the New Year in 1785
From the Journal of John Wesley: Saturday January 1, 1785. — Whether this be the last or no, may it be the best year of my life! Sunday, January 2, 1785. A larger number of…
J. Matthew Pinson, “Thomas Grantham an Influence on Wesley’s View of Predestination”
Recently a friend and former student, Jesse Owens (now a Ph.D. student in historical theology at Southern Seminary) told me about a statement Herbert McGonigle had made about Wesley “raising the ghosts” of John Goodwin…
Eric Geiger, “THE FAITH OF A SERVANT OR A SON?”
Please click on the link to view Eric Geiger, “THE FAITH OF A SERVANT OR A SON?”
Jerry Walls, “God’s Love and Predestination”
After considering sovereignty and human freedom, we are now in a position to understand the heart of Wesley’s theology, and how profoundly it differs from Calvinism. I reiterate that the difference is not that Calvin believed in divine…
Charles Gutenson, “John Wesley’s Order of Salvation: Seven Minute Seminary”
From the video’s YouTube page: “Dr. Charles Gutenson here outlines John Wesley’s order of salvation—that work of God which begins with prevenient grace and ends with glorifying grace.” A brief bio from Seedbed on Dr.…
Recent Posts
Roy Ingle, “Calvinism and the Atonement”
Why Does God Deny the Opportunity of Choice for or Against Him to Young Children Who Die and the Mentally Impaired?
Mark K. Olson, “Wesley’s ‘Warmed Heart’ at Aldersgate – What Really Happened?”
Adam Roe, “The Crucial Thread of Prevenient Grace: A Wesleyan Perspective on Divine Drawing”
