In our journey through a Wesleyan Understanding of Salvation, we have considered prevenient or preventing grace, convicting grace, and justifying grace. We now turn our attention to an aspect of salvation that Wesley taught as happening at the same time as justification, or forgiveness, but was a distinct thing: the New Birth. Specifically, on the timing of Justification and the New Birth, this is what he wrote: “In order of time, neither of these is before the other; in the

So far, in this series, we have looked at a Wesleyan understanding of both Prevenient Grace and Convicting Grace. This brings us to the aspect of Wesley’s perspective that has the most overlap with other Protestant Traditions: Justifying Grace. In most traditions, talking about someone being “justified” is one and the same with someone “getting saved.” Justification is the word that often gets used to translate the idea in the New Testament that we are “made right” with God.

In my last article, the first in this series, I stated my aims in these reflections. I am hardly the first person to lay out the Wesleyan understanding of salvation and so I am not going to try to cover everything that can be said. My goal is “to put the most important issues right up front and then spend a bit of time highlighting implications that don’t always get raised for those who want to go just a bit deeper.” This month, we are looking at “convicting grace.” This is

Part 1: Prevenient/Preventing Grace I would like to take several of these articles to unpack the Wesleyan understanding of salvation. I am hardly the first person to do this, so this may sound somewhat familiar. I am hoping to put the most important issues right up front and then spend a bit of time highlighting implications that don’t always get raised for those who want to go just a bit deeper. The first stage on the way to salvation from a Wesleyan perspective is Prevenien

As we finish out this year, I wanted to share some of the things I have learned from John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement. There are many things we can learn from him about the gospel. We have and will consider those as well. However, I wanted to share a few of the very practical things I have learned from Wesley. 1. We always need to read the Bible in context. In my earliest days as a Christian, I noticed that most people talked about the Bible a verse at a tim

Last month, I offered a reflection on the nature of Communion and how it lies at the center of the Gospel. This month, I will direct some attention to the other sacrament recognized by the Global Methodist Church: Baptism.   Baptism is first and foremost something that Jesus did for us. When Jesus went to get baptized by John in the Jordan, Matthew tells us that John didn’t want to do it. Jesus’ response is remarkable: “Permit it at this time; for in this way it is fitting fo