Comparison of Wesley and Whitfield on Grace and Predestination Essay - 1

Comparison of Wesley and Whitfield on Grace and Predestination - Essay Example 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 is 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. Whitefield warned that it is a â€Å"fatal mistake† to separate what God had inseparably joined together, and anticipate being justified by Christ devoid of sanctification.1 Whitefield’s doctrine paralleled those of John Wesley’s sermon entitled â€Å"Salvation by Faith.† Wesley concluded that the call to the righteousness, which permeates the Old and New Testament, was the prominent theme of Scripture. Whitefield sermons demonstrated that he 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 demonstrate how God’s Grace is â€Å"free in all and free for all.†