In this minisode we will be reading through John Wesley's Sermon, "The New Birth" to get some insight into his views on the Doctrine of Regeneration. This is a great sermon by Wesley. He covers the depravity of man as a result of the fall. He also writes about the nature of the new birth and why the new birth is necessary. The questions he asks are as follows in his own words: "First, Why must we be born again? What is the foundation of this doctrine of the new birth? Secondly, How must we be born again? What is the nature of the new birth? And, Thirdly, Wherefore must we be born again? To what end is it necessary?"
The sermon will not be read entirely, but follow the link below to where you can find the whole sermon online:
http://www.umcmission.org/Find-Resources/John-Wesley-Sermons/Sermon-45-The-New-Birth
This minisode launches a three podcast series where we will examine the doctrine of regeneration in the thought of Jacob Arminius and John Wesley. In this minisode we will specifically focus on what Arminius had to write about regeneration in his works. To do this we will be reading through a selection from his commentary on Romans 7 where he deals with the doctrine of regeneration, specifically the differences between the regenerate person and the unregenerate person. We will also be reading through Article 20 of his "Certain Articles to be Diligently Weighed and Examined" as well where he explores the topic of regeneration further. Along the way we will explore his understanding of where regeneration takes place in the order of salvation and the high view of regeneration that he held to.
In this episode we will discuss the doctrine of saving faith in the thought of Jacob Arminius and John Wesley. The episode will focus on how both men taught that faith was a gift of God. We will also discuss how both Arminius and Wesley had a very theocentric understanding of salvation and were not man centered at all. We will also discuss how the theology of Arminius and Wesley was different from the theology of other theologians such as Charles Finney on this point. For help on this episode we will be referencing works by Stanglin, McCall, Collins, Olson, and Rodes. All of their books can be found on the Remonstrance website theologians tab. We also read through sections of an article by Chris Bounds and Keith Drury.
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