Whitefield/Wesley & Predestination

John Wesley’s sermon, entitled “Free Grace” was published in August, 1739. In it he attempted to show how God’s grace is “free in all and free for all.” His message was strongly directed toward the doctrine of predestination and election, which was held to by many believers in Wesley’s day. He believed that this doctrine was a dangerous one and that it blasphemed the very person and nature of God. In response to Wesley, George Whitefield wrote “A Letter from George Whitefield to the Rev. John Wesley. Whitefield saw Wesley’s doctrine of “free grace” as being the one that was blasphemous and dangerous to the faith. He argued that the Bible clearly presents the doctrine of predestination, and that any doctrine that stated otherwise led to the heresy of universalism.
The two men had worked together in the ministry for quite some time when these two documents were published. Wesley adopted many evangelical views of Christianity when he was converted, but he retained some of his pre-conversion beliefs concerning predestination. When Whitefield left England on a trip, Wesley quickly published his sermon on “free grace.” When Whitefield returned, he was determined to respond and set the record straight. Both of these men presented strong arguments supporting both of their views. It is difficult to compare the two equally, because Whitefield only addresses certain issues in Wesley’s sermon and not it’s entirety. That being said, I believe that George Whitefield’s

arguments concerning predestination and soteriology are superior to John Wesley’s due to how he handles Scripture and logical thought. Wesley’s sermon on “free grace” had six major points. For the purpose of this paper, I have selected for discussion only the points that Whitefield directly addressed in his letter of response. In doing so, I hope to make apparent that Whitefield had a much stronger argument and a much more biblical understanding of predestination in soteriology. Wesley begins his