WHAT WE BELIEVE - Free Will to Choose

This week we will be resuming our sermon series What We Believe. We will be looking at the fascinating theological concept of free will. John Wesley was a great believer in free will. He found, contrary to the reformers (Luther, Calvin), that the ideas of election, predestination, irresistible grace and the like were not grounded in scripture, but matters of opinion that did not accurately reflect the character and work of a loving God. Wesley saw the grace of God as something freely available to all who hear the gospel, repent, and believe. He further understood grace to proceed faith thereby insuring that the choice to believe is truly uncoerced and free.

In other words, the grace of God is invitational. It is something to embrace and to which you give yourself; freely and without manipulation. This free will embrace of God is what enables us to live fully into the kingdom of heaven in every moment. I look forward to exploring this idea with you this Sunday, in a sermon entitled, Free Will to Choose.

Rev. Adam Thornton