Discipling Life

Thoughts Upon Methodism, Rev. John Wesley 1.  I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America.  But I am afraid, lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power.  And this undoubtedly will be the case, unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out. 2.  What was their fundamental doctrine?  That the Bible is the whole and sole rule both of Christian faith and practice.  Hence they learned,      (1)  That religion is an inward principle; that it is no other than the mind that was in Christ; or, in other words, the renewal of the soul after the image of God, in righteousness and true holiness.      (2)  That this can never be wrought in us, but by the power of the Holy Ghost.      (3)  That we receive this, and every other blessing, me...

When John Wesley gathered the first Methodist societies in the 1730s and 1740s, he wasn’t trying to start a new denomination. He was trying to form a people who took the gospel seriously enough to let it reshape their daily lives. Wesley believed that God’s grace is always moving—awakening, justifying, sanctifying—and that Christians grow best when they pay attention to how grace is at work within them. One of the most practical tools Wesley used for this spiritual formation was a set of self-examination questions. These questions did not appear in a single moment but grew out of the early Methodist “bands,” small groups of three to five people who met weekly for honest confession, encouragement, and accountability. The goal was not guilt but growth. Wesley wanted believers to cultivate a life that was awake to God, honest about sin, and open to the transforming work of the Spirit. The “22 Questions” were compiled for these band meetings and reflect Wesley’s deep conviction that ho...