Baptism and the New Birth - PDF

In our examination of John Wesley's Via Salutis (Way of Salvation) we come to a consideration of the role of baptism and how Wesley balanced a sacramental and an evangelical understanding of baptism. In The United Methodist Church we see how baptism is today understood, in part: "In baptism the Church declares that it is bound in covenant to God; through baptism new persons are initiated into that covenant. The covenant connects God, the community of faith, and the person being baptized ..."