Grace: Prevenient, Justifying, and Sanctifying Grace
God’s grace leads us from awakening, to salvation, to lifelong transformation in Christ.
Grace: Prevenient, Justifying, and Sanctifying Grace
Understanding God’s Grace
Grace is one of the most important themes in the Bible. Grace is God’s undeserved love, mercy, and favor toward humanity. We cannot earn grace through good works, religious activities, or personal effort. Grace is God’s gift to us through Jesus Christ.
Throughout our lives, God is continually at work drawing us closer to Himself. In the Methodist tradition, grace is often understood in three primary ways: prevenient grace, justifying grace, and sanctifying grace. These are not three different kinds of grace, but three ways God’s one grace works in our lives.
Grace begins before we know God, brings us into a saving relationship with Christ, and continues transforming us throughout our lives.
Prevenient Grace: Grace That Goes Before
The word prevenient means “to come before.”
Prevenient grace is God’s grace at work in our lives before we respond to Him. Before we seek God, He is already seeking us. Before we understand the gospel, God is already drawing us toward Himself.
God works through family, friends, churches, Scripture, worship, life experiences, and the Holy Spirit to awaken our hearts to His presence. Prevenient grace does not force anyone to believe. Instead, it prepares our hearts to hear and respond to God’s invitation.
Key Scriptures
John 6:44 (NASB)
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.”
Jeremiah 31:3 (NASB)
“I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.”
Justifying Grace: Grace That Saves
When a person places faith in Jesus Christ, God forgives their sins and declares them righteous through Christ. This act is called justification.
Justification is not something we earn through good works or religious effort. It is God’s gift received through faith. Through Christ’s death and resurrection, our sins are forgiven, our relationship with God is restored, and we become part of God’s family.
Justification answers an important question: How can a sinner be made right with God? Scripture teaches that we are justified by faith in Jesus Christ and saved by God’s grace.
Key Scriptures
Romans 5:1 (NASB)
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Ephesians 2:8-9 (NASB)
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”
Sanctifying Grace: Grace That Changes Us
God’s work does not stop when we are saved. He continues to shape us into the likeness of Christ.
Sanctifying grace is God’s ongoing work of transforming believers. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Christians grow in faith, obedience, love, and spiritual maturity. This process continues throughout our lives as we learn to follow Christ more faithfully.
As we pray, worship, study Scripture, serve others, participate in the life of the Church, and practice the Means of Grace, God continues His work within us. We become more Christlike in our attitudes, actions, and relationships.
Sanctification does not mean we become perfect in this life. It means we continue growing in holiness and love as God works within us.
Key Scriptures
Philippians 1:6 (NASB)
“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.”
2 Corinthians 3:18 (NASB)
“But we all… are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory.”The Evidence of Sanctifying Grace
As God’s sanctifying grace continues its work in our lives, the Fruit of the Holy Spirit becomes increasingly visible. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control are signs that God is shaping us to become more like Christ. See the Fruit of the Holy Spirit page for further study.
Grace and the Christian Journey
Many Christians understand grace as a lifelong journey.
God’s prevenient grace reaches out to us before we know Him.
God’s justifying grace forgives and saves us when we place our faith in Christ.
God’s sanctifying grace continues transforming us throughout our lives.
One day, believers will experience glorification when they are fully restored and made complete in God’s presence.
From beginning to end, the Christian life is a story of God’s grace at work
Grace in Methodist Teaching
John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, emphasized that grace is active throughout the entire Christian journey.
Wesley taught that God’s grace seeks us before conversion, saves us through faith in Christ, and continues shaping us into holy and loving disciples. Methodists therefore speak often about growing in grace and moving toward Christian maturity.
Grace is not simply a one-time experience. It is the continuing work of God in the life of every believer.
How We Respond to Grace
God’s grace is a gift, but we are invited to respond to that gift through faith and obedience.
As Christians worship, pray, study Scripture, participate in the Church, receive Holy Communion, serve others, and share their faith, they place themselves in positions where God can continue His transforming work.
These practices do not earn God’s grace. Instead, they help us receive and cooperate with the grace God freely offers.
Why This Matters
Understanding grace helps us recognize that the Christian life is not about earning God’s approval. It is about receiving the love God freely offers through Jesus Christ.
God’s grace seeks us before we know Him.
God’s grace saves us when we trust Christ.
God’s grace transforms us as we follow Him.
Every step of the Christian journey depends upon the grace of God.
Related Pages
Foundations of Faith: Core Beliefs
Spiritual Growth and Sanctification
Prayer and Worship Preparation
Discipleship in the United Methodist Church
Closing Invitation
God’s grace is at work long before we recognize it, continues when we place our faith in Christ, and remains active throughout our lives. Through His grace, God forgives, restores, strengthens, and transforms us.
Visit PGUM.org to learn more about Christian discipleship and spiritual growth through worship, study, prayer, service, and daily faith.
