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Prevenient Grace

Introduction

There is a coherent and the most basic theology that comes between three structures which are the Holiness Churches of Methodism, Wesleyanism and Nazareneism. The theology of John Wesley (1703-1791) was often ignored. The published book 'The Way to Heaven: The Gospel According to John Wesley' is an easy to understand theological views of Wesley (Gregory S, Neal 2006). There are many areas that were of interest to John like the original sin, prevenient grace, converting grace, transformation, perfectionism and Church. If each of these topics are understood than it would simplify who Christ was and what Christianity as a religion is all about, Prevenient grace is a Christian belief rooted back to Augustinian times. It is divine grace that interferes with human decision. It is present there in every human being, regardless of how corrupted he is. Prevenient grace allows a person to engage with God and the free will to choose the salvation God offered to Jesus. It is the grace given to an individual by God which proceeds over the sins exercised as it is saved by Jesus Christ (Gregory S, Neal 2006). The word 'prevenient' is a Latin word that means 'to come before'. Prevenient grace is mostly believed by the Armenian Christians who are influenced by the theology of John Wesley. They believe that the grace could not be resisted, and it enables a person to accept the benefit of salvation.

Historically, prevenient grace theological system consists of three significant positions. John Wesley believed that God's grace was a free gift for all mankind (Gregory S, Neal 2006). It is something that we get without actually deserving it. The three notions are 'prevenient grace', then 'accepting grace' and lastly, the 'sustaining grace'. This grace of God is with us since the time we came on Earth, as the meaning of the 'Prevenient' suggests 'to come before'. According to Wesley, there was a small spark present in everyone that enables us to recognize God's justifying grace. This means being born again. When God sheds some grace on us we come into a new life in Christ. People were free to accept or forfeit God's justifying grace. Thirdly, Wesley believed that if we accepted God's justifying grace, we will move onto the next stage. This is the sustaining grace, where we move to perfection. We need to continue to be part of God's grace and follow our Christian life as Wesley said (Neal, Dr. Gregory., 2006).

The Heavenly Initiative

God is always preparing the mankind to turn to him even before there is awareness amongst us about God. Jesus said no one could get to him unless he was drawn by the Father who sent me (John 6:44 and John 4:10). There are many scriptures that direct our heart towards God long before we have any inclination towards him. The belief further argues that no matter how big a sinner is, who is away from God, the spirit in everyone creates a desire for a ...