When I was at divinity school, I heard and read and learned a lot about the concept and faith practice of Grace.  I even had one professor proclaim that in her own faith search for a church home, she was stumped until she landed on a Methodist Church’s emphasis on grace.  She had been exploring a number of Christian faith traditions and denominations. But, it wasn’t until she came upon the Methodist church’s strong emphasis and thorough understanding of grace that she had found her home.

So what IS this particularly “Methodist” emphasis and understanding of Grace?  

There are three main components and each one helps us delve into and wrestle with the multi-layered faith experience and practice of grace.  In this, we are trying to put words to a feeling, a sense, a lived experience.  This is not a science nor is it a set of principles that one must adhere to; these three components are more of an attempt to explain a lived and ongoing faith experience.  Sometimes, grace is experienced in a moment; sometimes, it is a lifelong journey. 

What I am sharing today is a commonly-espoused Methodist or (John) Wesleyan understanding of grace. It is based on the writings and commentary of John Wesley who founded the Methodist movement in southern England in the 1700’s.  Interestingly enough, it was also around this time that John Newton wrote the familiar hymn, “Amazing Grace.”  If you don’t know the story behind that hymn, check it out!  It is a powerful story about God’s grace at work.  And? Newton’s story that led to the hymn shares more than a few details with one of John Wesley’s own personal stories of grace.  It turns out that these two Anglican clergy knew each other, and shared a few theological musings in their lifetimes. In fact, here’s a letter that John Wesley wrote to Newton on April 1, 1766.

https://digitalcollections.smu.edu/digital/collection/jwl/id/40

It is from John Wesley’s teachings of grace (such as the letter to Newton) that United Methodists today understand a certain grace process. Often, we see it as a house tour of sorts — with three stops along the way.

Stop #1 … Prevenient Grace.  The front porch.

This stop is on the porch of the house; the front door isn’t even open yet to us.  But the entirety of all that lies outside of the house is open to us.  Prevenient Grace might be a bit off-putting because of the word “prevenient.”  It’s an older word that simply means “prior to; before arriving.“ It means that we are on the front porch of God’s grace … before we even know it. And that is a beautiful thing.

God’s grace is with us often long before we know it; want it; or feel that we even need it.  God’s grace surrounds and embraces us despite our acknowledgment of it.  In fact, it doesn’t matter if we profess to be followers of Jesus, or religious, or “spiritual, but not religious” … anything at all or nothing at all. 

 But God shows his love for us, because while we were still sinners Christ died for us. ~ Romans 5: 8

God’s grace is with us.  All the time, everywhere.

That is prevenient grace … Truthfully, some of us stay on the front porch with God’s grace the entirety of our lives.  And that is 100% beautiful.  Amen to that!

Stop #2 … Justifying Grace.  The front door.

This stop is at the front door of the house.  This experience of God’s grace is unique to each of us who experience it, but it is when we feel God’s energy … 

—  helping us to stand back up when we have fallen. 

—  returning us to God’s embrace when we have done something >> many things? >> that have distanced us from God and what we might call “right relationship” with God or God’s people.

— forgiving us when we have caused harm to ourselves or another of God’s children or God’s creation.

Justifying grace can be felt as forgiveness, acceptance, or freedom. 

It can come in countless forms and experiences.

But all of these experiences of God’s justifying grace all drive us into alignment with God’s original design for us.

We stand at the door of God’s grace and we receive God’s grace as we work to align ourselves — our lives — with God’s intention for us.  We might experience this through the people that we commune with; or the ways that we go about our lives; the choices we make about what we do with tour time and how we go about our lives.  

Again, we need to remember that similar to prevenient grace, we don’t elect or choose to experience God’s grace. It is freely given and freely experienced.  There are no payments due or requirements for the grace of God. We experience it as we align ourselves with the ways of Jesus such as compassion for self and neighbor; sharing of resources for the betterment of all God’s kin-dom; forgiveness; walking a path of righteousness / justice for all persons.

You are saved by God’s grace because of your faith. This salvation is God’s gift. It’s not something you possessed. It’s not something you did that you can be proud of. Instead, we are God’s accomplishment, created in Christ Jesus to do good things. God planned for these good things to be the way that we live our lives. ~ Ephesians 2: 8-10

Stop #3 … Sanctifying Grace.  An inner room.

Aha! Now, we step inside the house! Yet, while we have arrived inside, we are still continuing to form.  Truth is, we never stop forming; we are ever maturing in our Christian discipleship.  Sanctifying Grace is the experience of grace where we might have a powerful conversion experience and “come to Jesus.”  Some of our sibling churches might understand this as “being born again in Christ.”

All of this speaks to a powerful means of God’s grace at work in our lives.  It is often experienced inwardly over time, but it can be a powerful one time location-specific event as well.  However we might experience “sanctifying grace,” it is powerful to the point of being almost palpable.  It contributes to our ongoing life in Christ and with Christ as we walk ever onward with God.

So, brothers and sisters, because of God’s mercies, I encourage you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice that is holy and pleasing to God. This is your appropriate priestly service. Don’t be conformed to the patterns of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds so that you can figure out what God’s will is—what is good and pleasing and mature. ~ Romans 12: 1-2

I will share briefly my experience of these “grace stops” along my life path just as some reference.

Stop #1 (Front Porch) – Prior to my entry into my call to ordained ministry, I wasn’t a regular church-goer.  I had been on and off as a child, but as a young adult, I was not.  This was certainly a time of prevenient grace in my life.  God was with me throughout the time; whether I attended church; whether I professed a faith.  I travelled a lot for work, and God’s grace accompanied me no matter where I was; who I was with; what I was doing.  No matter what, when, why, who, how.  God’s prevenient grace embraced me and enfolded me.

Stop #2 (Front Door) – At some point as I was on the front porch, God started to nudge me to the front door.  I only begrudgingly went; I stayed in that doorjamb for quite a while.  But, it was while in this space that I joined a small group of young adults who read the Bible sometimes and worshipped together on occasion. But, we began to really just live life together all the time.  We met for meals.  We went to concerts.  We hosted football game parties.  We went hiking – to the beach – to the opera – to the movies.  We ran marathons and races.  We went to memorial services of each other’s loved ones.  We went to and participated in one another’s bridal showers; weddings and baby showers.

And it was in this living life together that I began to experience God’s justifying grace.  I experienced and showed forgiveness.  I learned to listen more carefully to others.  I began to volunteer more frequently at homeless shelters and beach clean ups.  My choices with my spending, my companions, my career all began to reflect my deepening faith in and with Christ. 

I experienced God’s justifying grace and my life began to become more aligned with God and the ways of Christ.

And I didn’t earn any of this.  I just lived life and God’s grace was poured upon me.

Stop #3 (Inner Room) – As I stepped across the porch and entered an inner room of the house of grace, I experienced a deepening personal ownership of the ways of Jesus.  My prayer life matured, and I began to let go of my prior demands on my own life. I began to pray for God’s will and to open myself to follow God’s will.

This experience of the house of grace led to who I am today. I am an ordained clergywoman in the United Methodist Church who has served God’s church for a few decades now in a variety of ways. 

• I never thought I would be a minister. I never thought that I would marry, or have children of my own.

• I never thought I would be as fulfilled or at peace with the work that I am about and the life that I lead.

I am not without fault, mistakes, mishaps or wounding. But it is through the power of God’s enduring grace that I am who I am, and I serve God’s creation with such gratitude today.

I wonder how you have experience God’s grace in your life; I would love to hear or read of it. I have all the time in the world to listen to God’s people and hear of God’s grace in your lives.

Comment below. Or, reach out to meet up.

Let’s think and listen and ponder and sing of God’s Amazing Grace!

~ Pastor Melinda Dodge