{"id":33532,"date":"2012-06-28T21:42:00","date_gmt":"2012-06-29T02:42:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=33532"},"modified":"2025-03-25T12:41:33","modified_gmt":"2025-03-25T17:41:33","slug":"what-is-prevenient-grace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-prevenient-grace\/","title":{"rendered":"What is prevenient grace?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

In a conversation with a Methodist, the term “Prevenient\u00a0Grace” came up. What does this mean? Is this type of grace founded on Scripture?<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

“Prevenient Grace” was coined by John Wesley, who founded groups like the Methodists and the Church of the Nazarene. The word “prevenient” is archaic; in modern English, we would say “preceding.” In other words, it is a belief that God’s grace precedes man’s response to God’s offer of salvation. John Wesley put it this way: “The condition of man after the fall of Adam is such that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and works, to faith, and calling upon God; wherefore we have no power to do good works, pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God by Christ preventing [preceding in modern English] us, that we may have a good will, and working with us, when we have that good will.” [John Wesley, Articles of Religion<\/em>, Article VIII]. Thus, prevenient grace is the concept that man is too corrupt to be saved, so God, in His mercy, gives men grace so they can choose to be saved.<\/p>\n

It is a modification of John Calvin’s idea that God’s grace is irresistible. Calvin’s idea is that when God decides to save someone, He gives the person grace, and they have no choice but to become saved. Prevenient grace says that God offers salvation by giving some grace, but then the person has to choose whether to accept the gift or not. “Simply put, prevenient grace is the grace of God given to individuals that releases them from their bondage to sin and enables them to come to Christ in faith, but does not guarantee that the sinner will actually do so” [“What is Prevenient Grace?<\/a>” gotquestions.org — a Calvinist teaching organization].<\/p>\n

The problem with both irresistible grace and prevenient grace is that there is the assumption that people are born totally corrupt and unable to do good. See\u00a0Total Depravity or Total Inability<\/a> to find out why this foundation is unscriptural.<\/p>\n

A second problem is that both systems make God a respecter of persons by saying that salvation is only offered to a limited set of people. But consider:<\/p>\n

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance<\/em>” (II Peter 3:9).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Because the Lord doesn’t want any to perish, He is long-suffering, so all<\/em>\u00a0should come to repentance. This implies some of “all”\u00a0<\/em>are currently perishing. The delay is so that all\u00a0should<\/em> repent, but that implies that repentance is not guaranteed, and some will not repent even with God’s longsuffering.<\/p>\n

Clearly, Peter has in mind that “all” includes both the saved and the unsaved. His current focus is on the unsaved — those who have not repented but should. God has His desire, but some will not do as God prefers. This matches other statements by God. ” “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways,” says the Lord GOD. “Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. “Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies,” says the Lord GOD. “Therefore turn and live!” <\/em>” (Ezekiel 18:30-32). Ezekiel makes it clear that the choice of salvation is up to man. God has made His choice, and now it is up to man to decide whether to follow God or not.<\/p>\n

But is that offer of salvation only given to some of the lost? Paul said that Jesus “gave Himself a ransom for all<\/em>” (I Timothy 2:6). God’s grace was the sending of Jesus to die for mankind’s sins, but that gift was offered to everyone. “For the love of Christ constrains us; because we judge thus, that one died for all, therefore all died. He died for all, that those who live should no longer live to themselves, but to him who for their sakes died and rose again<\/em>” (II Corinthians 5:14-15).<\/p>\n

The mistake of prevenient grace is the assumption that grace is offered on an individual scale instead of the universal offering that it was. “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us<\/em>” (Romans 2:6-8). Yes, God’s grace came before I accepted God’s offer of salvation because it happened long before any of us were born, but it doesn’t mean that God only offers grace to some. “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men”<\/em>\u00a0(Titus 2:10).<\/p>\n\t

Response:<\/h2>\n

Thank you so very much for your prompt reply and explanation. Have a blessed day.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: In a conversation with a Methodist, the term “Prevenient\u00a0Grace” came up. What does this mean? Is this type of grace founded on Scripture? Answer: “Prevenient Grace” was coined by John Wesley, who founded groups like the Methodists and the Church of the Nazarene. The word “prevenient” is archaic; in modern English, we would say…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[48,1245],"class_list":["post-33532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-grace","tag-limited-atonement"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":38562,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-is-arminianism\/","url_meta":{"origin":33532,"position":0},"title":"What is Arminianism?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 10, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good morning Jeffrey, I'm having an issue understand something. A lot of the denominational world is under the assumption that if a person is not a Calvinist, then they are an Arminian. What is an Arminian? I've thoroughly studied Calvinism and its faults, but I can't seem to find\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5785,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/what-are-your-references-on-john-wesleys-view-of-baptism\/","url_meta":{"origin":33532,"position":1},"title":"What are your references on John Wesley’s View of Baptism?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 16, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Re:\u00a0John Wesley\u2019s View of Baptism Could you please send me the references or citations for the quotes from Wesley? Thank you for this page, it is very beneficial. Answer: The quote can be found in: John Wesley,\u00a0A Preservative Against Unsettled Notions in Religion, p. 146-150, as quoted in\u00a0Millennial Harbinger,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":63421,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/salvation-by-grace-through-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":33532,"position":2},"title":"Salvation by Grace Through Faith","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 17, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Ephesians 2:1-10 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When we read Ephesians 2:8-10, there are four important words which stand out: grace, saved, faith, and works. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The gift mentioned in verse 8 is the gift of salvation given to us by God\u2019s grace. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Grace is an unmerited favor. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0a.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":66933,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-my-generation-neglect-the-grace-of-god\/","url_meta":{"origin":33532,"position":3},"title":"Did My Generation Neglect the Grace of God?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 6, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Edward O. Bragwell, Sr. I cannot understand how so many of the younger generation of preachers (sometimes encouraged by a few older ones) can talk about how woefully the generation before them neglected to tell people about the grace of God. They boldly speak about it as though it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43583,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/salvation-by-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":33532,"position":4},"title":"Salvation by Grace (Cope)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 22, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"by James R. Cope via\u00a0The Preceptor, Vol. 1, No. 12, October, 1952. In Titus 2:11-13 we read: \"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5200,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-holiness-movement\/","url_meta":{"origin":33532,"position":5},"title":"The Holiness Movement","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 29, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Download Audio Text: I Thessalonians 5:16-28 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Pietism took off during the 1600's with Philipp Jakob Spener (1635-1705) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Eventually a denomination form that was referred to as the Moravian church \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0From here we skip ahead to the early 1700's II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0John Wesley (1703-1791) \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0He was raised in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33532","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=33532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/33532\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=33532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=33532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=33532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}