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'''Prevenient Grace''' is a [[Christian]] [[Theology|theological]] concept embraced primarily by [[Arminianism|Arminian]] followers of [[John Wesley]] who are part of the [[Methodism|Methodist movement]]. Wesley typically referred to it in 18th century language as ''preventing grace''. In modern American vernacular, it might better be termed ''preceding grace''.
The [[United Methodist Church|United Methodist]] ''Book of Discipline (2004)'' defines ''prevenient grace'' as, "...the divine love that surrounds all humanity and precedes any and all of our conscious impulses. This grace prompts our first wish to please God, our first glimmer of understanding concerning God's will, and our 'first slight transient conviction' of having sinned against God. God's grace also awakens in us an earnest longing for deliverance from sin and death and moves us toward repentance and faith."<sup id="fn_1_back"ref>[[#fn_1|''The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church - 2004'' (Nashville: United Methodist Publishing House, 2004), Section 1]]: Our Doctrinal Heritage: Distinctive Wesleyan Emphases</supref>
Article VIII of the Articles of Religion which John Wesley adapted for use by American Methodists states that, "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 us'', that we may have a good will, and working with us, when we have that good will." The article is official doctrine not only for The United Methodist Church but for many other Wesleyan denominations as well.
''Prevenient grace'' is [[Grace|divine grace]] which precedes human decision. It exists prior to and without reference to anything humans may have done. As humans are corrupted by the effects of [[sin]], ''prevenient grace'' allows persons to engage their God-given [[free will]] to choose the salvation offered by God in Jesus Christ or to reject that salvific offer.
[[Thomas Oden]] of Drew University defines prevenient grace as, "...the grace that begins to enable one to choose further to cooperate with saving grace. By offering the will the restored capacity to respond to grace, the person then may freely and increasingly become an active, willing participant in receiving the conditions for justification."<sup id="fn_2_back"ref>[[#fn_2|2]]Thomas C. Oden, ''John Wesley's Scriptural Christianity'' (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994), p. 243</supref>
[[Baptism|Infant baptism]] is seen in Methodism as a celebration of ''prevenient grace'', which is important (though not essential) for the life journey of the faithful disciple.
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==Quotes==