Prevenient grace (or preceding grace or enabling grace) is a Christian theological concept that refers to the grace of God in a person's life which precedes and prepares to conversion. The concept was first developed by Augustine of Hippo (354–430), was affirmed by the Second Council of Orange (529) and has become part of Catholic theology. A similar concept is also found in Eastern Orthodox and Arminian theology. In all these traditions, prevenient grace is understood as universally available, enabling all individuals to have faith while leaving acceptance dependent on libertarian free will. In Reformed theology, it appears in the form of effectual calling, through which God's grace irresistibly leads certain individuals to salvation.
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👉 Prevenient grace in the context of Doctrine of election
Unconditional election (also called sovereign election or unconditional grace) is a Calvinist doctrine relating to predestination that describes the actions and motives of God prior to his creation of the world, when he predestined some people to receive salvation, the elect, and the rest he left to continue in their sins and receive the just punishment, eternal damnation, for their transgressions of God's law as outlined in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. God made these choices according to his own purposes apart from any conditions or qualities related to those persons.
The alternative view to unconditional election is the Arminian doctrine of conditional election, the belief that God predestinates for eternal salvation those whom he foreknows will respond to God's prevenient grace with given faith in Christ's atonement. God's election was for a clear unalterable purpose, to elect those who will believe.
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Prevenient grace in the context of Works of piety
"Works of piety", in Methodism, are certain spiritual disciplines that along with the "works of mercy", serve as a means of grace, in addition to being manifestations of growing in grace and of having received Christian perfection (entire sanctification). All Methodist Christians, laity and ordained, are expected to employ them. The Works of Piety are:
The interior works of piety are paralleled by the external Works of Mercy. John Wesley insisted that the works of piety were important because they "further ensconced believers in a spiritual world of conflict in which humans needed to pursue holiness with the same vigor with which they sought their justification." In relation to soteriology, the grace of God was "all sufficient," and it issued in a universal atonement that made possible a saving "change of heart;" this change of heart required "the influences of divine grace," but it also required "constant exertions."
Prevenient grace in the context of Arminian
Arminianism is a theological tradition in Protestantism which emerged in the early 17th century and is based on the ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the Remonstrance (1610), a theological statement submitted to the States General of the Netherlands. This expressed an attempt to moderate the doctrines of Calvinism related to its interpretation of predestination.
Classical Arminianism, to which Arminius is the main contributor, and Wesleyan Arminianism, to which John Wesley is the main contributor, are the two main schools of thought. Central to Arminian beliefs is that God's prevenient grace, which prepares regeneration, is universal and that his grace, allowing regeneration and ongoing sanctification, is resistible.
Prevenient grace in the context of Efficacious grace
Irresistible grace (also called effectual grace, effectual calling, or efficacious grace) is a doctrine in Christian theology particularly associated with Calvinism, which teaches that the saving grace of God is effectually applied to those whom he has determined to save (the elect) and, in God's timing, overcomes their resistance to obeying the call of the gospel, bringing them to faith in Christ. It is to be distinguished from prevenient grace, particularly associated with Arminianism, which teaches that the offer of salvation through grace does not act irresistibly in a purely cause-effect, deterministic method, but rather in an influence-and-response fashion that can be both freely accepted and freely denied.
Prevenient grace in the context of Limited atonement
Limited atonement (also called definite atonement or particular redemption) is a doctrine accepted in some Christian theological traditions. It is particularly associated with the Reformed tradition and is one of the five points of Calvinism. The doctrine states that though the death of Jesus Christ is sufficient to atone for the sins of the whole world, it was the intention of God the Father that the atonement of Christ's death would work itself out in only the elect, thereby leading them without fail to salvation. According to limited atonement, Christ died for the sins of the elect alone, and no atonement was provided for the reprobate. This is in contrast to a belief that God's prevenient grace (or "enabling grace") enables all to respond to the salvation offered by God in Jesus Christ so that it is each person's decision and response to God's grace that determines whether Christ's atonement will be effective to that individual. A modified form of the doctrine exists in Molinism.