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Before discussing the Distinctive Wesleyan Doctrines, we must first define a few topics:

First, what is meant by Wesleyan?

John & Charles Wesley were the founders of the Methodist Movement within the Anglican Church in England during the 18th century. This movement emphasized works of piety (working with the Holy Spirit to grow in personal relationship with God) and works of mercy (working with the Holy Spirit to help others grow in relationship with God by addressing their spiritual and physical needs). The doctrines and beliefs that came from John (and his brother Charles) through this movement have become the Wesleyan Doctrines of the United Methodist Church.

Second, what is meant by Grace?

This is the unmerited favor and love of God which we all experience whether we realize it or not. In simpler terms, this is the love that God has for all of us, even though we do not deserve it because of the sinful nature. John Wesley believed that this one grace affects us in primarily three (3) different ways (Prevenient Grace, Justifying Grace, & Sanctifying Grace).

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Prevenient Grace - This is the divine love of God that surrounds all humanity and precedes any and all of our conscious impulses and actions. This is the action of God taking the intitiative to pursue a relationship with us and urging us to turn towards God (repent) so that we may be delivered from the bondage of sin and death. We need God’s initiative, because our human state prevents us from being able to turn to God on our own.  CLICK HERE to learn more about the meaning of “prevenient grace.”

Scriptures passages pertaining to Prevenient Grace:

Ephesians 2:4-10: But God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God—not the result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are what he has made us, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand to be our way of life. (NRSV, italics to show emphasis of Prevenient Grace)

Psalm 23: Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever. (NLT, italics to show emphasis of Prevenient Grace)

Romans 5:8: But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us. (NRSV, italics to show emphasis of Prevenient Grace)

1 John 4:19: We love because [God] first loved us. (NRSV, italics to show emphasis of Prevenient Grace)

Justifying Grace – Justification and Assurance – We believe God reaches out to the believer willing to return to God’s ways with a grace of accepting and pardoning love. In justification, we turn to participate in God’s ways and are, through faith alone, forgiven and restored to God’s favor through the action and example of Jesus Christ. As justifying text within a document puts all the words in line, justifying grace puts us “in line” with God.  CLICK HERE to learn more about the meaning of “justifying grace.”

Scriptures passages pertaining to Justifying Grace:

Galatians 3:10-14: For all who rely on the works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not observe and obey all the things written in the book of the law.” Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law; for “The one who is righteous will live by faith.” But the law does not rest on faith; on the contrary, “Whoever does the works of the law will live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”—in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (NRSV)

Romans 3:21-26: But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ (or through the faith of Jesus Christ) for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. . . . (NRSV)

Sanctifying Grace – Sanctification and Perfection – We hold that the wonder of God’s acceptance and pardon (justification) is not the end or ultimate goal of God’s saving work. Rather, it is just the beginning of living out the life of faith. Through the action of the Holy Spirit, God continues to nurture our growth in grace in a continual journey toward “having the mind of Christ and walking as he walked.” John Wesley would say this is our “going on to perfection” through the work of the Holy Spirit. The idea behind sanctifying grace is that God loves us just the way we are but too much to let us stay the same! God’s sanctifying grace changes us and leads us to increase our faith, which leads to good works. Just as a one-sided marriage fails, a one-sided relationship with God fails, also. We must participate in the relationship God offers us, and God’s sanctifying grace leads us to do that.  CLICK HERE to learn more about the meaning of “sanctifying grace.”

Scripture passages pertaining to Sanctifying Grace:

Philippians 2:12-13: Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence, but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (NRSV)

Philippians 3:10-14: I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus. (NRSV)

John 15:5-11: I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. (NRSV, see also Romans 11:13-24)

James 2:14-19: What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,” and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder. (NRSV)

Faith and Good Works – We see God’s grace and human activity working together in the relationship of faith and good works. God’s grace calls forth human response and discipline as appropriate signs of faith. This can be seen through works of piety (our working with the Holy Spirit to grow in personal relationship with God) and works of mercy (our working with the Holy Spirit to help others grow in relationship with God by addressing their spiritual and physical needs).

Mission and Service – We insist that personal salvation always involves Christian mission and service to the world. Scriptural holiness entails more than personal piety. Love of God is always linked with love of neighbor, a passion for justice, and renewal in the life of the world.

Nurture and Mission of the Church – Finally, we emphasize the nurturing and serving function of Christian fellowship in the church. The worshiping community nourishes the personal experience of faith.

For tips on how to use part of this information to guide Bible Study, click HERE.

CLICK HERE to read the Sources of Our Faith as United Methodists: Scripture, Tradition, Experience, and Reason.