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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 Church theology. A similar concept is also found in Eastern Orthodox and Arminianism 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.
There are variations in how prevenient grace is understood, particularly regarding God’s intent. In Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Arminian theology, prevenient grace is seen as a predisposing or enabling grace that assists all individuals in coming to faith. In Reformed theology, it is simultaneously comparable to two concepts: common grace which doesn't improve man's depraved unregenerate nature and has no salvific purpose, and effectual calling through which God calls to irresistibly believe.
When grace is considered with regard to its effects, prevenient grace is differentiated from subsequent grace. The nature of subsequent grace differs depending on the view on the deterministic or non-deterministic nature of the providence of God: John Wesley named two forms of subsequent grace : "justifying grace" (also called saving grace) and "Sanctification grace". Both of those subsequent forms of grace are resistible. On the contrary Calvinists have considered the justifying grace as an irresistible grace.
Through the influence of grace, however, this will becomes a spiritually "freed will" or literally a "liberated free will" (). Prevenient grace first imparts essential spiritual enlightenment, after which the power to believe is granted exclusively to the elect. Augustine viewed the grace leading to justification as unfailing for the elect.
The determination of the Council could be considered "semi-Augustinian". It defined that faith, though a free act of man, resulted, even in its beginnings, from the grace of God, enlightening the human mind and enabling belief. This describes the operation of prevenient grace allowing the unregenerate to repent in faith. On the other hand, the Council of Orange condemned the belief in predestination to damnation implied by the Augustinian soteriology.
The canons of the Council directly quoted Augustine's work related on the concept of prevenient grace (Canons 1, 2, 5, 6, 7). Boniface II (died in 532) writing to Caesarius of Arles, confirmed the notion of prevenient grace: "We confirm by the authority of the Apostolic see your confession, in which in the Opposite way you explain that right faith in Christ and the beginning of all good will, according to Catholic truth, is inspired in the minds of individuals by the preceding grace of God."
In canon 18 it is said "That grace is preceded by no merits. A reward is due to good works, if they are performed; but grace, which is not due, precedes, that they may be done St.." In canon 23 it is said that God prepares our wills that they may desire the good. Canon 25 states, "In every good work, it is not we who begin… but He (God) first inspires us with faith and love of Him, through no preceding merit on our part."
Prevenient grace was discussed in the fifth chapter of the sixth session of the Council of Trent (1545–63) which used the phrase: " a Dei per dominum Christum Iesum praeveniente gratia" rendered "a predisposing grace of God through Jesus Christ". Those who turned from God by sins are disposed by God's grace to turn back and become justified by freely assenting to that grace.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992) explains, "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit. Every time we begin to pray to Jesus it is the Holy Spirit who draws us on the way of prayer by his prevenient grace."
In Orthodoxy, the operation of prevenient grace involves a synergism between God and humanity, closely resembling the Wesleyan concept of prevenient grace. Once regenerated, an individual can perform spiritual good but remains reliant on divine grace to guide and precede their actions.
Theologian Robert E. Picirilli writes, quoting Arminius, that: "What Arminius meant by "prevenient grace" was that grace that precedes actual regeneration and which, except when finally resisted, inevitably leads to regeneration. He was quick to observe that this "assistance of the Holy Spirit" is of such sufficiency "as to keep at the greatest possible distance from Pelagianism." Arminius distinguished between "prevenient" or "preceding" grace that involves a monergistic work of God, and a "subsequent" or "following" grace that involves a Synergism work.
Thomas Oden 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."
Wesleyans generally distinguish two forms of call related to prevenient grace : 1. A universal call which is the secret influence of the Holy Spirit upon the conscience. 2. A direct call through the revealed word as found in the Bible.
John Wesley adapted the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion adopted by the Church of England in 1563 into the Articles of Religion, for use by American Methodism. With very similar language with Article X of the first, the Article VIII of the second states, "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 us, that we may have a good will, and working with us, when we have that good will" (emphasis added)."
The Article VIII is official doctrine for many Wesleyan or Holiness movement denominations such as the United Methodist Church, the Church of the Nazarene, or the Pillar of Fire Church.
Infant baptism is seen in Methodism as a celebration of prevenient grace. Although infant baptism is important for the life journey of the faithful disciple, it is not essential.
Most Methodist have a section with hymns concerning prevenient grace as The United Methodist Hymnal (1989). One of the best known hymns written about this doctrine is Charles Wesley's "Come, Sinners, to the Gospel Feast", which includes the lines, "Ye need not one be left behind, for God hath bid all humankind… the invitation is to all" (emphasis added).
Nevertheless, Arminians consider that prevenient grace is rather individually directed than universally directed. They consider it is the enabling influence of the Holy Spirit on a human person in a "relational dynamic—a back-and-forth, influence-and-response, relational movement. Like other interpersonal forms of communication and influence, it is something that can come and go".
Calvinists argue that because this grace is supposedly given to all alike, the determining factor in salvation becomes the will of man. They see this libertarian will and choice of the individual as a Good works required for salvation and thus an implicit rejection of salvation by sola gratia.
Arminians object that, according to their view, salvation is by grace alone. This is because the provision of salvation including its initiation, activation and obtaining is by grace alone. It is respectively the result of prevenient grace, justifying grace and regenerating grace.
Besides, they remark that Calvinism teaches the compatibility of divine determinism and moral responsibility. Man is responsible for his choice when he acts voluntarily, even if his will is determined by God. Thus, as man comes to faith voluntarily, it follows that man is morally responsible for his faith. Consequently, the choice of salvation through faith is a good work. So, for Calvinists to remain consistent, they can not claim that the praiseworthiness of the choice of salvation (whether libertarian or semicompatibilist) is a rejection of salvation by grace alone. Furthermore, Arminians reject the idea that the libertarian choice to accept the provision of salvation is participation in the work of salvation.
The Lutheran Churches teach monergism with regard to the doctrine of justification; the Small Catechism states that “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him, but the Holy Spirit has called me by the gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.”
Lutheran scholar Gerhard Forde explained that "a key tenet of the Lutheran view of sanctification is that cooperation must not ignore grace." (2007). 9780761837381, Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9780761837381 Lutheran theologian Mark Ellingsen states that there is an "openness to Synergism one finds affirmed in official Lutheran documents. With warnings, the synergistic joining of our will with God’s grace is not rejected (Formula of Concord, SD II.90). Of course this openness is endorsed along with the strong Lutheran commitment to prevenient grace (the belief that grace precedes any synergistic cooperation), for the Holy Spirit is given credit for our faith and for the surrender of the will to God (Romans 3:21-28; Galatians 3:10-14; Luther’s Works, Vo.26, p.106; Small Catechism, II.6)." The Formula of Concord teaches "But the intellect and will of the unregenerate man are nothing else than subiectum convertendum, that is, that which is to be converted, it being the intellect and will of a spiritually dead man, in whom the Holy Ghost works conversion and renewal, towards which work man’s will that is to be converted does nothing, but suffers God alone to work in him, until he is regenerate; and then he works also with the Holy Ghost cooperates that which is pleasing to God in other good works that follow, in the way and to the extent fully set forth above" (SD II.90).
The Calvinist form of prevenient grace is also related to common grace by which God shows general mercy to everyone, restrains sin, and gives humankind a knowledge of God and of their sinfulness and need of rescue from sin. Despite this grace has no salvific purpose, it is said to let people without excuse of not coming to God. Common grace explains also why people seem to come to God, but eventually seem to commit definitive apostasy. About that issue, John Calvin formulated the concept of a temporary grace (sometimes called "evanescent grace") that appears and works for only a while in the reprobate but then disappears. According to this concept, the Holy Spirit can create in some people effects which are indistinguishable from those of the irresistible grace of God, producing also visible "fruit". Temporary grace was also supported by later Calvinist theologians such as Theodore Beza, William Perkins, John Owen, A. W. Pink and Loraine Boettner.
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