Sustaining Grace

Wesley believed that, after we have accepted God's grace, we are to move on in God's sustaining grace toward perfection.Wesley believed the people could "fall from grace" or "backslide." We cannot just sit on our laurels, so to speak, and claim God's salvation and then do nothing. We are to participate in the what Wesley called "the means of grace" and to continue to grow in Christian life.

Some Christians tend to focus on God's justifying grace, but Wesley asserted that the Christian walk does not stop with acceptance of new life in Christ. Wesley said in his sermon, "On Repentance of Believers":

It is generally supposed, that repentance and faith are only the gate of religion; that they are necessary only at the beginning of our Christian course, when we are setting out in the way to the kingdom.... And this is undoubtedly true, that there is a repentance and a faith, which are, more especially, necessary at the beginning: a repentance, which is a conviction of our utter sinfulness, and guiltiness, and helplessness.... But, notwithstanding this, there is also a repentance and a faith (taking the words in another sense, a sense not quite the same, nor yet entirely different) which are requisite after we have "believed the gospel;" yea, and in every subsequent stage of our Christian course, or we cannot "run the race which is set before us." And this repentance and faith are full as necessary, in order to our continuance and growth in grace, as the former faith and repentance were, in order to our entering into the kingdom of God.

John Wesley believed that Jesus is God's means of grace. For him, the "means of grace" were also "works of piety" (spiritual disciplines) and "works of mercy" (doing good to others). He said that means of grace are: "...outward signs, words, or actions, ordained of God, and appointed for this end, to be the ordinary channels whereby he might convey to men, preventing, justifying, or sanctifying grace."

Basically, Wesley is saying that after we accept God's justifying grace we aren't done. We need to always be growing in a relationship with God through his sustaining grace. There are many things we can do to keep our Christian life growing but they need to come from the heart not just doing because we are told. This is one of the hardest aspects of living a Christian life. Believing in God is not just a sunday thing, but an everyday all the time thing. We need to foster a relationship with God to keep our relationship with God. Imagine meeting a friend and hitting if off real well at first. Then ignore them after that. You don't create a real relationship. Even if you have had a relationship it takes lots of care to keep that relationship. Sustaining Grace is God's side of caring for that relationship we just need to recognize it and add in our part too.

God Bless,
your sister in Christ~Erin