How God’s Grace Shapes Every Step of the Christian Journey
One of the most beautiful and distinctive convictions of Wesleyan theology is this simple truth: grace goes all the way down. From the first stirring of faith to our final hope in Christ, the Christian life is held, sustained, and completed by the grace of God. We never graduate from grace. We never outgrow our need for it. We never move beyond it.
John Wesley understood the Christian journey as a unified work of divine grace, commonly described as prevenient, justifying, sanctifying, and glorifying grace. These are not four different kinds of grace competing with one another. They are movements of the same gracious God, faithfully at work from beginning to end.
This post introduces this framework and invites us to see our lives as caught up in God’s gracious initiative at every stage.
Prevenient Grace: God at Work Before We Know It
Prevenient grace is the grace that goes before. Before we seek God, God is already seeking us. Before we can name faith, grace is already stirring our hearts.
Wesley believed that because of sin, human beings cannot turn toward God on their own. Yet God does not abandon the world. Instead, God’s grace awakens, convicts, and draws every person toward salvation. As the Gospel of John proclaims, Christ is “the true light, which enlightens everyone” (John 1:9, NRSV).
Kenneth Collins explains in The Theology of John Wesley that prevenient grace restores a measure of freedom, enabling us to respond to God’s invitation. This grace does not save us apart from faith, but it makes faith possible.
Many people recognize prevenient grace only in hindsight. It is present in moments of restlessness, longing, moral awareness, and the quiet sense that there must be more than this. All of it is grace at work.
Justifying Grace: Made Right with God
Justifying grace is God’s act of forgiving our sins and restoring us to right relationship through Jesus Christ. This grace is received by faith alone, not by works, merit, or religious achievement.
Paul writes, “Since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1, NRSV). For Wesley, justification includes both pardon and new birth. We are forgiven and we are changed.
Justifying grace assures us that salvation rests on Christ’s faithfulness, not our performance. As David Watson notes in Scripture and the Life of God, this grace frees believers from both guilt and fear, grounding assurance in God’s promise rather than human effort.
This moment is not the end of the Christian journey. It is the doorway into a new life shaped by grace.
Sanctifying Grace: Growing in Holy Love
Sanctifying grace is the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit forming us into the likeness of Christ. Wesley described this as growth in holiness of heart and life, rooted in love of God and neighbor.
Scripture speaks clearly of this process. “This is God’s will for you: your sanctification” (1 Thessalonians 4:3, CEB). Sanctification is not instant perfection. It is a lifelong journey of healing, obedience, and transformation.
Wesley believed this grace is nurtured through the means of grace, including prayer, Scripture, the Lord’s Supper, fasting, and works of mercy. As Thomas Oden explains in Classic Christianity, holiness in the Christian tradition is relational, shaped by love and sustained through faithful practice.
Sanctifying grace reminds us that salvation is not only about where we will go when we die. It is about who we are becoming right now.
Glorifying Grace: God Finishes What God Begins
Glorifying grace is the completion of God’s saving work. It is our final transformation in the presence of God, when sin and death are fully overcome and we are made whole.
Paul expresses this hope with confidence. “The one who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it” (Philippians 1:6, NIV). Wesley held firmly to this promise. God does not abandon what God has started.
Glorifying grace is not escapism. It is the fulfillment of God’s redemptive purpose for creation. Resurrection, renewal, and eternal communion with God stand at the heart of Christian hope.
This final grace gives meaning to every step along the way. Our labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Grace as the Shape of the Whole Journey
When held together, prevenient, justifying, sanctifying, and glorifying grace reveal a God who is faithful from first call to final restoration. Grace is not merely the entrance into the Christian life. It is the atmosphere in which the Christian life is lived.
This vision guards us from pride and despair alike. We cannot boast, because grace precedes every faithful response. We need not lose hope, because grace continues even when we falter.
As Methodists, we testify that salvation is grace all the way down, and all the way through.
Reflection Questions
- Where can you see prevenient grace at work in your own story?
- How does trusting justifying grace shape your sense of assurance today?
- What practices help you remain open to sanctifying grace in daily life?
A Closing Prayer
Gracious God,
You have loved us before we knew your name, forgiven us through your Son, shaped us by your Spirit, and promised to bring your work to completion. Teach us to trust your grace at every step of the journey. Form us in holy love, now and always, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
R Y A N S T R A T T O N 