Means of Grace

           In his sermon “The Means of Grace” John Wesley identifies and presents “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.”[1] The means of grace are: secret (individual) and corporate prayer, searching the Scriptures (reading, hearing, and meditation), and receiving the Lord’s Supper.

            Of these, the 3 that have been most active in my life are secret and corporate prayer and searching the Scriptures through mediation. Journaling is a regular part of my practice and a means by which I practice secret and listening prayer; the Holy Spirit often speaks to me as I write and process my heart and journey before Him. In corporate prayer, my gifts of intercession come alive (especially) and I also frequently receive the benefit of others prayers and inspired words given the Holy Spirit, which serve to strengthen, encourage, affirm and guide. Most often when I turn to the Scriptures and hear the Lord speak through them, it is through mediation as I soak and heavily chew on and think on a Scripture. Through this practice, I allow the Scripture to saturate deep within my soul so that it is ready to be used later in intercession. Sometimes the Lord speaks deep truths about Himself this way, as I consider each word and also how the Scripture interacts with others that are stored in my heart.

            The last 3 ways I have experienced grace through are reading and hearing the Scriptures and the Lord’s Supper. It surprise me that hearing the Scriptures (I think preaching would be encompassed in this) has not been more formative. I may have answered this differently when I was a younger Christian, but as I have matured, my own private practices in the Scriptures have become more important than hearing a weekly sermon.

            In my own research on this topic, from classical Christian authors and those who are experts in Christian spiritual discipline, I uncovered some more, as follows:

            Dying to self (or martyrdom): In the City of God, St. Augustine wrote of the marvelous way in which death and punishment was transformed by the work of Christ into grace: “But now, by a greater and more wonderful grace of the Savior, the punishment of sin serves the purposes of sanctity. In the beginning, the first man was warned: ‘If you sin, you shall die’; now, the martyr is admonished; ‘Die that you may not sin.’ The first man was told: ‘If you transgress, you shall die in death’; now the martyr is reminded: ‘If you refuse death, you transgress the commandment,’ What before was to be feared, if a man were to keep himself from sin, is now to be faced, if he is not to sin.”[2] This is connected somewhat to obedience and there have been many times I have been called to die that I may live. I think there is a lot of Scriptural support for this concept as well.

            Simple faith: William Gurnall in The Christian in Complete Armour writes, “Faith strengthens the Christian especially in his season of weakness. Faith also supports the Christian by applying promises for perseverance in grace.”[3] Sometimes the most precious times of mediation I have enjoyed is thinking on the promises of God. Knowing He is faithful, He will never leave nor forsake, His eye is watchful always, that all things are under His sovereign control, and that He can use my present difficulty to shape me are encouragement to persevere. It is also encouraging simply to stay on the path of change. As I have engaged in counseling the past couple years, there are times I’ve wanted to quit. But I have learned to struggle through the failures and setbacks, believing that change will happen as I cooperate with the Holy Spirit. And it has!!!

            Confession: Richard Foster questions, “But isn’t confession a grace instead of a Discipline?” It is both. Unless God gives the grace, no genuine confession can be made. But it is also a Discipline because there are things we must do. It is a consciously chosen course of action that brings us under the shadow of the Almighty.”[4] This is something I have known about for sometime. As one who still struggles with being single, confession is becoming important for not just when I succumb to temptation but long before. The earlier and more frequent I practice confession, admitting my weakness and desire and how something affects me, the easier and more quickly the path towards succumbing is abandoned and in it’s place I find grace and help in time of need.

           

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[1] John Wesley, “The Sermons of John Wesley - Sermon 16,” The Wesley Center Online, accessed 10/22/2019, http://wesley.nnu.edu/john-wesley/the-sermons-of-john-wesley-1872-edition/sermon-16-the-means-of-grace

[2] St. Augustine, City of God (Garden City: Image Books, 1958), 273.

[3] William Gurnall, The Christian in Complete Armour, Volume 3 (Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust and World Challenge Inc., 1989), 43.

[4] Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, Revised Edition (New York: Harper Collins, 1978, 1988), 145.