Almost all Christians, with the exception of Pelagians and semi-Pelagians, believe in what's called prevenient grace. Former Adventists Philippines have always taught that this grace is absolutely necessary for salvation.
We really believe this idea comes straight from the Bible, specifically John 6:44, which says, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him." What this means is that naturally, we can't just decide to come to Christ on our own. Because of this inability, God's Spirit has to use this prevenient grace to gently move our minds and hearts towards the gospel, making it possible for us to be converted.
God's prevenient grace (which is simply God's grace that comes before our decision) isn't just helpful; it's absolutely essential for us to believe and obey Him when He calls us through the Gospel. However, this grace can't do its work effectively without God's Word (meaning the Bible or the message of the Gospel itself). Our conversion to Christ happens when the Gospel is preached, and the Holy Spirit's power works alongside it.
God genuinely and seriously wants to save everyone He calls. This means He intends for them to believe and be saved. Yet, if someone stubbornly refuses to believe, they won't be saved, regardless of God's desire for them to be. So, getting to faith and converting to Christianity is completely due to God's grace through Christ; it's the main and first reason it happens. However, people can also scoff at and refuse God's grace and fight against what it's trying to do.
This statement outlines two contrasting views on God's grace and salvation.
View 1: Universal, Resistible Prevenient Grace
This perspective argues that if the Bible teaches that
- Jesus enlightens everyone (John 1:9), meaning everyone receives some initial understanding of God
- Jesus draws everyone (John 12:32), suggesting a universal pull toward Him.
- The Holy Spirit convicts everyone of sin (John 16:8), implying a general awareness of moral wrongdoing.
- God's saving grace is available to everyone (Titus 2:11)
- And if this grace can be resisted by human free will (Acts 7:51)...
...then it naturally leads to the idea of universal, resistible prevenient grace. This means that God gives a foundational grace to all people, enabling them to respond to Him, but they have the choice to accept or reject it.
View 2: Limited, Irresistible Grace (often associated with Calvinism)
This perspective argues that the idea of universal, resistible prevenient grace becomes highly unlikely if the Bible plainly teaches:
- That God's grace and Jesus' sacrifice (atonement) are only for those God has chosen (the "elect").
- And that this grace is irresistible, meaning those God chooses cannot ultimately refuse it.
In essence, the argument is that if God's saving work is specifically for a chosen group and that work cannot be thwarted, then the idea of a universal, resistible grace that extends to everyone becomes hard to believe.
Prevenient grace is different from just knowing about God through nature.
Many Christians sometimes mix up "natural revelation" which is how we can learn about God by looking at the world around us or through our inner sense of right and wrong, called conscience with this special "prevenient grace."
Some Christians see prevenient grace differently. They view it as a personal invitation from God that reaches everyone at some point, in His own way and time. They don't mix this grace up with what's called general revelation—which is simply how we can know about God through nature or our conscience.
We believe that our ability to have faith isn't something we're born with. Instead, it comes entirely from this special grace. That's why we prefer to call it the drawing power of the Holy Spirit. We understand that even though all humans have a built-in, immediate knowledge of God (that "general revelation"), our flawed nature often suppresses it.
We clearly distinguish between general revelation, which is natural, and the Holy Spirit's drawing grace, which is a supernatural, ongoing, loving, and relational work of the Spirit. Therefore grace isn't something found within nature itself; it's a gift to nature. It helps our fallen human nature in ways that nature couldn't do on its own. So, having faith is a work of grace, not just a natural ability.
Prevenient Grace: A Supernatural Pull, Not Just Less Depravity
To put it simply, prevenient grace isn't just about God making us a little less sinful on His own. Instead, it's a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that convinces us and draws us toward Him. You can see this throughout the New Testament, where the Holy Spirit is shown working in people's hearts and minds even before they become Christians (like in Acts 2:37 or 16:14).
John Wesley, a key figure in this theological view, sometimes described prevenient grace more like this "drawing power of the Holy Spirit," as some modern theologians do. However, Wesley also sometimes mixed it up with general revelation (knowing about God through nature or conscience). At other times, he leaned towards describing prevenient grace as God unilaterally reducing humanity's sinfulness. He even stated that after Adam sinned, he had no free will left, but God, out of His grace, restored the ability to accept salvation when He promised a Savior.
This bit of ambiguity in Wesley's teachings means that some of his followers today emphasize the Holy Spirit's drawing, while others focus more on the idea of restored free will. Some, like William Burt Pope, even suggest that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross has a universal power that lessens the effects of sin on everyone.
Some theologians lean more towards the idea of drawing grace than a simple lessening of sinfulness. They argue that it's not accurate to say humans are only partially sinful and have a built-in capacity for spiritual good, because that doesn't fully account for how damaging sin is, as shown in the New Testament. Yet, they also suggest a new human condition where people aren't totally depraved but can exercise faith to varying degrees, depending on the Holy Spirit's individual work in their hearts.
Prevenient Grace Doesn't Mean "All Roads Lead to God"
First off, prevenient grace doesn't suggest that people can be saved without ever hearing about Jesus, reading the Bible, or personally accepting Christ. This idea is sometimes called "inclusivism," where it's believed that people can find salvation through their own religion or understanding of God, even without knowing about Jesus. Instead, we preferred to leave that question up to God. So, the our teaching on prevenient grace does not automatically lead to inclusivism.
Two Stages of God's Drawing
1. Initial promptings: People first receive some sense of God's grace before they hear the Gospel or specific revelations from Him. However, these initial promptings can never lead to salvation on their own.
2. The Gospel is revealed: If individuals don't resist these early stirrings of grace, they will then be presented with the Gospel message. This second stage, which involves hearing or understanding the Gospel Word, is absolutely necessary for them to truly become Christians.
The "Orthodox Creed of the English General Baptists" from 1678 puts it well: God's "general" calling makes humanity aware of His "gracious good purpose of salvation," inviting and drawing them to Him. For those who don't resist this calling grace, God eventually brings about genuine faith and repentance. Through His grace, they accept Christ, are "effectively called," and become united with Jesus through faith.
The Essential Role of the Gospel
While preaching the Bible is the usual way God converts people, the Holy Spirit isn't limited to this method and can sometimes work in extraordinary ways without human help.
Some Christians strongly believed that God must provide a special revelation of the Gospel for people to be converted. Although very rarely and exceptionally, this might happen through a direct internal revelation of the Holy Spirit or by the ministry of angels. But generally, no one is converted except by this very word [the Gospel] and by the meaning of this word, which God sends by men to those communities or nations whom He has purposed to unite to Himself.
This perspective is often called "special revelation exclusivism," meaning that for people to become Christians, they must hear and respond to the specific message of Christ.
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