As we wonder what comes next for Methodism, I thought it would be useful to dig into some of John Wesley’s sermons that ground us in the strangely warmed heart of Wesleyanism.  It helps to know who we are if we’re going to imagine who we’re becoming.  Not to mention, when the divide in the church seems so potentially cataclysmic, it doesn’t hurt to remember what it is that actually does unite us.  This week, I give you what Outler & Heitzenreiter deem “the late Wesley’s most complete and careful exposition of the mystery of divine grace and human agency,” Sermon 85 – On Working Out Our Own Salvation, (John Wesley’s Sermons, An Anthology, 485).  Here’s a summary.

Taking a page out of Romans 1 and the philosophy of natural law, Wesley begins to say that all people have some measure of knowledge between moral good and evil, and some sense of God’s existence.  Hints of God’s truth can be spotted here and there, but are significantly lacking apart from the revelation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came to make us one with God through his own death.  God’s revelation continued through the gift of the Holy Spirit, who renews us in the image of God, making Christ’s work not just spiritual, but enables us to live as God intended here and now, in the example of humility set forth by Christ.

God delights to partner with us.  Every good desire we have is breathed into us by God.  Every good word we speak and action we take is only because God has infused it within us.  We have nothing, not even our holiness or goodness, that we have not received from God.  When we take that seriously, it fosters humility, not pride; gentleness, not arrogance…in other words, the mind of Christ.

So, if God works in you, then you “work out your own salvation.” Prevenient grace is “the first wish to please God, the first dawn of light concerning [God’s] will, and the first slight, transient conviction of having sinned against [God] (II.1).”  Convincing grace is the realization and acceptance that we have indeed nothing apart from God, which leads to repentance, or a changed heart and mind.  Justifying grace immediately follows, and sets us within the full forgiveness of God’s love through Jesus Christ.  Sanctifying grace is God’s ongoing work to save us “from the power and root of sin,” a work that is both instantaneous and gradual…like a mustard seed growing into a great tree.  We go on towards Christian perfection, an endlessly growing pure love for God and our fellow human.

This sanctifying work requires a singleness of heart, a clear focus and intention on becoming more and more like Christ in holiness, humility, gentleness and patience.  This singleness of heart is pursued through the means of grace, actions God has ordained in scripture as ways we experience and grow in grace.  Through works of piety, we cultivate holiness by public and private prayer, fasting, searching scripture, meditation, holy communion, and holy conversation.  Through works of mercy, we cultivate holiness by doing good to the souls and bodies of those in need.  We practice self-denial from anything that does not cultivate the joy of the Lord in our lives.

God works, therefore you can work.  God works, therefore you must work.  This is true for everyone, not just the “saved.”  Everyone has a conscience, and that conscience is God’s prevenient grace.  No one sins because God doesn’t love them, they sin because they don’t use the grace that God has already lovingly given to all of us.  The more we ignore this grace and bury it by pursuing anything but God, the harder it seems to find God.  But the truth is, we can “do all things through Christ who strengthens.” None of us have an excuse.  Latching on to even the tiniest spark of grace is sure to get the fire growing over time.  God is about adding grace in your life, not taking it away.

So all of us: be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.  Even if you feel completely removed from God, there is a spark of God’s love and grace there within you.  Whatever is next for you, for the church, for the denomination…none of us is completely devoid of the love of God for us in Christ Jesus, and nothing can separate us from that love.  Many of us are in the midst of discernment about our place in the future of the church.  May you find encouragement in the communion of saints this Lenten season, courage to work in partnership with God, igniting the spark of grace upon grace.