Means of Grace

The Means of Grace in Christian teaching are ways in which the grace of God operates to bless humankind.

In Lutheran theology, the means of grace are the ways God chooses to create faith in the hearts of Christians, forgive their sins, adopt them as His children, give them eternal salvation and cause them to grow spiritually. All Lutherans count God's Word, both written and preached, baptism and the Lord's Supper as means of grace. Some Lutherans also include Confession and Absolution as means of grace, although others discount it because it is not attached to a physical element, as Baptism and the Lord's Supper are.

In Methodism, the means of grace are ways in which God works invisibly in disciples, quickening, strengthening and confirming faith in him. According to John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, the means of grace can be divided into two categories:

Works of Piety

Prayer

Searching the Scriptures

Holy Communion

Fasting

Christian Conferencing (or "community")

Healthy Living

Works of Mercy

Doing Good

Visiting the Sick

Visiting the Imprisoned

Feeding & Clothing those in need

Earning, Saving, & Giving all one can

the Seeking of Justice; Opposition to Slavery

Careful attention to the means of grace are, for Methodists, important in the process of sanctification and the seeking of Christian Perfection. See also Prevenient Grace