Editing United Methodist Church (section)

===Distinctive Wesleyan emphases===
The key emphasis of Wesley's theology relates to how [[divine grace]] operates within the individual. Wesley defined the Way of Salvation as the operation of grace in at least three parts: [[Prevenient Grace]], [[Justification (theology)|Justifying Grace]], and [[Sanctification|Sanctifying Grace]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=A Wesleyan understanding of grace |url=https://www.resourceumc.org/en/content/a-wesleyan-understanding-of-grace |access-date=2025-03-03 |website=ResourceUMC |language=en}}</ref>

[[Prevenient grace]], or the grace that "goes before" us, is given to all people. It is that power which enables us to love and motivates us to seek a relationship with God through Jesus Christ.<ref name="UMC GBGM-Grace" /> This grace is the present work of God to turn us from our sin-corrupted human will to the loving will of the Father. In this work, God desires that we might sense both our sinfulness before God and God's offer of salvation. Prevenient grace allows those tainted by sin to nevertheless make a truly free choice to accept or reject God's [[Salvation#Arminianism|salvation]] in Christ.<ref name="UMC GBGM-Grace" />

[[Justification (theology)|Justifying Grace]] or Accepting Grace<ref name="UMC GBGM-Grace"/> is that grace, offered by God to all people, that we receive by faith and trust in Christ, through which God pardons the believer of [[sin]]. It is in justifying grace we are received by God, in spite of our sin. In this reception, we are forgiven through the atoning work of [[Jesus Christ]] on the cross. The justifying grace cancels our guilt and empowers us to resist the power of sin and to fully love God and neighbor. Today, justifying grace is also known as [[Conversion to Christianity|conversion]], "accepting Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior," or being "[[Born again Christianity|born again]]."<ref name="UMC GBGM-Grace"/><ref name="CUMC Accepting Christ" /> John Wesley originally called this experience the [[Born again (Christianity)|New Birth]].<ref name="UMC GBGM-The New Birth" /> This experience can occur in different ways; it can be one transforming moment, such as an [[altar call]] experience,<ref name="UMC-Altar Call" /> or it may involve a series of decisions across a period of time.<ref name="IMARC-Quote Two" />

[[Sanctification in Christianity|Sanctifying Grace]] is that grace of God which sustains the believers in the journey toward [[Christian Perfection]]: a genuine love of God with heart, soul, mind, and strength, and a genuine love of our neighbors as ourselves. Sanctifying grace enables us to respond to God by leading a Spirit-filled and Christ-like life aimed toward love.  Wesley never claimed this state of perfection for himself but instead insisted the attainment of perfection was possible for all Christians. Here the English Reformer parted company with both Luther and Calvin, who denied that a man would ever reach a state in this life in which he could not fall into sin. Such a man can lose all inclination to evil and can gain perfection in this life.<ref name="William Joseph Whalen - Christian Perfection" />

[[Methodism|Wesleyan theology]] maintains that salvation is the act of God's grace entirely, from invitation, to pardon, to growth in [[Sacred|holiness]]. Furthermore, God's prevenient, justifying, and sanctifying grace interact dynamically in the lives of Christians from birth to death.

According to Wesleyan understanding, [[good works]] are the fruit of one's salvation, not the way in which that salvation was earned. Faith and good works go hand in hand in Methodist theology: a living tree naturally and inevitably bears fruit. Wesleyan theology rejects the doctrine of [[eternal security]], believing that [[Conditional preservation of the saints|salvation can be rejected]].<ref name="Weber/Kalberg-Conditional preservation of the saints">{{cite book |url = https://archive.org/details/pdfy-8fnkKz0SleumNaIz|page = [https://archive.org/details/pdfy-8fnkKz0SleumNaIz/page/n311 91]|quote = salvation can be lost methodist.| title = The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism|year = 2001|publisher = Routledge|access-date =January 4, 2009}}</ref> Wesley emphasized that believers must continue to grow in their relationship with Christ, through the process of Sanctification.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}

A key outgrowth of this theology is the United Methodist dedication not only to the [[Evangelism|Evangelical Gospel]] of repentance and a personal relationship with God, but also to the [[Social Gospel]] and a commitment to social justice issues that have included abolition, women's suffrage, labor rights, civil rights, and ministry with the poor. {{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}