The Ordinary Means of Grace

You may or may not have heard of the Ordinary Means of Grace. I suppose it's largely a Reformed term, although I don't think it's particularly Reformed or even controversial. But, as is the case in so many things these days, language seems to trip us up. So what is the "Ordinary Means of Grace"?

According to the Westminster Shorter Catechism, "the Ordinary Means of Grace" refers to those common things all believers do to engage in their own sanctification -- to appropriate God's grace. The catechism lists the Word, the sacraments, and prayer. (And in case you were concerned, the sacraments are baptism and the Lord's Supper. Nothing too outlandish.) "Ordinary" to us means "common," but in the language of the theologians, it refers to the things ordained by God -- His ordinances. (See that? "Ordinary" -- "Ordinances"?) This has given us some common means whereby we are discipled in the faith. They are ordinary as opposed to extraordinary. As such, it would seem like there would be more than the three listed. Being a part of a local body of believers, for instance, seems like it should be part of that list (Heb 10:24-25). You get the idea.

Here's my problem. We can tend to be very programmatic people. We like "12-step programs" and "3-easy steps to godly living" and the like. The Christian life, on the other, is much more ... organic. Where a program or the "ordinary means to grace" might provide a reasonable structure, like a skeleton might, they don't take into account the meat, the flesh and blood. The Christian walk is a living relationship with Christ (e.g., Rom 6:11) and a living relationship with fellow believers. And "read your bible, pray, and go to church" may be good structures, but the danger is that we think of them as boxes to check off rather than bodies to take part in. I think that's how we got to the notion that the Great Commission was "lead people to Jesus." Check that box. Instead, we are called to make disciples in what appears to be an ongoing, never ending, fully hands-on process. Like reading His Word, praying, and being immersed in a church. Good stuff, those ordinary means of grace, but never let yourself simplify your walk with Christ into a program like that. Ours is to be a lifelong, living pursuit of a growing relationship with our Savior.