Works of piety

"Works of piety", in Methodism, are certain spiritual disciplines that along with the "works of mercy", serve as a means of grace,^[1] in addition to being manifestations of growing in grace and of having received Christian perfection (entire sanctification).^[2][3] All Methodist Christians, laity and ordained, are expected to employ them.^[4] The Works of Piety are:^[5]

1. Prayer
2. Searching the Scriptures
3. Holy Communion
4. Fasting
5. Christian community
6. Healthy living

The interior works of piety are paralleled by the external Works of Mercy.^[6] John Wesley insisted that the works of piety were important because they "further ensconced believers in a spiritual world of conflict in which humans needed to pursue holiness with the same vigor with which they sought their justification."^[7] In relation to soteriology, the grace of God was "all sufficient," and it issued in a universal atonement that made possible a saving "change of heart;" this change of heart required "the influences of divine grace," but it also required "constant exertions."^[8]