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Statements of
Faith
| The Wesleyan Church
is an evangelical, Protestant, holiness
denomination organized to proclaim the good news
of Jesus Christ. The technical name for our
church's theological heritage is
Arminian-Wesleyan. This refers to the teachings
of James Arminius and John Wesley. Arminius
(1560-1609), a Dutch Theologian, stressed that
God has predestined all who believe in Jesus
Christ for eternal life and those who reject Him
for eternal separation from God; that He has
given us as human beings true freedom to accept
or reject this salvation; that He offers grace
to enable all persons to repent and believe; and
that believers are secure spiritually in Christ
based on continued faith and obedience to God. |
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| Wesley was a priest in
the Church of England in the 1700s and the
founder of the Methodist movement. He added to
Arminius' insights and emphasis on the assurance
of salvation believers can enjoy through the
inner "witness of the Spirit." He also taught
about the entire sanctification of believers by
which their hearts are made perfect in love for
God and other persons. |
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| Wesleyans are convinced
that the Bible is God's written Word and the
final authority for all Christian beliefs and
practices. Therefore, our statements of faith,
which we call "Articles of Religion," seek to
express only what the bible teaches, as those
teachings have been understood by the Church as
a whole in its official assemblies. The
Discipline, the book containing the
constitution and bylaws of the Wesleyan Church,
includes twenty-one "Articles of Religion." Each
has its own brief list of supporting Scripture
passages. |
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1. Faith in the
Holy Trinity
We believe in the one living and true God, both
holy and Loving, eternal, unlimited in power,
wisdom, and goodness, the Creator and Preserver
of all things. Within this unity there are three
persons of one essential nature, power, and
eternity-the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. |
| Gen.
1:1; 17:1; Ex. 3:13-15; 33:20; Deut. 6:4; Ps.
90:2; Isa. 40:2-29; Matt. 3:16-17; 28:19; John
1:1-2; 4:24; 16:13; 17:3; Acts 5:3-4; 17:24-25;
I Cor. 8:4, 6; Eph. 2:18; Phil. 2:6; Col.
1:16-17; I Tim. 1:17; Heb. 1:8; I John 5:20. |
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2.
The Father
We believe the Father is the Source of
all that exists, whether of matter or spirit.
With the Son and the Holy Spirit, He made man in
His image. By intention He relates to man as
Father, thereby forever declaring His goodwill
toward man. In love, He both seeks and receives
penitent sinners. |
| Ps.
68:5; Isa. 64:8; Matt. 7:11; John 3:17; Rom.
8:15; I Peter 1:17. |
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3.
The Son of God
We believe in
Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God. He
was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the
Virgin Mary, truly God and truly man. He died on
the cross and was buried, to be a sacrifice both
for original sin and for all the transgressions
of men, and to reconcile us to God. Christ rose
bodily from the dead, and ascended into heaven,
and there intercedes for us at the Father's
right hand until He returns to judge all men at
the last day. |
| Ps.
16:8-10; Matt. 1:21, 23; 11:27; 16:28; 27:62-66;
28:5-9, 16-17; Mark 10:45; 15; 16:6-7; Luke
1:27, 31, 35; 24:4-8, 23; John 1:1, 14, 18;
3:16-17; 20:26-29; 21; Acts 1:2-3; 2:24-31;
4:12; 10:40; Rom. 5:10, 18; 8:34; 14:9; I Cor.
15:3-8, 14; II Cor. 5:18-19; Gal. 1:4; 2:20;
4:4-5; Eph. 5:2; I Tim. 1:15; Heb. 2:17; 7:27;
9:14, 28; 10:12; 13:20; I Peter 2:24; I John
2:2; 4:14. |
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4. The Holy Spirit
We Believe in the Holy Spirit who
proceeds from the father and the Son, and is of
the same essential nature, majesty, and glory as
the Father and the Son, truly and eternally God.
He is the Administrator of grace to all mankind,
and is particularly the effective Agent in
conviction for sin, in regeneration, in
sanctification, and in glorification. He is ever
present, assuring, preserving, guiding, and
enabling the believer. |
| Job 33:4;
Matt. 28:19; John 4:24; 14:16-17; 15:26;
16:13-15; Acts 5:3-4; Rom. 8:9; II Cor. 3:17;
Gal. 4:6.
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5. The Sufficiency
and full Authority of the Holy Scriptures for
Salvation
We believe that the books of the Old and
New Testaments constitute the Holy Scriptures.
They are the inspired and infallibly written
Word of God, fully inerrant in their original
manuscripts and superior to all human authority,
and have been transmitted to the present without
corruption of any essential doctrine. We believe
that they contain all things necessary to
salvation; so that whatever is not read therein,
nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required
of any man that it should be believed as an
article of faith or be thought requisite or
necessary to salvation. Both in the Old and New
Testaments life is offered to mankind ultimately
through Christ, who is the only Mediator between
God and man. The New Testament teaches
Christians how to fulfill the moral principles
of the Old Testament, calling for loving
obedience to God made possible by the indwelling
presence of His Holy Spirit.
The canonical books of the Old Testament
are:
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I Samuel, II
Samuel, I Kings, II Kings, I Chronicles, II
Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Psalms,
Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, The Song of Solomon,
Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel,
Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum,
Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and
Malachi.
The canonical books of the New Testament
are:
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, I
Corinthians, II Corinthians, Galatians,
Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I
Thessalonians, II Thessalonians, I Timothy, II
Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, I
Peter, II Peter, I John, II John, III John,
Jude, and Revelation. |
| Ps. 19:7;
Matt. 5:17-19; 22:37-40; Luke 24:27, 44; John
1:45; 5:46; 17:17; Acts 17:2, 11; Rom. 1:2;
15:4, 8; 16:26; II Cur. 1:20; Gal. 1:8; Eph.
2:15-16; I Tim. 2:5; II Tim. 3:15-17; Heb. 4:12;
10:1; 11:39; James 1:21; I Peter 1:23; II Peter
1:19-21; I John 2:3-7; Rev. 22:18-19. |
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6. God's Purpose
for Man
We believe that the two great
commandments which require us to love the Lord
our God with all the heart, and our neighbors as
ourselves, summarize the divine law as it is
revealed in the Scriptures. They are the perfect
measure and norm of human duty, both for
ordering and directing of families and nations,
and all other social bodies, and for individual
acts, by which we are required to acknowledge
God as our only Supreme Ruler, and all men as
created by Him, equal in all natural rights.
Therefore all men should so order all their
individual, social, and political acts as to
give to God entire and absolute obedience, and
to assure to all men the enjoyment of every
natural right, as well as to promote the
fulfillment of each in the possession and
exercise of such rights. |
| Lev. 19:18,
34; Deut. 1:16-17; Job 31:13-14; Jer. 21:12;
22:3; Micah 6:8; Matt. 5:44-48; 7:12; Mark
12:28-31; Luke 6:27-29, 35; John 13:34-35; Acts
10:34-35; 17:26; Rom. 12:9; 13:1, 7-8, 10; Gal.
5:14; 6:10; Titus 3:1; James 2:8; I Peter 2:17;
I John 2:5; 4:12-13; II John 6. |
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7. Marriage and
the Family
We believe that man is created in the
image of God, that human sexuality reflects that
image in terms of intimate love, communication,
fellowship, subordination of the self to the
larger whole, and fulfillment. God's Word makes
use of the marriage relationship as the supreme
metaphor for His relationship with His covenant
people and for revealing the truth that that
relationship is of one God with one people.
Therefore God's plan for human sexuality is that
it is to be expressed only in a monogamous
lifelong relationship between one man and one
woman within the framework of marriage. This is
the only relationship which is divinely designed
for the birth and rearing of children and is a
covenant union made in the sight of God, taking
priority over every other human relationship. |
| Gen.
1:27-28; 2:18, 20, 23, 24; Isa. 54:4-8; 62:5b;
Jer. 3:14; Ezek. 16:3ff.; Hosea 2; Mal. 2:14;
Matt. 19:4-6; Mark 10:9; John 2:1-2, 11; I Tim.
5:14; I cor. 9:5; Eph. 5:23-32; Heb. 13:4; Rev.
19:7-8. |
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8. Man's Choice
We Believe that man's creation in the
image of God included ability to choose between
right and wrong. Thus man was made morally
responsible for his choices. But since the fall
of Adam, man is unable in his own strength to do
the right. This is due to original sin, which is
not simply the following of Adam's example, but
rather the corruption of the nature of every
man, and is reproduced naturally in Adam's
descendants. Because of it, man is very far gone
from original righteousness, and of his own
nature is continually inclined to evil. He
cannot of himself even call upon God or exercise
faith for salvation. But through Jesus Christ
the preeminent grace of God makes possible what
man himself cannot do. It is bestowed freely
upon all men, enabling all who will to turn and
be saved. |
| Gen. 6:5;
8:21; Deut. 30:19; Josh. 24:15; I Kings 20:40;
Ps. 51:5; Isa. 64:6; Jer. 17:9; Mark 7:21-23;
Luke 16:15; John 7:17; Rom. 3:10-12; 5:12-21; I
Cor. 15:22; Eph. 2:1-3; I tim. 2:5; Titus 3:5;
Heb. 11:6; Rev. 22:17. |
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9. The Atonement
We believe that Christ's offering of
himself, once and for all, through His
sufferings and meritorious death on the cross,
provides the perfect redemption and atonement
for the sins of the whole world, both original
and actual. There is no other ground of
salvation from sin but that alone. This
atonement is sufficient for every individual of
Adam's race. It is unconditionally effective in
the salvation of those mentally incompetent from
birth, of those converted persons who have
become mentally incompetent, and of children
under the age of accountability. But it is
effective for the salvation of those who reach
the age of accountability only when they repent
and exercise faith in Christ. |
| Isa.
52:13-53:12; Luke 24:46-47; John 3:16; Acts
3:18; 4:12; Rom. 3:20, 24-26; 5:8-11, 13, 18-20;
7:7; 8:34; I cor. 6:11; 15:22; Gal. 2:16; 3:2-3;
Eph. 1:7; 2:13, 16; i tIM. 2:5-6; hEB. 7:23-27;
9:11-15, 24-28; 10:14; I John 2:2; 4:10. |
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10. Repentance and
Faith
We believe that for man to appropriate
what God's preeminent grace has made possible,
he must voluntarily respond in repentance and
faith. The ability comes from God, but the act
is man's.
Repentance in prompted by the convicting
ministry of the Holy Spirit. It involves a
willful Change of mind that renounces sin and
longs for righteousness, a godly sorrow for and
confession of past sins, proper restitution for
wrongdoings, and a resolution to reforms the
life. Repentance is the precondition for saving
faith, and without it saving faith is
impossible. Faith, in turn, is the only
condition of salvation. It begins in the
agreement of the mind and the consent of the
will to the truth of the gospel, but issues in a
complete reliance by the whole person in the
saving ability of Jesus Christ and a complete
trusting of oneself to Him as Savior and Lord.
Saving faith is expressed in a public
acknowledgement of His Lordship and an
Identification with His church. |
| Mark 1:15;
Luke 5:32; 13:3; 24:47; John 3:16; 17:20; 20:31;
Acts 5:31; 10:43; 11:18; 16:31; 20:21; 26:20
Rom. 1:16; 2:4; 10:8-10, 17; Gal. 3:26; Eph.
2:8; 4:4-6; Phil. 3:9; II Thess. 2:13; II Tim.
2:25; Heb. 11:6; 12:2; I Peter 1:9; II Peter
3:9. |
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11. Justification
and Regeneration
We believe that when man repents of his
sin and believes on the Lord Jesus Christ, he in
the same moment is justified, regenerated,
adopted into the family of God, and assured of
his salvation through the witness of the Spirit.
We believe that we are accounted righteous
before God only on the basis of the merit of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, being justified by
faith alone, and not on the basis of our own
works.
We believe that regeneration is that work of the
Holy Spirit by which the pardoned sinner becomes
a child of God. This new life is received
through faith in Jesus Christ, and by it the
regenerate is delivered from the power of sin
which reigns over all the unregenerate, so that
they love God and through grace serve Him with
the will and affections of the heart, receiving
the Spirit of Adoption. |
Justification: Hab. 2:4; Acts 13:38-39; 15:11;
16:31; Rom. 1:17; 3:28; 4:2-5; 5:1-2; Gal.
3:6-14; Eph. 2:8-9; Phil. 3:9; Heb. 10:38.
Regeneration: John 1:12-13; 3:3, 5-8; II Cor.
5:17; Gal. 3:26; Eph. 2:5; 10, 19; 4:24; Col.
3:10; Titus 3:5; James 1:18; I Peter 1:3-4; II
Peter 1:4; I John 3:1.
Adoption: Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:5, 7; Eph. 1:5.
Witness of the Spirit: Rom. 8:16-17; Gal. 4:6; I
John 2:3; 3:14, 18-19. |
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12. Good Works
We believe that although good works
cannot save us from our sins or from God's
judgment, they are the fruit of faith and follow
after regeneration. Therefore they are pleasing
and acceptable to God in Christ, and by them a
living faith may be as evidently known as a tree
is discerned by it's fruit. |
| Matt. 5:16;
7:16-20; John 15:8; Rom. 3:20; 4:2, 4, 6; Gal.
2:16; 5:6; Eph. 2:1; Phil. 1:11; Col. 1:10; I
Thess. 1:3; Titus 2:14; 3:5; James 2:18, 22; I
Peter 2:9, 12. |
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13. Sin After
Regeneration
We believe that after we have
experienced regeneration, it is possible to fall
into sin, for in this life there is no such
height or strength of holiness from which it is
impossible to fall. But by the grace of God one
who has fallen into sin may by true repentance
and faith find forgiveness and restoration. |
| Mal. 3:7;
Matt. 18:21-22; John 15:4-6; I Tim. 4:1, 16;
Heb. 10:35-39; I John 1:9; 2:1, 24-25. |
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14.
Sanctification: Initial, Progressive, Entire
We believe that sanctification is that
work of the Holy Spirit by which the child of
God is separated from
sin unto God and is enabled love God with all
his heart and walk in all His holy commandments
blameless. Sanctification is initiated at the
moment of justification and regeneration. From
that moment there is a gradual or progressive
sanctification as the believer walks with God
and daily grows in grace and in a more perfect
obedience to God. This prepares for the crisis
of entire sanctification which is wrought
instantaneously when the believer presents
himself a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable
to God, through faith in Jesus Christ, being
effected by the baptism with the Holy Spirit who
cleanses the heart from sin inbred sin. The
crisis of entire sanctification perfects the
believer in love and empowers him for effective
service. It is followed by lifelong growth in
grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior,
Jesus Christ. The life of holiness continues
through faith in the sanctifying blood of Christ
and evidences itself by loving obedience to
God's revealed will. |
| Gen. 17:1;
Deut. 30:6; Ps. 130:8; Isa. 6:1-6; Ezek.
36:25-29; Matt. 5:8, 48; Luke 1:74-75; 3:16-17;
24:49; John 17:1-26; Acts 1:4-5, 8; 2:1-4;
15:8-9; 26:18; Rom. 8:3-4; I Cor. 1:2; 6:11; II
Cor. 7:1; Eph. 4:13, 24; 5:25-27; I Thess. 3:10,
12-13; 4:3, 7-8; 5:23-24; II Thess. 2:13; Titus
2:11-14; Heb. 10:14; 12:14; 13:12; James
3:17-18; 4:8; I Peter 1:2; II Peter 1:4; I John
1:7, 9; 3:8-9; 4:17-18; Jude 24. |
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15. The Gifts of
the Spirit
We believe that the Gift of the Spirit
is the Holy Spirit himself, and He is to be
desired more than the gifts of the spirit which
He in His wise counsel bestows upon individual
members of the Church to enable them properly to
fulfill their function as members of the body of
Christ. The gifts of the Spirit, although not
always identifiable with natural abilities,
function through them for the edification of the
whole church. These gifts are to be exercised in
love under the administration of the Lord of the
church, not through human volition. The relative
value of the gifts of the Spirit is to be tested
by their usefulness in the church and not by the
ecstasy produced in the ones receiving them. |
| Luke 11:13;
24:49; Acts 1:4; 2:38-39; 8:19-20; 10:45; 11:17;
Rom. 12:4-8; I Cor. 12:1-14:40; Eph. 4:7-8,
11-16; Heb. 2:4; 13:20-21; I Peter 4:8-11. |
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16. The Church
We believe that the Christian church is
the entire body of believers in Jesus Christ,
who is the founder and only Head of the church.
The church includes both believers who have gone
to be with the Lord and those who remain on the
earth, having renounced the world, the flesh,
and the devil, and having dedicated themselves
to the work which Christ committed unto His
church until He comes. The church on earth is to
preach the pure Word of God, properly administer
the sacraments according to Christ's
instructions, and live in obedience to all that
Christ commands. A local church is a body of
believers formally organized on gospel
principles, meeting regularly for the purposes
of evangelism, nurture, fellowship, and worship.
The Wesleyan Church is a denomination consisting
of those members within district conference and
local churches who, as members of the body of
Christ, hold the faith set forth in these
Articles of Religion and acknowledge the
ecclesiastical authority of its governing
bodies. |
| Matt. 16:18;
18:17; Acts 2:41-47; 9:31; 11:22; 12:5; 14:23;
15:22; 20:28; I Cor. 1:2; 12:28; 16:1; II Cor.
1:1; Gal. 1:2 Eph. 1:22-23; 2:19-22; 3:9-10, 21;
5:22-33; Col. 1:18, 24; I Thess. 1:1; II Thess.
1:1; I Tim. 3:15; Heb. 12:23; James 5:14. |
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17. The
Sacraments: Baptism and the Lord's Supper
We believe that water baptism and the
Lord's Supper are the sacraments of the church
commanded by Christ and ordained as a means of
grace when received through faith. they are
tokens of our profession of Christian faith and
signs of God's gracious ministry toward us. By
them, He works within us to quicken, strengthen,
and confirm our faith.
We believe that water baptism is a sacrament of
the church, commanded by our Lord and
administered to believers. It is a symbol of the
new covenant of grace and signifies acceptance
of the benefits of the atonement of Jesus
Christ. by means of this sacrament, believers
declare their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. |
| Matt.
3:13-17; 28:19; mark 1:9-11; John 3:5, 22, 26;
4:1-2; Acts 2:38-39, 41; 8:12-17, 36-38; 9:18;
16:15, 33; 18:8; 19:5; 22:16; Rom. 2:28-29;
4:11; 6:3-4; I Cor. 12:13; Gal. 3:27-29; Col.
2:11-12; Titus 3:5. |
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| We believe that the
Lord's Supper is a sacrament of our redemption
by Christ's death on of our hope in His
victorious return, as well as a sign of the love
that Christians have for each other. To such as
receive it humbly, with a proper spirit and by
faith, the Lord's Supper is made a means through
which God communicates grace to the heart. |
| Matt.
26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20; John
6:48-58; I Cur. 5:7-8; 10:3-4, 16-17; 11:23-29. |
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18. The Second
Coming of Christ
We believe that the certainty of the
personal and imminent return of Christ inspires
holy living and zeal for the evangelization of
the world. At His return He will fulfill all
prophecies made concerning His Final and
complete triumph over evil. |
| Job
19:25-27; Isa. 11:1-12; Zech. 14:1-11; Matt.
24:1-51; 25; 26:64; Mark 13:1-37; Luke 17:22-37;
21:5-36; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:6-11; I Cor. 1:7-8;
I Thess. 1:10; 2:19; 3:13; 4:13-18; 5:1-11, 23;
II Thess. 1:6-10; 2:1-12; Titus 2:11-14; Heb.
9:27-28; James 5:7-8; II Peter 3:1-14; I John
3:2-3; Rev. 1:7; 19:11-16; 22:6-7, 12, 20. |
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19. The
Resurrection of the Dead
We believe in the bodily resurrection of
the dead of all mankind-of the just unto the
resurrection of life, and of the unjust unto the
resurrection of damnation. The resurrection of
the righteous dead will occur at Christ's Second
Coming, and the resurrection of the wicked will
occur at a later time. The resurrection of
Christ is the guarantee of the resurrection of
those who are in Christ. The raised body will be
a spiritual body, but the person will be whole
and identifiable. |
| Job
19:25-27; Dan. 12:2; Matt. 22:30-32; 28:1-20;
Mark 16:1-8; Luke 14:14; 24:1-53; John 5:28-29;
11:21-27; 20:1-21:25; Acts 1:3; Rom. 8:11; I
Cor. 6:14; 15:1-58; II Cor. 4:14; 5:1-11; I
Thess. 4:13-17; Rev. 20:4-6, 11-13. |
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20. The Judgment
of Mankind
We believe that the Scriptures reveal
God as the Judge of all mankind and the acts of
His judgment are based on His omniscience and
eternal justice. His administration of judgment
will culminate in the final meeting of mankind
before His throne of great majesty and power,
where records will be examined and final rewards
and punishments will be administered. |
| Eccl. 12:14;
Matt. 10:15; 25:31-46; Luke 11:31-32; Acts
10:42; 17:31; Rom. 2:16; 14:10-12; II Cor. 5:10;
II Tim. 4:1; Heb. 9:27; II Peter 3:7; Rev.
20:11-13. |
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21.
Destiny
We believe that the Scriptures clearly
teach that there is a conscious personal
existence after death. The final destiny of man
is determined by God's grace and man's response,
evidenced inevitably by his moral character
which results from his personal and vocational
choices and not from any arbitrary decree of
God. Heaven with it's eternal glory and the
blessedness of Christ's presence is the final
abode of those who choose the salvation which
God provides through Jesus Christ, but hell with
its everlasting misery and separation from God
is the final abode of those who neglect this
great salvation. |
| Dan. 12:2;
Matt. 25:34-46; Mark 9:43-48; Luke 13:3; John
8:21-23; 14:2-3; II Cor. 5:6, 8, 10; Heb. 2:1-3;
9:27-28; 10:26-31; Rev. 20:14-15; 21:1-22:5,
14-15. |
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*Statements of
Faith quoted from the Wesleyan Press
*Provided from http://www.sparlingvillewesleyan.com |
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