Articles of Religion
PREAMBLE
l A/100. In order that we may wisely preserve
and pass on to posterity the heritage
of doctrine and principles of Christian
living transmitted to us as evangelicals in
the Arminian-Wesleyan
tradition, insure church order by sound principles and
ecclesiastical polity, and prepare the way for
evangelization of the world and the
more effective cooperation with other
branches of the
advancement of Christ's kingdom, we, the ministers
and lay members of the Free
establish, and set forth the following as the
Constitution of the Free Methodist
Church.
GOD
I. The Holy Trinity
A/101. There is but one living and true God, the
maker and preserver of all things. And
in the unity of this Godhead there are three
persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit. These three are one in eternity, deity,
and purpose; everlasting, of infinite power,
wisdom, and goodness.
Genesis 1:1-2, Exodus 3:13-15, Deuteronomy 6:4, Matthew 28:19,
John 1:1-3; 5:19-23;
II. The Son
His Incarnation
A/103. God was himself in Jesus Christ to
reconcile people to God. Conceived by the
Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, He
joined together the deity of God and the
humanity of humankind. Jesus of Nazareth was God
in flesh, truly God and truly human.
He came to save us. For us the Son of God
suffered, was crucified, dead and buried. He
poured out His life as a blameless sacrifice for
our sin and transgressions. We gratefully
acknowledge that He is our Savior, the one perfect
mediator between God and us.
Matthew
Philippians 2:5-8, Hebrews
His Resurrection and Exaltation
A/104. Jesus Christ is risen
victorious from the dead. His resurrected body became more
glorious, not hindered by ordinary human
limitations. Thus He ascended into heaven.
There He sits as our exalted Lord at the
right hand of God the Father, where He
intercedes for us until all His enemies shall be
brought into complete subjection. He will
return to judge all people. Every knee will bow
and every tongue confess Jesus Christ is
Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Matthew 25:31-32, Luke 24:1-7; 24:39, John
2 Corinthians 5:10, Philippians 2:9-11, Hebrews 1:1-4
III. The Holy Spirit
His Person
A/105. The Holy Spirit is the third person of
the Trinity. Proceeding from the Father and
the Son, He is one with them, the eternal
Godhead; equal in deity, majesty, and power.
He is God effective in Creation, in life,
and in the church. The Incarnation and ministry
of Jesus Christ were accomplished by the
Holy Spirit. He continues to reveal, interpret,
and glorify the Son.
Matthew 28:19, John
His Work in Salvation
A/106. The Holy Spirit is the administrator of
the salvation planned by the Father and
provided by the Son's death, Resurrection, and
Ascension. He is the effective agent in
our conviction, regeneration, sanctification,
and glorification. He is our Lord's everpresent
self, indwelling, assuring, and enabling the
believer.
John 16:7-8, Acts 15:8-9, Romans 8:9, 14-16, 1 Corinthians 3:16,
2 Corinthians 3:17-18, Galatians 4:6
His Relation to the Church
A/107. The Holy Spirit is poured out upon the
church by the Father and the Son. He is
the church's life and witnessing power. He
bestows the love of God and makes real the
lordship of Jesus Christ in the believer so that
both His gifts of words and service may
achieve the common good, and build and increase
the church. In relation to the world He
is the Spirit of truth, and His instrument
is the Word of God.
Acts 5:3-4, Romans
THE SCRIPTURES
IV. Authority
A/108. The Bible is God's written Word, uniquely
inspired by the Holy Spirit. It bears
unerring witness to Jesus Christ, the living Word.
As attested by the early church and
subsequent councils, it is the trustworthy record of
God's revelation, completely truthful
in all it affirms. It has been faithfully
preserved and proves itself true in human experience.
The Scriptures have come to us through
human authors who wrote, as God moved them,
in the languages and literary forms of their
times. God continues, by the illumination of
the Holy Spirit, to speak through this Word
to each generation and culture.
The Bible has authority over all human
life. It teaches the truth about God, His creation,
His people, His one and
only Son, and the destiny of humankind. It also teaches the way
of salvation and the life of faith. Whatever
is not found in the Bible nor can be proved by
it is not to be required as an article of
belief or as necessary to salvation.
Deuteronomy 4:2; 28:9, Psalm 19:7-11, John 14:26; 17:17, Romans
15:4, 2 Timothy 3:14-17
Hebrews 4:12, James 1:21
V. Authority of the Old Testament
A/109. The Old Testament is not contrary to the
New. Both Testaments bear witness to
God's salvation in Christ; both speak of
God's will for His people. The ancient laws for
ceremonies and rites, and the civil precepts for the
nation
binding on Christians today. But, on the example
of Jesus we are obligated to obey the
moral commandments of the Old Testament.
The books of the Old Testament are:
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1
Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, 1
Chronicles, 2 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,
Malachi.
Matthew 5:17-18, Luke 10:25-28, John 5:39, 46-47, Acts
VI. New Testament
A/110. The New Testament fulfills and interprets
the Old Testament. It is the record of
the revelation of God in Jesus Christ and the
Holy Spirit. It is God's final word regarding
humankind, sin, and salvation, the world and its
destiny.
The books of the New Testament are:
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, 1
Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians,
Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1Thessalonians,
2 Thessalonians, 1
Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter,
1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation.
Matthew 24:35, Mark 8:38, John 14:24, Hebrews 2:1-4, 2 Peter
HUMANKIND
VII. Free Moral Persons
A/111. God created human beings in His own
image, innocent, morally free and
responsible to choose between good and evil, right and
wrong. By the sin of Adam,
humans as the offspring of Adam are corrupted in
their very nature so that from birth
they are inclined to sin. They are unable by
their own strength and work to restore
themselves in right relationship with God and to
merit eternal salvation. God, the
Omnipotent, provides all the resources of
the Trinity to make it possible for humans to
respond to His grace through faith in Jesus
Christ as Savior and Lord. By God's grace
and help people are enabled to do good works
with a free will.
Genesis 1:27, Psalm 51:5; 130:3, Romans
VIII. Law of Life and Love
A/112. God's law for all human life, personal
and social, is expressed in two divine
commands: Love the Lord God with all your heart,
and love your neighbor as yourself.
These commands reveal what is best for
persons in their relationship with God, others,
and society. They set forth the principles of
human duty in both individual and social
action. They recognize God as the only Sovereign. All people as created by Him and in
His image have
the same inherent rights regardless of sex, race, or color. All should
therefore give God absolute obedience in their
individual, social, and political acts. They
should strive to secure to everyone respect for
their person, their rights, and their greatest
happiness in the possession and exercise of the
right within the moral law.
Matthew 23:35-40, John
IX. Good Works
A/113. Good works are the fruit of faith in
Jesus Christ, but works cannot save us from
our sins nor from God's judgment. As
expressions of Christian faith and love, our good
works performed with reverence and humility are
both acceptable and pleasing to God.
However, good works do not earn God's
grace.
Matthew
SALVATION
X. Christ's Sacrifice
A/114. Christ offered once and for all the one
perfect sacrifice for the sins of the whole
world. No other satisfaction for sin is necessary;
none other can atone.
Luke 24:46-48; John 3:16, Acts 4:12; Romans 5:8-11, Galatians
2:16; 3:2-3, Ephesians 1:7-8;
Hebrews 9:11-14, 25-26; 10:8-14.
XI. The New Life in Christ
A/115. A new life and a right relationship with
God are made possible through the
redemptive acts of God in Jesus Christ. God, by His
Spirit, acts to impart new life and
put people into a relationship with Himself
as they repent and their faith responds to His
grace. Justification, regeneration, and
adoption speak significantly to entrance into and
continuance in the new life.
John 1:12-13; 3:3-8, Acts
Justification
A/116. Justification is a legal term that
emphasizes that by a new relationship in Jesus
Christ people are in fact accounted
righteous, being freed from both the guilt and the
penalty of their sins.
Psalm 32:1-2, Acts
Regeneration
A/117. Regeneration is a biological term which
illustrates that by a new relationship in
Christ, one does in fact have a new life
and a new spiritual nature capable of faith, love,
and obedience to Christ Jesus as Lord. The
believer is born again and is a new creation.
The old life is past; a new life is begun.
Ezekiel 36:26-27, John 5:24, Romans 6:4, 2 Corinthians 5:17,
Ephesians
Titus 3:4-5, 1 Peter 1:23
Adoption
A/118. Adoption is a filial term full of warmth,
love, and acceptance. It denotes that by a
new relationship in Christ believers have
become His wanted children freed from the
mastery of both sin and Satan. Believers have the
witness of the Spirit that they are
children of God.
Romans 8:15-17, Galatians 4:4-7, Ephesians 1:5-6, 1 John 3:1-3
XII. Entire Sanctification
A/119. Entire sanctification is that work of the
Holy Spirit, subsequent to regeneration,
by which the fully consecrated believers,
upon exercise of faith in the atoning blood of
Christ, are cleansed in that moment from
all inward sin and empowered for service. The
resulting relationship is attested by the witness
of the Holy Spirit and is maintained by
faith and obedience. Entire sanctification
enables believers to love God with all their
hearts, souls, strength, and minds, and their
neighbor as themselves, and it prepares them
for greater growth in grace.
Leviticus 20:7-8, John 14:16-17; 17:19, Acts 1:8; 2:4; 15:8-9,
Romans 5:3-5; 8:12-17; 12:1-2
1 Corinthians 6:11; 12:4-11, Galatians
2 Thessalonians 2:13, Hebrews 10:14
XIII. Restoration
A/120. Christians may be sustained in a growing
relationship with Jesus as Savior and
Lord. However, they may grieve the Holy
Spirit in the relationships of life without
returning to the dominion of sin. When they do,
they must humbly accept the correction
of the Holy Spirit, trust in the advocacy of
Jesus, and mend their relationships.
Christians can sin willfully and sever
their relationship with Christ. Even so by
repentance before God, forgiveness is granted and
the relationship with Christ restored,
for not every sin is the sin against the Holy
Spirit and unpardonable. God's grace is
sufficient for those who truly repent and, by His
enabling, amend their lives. However,
forgiveness does not give believers liberty to sin
and escape the consequences of
sinning.
God has given responsibility and power to
the church to restore penitent believers
through loving reproof, counsel, and acceptance.
Matthew 12:31-32; 18:21-22, Romans 6:1-2, Galatians 6:1, 1 John
1:9; 2:1-2; 5:16-17
Revelation 2:5; 3:19-20
THE CHURCH
XIV. The Church
A/121. The church is created by God. It is the
people of God. Christ Jesus is its Lord and
Head. The Holy Spirit is its life and power. It
is both divine and human, heavenly and
earthly, ideal and imperfect. It is an organism,
not an unchanging institution. It exists to
fulfill the purposes of God in Christ. It redemptively ministers to persons. Christ loved
the church and gave himself for it that it
should be holy and without blemish. The church
is a fellowship of the redeemed and the
redeeming, preaching the Word of God and
administering the sacraments according to Christ's
instruction. The Free Methodist
Church purposes to be representative of
what the
earth. It therefore requires specific
commitment regarding the faith and life of its
members. In its requirements it seeks to honor
Christ and obey the written Word of God.
Matthew 16:15-18; 18:17, Acts 2:41-47; 9:31; 12:5;, 14:23-26;
15:22; 20:28, 1 Corinthians 1:2; 11:23;
XV. The Language of Worship
A/122. According to the Word of God and the
custom of the early church, public
worship and prayer and the administration of the
sacraments should be in a language
understood by the people. The Reformation applied
this principle to provide for the use
of the common language of the people. It is
likewise clear that the Apostle Paul places
the strongest emphasis upon rational and
intelligible utterance in worship. We cannot
endorse practices which plainly violate these
scriptural principles.
Nehemiah 8:5, 6, 8; Matthew 6:7, 1 Corinthians 14:6-9; 1
Corinthians 14:23-25
XVI. The Holy Sacraments
A/123. Water baptism and the Lord's Supper are
the sacraments of the church
commanded by Christ. They are means of grace
through faith, 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.
Matthew 26:26-29; 28:19, Acts
Baptism
A/124. Water baptism is a sacrament of the church,
commanded by our Lord, signifying
acceptance of the benefits of the atonement of Jesus
Christ to be administered to
believers, as declaration of their faith in Jesus
Christ as Savior.
Baptism is a symbol of the new covenant of
grace as circumcision was the symbol of the
old covenant; and, since infants are
recognized as being included in the atonement, they
may be baptized upon the request of parents
or guardians who shall give assurance for
them of necessary Christian training. They
shall be required to affirm the vow for themselves
before being accepted into church membership.
Acts 2:38, 41; 8:12-17; 9:18; 16:33; 18:8; 19:5, John 3:5, 1
Corinthians 12:13, Galatians 3:27-29
Colossians 2:11-12, Titus 3:5
The Lord's Supper
A/125. The Lord's Supper is a sacrament of our
redemption by Christ's death. To those
who rightly, worthily, and with faith receive
it, the bread which we break is a partaking
of the body of Christ; and likewise the cup
of blessing is a partaking of the blood of
Christ. The supper is also a sign of the
love and unity that Christians have among
themselves.
Christ, according to His promise, is
really present in the sacrament. But His body is
given, taken, and eaten only after a heavenly
and spiritual manner. No change is effected
in the element; the bread and wine are not
literally the body and blood of Christ. Nor is
the body and blood of Christ literally
present with the elements. The elements are never
to be considered objects of worship. The
body of Christ is received and eaten in faith.
Mark
LAST THINGS
XVII. The
A/126. The
their tasks and hope. Jesus announced its
presence. The kingdom is realized now as
God's reign is established in the hearts
and lives of believers.
The church, by its prayers, example, and
proclamation of the gospel, is the appointed
and appropriate instrument of God in building
His kingdom.
But the kingdom is also future and is
related to the return of Christ when judgment will
fall upon the present order. The enemies of
Christ will be subdued; the reign of God will
be established; a total cosmic renewal which
is both material and moral shall occur; and
the hope of the redeemed will be fully
realized.
Matthew 6:10, 19-20; 24:1, Acts 1:8, Romans 8:19-23, 1
Corinthians
1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, 2 Thessalonians 1:5-12, 2 Peter 3:3-10,
Revelation 14:6; 21:3-8, 22:1-5, 17
XVIII. The Return of Christ
A/127. The return of Christ is certain and may
occur at any moment, although it is not
given us to know the hour. At His return He
will fulfill all prophecies concerning His
final triumph over all evil. The believer's
response is joyous expectation, watchfulness,
readiness, and diligence.
Matthew 24:1-51; 26:64, Mark 13:26-27, Luke 17:26-37, John
14:1-3, Acts 1:9-11, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Titus 2:11-14, Hebrews
XIX. Resurrection
A/128. There will be a bodily resurrection from
the dead of both the just and the unjust,
they that have done good unto the resurrection
of life; they that have done evil unto the
resurrection of damnation. The resurrected body will
be a spiritual body, but the person
will be whole and identifiable. The
Resurrection of Christ is the guarantee of
resurrection unto life to those who are in Him.
John 5:28-29, 1 Corinthians 15:20, 51-57, 2 Corinthians 4:13-14
XX. Judgment
A/129. God has appointed a day in which He will
judge the world in righteousness in
accordance with the gospel and our deeds in this
life.
Matthew 25:31-46, Luke 11:31-32, Acts
2 Corinthians 5:6-10, Hebrews 9:27-28;
XXI. Final Destiny
A/130. Our eternal destiny is determined by
God's grace and our response, not by
arbitrary decrees of God. For those who trust Him
and obediently follow Jesus as Savior
and Lord, there is a heaven of eternal glory
and the blessedness of Christ's presence. But
for the finally impenitent there is a hell of
eternal suffering and of separation from God.
A/131. The doctrines of the
and are derived from their total biblical
context. The references below are appropriate
passages related to the given articles. They are
listed in their biblical sequence and are
not intended to be exhaustive.
Mark 9:42-48, John 14:3, Hebrews 2:1-3, Revelation 20:11-15;
21:22-27