What We Believe

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1.  As a Wesleyan expression of Christianity, the Global Methodist Church  professes the Christian faith, established on the confession of Jesus as  messiah, the Son of God, and resurrected Lord of heaven and earth. This  confession, expressed by Simon Peter in Matthew 16:16-19 and Acts 2:32,  is foundational. It declares Jesus is the unique incarnate Word of God,  and He lives today, calling all to receive Him as savior, and as the  one to whom all authority has been given.

2. This faith has been  tested and proved since its proclamation by Mary Magdalene, the first  witness to the resurrection. It was defended by the women and men of the  early church, many of whom gave their lives as testimony. Their labor,  enabled and inspired by the Holy Spirit, resulted in the canon of  scripture as the sufficient rule both for faith and practice (the Greek  word kanon means rule). It formulated creeds such as the Apostles’  Creed, the Nicene Creed and the Chalcedonian definition as accurate  expressions of this faith.

3. In the sixteenth century, the  Protestant reformers preserved this testimony, asserting the primacy of  Scripture, the necessity of grace and faith, and the priesthood of all  believers. Their doctrinal summations, the Augsburg Confession, the  Schleitheim Confession, the Anglican Articles of Religion, and the  Heidelberg Catechism, bore witness to this faith.

4. In the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, Pietists in all traditions sought to
emphasize the experiential nature of this faith, as direct encounter  with the risen Lord. They worked to develop the fruit of this faith, by  the power of the Holy Spirit, in individual and communal life. These  pietistic movements influenced many in the reformation traditions,  including two Anglican brothers, John and Charles Wesley.

5.  Through the organization and published works by these brothers, a  distinctly Methodist articulation of Christian faith and life, of  “practical divinity,” emerged. Methodism placed particular emphasis on  the universal work of grace, the new birth, and the fullness of  salvation, entire sanctification or perfection. Methodists created  structures and communities alongside the established church to  facilitate the mission “to reform the nation, especially the church, and  spread scriptural holiness over the land.”

6. As Methodists moved to America, they brought this expression of faith with them.
Although Methodism in England remained loyal to the established church  until after John Wesley’s death, the American revolution dictated the  formation of a new church, independent of the Church of England.  Accordingly, in 1784, while gathered in Baltimore for the “Christmas  Conference,” the Methodist Episcopal Church was formally constituted.

7.  This new church adopted John Wesley’s revision of the Anglican Articles  of Religion, the Methodist General Rules, a liturgy, and ordained the  first Methodist clergy. Two other sources of authority were identified:  the four volumes that included fifty-three of Wesley’s sermons and his  Explanatory Notes on the New Testament. When a constitution was adopted  in 1808, the Restrictive Rules protected the Articles and General Rules  from revocation or change.

8. Other Methodist expressions of “primitive Christianity” and “the scripture way of
salvation” emerged. German-speaking Americans from pietistic Reformed,  Anabaptist, and Lutheran traditions, created organizations with doctrine  and discipline nearly identical to the English-speaking Methodist  Episcopal Church. The work of Phillip William Otterbein, Martin Boehm,  and Jacob Albright established the United Brethren in Christ and the  Evangelical Association. A number of African American Methodists,  including Richard Allen, Jarena Lee, and James Varick, helped establish  the African Methodist Episcopal Church and the African Methodist  Episcopal Church, Zion to address racial discrimination and the  injustices of slavery, while preserving doctrine and discipline.

9.  Through separations and mergers, Methodist Christians have preserved  testimony to the risen and reigning Christ by holding themselves  accountable to standards of doctrine and discipline. Beginning with  early Methodist work in the Caribbean, this Wesleyan understanding of  doctrine has now spread across the globe, flourishing with the unique  contributions of many cultures. When The United Methodist Church was  formed in 1968, with the merger of The Methodist Church and the  Evangelical United Brethren, both the Methodist Articles of Religion and  the Evangelical United Brethren Confession of Faith were accepted as  doctrinal standards and deemed “congruent” articulations of this faith.  For fifty years, the growing voices of Methodists in Africa, the  Philippines, and Europe have joined in the engagement to maintain our  doctrinal heritage, promoting fidelity to the doctrinal principles that  launched our movement. The Global Methodist Church preserves this  heritage.

1.  The gift of grace is available to all persons. Our Father in Heaven is  not willing that any should be lost (Matthew 18:14), but that all may  come to “the knowledge of truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). With St. Paul, we  affirm the proclamation found in Romans 10:9, “That if you confess with  your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised  him from the dead, you will be saved.”

2. Grace is the  manifestation of God’s love toward fallen creation, to be freely  received and freely given. This undeserved gift works to liberate  humanity from both the guilt and power of sin, and live as children of  God, freed for joyful obedience. In the classic Wesleyan expression,  grace works in numerous ways throughout our lives, beginning with the  general providence of God toward all.

3. God’s prevenient or  preventing grace refers to “the first dawning of grace in the soul,”  mitigating the effects of original sin, even before we are aware of our  need for God. It prevents the full consequences of humanity’s alienation  from God and awakens conscience, giving an initial sense of God and the  first inclinations toward life. Received prior to our ability to  respond, preventing grace enables genuine response to the continuing  work of God’s grace.

4. God’s convincing grace leads us to what  the Bible terms “repentance,” awakening in us a desire to “flee the  wrath to come” and enabling us to begin to “fear God and work  righteousness.”

5. God’s justifying grace works by faith to bring  reconciliation to God through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ,  what God does for us. It is pardon for sin and ordinarily results in  assurance, “God’s Spirit witnessing with our spirit that we are children  of God.”

6. God’s sanctifying grace begins with God’s work of  regeneration, sometimes referred to as “being born again.” It is God’s  work in us as we continually turn to Him and seek to be perfected in His  love. Sanctification is the process by which the Holy Spirit works to  replace sin with the fruit of the Spirit. With John Wesley, we believe  that a life of holiness and ultimately “entire sanctification” should be  the goal of each individual’s journey with God.

7. Our ultimate  hope and promise in Christ is glorification, where our souls and bodies  are perfectly restored through this grace.

Wesley  said, “there is no holiness but social.” By referring to “social  holiness,” Wesley meant that the road to holiness was one that we could  not travel by ourselves, but rather involved the community of faith at  every step along the way

Our longing and hope are that our church may:

1.  Remain rooted and grounded in the scriptures and in the historic  teachings of the Christian church as defined in our Articles of Religion  and Confession of Faith, and understood through the Wesleyan lens of  faith.

2. Aspire to introduce all people, without exception, to  Jesus Christ, recognizing that the mission in which we are engaged has  eternal consequences. We are committed to carry out the Great Commission  of Jesus in Matthew 28 to go into all the world to make disciples of  Christ, teaching and baptizing in His name.

3. Lead all those who  experience new birth in Jesus to deepen and grow in their relationship  with Him, inviting the Holy Spirit to produce spiritual fruit within  their lives as they similarly manifest the gifts of that Spirit. We  encourage all to participate in discipleship and accountability groups,  such as Wesleyan class and band meetings, and to utilize all the other  means of grace to achieve this end.

4. Model the love of God in  order to respond to the summons to love the Lord our God with all of our  heart, mind, soul, and strength, and to love our neighbors as  ourselves. To this end we are committed to fulfill the commandment in  John 21 of lovingly feeding and tending to the flock of God and others,  worshiping God in spirit, and in truth and watching over one another in  love. This the church does until, perfected in love, it experiences the  fullness of God’s restored Kingdom with Christ.

5. Recognize the  laity as the people of God and a royal priesthood, chosen and empowered  for the work of God in this world in full partnership with our clergy.  We affirm the participation and leadership of those of all races,  ethnicities, nationalities, sexes, and ages in the Body of Christ.

6.  Encourage and affirm the call of God in the lives of clergy who are  grounded in the authoritative witness of the Scriptures, set apart by  the church, and recognized to possess the necessary gifts and graces for  ministry in alignment and accountability with our settled doctrines and  discipline.

7. Display a “catholic spirit” to the church  universal, cherishing our place within the greater Body of Christ  through mutual respect, cooperative relationships, and shared mission  with others wherever possible. We envision a global church in which all  work together, resourcing and learning from one another, to fulfill the  tasks of the church given to it by God.

8. Provide an organization  and structure that is able to accomplish its primary functions of  support, with a connectional polity that can empower and multiply the  gifts of all for the sake of Christ’s work in the world.

The canonical books of the Old and New Testaments (as specified in the Articles of Religion--namely Articles V & VI of the Methodist Church and Article IV of the Evangelical United Brethren Church--found in the "Constitutive Standards" section below) are the primary rule and authority for faith,  morals, and service, against which all other authorities must be  measured.

The  following summaries of the apostolic witness disclosed in Scripture  have been affirmed by many Christian communities, and express orthodox  Christian teaching.

1. THE APOSTLES’ CREED

I  believe in God, the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I  believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by  the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate,  was crucified, died, and was buried; He descended to the dead. On the  third day He rose again; He ascended into heaven,

Is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic* church,

the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. Amen.

* universal

2. THE NICENE CREED (A.D. 381)

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.

We  believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally  begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from  true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father; through Him  all things were made. For us and for our salvation He came down from  heaven, was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became  truly human.
For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
He suffered death and was buried. On the third day He rose again in  accordance with the Scriptures; He ascended into heaven and is seated at  the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the  living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end.

We believe  in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the  Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son is worshiped and  glorified, who has spoken through the prophets.

We believe in one  holy catholic* and apostolic church. We acknowledge one baptism for the  forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the  life of the world to come. Amen.

* universal

3. THE DEFINITION OF CHALCEDON (A.D. 451)

Following  the holy fathers, we teach with one voice that the Son of God and our  Lord Jesus Christ is to be confessed as one and the same Person, That He  is perfect in Godhead and perfect in manhood, truly God and truly man,  of a reasonable soul and body consisting of one substance with the  Father as regards His Godhead, and at the same time of one substance  with us as regards His manhood, like us in all respects, apart from sin.

Begotten  of His Father before the ages as regards His Godhead, But in these last  days born for us and for our salvation of the Virgin Mary, the God-  bearer.
This one and the same Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of  God, must be confessed to be in two natures, without confusion, without  changes, without division, not as parted or separated into two persons,  but one and the same Son and only-begotten God the Word, our Lord Jesus  Christ.
Even as the prophets from earliest times spoke of Him, And our Lord Jesus Christ Himself taught us,
And the creed of the fathers has handed down to us.

As  is the case in many Christian communities, we recognize additional  statements of faith that are consistent with the creedal tradition of  the church universal, but which also express our church’s particular  emphases and concerns, as well as our theological heritage of faith.  These constitutive standards embody the “faith once for all entrusted to  the saints” (Jude 3) and serve as a bulwark against false teaching,  providing the framework for the praise of God in our teaching  (orthodoxy), the development of our collective theology, and the  launching point for our living and service (orthopraxis). Recognizing  the complementary streams of the Methodist and the Evangelical United  Brethren faith communities, both the Articles of Religion and the  Confession of Faith define the doctrinal boundaries of our church, until  such time as a combined Articles of Faith may be approved by the  church.

1. THE ARTICLES OF RELIGION OF THE METHODIST CHURCH. Thirty- Nine Articles of Religion were finalized in 1571 to define the  doctrine of the Church of England. When Methodism emerged as a church,  independent of the Church of England two centuries later, John Wesley  abbreviated the formulation to 24 Articles. An additional article  dealing with the duty of Christians to civil authority was added by the  Methodist Episcopal Church when it was formed in 1784. The Articles were  officially adopted by the General Conference of 1808, when the first  Restrictive Rule was also implemented, and revised by the Uniting  Conference of 1939 when three Methodist communions within America became  one. The Twenty-Five Articles are as follows:

Article I – Of Faith in the Holy Trinity

There  is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body or parts, of  infinite power, wisdom, and good; the maker and preserver of all things,  both visible and invisible. And in unity of this Godhead there are  three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity—the Father, the  Son, and the Holy Ghost.

Article II – Of the Word, or Son of God, Who Was Made Very Man

The  Son, who is the Word of the Father, the very and eternal God, of one  substance with the Father, took man’s nature in the womb of the blessed  Virgin; so that two whole and perfect natures, that is to say, the  Godhead and Manhood, were joined together in one person, never to be  divided; whereof is one Christ, very God and very Man, who truly  suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried, to reconcile us to His  Father, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for  actual sins of men.

Article III – Of the Resurrection of Christ

Christ  did truly rise again from the dead, and took again his body, with all  things appertaining to the perfection of man’s nature, wherewith he  ascended into heaven, and there sitteth until he return to judge all men  at the last day.

Article IV – Of the Holy Ghost

The  Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one  substance, majesty, and glory with the Father and the Son, very and  eternal God.

Article V – Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation

The  Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation; so that  whatsoever 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. In the name of the  Holy Scripture we do understand those canonical books of the Old and New  Testaments of whose authority was never any doubt in the church. The  names of the canonical books are:

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,  Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, The First Book of Samuel,  The Second Book of Samuel, The First Book of Kings, The Second Book of  Kings, The First Book of Chronicles, The Second Book of Chronicles, The  Book of Ezra, The Book of Nehemiah, The Book of Esther, The Book of Job,  The Psalms, The Proverbs, Ecclesiastes or the Preacher, Cantica or  Songs of Solomon, Four Prophets the Greater, Twelve Prophets the Less.

All the books of the New Testament, as they are commonly received, we do receive and account canonical.

Article VI – Of the Old Testament

The  Old Testament is not contrary to the New; for both in the Old and New  Testaments everlasting life is offered to mankind by Christ, who is the  only Mediator between God and man, being both God and Man. Wherefore  they are not to be heard who feign that the old fathers did look only  for transitory promises. Although the law given from God by Moses as  touching ceremonies and rites doth not bind Christians, nor ought the  civil precepts thereof of necessity be received in any commonwealth; yet  notwithstanding, no Christian whatsoever is free from the obedience of  the commandments which are called moral.

Article VII – Of Original or Birth Sin

Original  sin standeth not in the following of Adam (as the Pelagians do vainly  talk), but it is the corruption of the nature of every man, that  naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam, whereby man is very  far gone from original righteousness, and of his own nature inclined to  evil, and that continually.

Article VIII – Of Free Will

The  condition of man after the fall of Adam is such that he cannot turn and  prepare himself, by his own natural strength and works, to faith, and  calling upon God; wherefore we have no power to do good works, pleasant  and acceptable to God, without the grace of God by Christ preventing us,  that we may have a good will, and working with us, when we have that  good will.

Article IX – Of the Justification of Man

We  are accounted righteous before God only for the merit of our Lord and  Saviour Jesus Christ, by faith, and not for our own works or deservings.  Wherefore, that we are justified by faith, only, is a most wholesome  doctrine, and very full of comfort.

Article X – Of Good Works

Although  good works, which are the fruits of faith, and follow after  justification, cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of  God’s judgment; yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ,  and spring out of a true and lively faith, insomuch that by them a  lively faith may be as evidently known as a tree is discerned by its  fruit.

Article XI – Of Works of Supererogation

Voluntary  works—besides, over and above God’s commandments—which they call works  of supererogation, cannot be taught without arrogancy and impiety. For  by them men do declare that they do not only render unto God as much as  they are bound to do, but that they do more for his sake than of bounden  duty is required; whereas Christ saith plainly: When you have done all  that is commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants.

Article XII – Of Sin After Justification

Not  every sin willingly committed after justification is the sin against  the Holy Ghost, and unpardonable. Wherefore, the grant of repentance is  not to be denied to such as fall into sin after justification. After we  have received the Holy Ghost, we may depart from grace given, and fall  into sin, and, by the grace of God, rise again and amend our lives. And  therefore they are to be condemned who say they can no more sin as long  as they live here; or deny the place of forgiveness to such as truly  repent.

Article XIII – Of the Church

The  visible church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men in which the  pure Word of God is preached, and the Sacraments duly administered  according to Christ’s ordinance, in all those things that of necessity  are requisite to the same.

Article XIV – Of Purgatory

The  Romish doctrine concerning purgatory, pardon, worshiping, and  adoration, as well of images as of relics, and also invocation of  saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warrant  of Scripture, but repugnant to the Word of God.

Article XV – Of Speaking in the Congregation in Such a Tongue as the People Understand

It  is a thing plainly repugnant to the Word of God, and the custom of the  primitive church, to have public prayer in the church, or to minister  the Sacraments, in a tongue not understood by the people.

Article XVI – Of the Sacraments

Sacraments  ordained of Christ are not only badges or tokens of Christian men’s  profession, but rather they are certain signs of grace, and God’s good  will toward us, by which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only  quicken, but also strengthen and confirm, our faith in him.

There are two Sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord in the Gospel; that is to say, Baptism and the Supper of the Lord.

Those  five commonly called sacraments, that is to say, confirmation, penance,  orders, matrimony, and extreme unction, are not to be counted for  Sacraments of the Gospel; being such as have partly grown out of the  corrupt following of the apostles, and partly are states of life allowed  in the Scriptures, but yet have not the like nature of Baptism and the  Lord’s Supper, because they have not any visible sign or ceremony  ordained of God.

The Sacraments were not ordained of Christ to be  gazed upon, or to be carried about; but that we should duly use them.  And in such only as worthily receive the same, they have a wholesome  effect or operation; but they that receive them unworthily, purchase to  themselves condemnation, as St. Paul saith.

Article XVII – Of Baptism

Baptism  is not only a sign of profession and mark of difference whereby  Christians are distinguished from others that are not baptized; but it  is also a sign of regeneration or the new birth. The Baptism of young  children is to be retained in the Church.

Article XVIII – Of the Lord’s Supper

The  Supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that Christians ought  to have among themselves one to another, but rather is a sacrament of  our redemption by Christ’s death; insomuch that, to such as rightly,  worthily, and with faith receive the same, 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.

Transubstantiation, or the  change of the substance of bread and wine in the Supper of our Lord,  cannot be proved by Holy Writ, but is repugnant to the plain words of  Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a sacrament, and hath given  occasion to many superstitions.

The body of Christ is given,  taken, and eaten in the Supper, only after a heavenly and spiritual  manner. And the mean whereby the body of Christ is received and eaten in  the Supper is faith.

The Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper was not by Christ’s ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up, or worshiped.

Article XIX – Of Both Kinds

The  cup of the Lord is not to be denied to the lay people; for both the  parts of the Lord’s Supper, by Christ’s ordinance and commandment, ought  to be administered to all Christians alike.

Article XX – Of the One Oblation of Christ, Finished upon the Cross

The  offering of Christ, once made, is that perfect redemption,  propitiation, and satisfaction for all the sins of the whole world, both  original and actual; and there is none other satisfaction for sin but  that alone. Wherefore the sacrifice of masses, in the which it is  commonly said that the priest doth offer Christ for the quick and the  dead, to have remission of pain or guilt, is a blasphemous fable and  dangerous deceit.

Article XXI – Of the Marriage of Ministers

The  ministers of Christ are not commanded by God’s law either to vow the  estate of single life, or to abstain from marriage; therefore it is  lawful for them, as for all other Christians, to marry at their own  discretion, as they shall judge the same to serve best to godliness.

Article XXII – Of the Rites and Ceremonies of Churches

It  is not necessary that rites and ceremonies should in all places be the  same, or exactly alike; for they have been always different, and may be  changed according to the diversity of countries, times, and men’s  manners, so that nothing be ordained against God’s Word. Whosoever,  through his private judgment, willingly and purposely doth openly break  the rites and ceremonies of the church to which he belongs, which are  not repugnant to the Word of God, and are ordained and approved by  common authority, ought to be rebuked openly, that others may fear to do  the like, as one that offendeth against the common order of the church,  and woundeth the consciences of weak brethren.

Every particular church may ordain, change, or abolish rites and ceremonies, so that all things may be done to edification.

Article XXIII – Of the Rulers of the United States of America

The  President, the Congress, the general assemblies, the governors, and the  councils of state, as the delegates of the people, are the rulers of  the United States of America, according to the division of power made to  them by the Constitution of the United States and by the constitutions  of their respective states. And the said states are a sovereign and  independent nation, and ought not to be subject to any foreign  jurisdiction.

Article XXIV – Of Christian Men’s Goods

The  riches and goods of Christians are not common as touching the right,  title, and possession of the same, as some do falsely boast.  Notwithstanding, every man ought, of such things as he possesseth,  liberally to give alms to the poor, according to his ability.

Article XXV – Of a Christian Man’s Oath

As  we confess that vain and rash swearing is forbidden Christian men by  our Lord Jesus Christ and James his apostle, so we judge that the  Christian religion doth not prohibit, but that a man may swear when the  magistrate requireth, in a cause of faith and charity, so it be done  according to the prophet’s teaching, in justice, judgment, and truth.

The  following Article from the Methodist Protestant Discipline was placed  here by the Uniting Conference (1939). It was not one of the Articles of  Religion voted upon by the three churches.] subjects or in which they  reside, and to use all laudable means to encourage and enjoin obedience  to the powers that be.

Of Sanctification (from the Methodist Protestant Discipline)

Sanctification  is that renewal of our fallen nature by the Holy Ghost, received  through faith in Jesus Christ, whose blood of atonement cleanseth all  from sin; whereby we are not only delivered from the guilt of sin, but  are washed from its pollution, saved from its power, and enabled,  through grace, to love God with all our hearts and to walk in His holy  commandments blameless.

[The following provision was adopted by the Uniting Conference (1939).

Of the Duty of Christians to the Civil Authority

It  is the duty of all Christians, and especially of all Christian  ministers, to observe and obey the laws and commands of the governing or  supreme authority of the country of which are citizens or subjects or  in which they reside, and to use all laudable means to encourage and  enjoin obedience to the powers that be.

The following Article from  the Methodist Protestant Discipline was placed here by the Uniting  Conference (1939). It was not one of the Articles of Religion voted upon  by the three churches.] subjects or in which they reside, and to use  all laudable means to encourage and enjoin obedience to the powers that  be.

2. THE CONFESSION OF FAITH OF THE EVANGELICAL UNITED BRETHREN CHURCH.

In  1809, the Evangelical Association adopted a German translation of the  Methodist Episcopal Church’s Articles of Religion, adding an article on  the last judgement from the Augsburg Confession. These were reduced to  twenty-one in 1816, omitting polemical articles against Roman Catholics  and Anabaptists, and later condensed to nineteen. In 1815, the United  Brethren in Christ adopted a Confession of Faith based on an 1814  Confession and 1789 Lehre by Philip William Otterbein. A more  comprehensive Confession was composed in 1889, including an article on  sanctification reflecting the influence of the Heidelberg Catechism. The  1946 conference that formed the Evangelical United Brethren Church  adopted both the Confession of Faith of the United Brethren in Christ  and the Articles of Faith of the Evangelical Church. In 1962 a new  Confession of Faith was completed, including articles on “Sanctification  and Christian Perfection” (Article XI) and “The Judgement and Future  State” (Article XII). This was adopted in the 1968 merger with the  Methodist Church that produced the United Methodist Church.

Article I – God

We  believe in the one true, holy and living God, Eternal Spirit, who is  Creator, Sovereign and Preserver of all things visible and invisible. He  is infinite in power, wisdom, justice, goodness and love, and rules  with gracious regard for the well-being and salvation of men, to the  glory of his name. We believe the one God reveals himself as the  Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, distinct but inseparable,  eternally one in essence and power.

Article II – Jesus Christ

We  believe in Jesus Christ, truly God and truly man, in whom the divine  and human natures are perfectly and inseparably united. He is the  eternal Word made flesh, the only begotten Son of the Father, born of  the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. As ministering Servant  he lived, suffered and died on the cross. He was buried, rose from the  dead and ascended into heaven to be with the Father, from whence he  shall return. He is eternal Savior and Mediator, who intercedes for us,  and by him all men will be judged.

Article III – The Holy Spirit

We  believe in the Holy Spirit who proceeds from and is one in being with  the Father and the Son. He convinces the world of sin, of righteousness  and of judgment. He leads men through faithful response to the gospel  into the fellowship of the Church. He comforts, sustains and empowers  the faithful and guides them into all truth.

Article IV – The Holy Bible

We  believe the Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments, reveals the Word of God  so far as it is necessary for our salvation. It is to be received  through the Holy Spirit as the true rule and guide for faith and  practice. Whatever is not revealed in or established by the Holy  Scriptures is not to be made an article of faith nor is it to be taught  as essential to salvation.

Article V – The Church

We  believe the Christian Church is the community of all true believers  under the Lordship of Christ. We believe it is one, holy, apostolic and  catholic. It is the redemptive fellowship in which the Word of God is  preached by men divinely called, and the sacraments are duly  administered according to Christ’s own appointment. Under the discipline  of the Holy Spirit the Church exists for the maintenance of worship,  the edification of believers and the redemption of the world.

Article VI – The Sacraments

We  believe the Sacraments, ordained by Christ, are symbols and pledges of  the Christian’s profession and of God’s love toward us. They are means  of grace by which God works invisibly in us, quickening, strengthening  and confirming our faith in him. Two Sacraments are ordained by Christ  our Lord, namely Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

We believe Baptism  signifies entrance into the household of faith, and is a symbol of  repentance and inner cleansing from sin, a representation of the new  birth in Christ Jesus and a mark of
Christian discipleship.

We  believe children are under the atonement of Christ and as heirs of the  Kingdom of God are acceptable subjects for Christian Baptism. Children  of believing parents through Baptism become the special responsibility  of the Church. They should be nurtured and led to personal acceptance of  Christ, and by profession of faith confirm their Baptism.

We  believe the Lord’s Supper is a representation of our redemption, a  memorial of the sufferings and death of Christ, and a token of love and  union which Christians have with Christ and with one another. Those who  rightly, worthily and in faith eat the broken bread and drink the  blessed cup partake of the body and blood of Christ in a spiritual  manner until he comes.

Article VII – Sin and Free Will

We  believe man is fallen from righteousness and, apart from the grace of  our Lord Jesus Christ, is destitute of holiness and inclined to evil.  Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. In his own  strength, without divine grace, man cannot do good works pleasing and  acceptable to God. We believe, however, man influenced and empowered by  the Holy Spirit is responsible in freedom to exercise his will for good.

Article VIII – Reconciliation Through Christ

We  believe God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself. The  offering Christ freely made on the cross is the perfect and sufficient  sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, redeeming man from all sin,  so that no other satisfaction is required.

Article IX – Justification and Regeneration

We  believe we are never accounted righteous before God through our works  or merit, but that penitent sinners are justified or accounted righteous  before God only by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.

We believe  regeneration is the renewal of man in righteousness through Jesus  Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, whereby we are made partakers  of the divine nature and experience newness of life. By this new birth  the believer becomes reconciled to God and is enabled to serve him with  the will and the affections. We believe, although we have experienced  regeneration, it is possible to depart from grace and fall into sin; and  we may even then, by the grace of God, be renewed in righteousness.

Article X – Good Works

We  believe good works are the necessary fruits of faith and follow  regeneration but they do not have the virtue to remove our sins or to  avert divine judgment. We believe good works, pleasing and acceptable to  God in Christ, spring from a true and living faith, for through and by  them faith is made evident.

Article XI – Sanctification and Christian Perfection

We  believe sanctification is the work of God’s grace through the Word and  the Spirit, by which those who have been born again are cleansed from  sin in their thoughts, words and acts, and are enabled to live in  accordance with God’s will, and to strive for holiness without which no  one will see the Lord.

Entire sanctification is a state of perfect  love, righteousness and true holiness which every regenerate believer  may obtain by being delivered from the power of sin, by loving God with  all the heart, soul, mind and strength, and by loving one’s neighbor as  one’s self. Through faith in Jesus Christ this gracious gift may be  received in this life both gradually and instantaneously, and should be  sought earnestly by every child of God.

We believe this experience  does not deliver us from the infirmities, ignorance, and mistakes  common to man, nor from the possibilities of further sin. The Christian  must continue on guard against spiritual pride and seek to gain victory  over every temptation to sin. He must respond wholly to the will of God  so that sin will lose its power over him; and the world, the flesh, and  the devil are put under his feet. Thus he rules over these enemies with  watchfulness through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Article XII – The Judgment and the Future State

We  believe all men stand under the righteous judgment of Jesus Christ,  both now and in the last day. We believe in the resurrection of the  dead; the righteous to life eternal and the wicked to endless  condemnation.

Article XIII – Public Worship

We  believe divine worship is the duty and privilege of man who, in the  presence of God, bows in adoration, humility and dedication. We believe  divine worship is essential to the life of the Church, and that the  assembling of the people of God for such worship is necessary to  Christian fellowship and spiritual growth.

We believe the order of  public worship need not be the same in all places but may be modified  by the church according to circumstances and the needs of men. It should  be in a language and form understood by the people, consistent with the  Holy Scriptures to the edification of all, and in accordance with the  order and Discipline of the Church.

Article XIV – The Lord’s Day

We  believe the Lord’s Day is divinely ordained for private and public  worship, for rest from unnecessary work, and should be devoted to  spiritual improvement, Christian fellowship and service. It is  commemorative of our Lord’s resurrection and is an emblem of our eternal  rest. It is essential to the permanence and growth of the Christian  Church, and important to the welfare of the civil community.

Article XV – The Christian and Property

We  believe God is the owner of all things and that the individual holding  of property is lawful and is a sacred trust under God. Private property  is to be used for the manifestation of Christian love and liberality,  and to support the Church’s mission in the world. All forms of property,  whether private, corporate or public, are to be held in solemn trust  and used responsibly for human good under the sovereignty of God.

Article XVI – Civil Government

We  believe civil government derives its just powers from the sovereign  God. As Christians we recognize the governments under whose protection  we reside and believe such governments should be based on, and be  responsible for, the recognition of human rights under God. We believe  war and bloodshed are contrary to the gospel and spirit of Christ. We  believe it is the duty of Christian citizens to give moral strength and  purpose to their respective governments through sober, righteous and  godly living.

Representing  the normative contributions and emphases of Methodism’s articulation of  the Christian faith, the Wesleyan Standards have, to one degree or  another, been broadly shared between the spiritual descendants of the  eighteenth-century evangelical renewal led by John and Charles Wesley.  These standards teach us what it means to be Methodist and the teachings  of our communities should be consistent with them. These include the  following:

1. THE STANDARD SERMONS OF JOHN WESLEY Intended  to provide patterns of preaching and teaching for the people called  Methodists, John Wesley published several editions of his sermons,  beginning in 1746, to set down what he found as “the way to heaven, with  a view to distinguish this way of God from all those which are the  inventions of men.” The compilation of forty-four of those sermons were  intended to provide a “model deed” for what was preached from a  Methodist pulpit in the ongoing life of the church. These particular  sermons were regarded by Wesley as being of distinct value, and intended  to serve as “standards” for teaching Christian doctrine in the church:

1. Salvation by Faith
2. The Almost Christian
3. Awake, Thou That Sleepest
4. Scriptural Christianity
5. Justification By Faith
6. The Righteousness of Faith
7. The Way to the Kingdom
8. The First-Fruits of the Spirit
9. The Spirit of Bondage and of Adoption
10. The Witness of the Spirit – Discourse I
11. The Witness of our own Spirit
12. The Means of Grace
13. The Circumcision of the Heart
14. The Marks of the New Birth
15. The Great Privilege of those that are Born of God
16-28. Upon our Lord’s Sermon on the Mount (13 Discourses)
29. The Original, Nature, Property and Use of the Law
30-31. The Law Established through Faith Discourse (2 Discourses)
32. The Nature of Enthusiasm
33. A Caution against Bigotry
34. Catholic Spirit
35. Christian Perfection
36. Wondering Thoughts
37. Satan’s Devices
38. Original Sin
39. The New Birth
40. The Wilderness State
41. Heaviness through Manifold Temptations
42. Self-Denial
43. The Cure of Evil Speaking
44. The Use of Money

The 1771 edition of Wesley’s Works included nine additional sermons:

The Witness of the Spirit, IIpage17image5156864
On Sin in Believers
The Repentance of Believers
The Great Assize
The Lord Our Righteousness
The Scripture Way of Salvation
The Good Steward
The Reformation of Manners
On the Death of George Whitefield

In  addition to the forty-four, these nine sermons were adopted as  standards of doctrine for the American church in 1784. The 1787-88  edition of Wesley’s sermons included only the forty-four, in keeping  with the stipulations of the model deed.

The additional nine  sermons supplement the original forty-four, providing additional  teaching on matters of practical divinity and other topics.

2. THE EXPLANATORY NOTES ON THE NEW TESTAMENT First published in 1755, John Wesley’s New Testament text is based upon  the King James Version and Greek manuscripts of the New Testament. The  notes were aimed at the “unlearned reader” and provide historical  context for and Wesleyan theological interpretation of the Scriptures,  drawing upon work of four earlier commentaries.

In  order to make explicit the expectations upon those who are members of  the Methodist societies, John Wesley first devised a set of rules in  1738, publishing it five years later. The General Rules were  subsequently adopted by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1785, one year  after its formation. The General Rules provide a helpful summation of  the kind of intentional discipleship which marked early Methodism,  summed up in three simple rubrics: do no harm, do good to all, and stay  connected to the sacramental and devotional life of the church. The  Rules thus remain a part of the Constitution and are protected by the  Restrictive Rules.

The Nature, Design, and General Rules of Our United Societies

“In  the latter end of the year 1739 eight or ten persons came to Mr.  Wesley, in London, who appeared to be deeply convinced of sin, and  earnestly groaning for redemption. They desired, as did two or three  more the next day, that he would spend some time with them in prayer,  and advise them how to flee from the wrath to come, which they saw  continually hanging over their heads. That he might have more time for  this great work, he appointed a day when they might all come together,  which from thenceforward they did every week, namely, on Thursday in the  evening. To these, and as many more as desired to join with them (for  their number increased daily), he gave those advices from time to time  which he judged most needful for them, and they always concluded their  meeting with prayer suited to their several necessities.

This was  the rise of the United Society, first in Europe, and then in America.  Such a society is no other than ‘a company of men having the form and  seeking the power of godliness, united in order to pray together, to  receive the word of exhortation, and to watch over one another in love,  that they may help each other to work out their salvation.’

That  it may the more easily be discerned whether they are indeed working out  their own salvation, each society is divided into smaller companies,  called classes, according to their respective places of abode. There are  about twelve persons in a class, one of whom is styled the leader. It  is his duty:

1. To see each person in his class once a week at  least, in order: (1) to inquire how their souls prosper; (2) to advise,  reprove, comfort or exhort, as occasion may require; (3) to receive what  they are willing to give toward the relief of the preachers, church,  and poor.

2. To meet the ministers and the stewards of the society  once a week, in order: (1) to inform the minister of any that are sick,  or of any that walk disorderly and will not be reproved; (2) to pay the  stewards what they have received of their several classes in the week  preceding. There is only one condition previously required of those who  desire admission into these societies: ‘a desire to flee from the wrath  to come, and to be saved from their sins.’ But wherever this is really  fixed in the soul it will be shown by its fruits.

It is therefore  expected of all who continue therein that they should continue to  evidence their desire of salvation, First: By doing no harm, by avoiding  evil of every kind, especially that which is most generally practiced,  such as: The taking of the name of God in vain. The profaning the day of  the Lord, either by doing ordinary work therein or by buying or  selling. Drunkenness: buying or selling spirituous liquors, or drinking  them, unless in cases of extreme necessity. Slaveholding: buying or  selling slaves. Fighting, quarreling, brawling, brother going to law  with brother; returning evil for evil, or railing for railing; the using many words in buying or selling. The buying or selling goods that have not paid the duty.

The giving or taking things on usury—i.e., unlawful interest.  Uncharitable or unprofitable conversation; particularly speaking evil of  magistrates or of ministers. Doing to others as we would not they  should do unto us. Doing what we know is not for the glory of God, as:  The putting on of gold and costly apparel. The taking such diversions as  cannot be used in the name of the Lord Jesus. The singing those songs,  or reading those books, which do not tend to the knowledge or love of  God. Softness and needless self-indulgence. Laying up treasure upon  earth. Borrowing without a probability of paying; or taking up goods  without a probability of paying for them.

It is expected of all  who continue in these societies that they should continue to evidence  their desire of salvation, Secondly: By doing good; by being in every  kind merciful after their power; as they have opportunity, doing good of  every possible sort, and, as far as possible, to all men: To their  bodies, of the ability which God giveth, by giving food to the hungry,  by clothing the naked, by visiting or helping them that are sick or in  prison. To their souls, by instructing, reproving, or exhorting all we  have any intercourse with; trampling under foot that enthusiastic  doctrine that ‘we are not to do good unless our hearts be free to it.’  By doing good, especially to them that are of the household of faith or  groaning so to be; employing them preferably to others; buying one of  another, helping each other in business, and so much the more because  the world will love its own and them only. By all possible diligence and  frugality, that the gospel be not blamed. By running with patience the  race which is set before them, denying themselves, and taking up their  cross daily; submitting to bear the reproach of Christ, to be as the  filth and offscouring of the world; and looking that men should say all  manner of evil of them falsely, for the Lord’s sake.

It is  expected of all who desire to continue in these societies that they  should continue to evidence their desire of salvation, Thirdly: By  attending upon all the ordinances of God; such are: The public worship  of God. The ministry of the Word, either read or expounded. The Supper  of the Lord. Family and private prayer. Searching the Scriptures.  Fasting or abstinence.

These are the General Rules of our  societies; all of which we are taught of God to observe, even in his  written Word, which is the only rule, and the sufficient rule, both of  our faith and practice. And all these we know his Spirit writes on truly  awakened hearts. If there be any among us who observe them not, who  habitually break any of them, let it be known unto them who watch over  that soul as they who must give an account. We will admonish him of the  error of his ways. We will bear with him for a season. But then, if he  repent not, he hath no more place among us. We have delivered our own  souls.”

In continuity with our Wesleyan heritage, the governing body of the  Global Methodist Church shall not revoke, alter, or change our Articles  of Religion or Confession of Faith, or establish any new standards of  rules of doctrine contrary to our present existing and established  standards of doctrine.