Official creed of the Wesleyan Church Wesleyan Beliefs 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. Wesley was a priest in the Church of England in the 1700's and the founder of the Methodist movement. He added to Arminius' insights an 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. 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. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 1.

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. 1:1; 17:1; Ex.

3:13-15; 33:20; Deut. 90:2; Isa 40:28-29; 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. 1:16-17; I Tim. 1:8; I John 5:20. Sims 2 clean installer.

Church Fathers, from European, Puritan, and American. Embrace Your Heritage: Spiritual Formation in the Wesleyan t radition ARTICLE FOR UNIT 2. Bring my coat and my books. The discipline of covenant groups, faith mentoring, and soul friends is at the core of our Wesleyan-Holiness heritage.

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. 7:11; John 3:17; Rom. 8:15; I Peter 1:17. 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. 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. 1:15 Heb 2:17; 7:27; 9:14, 28; 10:12; 13:20; I Peter 2:24; I John 2:2; 4:14. 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. 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. 5:17-19; 22:37-40; Luke 24:27, 44; John 1:45; 5:46; 17:17; Acts 17:2, 11; Rom.