PREAMBLE
In order that we may preserve our God-given heritage, the faith once delivered to the saints, especially the doctrine and experience of entire sanctification as a second work of grace, and also that we may cooperate effectually with other branches of the Church of Jesus Christ in advancing God's kingdom, we, the ministers and lay members of the Church of the Nazarene, in accordance with the principles of constitutional legislation established among us, do hereby ordain, adopt, and set forth as the fundamental law or Constitution of the Church of the Nazarene the Articles of Faith, the General Rules, and the Articles of Organization and Government here following, to wit:ARTICLES OF FAITH I. The Triune God
1. We believe in one eternally existent, infinite God, Sovereign of the universe; that He only is God, creative and administrative, holy in nature, attributes, and purpose; that He, as God, is Triune in essential being, revealed as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
II. Jesus Christ
2. We believe in Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the
Triune Godhead; that He was eternally one with the Father; that He became
incarnate by the Holy Spirit and was born of the Virgin Mary, so that
two whole and perfect natures, that is to say the Godhead and manhood,
are thus united in one Person very God and very man, the God-man.
We believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins, and
that He truly arose from the dead and took again His body, together with
all things appertaining to the perfection of man's nature, wherewith He
ascended into heaven and is there engaged in intercession for us.
III. The Holy Spirit
3. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Triune Godhead, that He is ever present and efficiently active in and with the Church of Christ, convincing the world of sin, regenerating those who repent and believe, sanctifying believers, and guiding into all truth as it is in Jesus.
IV. The Holy Scriptures
4. We believe in the plenary inspiration of the Holy Scriptures, by which we understand the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, given by divine inspiration, inerrantly revealing the will of God concerning us in all things necessary to our salvation, so that whatever is not contained therein is not to be enjoined as an article of faith.
V. Sin, Original and Personal
5. We believe that sin came into the world through the disobedience
of our first parents, and death by sin. We believe that sin is of two
kinds: original sin or depravity, and actual or personal sin.
5.1. We believe that original sin, or depravity,
is that corruption of the nature of all the offspring of Adam by reason
of which everyone is very far gone from original righteousness or the
pure state of our first parents at the time of their creation, is averse
to God, is without spiritual life, and inclined to evil, and that continually.
We further believe that original sin continues to exist with the new life
of the regenerate, until eradicated by the baptism with the Holy Spirit.
5.2. We believe that original sin differs from actual
sin in that it constitutes an inherited propensity to actual sin for which
no one is accountable until its divinely provided remedy is neglected
or rejected.
5.3. We believe that actual or personal sin is a
voluntary violation of a known law of God by a morally responsible person.
It is therefore not to be confused with involuntary and inescapable shortcomings,
infirmities, faults, mistakes, failures, or other deviations from a standard
of perfect conduct that are the residual effects of the Fall. However,
such innocent effects do not include attitudes or responses contrary to
the spirit of Christ, which may properly be called sins of the spirit.
We believe that personal sin is primarily and essentially a violation
of the law of love; and that in relation to Christ sin may be defined
as unbelief.
Personal sin: Matthew 22:36-40 {with 1 John 3:4}; John 8:34-36; 16:8-9; Romans 3:23; 6:15-23; 8:18-24; 14:23; 1 John 1:9-2:4; 3:7-10)
VI. Atonement
6. We believe that Jesus Christ, by His sufferings, by the shedding of His own blood, and by His meritorious death on the Cross, made a full atonement for all human sin, and that this Atonement is the only ground of salvation, and that it is sufficient for every individual of Adam's race. The Atonement is graciously efficacious for the salvation of the irresponsible and for the children in innocency but is efficacious for the salvation of those who reach the age of responsibility only when they repent and believe.
VII. Free Agency
7. We believe that the human race's creation in Godlikeness
included ability to choose between right and wrong, and that thus human
beings were made morally responsible; that through the fall of Adam they
became depraved so that they cannot now turn and prepare themselves by
their own natural strength and works to faith and calling upon God. But
we also believe that the grace of God through Jesus Christ is freely bestowed
upon all people, enabling all who will to turn from sin to righteousness,
believe on Jesus Christ for pardon and cleansing from sin, and follow
good works pleasing and acceptable in His sight.
We believe that all persons, though in the possession
of the experience of regeneration and entire sanctification, may fall
from grace and apostatize and, unless they repent of their sins, be hopelessly
and eternally lost.
Natural inability: Job 14:4; 15:14; Psalms 14:1-4; 51:5; John 3:6a; Romans 3:10-12; 5:12-14, 20a; 7:14-25
Free grace and works of faith: Ezekiel 18:25-26; John 1:12-13; 3:6b; Acts 5:31; Romans 5:6-8, 18; 6:15-16, 23; 10:6-8; 11:22; 1 Corinthians 2:9-14; 10:1-12; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19; Galatians 5:6; Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 2:12-13; Colossians 1:21-23; 2 Timothy 4:10a; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 2:1-3; 3:12-15; 6:4-6; 10:26-31; James 2:18-22; 2 Peter 1:10-11; 2:20-22)
VIII. Repentance
8. We believe that repentance, which is a sincere and thorough change of the mind in regard to sin, involving a sense of personal guilt and a voluntary turning away from sin, is demanded of all who have by act or purpose become sinners against God. The Spirit of God gives to all who will repent the gracious help of penitence of heart and hope of mercy, that they may believe unto pardon and spiritual life.
IX. Justification, Regeneration, and Adoption
9. We believe that justification is the gracious and judicial
act of God by which He grants full pardon of all guilt and complete release
from the penalty of sins committed, and acceptance as righteous, to all
who believe on Jesus Christ and receive Him as Lord and Savior.
10. We believe that regeneration, or the new birth,
is that gracious work of God whereby the moral nature of the repentant
believer is spiritually quickened and given a distinctively spiritual
life, capable of faith, love, and obedience.
11. We believe that adoption is that gracious act
of God by which the justified and regenerated believer is constituted
a son of God.
12. We believe that justification, regeneration,
and adoption are simultaneous in the experience of seekers after God and
are obtained upon the condition of faith, preceded by repentance; and
that to this work and state of grace the Holy Spirit bears witness.
X. Entire Sanctification
13. We believe that entire sanctification is that act of
God, subsequent to regeneration, by which believers are made free from
original sin, or depravity, and brought into a state of entire devotement
to God, and the holy obedience of love made perfect.
It is wrought by the baptism with the Holy Spirit,
and comprehends in one experience the cleansing of the heart from sin
and the abiding, indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit, empowering the
believer for life and service.
Entire sanctification is provided by the blood of
Jesus, is wrought instantaneously by faith, preceded by entire consecration;
and to this work and state of grace the Holy Spirit bears witness.
This experience is also known by various terms representing
its different phases, such as "Christian perfection," "perfect love,"
"heart purity," "the baptism with the Holy Spirit," "the fullness of the
blessing," and "Christian holiness."
14. We believe that there is a marked distinction
between a pure heart and a mature character. The former is obtained in
an instant, the result of entire sanctification; the latter is the result
of growth in grace.
We believe that the grace of entire sanctification
includes the impulse to grow in grace. However, this impulse must be consciously
nurtured, and careful attention given to the requisites and processes
of spiritual development and improvement in Christlikeness of character
and personality. Without such purposeful endeavor one's witness may be
impaired and the grace itself frustrated and ultimately lost.
("Christian perfection," "perfect love": Deuteronomy 30:6; Matthew 5:43-48; 22:37-40; Romans 12:9-21; 13:8-10; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Philippians 3:10-15; Hebrews 6:1; 1 John 4:17-18
"Heart purity": Matthew 5:8; Acts 15:8-9; 1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 3:3
"Baptism with the Holy Spirit": Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:25-27; Malachi 3:2-3; Matthew 3:11-12; Luke 3:16-17; Acts 1:5; 2:1-4; 15:8-9
"Fullness of the blessing": Romans 15:29
"Christian holiness": Matthew 5:1-7:29; John 15:1-11; Romans 12:1-15:3; 2 Corinthians 7:1; Ephesians 4:17-5:20; Philippians 1:9-11; 3:12-15; Colossians 2:20-3:17; 1 Thessalonians 3:13; 4:7-8; 5:23; 2 Timothy 2:19-22; Hebrews 10:19-25; 12:14; 13:20-21; 1 Peter 1:15-16; 2 Peter 1:1-11; 3:18; Jude 20-21)
XI. The Church
15. We believe in the Church, the community that confesses
Jesus Christ as Lord, the covenant people of God made new in Christ, the
Body of Christ called together by the Holy Spirit through the Word.
God calls the Church to express its life in the unity
and fellowship of the Spirit; in worship through the preaching of the
Word, observance of the sacraments, and ministry in His name; by obedience
to Christ and mutual accountability.
The mission of the Church in the world is to continue
the redemptive work of Christ in the power of the Spirit through holy
living, evangelism, discipleship, and service.
The Church is a historical reality, which organizes
itself in culturally conditioned forms; exists both as local congregations
and as a universal body; sets apart persons called of God for specific
ministries. God calls the Church to live under His rule in anticipation
of the consummation at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
XII. Baptism
16. We believe that Christian baptism, commanded by our
Lord, is a sacrament signifying acceptance of the benefits of the atonement
of Jesus Christ, to be administered to believers and declarative of their
faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior, and full purpose of obedience in
holiness and righteousness.
Baptism being a symbol of the new covenant, young
children may be baptized, upon request of parents or guardians who shall
give assurance for them of necessary Christian training.
Baptism may be administered by sprinkling, pouring,
or immersion, according to the choice of the applicant.
XIII. The Lord's Supper
17. We believe that the Memorial and Communion Supper instituted by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is essentially a New Testament sacrament, declarative of His sacrificial death, through the merits of which believers have life and salvation and promise of all spiritual blessings in Christ. It is distinctively for those who are prepared for reverent appreciation of its significance, and by it they show forth the Lord's death till He come again. It being the Communion feast, only those who have faith in Christ and love for the saints should be called to participate therein.
XIV. Divine Healing
18. We believe in the Bible doctrine of divine healing and urge our people to seek to offer the prayer of faith for the healing of the sick. [Providential means and agencies when deemed necessary should not be refused.] We also believe God heals through the means of medical science.
XV. Second Coming of Christ
19. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will come again; that we who are alive at His coming shall not precede them that are asleep in Christ Jesus; but that, if we are abiding in Him, we shall be caught up with the risen saints to meet the Lord in the air, so that we shall ever be with the Lord.
XVI. Resurrection, Judgment, and Destiny
20. We believe in the resurrection of the dead, that the
bodies both of the just and of the unjust shall be raised to life and
united with their spirits-"they that have done good, unto the resurrection
of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."
21. We believe in future judgment in which every
person shall appear before God to be judged according to his or her deeds
in this life.
22. We believe that glorious and everlasting life
is assured to all who savingly believe in, and obediently follow, Jesus
Christ our Lord; and that the finally impenitent shall suffer eternally
in hell.
THE CHURCH
I. The General Church
23. The Church of God is composed of all spiritually regenerate persons, whose names are written in heaven.
II. The Churches Severally
24. The churches severally are to be composed of such regenerate persons as by providential permission, and by the leadings of the Holy Spirit, become associated together for holy fellowship and ministries.
III. The Church of the Nazarene
25. The Church of the Nazarene is composed of those persons who have voluntarily associated themselves together according to the doctrines and polity of said church, and who seek holy Christian fellowship, the conversion of sinners, the entire sanctification of believers, their upbuilding in holiness, and the simplicity and spiritual power manifest in the primitive New Testament Church, together with the preaching of the gospel to every creature.
IV. Agreed Statement of Belief
26. Recognizing that the right and privilege of persons
to church membership rest upon the fact of their being regenerate, we
would require only such avowals of belief as are essential to Christian
experience. We, therefore, deem belief in the following brief statements
to be sufficient. We believe:
26.1. In one God - the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
26.2. That the Old and New Testament Scriptures,
given by plenary inspiration, contain all truth necessary to faith and
Christian living.
26.3. That man is born with a fallen nature, and
is, therefore, inclined to evil, and that continually.
26.4. That the finally impenitent are hopelessly
and eternally lost.
26.5. That the atonement through Jesus Christ is
for the whole human race; and that whosoever repents and believes on the
Lord Jesus Christ is justified and regenerated and saved from the dominion
of sin.
26.6. That believers are to be sanctified wholly,
subsequent to regeneration, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
26.7. That the Holy Spirit bears witness to the new
birth, and also to the entire sanctification of believers.
26.8. That our Lord will return, the dead will be
raised, and the final judgment will take place.