For 60 years Asbury’s statement of faith has been the doctrinal standards of the Methodist Church as found in the Book of Discipline. Our new statement of faith draws its content from Part I of the Book of Doctrines and Discipline of the future Global Methodist Church. It contains the historic Christian creeds; a new statement of traditional Wesleyan theology; and all of the existing United Methodist doctrinal standards. This document contains a summary and links to a longer document containing the full doctrinal standards.
I. STATEMENT ON HOLY SCRIPTURE
The canonical books of the Old and New Testaments (as specified in the Articles of Religion) are the primary rule and authority for faith, morals, and service, against which all other authorities must be measured.
II. FOUNDATIONAL CREEDS OF CHRISTIANITY
The following summaries of the apostolic witness disclosed in Scripture have been affirmed by many Christian communities, and express orthodox Christian teaching and Asbury’s understanding of the Christian faith.
A. THE APOSTLES’ CREED
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth; And 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, dead and buried; The third day he rose from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, And sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; From thence He shall come to judge the quick 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
B. 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
III. WESLEYAN WAY OF SALVATION
This summary of the “way of salvation,” or “order of salvation” was adopted by the Wesleyan Covenant Association in 2019. It seeks to provide more specificity than the popular 3-part description of prevenient, justifying, and sanctifying grace.
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, thus, 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.”
Grace is the manifestation of God’s love toward fallen creatures, 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.
God’s 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.
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.”
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.”
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 Wesley, we believe that a life of holiness or “entire sanctification” should be the goal of each individual’s journey with God.
Our ultimate hope and promise in Christ is glorification, where our souls and bodies are perfectly restored.
IV. STATEMENTS OF SOCIAL ETHICS
Given our current time and context, we highlight and affirm the following moral and ethical principles, derived from Scripture and our doctrinal standards. (These statements are identical to the Wesleyan Covenant Association’s Statement of Moral Principles.)
Gender Equality
Scripture teaches that men and women are of equal value in the eyes of God. Accordingly, the church should treat women and men equally. We believe that both women and men are called to and gifted for ordained and licensed ministry, and both genders are able to hold any role of leadership within our church.
Equality
We believe that all persons are of sacred worth. Therefore, we gladly welcome all who seek to grow in their relationship with God to attend worship services and participate in the church’s ministries. No person shall be disqualified from becoming a member of a local congregation, holding a leadership position in the church, or becoming an ordained or licensed clergy based on race, color, nationality, national origin, marital status, or economic condition. We specifically renounce all racial and ethnic discrimination and commit ourselves to work toward full racial and ethnic equality in the church and in society.
Marriage and Sexuality
We believe marriage and sexual intimacy are good gifts from God. In keeping with Christian teaching through the ages and throughout the Church universal, we believe that marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union. We believe that God intends faithfulness in marriage and celibacy in singleness.
Human Dignity
We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual or group are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor sound doctrine.
Accountability: All Asbury pastors, ministry staff and volunteer teachers are accountable to teach the historic Christian faith in accordance with these doctrinal and moral standards.
In keeping with our Methodist heritage, we also affirm the following standards from the Global Methodist Church’s Doctrine and Discipline, which are also considered part of Asbury’s Supplemental Statement of Faith.