Our Beliefs – Asbury Methodist Church

What We Believe

A Church with a Biblical Worldview

The Transitional Book of Doctrines and Disciplines of the Global Methodist Church contains many time-proven essential statements of faith that govern the beliefs and teachings of traditional Methodism. Asbury Methodist Church is blessed to be affiliated with a new denomination that unapologetically maintains a disciplined biblical worldview and which is carefully preserving “the faith once delivered to the saints.” Methodism, since its beginnings in England in the mid-1700s through the ministry of John and Charles Wesley, has held the authority of Scripture to be the defining test of all teaching and ministry. Throughout its 250-year history, faithful Methodists have rejected the temptation to look to the constantly shifting currents of contemporary culture for its standard of truth.

The leadership of Asbury Methodist Church commends to our members the Transitional Book of Doctrines and Disciplines in its fullness for review and study. While the Discipline contains much technical information about the governance of the church—globally and locally—the sections on faith and doctrine and social concerns are relevant to each member as they define our shared beliefs as Methodist Christians—specifically Part 1 (pages 4–19), which defines our historical doctrines, creeds, and articles of religion; and Part 2 (pages 20–21), our social witness, which addresses the contemporary issues facing the church today. Given the tumult within the body of Christ over matters which include human sexuality, gender, abortion, euthanasia, and human trafficking, we include below excerpts of that information for review by our members. For context, the full text of the Transitional Book of Doctrines and Disciplines can be found at www.globalmethodist.org/what-we-believe/. As members of Asbury Methodist Church (GMC) in Franklin, Tennessee, we affirm these precepts in the Discipline.

Scripture

Gospel

Formation

Understanding the Core Beliefs of Methodism

Get the Catechism

A valuable source of understanding regarding the beliefs of the church can be found in the Global Methodist Church’s newly released catechism. This small booklet contains seventy-seven questions and answers, structured in the classical format of catechisms used for hundreds of years to teach rising generations of believers the essential truths of the Christian faith. Each paired question-and-answer is followed by Scripture references, or proofs, that affirm the authority of the statement. Asbury Methodist Church has ample copies of this essential handbook of Methodist beliefs that are available to its members.

The catechism is divided into two sections. The first thirty-seven questions address essential precepts held by virtually all orthodox Christian believers across the centuries. It is based on the eight articles of the Nicene Creed and varies little from the teaching of most protestant churches and the core beliefs of the Catholic faith. The second section contains forty questions that are specific to churches in the Wesleyan tradition, to which the Global Methodist Church adheres. The catechism is essential for new Christians who have many questions about their newly found faith. It is also instructive for lifelong Methodists who have never explicitly studied the beliefs of the church. Asbury Methodist Church will ground the teaching and ministry of the church to align with the doctrinal and theological tenets presented in this document.

Get your copy here.

The Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church

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 oneself. 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 to 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.

Transitional Book of Doctrines and Discipline of the Global Methodist Church, page 15

Of all the beliefs of Methodism, nothing stands out more prominently than Wesley’s teaching on the doctrine of sanctifying grace. Often referred to by synonyms such as Christian perfection, perfect love, entire sanctification, holiness, and full salvation, this teaching was the defining faith commitment of Methodism. Wesley himself in 1790, in a letter shortly before his death, makes this statement:

This doctrine [of full sanctification] is the grand depositum which God has lodged with the people called Methodists; and for the sake of propagating this chiefly, he appears to have raised us up.

This powerful teaching declared that through the power of the Holy Spirit persons can be so filled with divine love that sin loses its grip on them as the gravitational pull of their lives is drawn to Jesus Christ and a newly found love for others. In early Methodism, the poor and hopeless found their lives infused with holy love, and a movement was ignited that still reverberates worldwide today. The central tenant of this experience is a Spirit-infused power that frees persons from addictions and bondage to sin as their lives become oriented to Jesus Christ and his inexhaustible love. The Methodist societies became communities of believers in which new life was experienced and lives began to blossom and thrive and the testimonies of transformation fueled a great revival.

Our world today is no less desperate than it was in Wesley’s day. We believe that God is raising up a new generation of faithful Methodists to reintroduce this great movement of his Holy Spirit. Methodism may become central to a coming awakening in which once again broken lives are mended and radical testimonies of lives on fire with love for God and others ignite a great revival. Some see the revival at Asbury University in February 2023 as a foreshadowing of greater things to come.

Part 2: Social Witness; Section 202: Our Witness to the World

1. We believe that all persons irrespective of their station or circumstances in life have been made in the image of God and must be treated with dignity, justice, and respect. We denounce as sin racism, sexism, and other expressions that unjustly discriminate against any person (Genesis 1–2, Deuteronomy 16:19–20, Luke 11:42, 19:9, Colossians 3:11).

2. We believe that life is a holy gift of God whose beginnings and endings are set by God and that it is the particular duty of believers to protect those who may be powerless to protect themselves, including the unborn, those with disabilities, or serious illness, and the aged (Genesis2:7, Leviticus 19:32, Jeremiah 1:5, Luke 1:41–44).

3. The sacredness of all life compels us to resist the practice of abortion except in the cases of tragic conflicts of life against life when the wellbeing of the mother and the child are at stake. We do not accept abortion as a means of birth control or gender selection, and we call upon all Christians as disciples of the Lord of Life to prayerfully consider how we can support those women facing unintended pregnancies without adequate care, counsel, or resources (Exodus 22:23–23, Psalm 139:13–16, James 1:27).

. . .

7. We believe that human sexuality is a gift of God that is to be affirmed as it is exercised within the legal and spiritual covenant of a loving and monogamous marriage between one man and one woman (Exodus 20:14, Matthew 19:3–9, Ephesians 5:22–33).

8. We are saddened by all expressions of sexual behavior, including pornography, polygamy, and promiscuity, that do not recognize the sacred worth of each individual or that seek to exploit, abuse, objectify, or degrade others, or that represent less than God’s intentional design for His children. While affirming a scriptural view of sexuality and gender, we welcome all to experience the redemptive grace of Jesus and are committed to being a safe place of refuge, hospitality, and healing for any who may have experienced brokenness in their sexual lives (Genesis 1:27, Genesis 2:24, 1 Corinthians 6:9–20).

9. We believe that children, whether through birth or adoption, are a sacred gift to us from God, and we accept our responsibility to both protect and nurture the youngest among us, particularly against such abuses as enforced child labor, involuntary conscription, human trafficking, and other such practices in the world (Deuteronomy 4:9–10, Psalm 127:3–5, 1 Timothy 5:4, 8, 16).

. . .

13. We believe that each person should have the right to exercise their religious beliefs without fear of persecution and that governments should respect freedom of religion and the important role of faith communities within the greater society. We further denounce discrimination or persecution which may target any because of their gender, economic status, ethnic or tribal identity, age, or political views (Isaiah 1:17, Matthew 5:44, Romans 8:35).

Transitional Book of Doctrines and Discipline of the Global Methodist Church, pages 20–21

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.

Transitional Book of Doctrines and Discipline of the Global Methodist Church, page 9

John Wesley declared himself to be a “man of one book.” In his preface to the first volume of his standard sermons, he makes this moving statement:

I am not afraid to lay open what have been the inmost thoughts of my heart. I have thought, I am a creature of a day, passing through life as an arrow through the air. I am a spirit come from God and returning to God: Just hovering over the great gulf; till, a few moments hence, I am no more seen; I drop into an unchangeable eternity! I want to know one thing—the way to heaven . . . God himself has condescended to teach the way: For this very end he came from heaven. He hath written it down in a book. O give me that book! At any price, give me the book of God! . . . In his presence I open, I read his book; for this end, to find the way to heaven. Is there a doubt concerning the meaning of what I read? Does anything appear dark or intricate? I lift up my heart to the Father of Lights:—“Lord, is it not thy word, ‘If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God?’ Thou ‘givest liberally, and upbraidest not.’ Thou hast said; ‘If any be willing to do thy will, he shall know.’ I am willing to do, let me know thy will.” I then search after and consider parallel passages of Scripture, “comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” I meditate thereon with all the attention and earnestness of which my mind is capable. If any doubt still remains, I consult those who are experienced in the things of God; and then the writings whereby, being dead, they yet speak. And what I thus learn, that I teach.

— From Wesley’s Preface to the Standard Sermons.

Wesley established Methodism on an unshakable foundation of scriptural authority. He had no interest in what he characterized as the “speculative latitudinarianism”—unbiblical, even heretical, false teachings common in the church of his day that were undermining what he knew to be true scriptural Christianity. He insisted that every doctrinal precept or theological view embraced in Methodism be proven to be scripturally grounded. This is perhaps the chief reason that Methodism has endured for more than 250 years as generations of faithful scholars, clergy, and church members have seen the beliefs of Methodism grounded not in mere human wisdom or cultish persuasive power, but in the words of God himself as revealed in trinitarian orthodoxy in his Word.

What This Means for Members at Asbury Methodist Church

The view of the Global Methodist Church relies on Wesley’s scripturally modeled transformational love. Asbury Methodist Church aspires to teach and model this Holy Spirit–infused vision of lives changed through biblical love. It is not loving people to preach and teach falsehoods that are in contradiction to the words of Scripture, the 250-year teaching of Methodism, and thousands of years of biblical Christianity.

For the membership of Asbury Methodist Church, it means ordering our lives around understanding the joyous and hopeful teaching of early Methodism found in the doctrine of Christian perfection; embracing foundational Methodist practices such as the band meeting and practicing the means of grace; a more intentional grounding in prayer and personal Bible study; intentionality of worship in which together we meet with God in word and song. In short, the days of casual Christianity must be behind us. To the best of our ability, we should always weigh our studies and classes, worship services and prayer groups, mission outreaches and social activities, to maximize their transformational value.

Wesley said to his preachers “You have nothing to do but save souls.” That must be a standard to which we hold the ministries of our church. Perhaps we should make it our practice to ask “What is the transformational value of this activity?” and if the answer is uncertain seek to do better. If we are always seeking to choose the best of all available options, we will gradually increase the vitality of our ministries.

John Wesley famously said, “If your heart is as my heart, give me your hands.” By these words he was inviting all who shared his convictions on scriptural Christianity and the heart changed by love to join him in a culture-shaping movement in which Jesus Christ’s name is exalted and the power of the Holy Spirit is felt and seen by every person who puts their trust in God. Through this, the mantra of early American Methodism to “reform the nation and spread scriptural holiness across the land” will again become our common vision and battle cry.

• • •

There was on doctrine of John Wesley’s—the doctrine of perfect sanctification—which ought to have led to a great and original ethical development, but the doctrine has not grown, it seems to remain just where John Wesley left it. There has been the want of the genius or the courage to attempt the solution of the immense practical questions which the doctrine suggests. The questions have not been raised—much less solved. To have raised them effectively, indeed, would have been to originate an ethical revolution which would have had a far deeper effect on the thought and life—first of England, and then of all Christendom—than was produced by the Reformation of the 16th century.
– Dr. Dale p. 39 “The Evangelical Revival” as transcribed in notes by Oswald Chambers

I am glad brother D — has more light with regard to full sanctification. This doctrine is the grand depositum which God has lodged with the people called Methodists; and for the sake of propagating this chiefly He appeared to have raised us up.
- John Wesley, letter to Robert Carr Brackenbury, 1790

I am not afraid that the people called Methodists should ever cease to exist either in Europe or America. But I am afraid lest they should only exist as a dead sect, having the form of religion without the power. And this undoubtedly will be the case unless they hold fast both the doctrine, spirit, and discipline with which they first set out.
-John Wesley, Thoughts Upon Methodism , 1786

What is a Global Methodist Church?

Since its inception, God’s Spirit has enlivened the Methodist movement. In the 1720s John and Charles Wesley and friends at Oxford University met together to deepen their Christian faith through daily, practical spiritual disciplines. Derided by others as a “new sect of Methodists” for their “methodical” ways of practicing the faith and holding one another accountable to it, the small group embraced the insult and persevered in their fellowship. And so they and the millions who followed after them have ever since been known as “the people called Methodists.”

In that spirit, this Transitional Book of Doctrines and Discipline of the Global Methodist Church is intended to serve as a resource for all who wish to join in a “methodical,” practical, and warmhearted pursuit of loving God and serving others as Jesus’ disciples in the world. Beginning with confessions rooted in Scripture and shaped by the great teaching of the Church universal, what follows is the Global Methodist Church’s outline for a new expression of Methodism that will be legally launched at a future date. It will provide an essential structure for the new church until its convening General Conference. Respecting the Methodist Episcopal Church’s established convention in its original Book of Doctrines and Discipline (1784), this book is arranged using the paragraph (¶) system to allow for amendments and expansions as desired. It is offered with the prayer that it will help guide us in a new season of the church's life as we make disciples of Jesus Christ who worship passionately, love extravagantly, and witness boldly.