Articles of Faith
The Church of the Nazarene expresses its theology (beliefs) in 15 articles, these being drawn from the 29 articles of Methodism, which in turn were drawn from the 39 articles of the Anglican Church.
1. The Triune God
Scriptures: Deuteronomy 6:4; John 14:16, 17:3; 1 Corinthians 8:5-6; Galatians 1:1-5; Ephesians 2:18; Hebrews 1:8; 1 Peter 1:21-2
The Trinity is the central truth held by followers. It means the true God reveals himself as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It does not mean three gods act as one. The Trinity is one God revealing himself as having three persons.
Trinity does not appear as a word in scripture. Yet the Trinity is true to the way in which God is spoken of in the Bible. We know him to be mysteriously one yet having a triune nature.
2. Jesus Christ
Scriptures: Isaiah 7:14; John 1:14; Luke 1:35
Jesus Christ (“the Messiah”), the second person of the Trinity, was the Word of God become human flesh. He was born of the Virgin Mary, raised in Nazareth, truly human in all our likeness, encountering temptation, yet without sin. He referred to himself as the Son of Man.
When he was baptized, the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Trinity) confirmed him as chosen and loved of God. He lived out this Sonship through obedience to the will of the Father. In his words and acts, Jesus revealed who God is and the nature of his reign in our world. His suffering and death on the cross provided for our salvation and His coronation as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
He will come again as he promised his disciples he would. He is present now in the body of those who follow him (the church) by His Spirit (the Holy Spirit) being present in them.
3. The Holy Spirit
Scriptures: John 14:16, 26 & 15:26; Acts 2:1-3; Ephesians 5:18
The third person or personality of the Trinity is also called the Comforter. This word and “advocate” are translations for the Greek word “paraclete.” Jesus is called such in 1 John 2:1-2 and refers himself to the Holy Spirit as “the Comforter.”
The Holy Spirit is God’s empowerment at work in the history of his people but most clearly is revealed in the birth, life, and resurrection of Jesus. Now the Holy Spirit continues the work of Christ through the body of Christ, his followers, by coming alongside them to encourage, convict, and fill them with the life of Christ.
4. The Holy Scriptures
Scriptures: Mark 12:24; John 5:39; 2 Timothy 3:15-16; 2 Peter 1:20-21
The Bible is the written word of God that bears witness to the Living Work of God. “All scripture is God-breathed.” (2 Timothy 3:16). This revelatory literature, although not finally in fixed form until late in the second century A.D., has led God’s people into the dialogue of who God is and what He asks of us.
The inspiration of the words found in scripture was not mechanical nor were the personalities of the authors bypassed. Rather, the Holy Spirit inspired, guided, and watched over the writers’ work. It is a divine-human Book in this sense in that God inspired it and humans wrote in accordance with that inspiration. The body of Christ (all those who follow him, also called the Church) is the community that seeks to live out these scriptures and thereby be formed by the story of God as it ever unfolds in time.
5. Original Sin
Scriptures: Genesis 3:1-9; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 15:20-27
This phrase refers to the very first sin of man. Adam and Eve disobeyed God when they chose against his instruction to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. In asserting their will over that of God, they secured for all those after them a life lived under the dominion or persuasion of sin, a condition that leads to spiritual death. We are then essentially people who are self-centered, who find it easy to disobey God’s life giving plan for us, and who are under the power of sin.
Jesus Christ came to destroy this power of sin in our lives. “For as in Adam all dies, so in Christ all will be made alive.” (I Corinthians 15:22).
6. The Atonement
Scriptures: Genesis 3; Luke 19:10; Romans 5:1, 9-10; Mark 10:45; Ephesians 2:14-16
God is holy or separate and because of this cannot “co-dwell” with sin. Because of this, the sin of man separated man from God. Jesus came specifically to save us from this separation. Because God is the very source of life, our separation from him means we ultimately die. But atonement, or literally “covering” of this sin (to render it gone) could happen only by blood (“a life for a life”). This alludes to the just character of God and creation. Jesus came to fulfill this necessity to be “a ransom for many.”
Central to the story of the salvation of humanity is the cross where Jesus died. Here, God bridged the gap between humanity and himself. It is through the cross that we have peace with Him and atonement has been made in our behalf. It is Jesus himself who is that peace, the one who reconciles us to relationship with God.
7. Free Agency
Scriptures: Joshua 24:15; Matthew 6:24; John 1:9; Titus 2:11; Galatians 6:7
Adam and Eve were created holy (without sin) but with the power of moral choice. They chose sin (to assert their own will). By His own limitation, not even God can force holiness or righteousness on anyone. We’re reminded, “Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve.”
By giving people the power of choice, God could create only moral possibilities – that of holiness as well as that of sin. Jesus is the Light and the grace of God in Christ appears to everyone. So everyone becomes responsible for his or her choices. We may choose but we cannot determine the consequences of our choices.
8. Repentance
Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 7:10; John 16:8; James 1:15; John 8:11; Matthew 3:2, 8 & 4:17
We come to a sense of “Godly sorrow” by means of the Holy Spirit working in us to convict us of sin. This sorrow prepares us for true repentance. First we must understand that sin is a serious matter and requires that we “change our mind” and turn away from sin. When a woman was literally caught in the act of adultery, Jesus sent her away uncondemned with this charge – “Go and leave your life of sin.” Repentance does not happen without a change in character. The teaching of both John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, and Christ himself was based on repentance, a turning away from a disobedient life that inevitably leads to our destruction.
9. Conversion
Scriptures: Romans 5:1 & 8:1, 16; Ephesians 2:1; 1 John 3:14; 2 Corinthians 5:17
This term includes three ideas – justification, regeneration, and adoption. These three unique ideas all happen together in conversion. We are first justified in our act of faith in Jesus (who he is and what he does for us). We are released from the guilt we have over the unrighteous life we have lived. Upon conversion, we can say with Paul that there is now no condemnation for those of us who are in (live in relationship with) Christ Jesus.
Jesus gives life to us who were dead in our sins. By his regenerating power, we pass from “death to life” and we are rendered a “new creation” by His power. Finally, we are adopted as his children. Conversion occurs when we turn our back on sin, find his forgiveness of us, and follow Jesus.
10. Sanctification
Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 1:30; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 & 5:23; Hebrews 2:11 & 10:10; 1 Peter 1:2
This word means becoming whole by God’s work, not our own. To be sanctified or made holy is to suffer the renewal of our person in the Word of God (in a transforming relationship with Jesus). It is to be restored to wholeness as a human being.
Pursuit of holiness means we recognize that our tendency to sin is both a disposition as well as an act. For instance, both the external act of stealing and the internal act of coveting something that belongs to someone else are described as sin.
Therefore, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit is to return us to our original state of being in right relationship with God by making the acts and disposition of selfishness powerless given what Jesus has done for us and in us. His Spirit in us more and more fully empowers us to walk in the ways of Christ. The work of being sanctified has both a beginning and an enduring character.
11. The Second Coming of Christ
Scriptures: Matthew 13:37 & 24/25; Mark 13; 2 Peter 3; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; Titus 2:13
Jesus taught that he would come back again. Paul alludes to this in his 2nd letter to Thessalonica and Peter was explicit concerning it. Even as Jesus left, an angel appeared to testify that He would return.
It is better to be prepared than to estimate the date. Jesus said that even he did not know when he would return but that he would was certain. Therefore, those who would follow after him should “watch.” The parable of the 10 virgins in Matthew underscores the need to be ever ready. It is in this “blessed hope” that we labor and wait.
12. Resurrection, Judgment, and Destiny
Scriptures: Romans 8:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Hebrews 9:27; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Matthew 25:34, 41
Scripture teaches that the resurrection of the body is God’s ability to conquer death – our last enemy. God not only redeems our souls but that we wait for the redemption of our body as well.
We all will be resurrected – some to life and others to death. After the resurrection, all will be judged (Judgment Day). This judgment will be according to our deeds on earth, whether good or evil. To those in Christ (in relationship with him), he will invite into an inheritance prepared for them. To those who have ignored him, he will ask them to depart into eternal fire with the devil and his angels.
13. Baptism
Scriptures: Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:41; 1 Corinthians 12:13 & 15:29
This is a sacrament – an outward sign and witness of an inward adoption of our lives by God. Baptism initiates one into the body of Christ (the assembly of those who follow after Jesus). It signifies the repentance and reconciliation of the candidate with God. It is instructed of us in scripture.
There is ample biblical, theological, and historical evidence for the baptism of infants. Parents seeking this for their infants are asked for their assurance that the child will be raised up in the ways of Christ. There is also provision for those who prefer to dedicate or consecrate their children to God.
14. The Lord’s Supper
Scriptures: Luke 22:19; 1 Corinthians 10:16-22 & 11:25-6; Matthew 26:26-9; Acts 2:42
On the eve of his death, Jesus initiated this act, also a sacrament. It was to be continually practiced, done in remembrance of Christ, whereas baptism only occurs once in the life of a follower. The cup taken represents the new covenant found in the sacrifice of Jesus’ life (blood) on the cross. 1 Corinthians 11 gives the most detailed account of the meaning of the supper. While it is a remembrance, Christ is present in a mysterious way in the celebration of this meal. The taking of the bread and the cup reflects the death, resurrection, and return of Christ.
15. Divine Healing
Scriptures: Psalm 103:3; John 5:1-9; James 5:13-15; Acts 28:8-9; 2 Corinthians 12:12
Jesus spent a great deal of time healing people. In the body of Christ, elders are to be called when one is sick. They are instructed to lay hands on the ill and pray for his or her healing. This prayer offered in faith will make them well (James 5). Emotional health is vital for the abundant life that Christ wills for us. The Nazarene church does not endorse “faith healers.” Nor does the Nazarene expression of faith find the use of medicine, doctors, and hospitals inconsistent with a vigorous faith in divine healing.