OUR constitutional documents

INTRODUCTION
The Bible tells one grand, unified story – a true account of the lavish and relentless love of a holy God. It is a drama in four acts: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Restoration. It calls us – not simply to be spectators – but to respond with living faith. God calls us to believe – placing our trust in him, personally committing ourselves to him, and accepting the truth of the gospel.

He calls us to embrace certain truths that define us as a believing community and then embody those truths in how we live. We must speak, then, of what we believe (Articles of Faith) and how we should then live (Articles of Practice). As the Missionary Church, we affirm the core truths of the Gospel, and then we enact those truths as a family of churches in Christian community committed to love God fully, to love our neighbors truly, and to carry out the Great Commission for God’s glory and the salvation of the world.

THE TRIUNE GOD
We believe in one God, eternally existing in three divine persons, equal in power and glory – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is the creator and sustainer of all things. His divine qualities – including love, holiness, justice, righteousness, faithfulness, infinite knowledge and power, self-existence, and omnipresence – all harmonize perfectly in the unity of his being.1

1 Gen.1:1; Ex. 3:14, 34:6; Deut. 6:4, 32:4; 1 Kings 8:27; Neh. 9:6; Ps. 90:2, 103:8, 116:5, 147:5; Isa. 6:3, 40:28, 57:15; Jer. 23:23-24; Mal. 3:6; Matt. 28:19; John 1:1, 4:24, 10:30, 14:16; Acts 5:4-5, 17:28; 1 Cor. 8:4; 2 Cor. 13:14; Col. 1:17; 1 Tim. 1:17; Heb. 1:2, 12 11:3; 2 Pet. 3:9; 1 John 4:10-16

THE FATHER
We believe in God the Father, begotten2 of none, the eternal Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. Since God is the creator, all things and all people are from him and exist for him. As the author of salvation, he adopts into his family all who are born again by faith. He gloriously upholds and providentially rules over all things, to accomplish the redemption of his people and the restoration of all creation.3

2 The word “begotten” is the past tense of an old English word which means “to bring into being,” or (in that sense) “to father” or “to sire.” When we say that the Father is “begotten of none,” we mean that no one brought the Father into being. When we say that Jesus is the “eternally begotten son of the Father,” we mean that Jesus is the only example of a person who has always (for all eternity) been brought into being by God the eternal Father, and therefore is the only person of whom it can be said that He is truly the Son of the Father. Human fathers live in time and bring human sons into being at a point in time. The eternally existing Father brings His eternally existing Son into being. Human language is inadequate to fully describe this mysterious relationship between God the Father and God the Son.

3 Gen. 1:1; Ps. 90:2; John 13:3, 16:28; I Cor. 8:6; Eph. 1:3-4, 4:6; 1 Pet. 1:2-3; 1 John 2:23, 3:1

THE SON
We believe in Jesus Christ, the eternally begotten Son of the Father. He is the fully divine, living Word of God who also became fully human – conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. His sinless human life, humble obedience to his Father’s will, sacrificial death and bodily resurrection made sufficient provision for the salvation of all people. In his ascension, he returned to his Father, where he reigns as Lord, Advocate, Great High Priest, and Coming Judge. 4

2 The word “begotten” is the past tense of an old English word which means “to bring into being,” or (in that sense) “to father” or “to sire.” When we say that the Father is “begotten of none,” we mean that no one brought the Father into being. When we say that Jesus is the “eternally begotten son of the Father,” we mean that Jesus is the only example of a person who has always (for all eternity) been brought into being by God the eternal Father, and therefore is the only person of whom it can be said that He is truly the Son of the Father. Human fathers live in time and bring human sons into being at a point in time. The eternally existing Father brings His eternally existing Son into being. Human language is inadequate to fully describe this mysterious relationship between God the Father and God the Son.

4 Isa. 53:6; Matt. 28:18-20; Luke 1:35; John 1:1, 14, 18; Acts 2:22, 24-32; Rom. 1:3-4, 8:34; 2 Cor. 5:18-19; Eph. 1:19-22; Col. 3:4; Tit. 2:13; Heb. 1:8, 4:15, 7:25; 1 Pet. 2:22, 24, 3:18; 1 John 2:1-2

THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the third person of the triune God, proceeding from and sent by the Father and the Son. He is the personal expression of God’s power – instrumental in all his works. He is the author and illuminator of sacred Scripture. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment. He is the agent of the new birth, the one by whom we are baptized into the Body of Christ. As the spirit of holiness, he indwells every believer and his Church, purifying and empowering his people for holy living. He guides them into truth, comforts and encourages them, and enables them to fulfill the Great Commission. He produces his fruit in the lives of believers and gives them spiritual gifts for the good of the Church.5 6

5 See section on “Salvation and the Spirit-Filled Life.”

6 Matt. 28:19; John 3:5-6, 14:16-18, 26, 15:26, 16:7-14; Acts 1:8, 2:1-4, 13:2-4, 15:28; Rom. 12:6-8; 1 Cor. 2:10-12, 6:19-20, 12:4-11, 13; 2 Cor. 6:16, 13:14; Gal. 5:22-23; Eph. 2:21-22; 2 Thess. 2:13; Tit. 3:5; 1 Pet. 1:2, 1 John 2:20-27

THE BIBLE
We believe that the Bible, consisting of the sixty six books of the Old and New Testaments, is the written Word of God, verbally inspired by the Holy Spirit and, therefore, true, reliable, and without error in all it addresses. We believe the Bible has been safeguarded by the Holy Spirit and transmitted to the present day without any doctrinal corruption. The Bible forever remains the unchanging and final authority for faith and living.7

7 Ps. 119:9, 89, 105; Matt. 24:35; 1 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; Heb. 4:12; 1 Pet. 1:25; 2 Pet. 1:21. See also position paper VIII. Biblical Inerrancy

HUMANITY
We believe that God created human beings – male and female – as co-equal bearers of the image of God. Gender is divinely designed, part of the goodness of creation. Human sexuality is a gift, intended to be expressed exclusively in a monogamous, lifelong marital union between one man and one woman. The Bible also affirms the sacredness of the single state and that some may have the gift of lifetime celibacy.

We believe in the historicity of the first man, Adam, who along with his wife, Eve, was uniquely created by a direct act of God as recorded in Genesis and not by a process of evolution. Made in his image, they are his crowning achievement. Adam and Eve were created without sin for perfect fellowship with God and were commanded to be fruitful and exercise benevolent dominion over the earth. Humankind was created for love of God and neighbor. That love was intended to find expression in every individual and every human institution.

Through the misuse of their wills, however, our original parents succumbed to Satan’s temptation, disobeyed God’s command and thus brought sin into the world and became subject to physical and spiritual death. They became corrupt in their nature, and have passed on that nature to all their descendants. As a result, all human beings – while still bearing God’s image – are polluted in every aspect of their being. They are estranged from God by their sin and thus deserve God’s wrath.

We believe that God desires all human beings to be restored to a right relationship with him. Redemption – the gracious design by which God intends to rescue humanity from the disastrous consequences of sin – has its origin in the love of God and is brought to fruition by his infinite wisdom and might. 8

8 Gen. 1:27, 3:13, 16-17; Ex. 20:11; Isa. 64:6; John 10:17-18; Acts 4:12; Rom. 3:23, 5:12-17, 6:23, 7:7ff; Eph. 1:5-6, 2:1-5; 1 Tim. 1:15, 2:5-6; Tit. 2:11-12; Heb. 2:9; 1 Pet. 3:18; 1 John 1:8

SALVATION AND THE SPIRIT-FILLED LIFE
We believe that Jesus Christ is God’s only provision for our salvation. He voluntarily offered himself as our representative and substitute, and suffered and died on the cross in our place – taking upon himself God’s righteous wrath. We believe in his bodily resurrection on the third day, which powerfully declared him to be the Son of God. By his death and resurrection, Jesus once for all conquered sin, death, hell, and the devil.

We believe that Christ is the atoning sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. Salvation is a divine gift given to any who repent and believe. Repentance and faith are the divinely-enabled human responses to the grace of God. By the power of the Holy Spirit, a sinner must turn away from sin and embrace God – thus appropriating the benefits of Christ’s life, death and resurrection. All who truly believe and receive Christ are fully justified, reconciled to God, born of his Spirit, adopted as his children, and united with Jesus in his death and resurrection. They will one day see him in his glory and be glorified themselves, as God brings his redemptive work to completion.

We believe that God intends to transform his redeemed people by conforming them to the image of his Son through the infilling and sanctifying work of his Holy Spirit. Though this work begins with God’s gracious initiative and can only be accomplished by his life-giving power, believers must cooperate and fully yield themselves to the Lordship of Christ. Believers are called to decisively surrender their wills, be renewed in their minds, and have their hearts purified as they continuously offer themselves as living sacrifices to God.

We believe that a living faith must express itself in a life of loving obedience to God and in loving service to others. Genuine faith will inevitably produce good works, which are born out of gratitude for salvation and ultimately done for God’s glory. Christians are called to live by the power of the Holy Spirit as citizens of the kingdom, serving as God’s agents of transformation for society, culture, and the created world.9

9 Ps. 51:3-4; Prov. 28:13; Isa. 6:1-5, 55:6-7; Matt. 1:21, 3:2, 8, 4:17, 16:24; Mark 1:15; Luke 13:3, 15:18, 18:13, 19:8; John 1:12, 3:3, 5, 14-17, 5:24, 6:44, 16:8-11, 17:17; Acts 11:18, 13:38-39, 15:8-9, 16:31, 20:21, 22:10; Rom. 2:4, 3:10-12, 19, 20, 23, 4:3-5, 5:1, 9, 6:19, 22, 8:16, 33, 37, 10:9-10, 12:1-2; 1 Cor. 15:3-8, 19-23, 55-57; 2 Cor. 3:18, 5:17, 7:1; Gal. 2:20, 6:14; Eph. 2:8-10, 5:26; Phil. 2:12-16, 3:20-21; Col. 2:6, 3:3; 1 Thess. 4:3, 5:23; 2 Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim. 2:25; Heb. 11:6, 12:14, 13:12; James 2:17; 1 Pet. 1:2, 15-16; 2 Pet. 1:4-9, 3:18; 1 John 3:2, 5:6

THE CHURCH
We believe that the invisible and universal Church is a spiritual body comprised of all believers, both living and dead—over which Christ himself is Head and Lord.

We believe that the local church is to be a loving community of Christ’s followers who gather for worship, prayer, instruction in the Word, mutual encouragement and discipline. As the temple of the Holy Spirit, the Church is to display his holiness, bear his fruit, and be adorned by his gracious gifts. As a people called out of darkness, the Church will embody the pervasive, life-transforming power of God by equipping the saints for the work of ministry – bearing witness to the truth and exerting influence in every realm of the broader culture. The Church is called by Jesus to proclaim the gospel – locally, cross-culturally, and internationally – and to make disciples of everyone everywhere in the power of the Holy Spirit.

We believe that baptism and the Lord’s Supper were instituted by the Lord Jesus himself – not as a means of salvation, but as outward signs of the salvation we have by faith. They are the divinely mandated means by which believers publicly affirm their faith in Christ. Water baptism symbolizes the spiritual union that every believer has with Jesus in his death, burial, and resurrection. Therefore, we believe that the biblical pattern is baptism upon profession of faith in Christ, and furthermore, that it should be administered by immersion whenever possible.

The Lord’s Supper serves as not only a vivid memorial of Jesus’ bodily sacrifice and shed blood, but also as a proclamation of his death until he returns. It symbolizes the believer’s union with Christ and the spiritual unity shared by every believer. It provides a powerful inducement to self-examination, should be celebrated joyfully and regularly, and is open to all who are followers of Christ.10

10 Matt. 18:15-17, 16:13-18, 26:26-30, 28:18-20; Luke 22:15-20; John 13:35; Acts 1:8, 2:38-42, 46-47, 8:36-39, 20:7, 28, 32; Rom. 6:3-5; 1 Cor. 5:1-4, 10:16, 11:23-24, 12:12-27, 16:2; Eph. 1:5-6, 22-23, 3:21, 4:11-16; Col. 1:18, 2:12; Heb. 12:23; 1 Pet. 3:21, 4:11; 1 John 3:14, 4:2, 5:1-5; Jude 20-21; compare Mark 16:16

THE LAST THINGS
We believe that the final years of human history will be characterized by worldwide persecution and divine judgment.

We believe that the return of Jesus will be personal, bodily, visible, and glorious. His second coming, the blessed hope for which we must be constantly prepared, is a source of encouragement and comfort, a motive for holy living, and an inspiration for ministry and mission.

We believe that when Jesus returns, he will subdue his enemies and establish his kingdom on earth and will reign in perfect righteousness.

For those in Christ, death is gain, because to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.

At the resurrection, we believe that every person will face one of two eternal destinies. We believe that no condemnation awaits those who are in Christ, because their sins were forgiven at the cross. They will have their lives and works judged only for reward, and will enjoy an eternal, embodied life in the presence of God and his angels, forever. Those who are not in Christ will be raised to appear before God for a final, irrevocable judgment. They will be consigned to a place of eternal, conscious punishment, separated from God in hell, with Satan and his angels.

We believe in the coming restoration of all things, where God – in accordance with his power and promises – will one day bring his purposes for all of creation to their glorious fulfillment. Here, God’s handiwork – though disfigured by sin and subject to decay – will be fully restored in a new heaven and new earth. We believe that all of God’s redemptive purposes will come to fruition, and death will be swallowed up in victory. 11

11 Ps.2:7-9, 96.13, 98:9; Eccl.12:14; Isa. 9:3-7, 11:6-9, 65:17, 66:22; Dan. 7:13-14, 12:2; Matt. 24:14-31, 36-51, 25:1-46; Mark 9:42-48, 13:10, 32-37; Luke 21:27-28; John 5:24, 28-29, 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; Rom.8:1, 29; 1 Cor. 3:8-15, 4:2-5, 11:32, 15:24-25, 58; 2 Cor. 5:10; Eph. 1:3-14; Phil. 1:21-23, 3:20-21; Col. 3:1-4; 1 Thess. 4:13-5:11; 2 Thess. 1:8-9, 2:1-10; 2 Tim.4:8; Tit. 2:12-13; Heb. 9:27-28, 12:5-8; James 5:7-8; 2 Pet.3:13; 1 John 2:28-3:3; Rev. 1:7, 22:12-13; 6:1-19:21, 20:10-15, 21:1-22:7

ARTICLES OF PRACTICE

Introduction

Having declared in our Articles of Faith what we believe, in our Articles of Practice we declare how we should accordingly live. God calls us not only to affirm our core beliefs as the Missionary Church but also to embody those truths in Christian community. As Christians, we have been called to “guard the good deposit” (2 Tim 1:14), that body of truth God has entrusted to our care (1 Tim 6:20; Jude 3). Yet God has also called us to “the obedience that comes from faith” (Rom 1:5).

Such obedience becomes possible only because God supernaturally produces in us a new manner of life, one governed by his Word and empowered by his Spirit. The Christian life is not a burdensome pursuit of legalistic righteousness (Matt 5:20). Instead, it is an abundant life in which, led by God’s Spirit, we delight in becoming increasingly conformed to the image of Christ (Rom 8:29; 2 Cor 3:18).

When we are reconciled to God in Christ, we are made a “new creation” (2 Cor 5:17). As we yield our lives to the loving sovereignty of his Son, God makes every facet of our experience — whether individual or corporate, public or private — an instrument for the exhibition of his glory. Having received the Holy Spirit, we are commanded to walk by the Spirit (Gal 5:16) and be continually filled with the Spirit (Eph 5:18). Then our lives will demonstrate, in increasing measure, the fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23), the unmistakable evidence of his indwelling presence.

Being a follower of Christ is more than a matter of belief; it is also a way of life. “Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus lived” (1 John 2:6). God intends for us to reflect his character as “imitators of God” (Eph 5:1). He commands us, “Be holy, because I am holy” (Lev 11:44, 45; 1 Pet 1:16), and he graciously empowers us to embrace a way of living that displays the image of his Son.

Exercising Personal

Faith God calls us to exercise personal faith. While the Christian life is lived in community — “For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body” (1 Cor 12:13) — we are called to embrace that life personally. Responding to the gracious invitation of the gospel individually, we turn from sin and embrace God, thus receiving the benefits of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. “For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom 10:13). We receive salvation as we personally repent and believe in Jesus, receiving eternal life and escaping eternal condemnation (Mark 1:15; John 3:16-18; Rev 3:20). Without such faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6).

Believers cannot grow to spiritual maturity without cultivating a relationship with God. We affirm the need for Christians to nurture their faith through Bible reading (Ps 1), prayer (Col 4:2), weekly gatherings with other believers (Heb 10:25), serving in ministry (1 Pet 4:10-11), sharing their faith (Phil 6), and other spiritual disciplines. We do not, however, consider such disciplines ends in themselves but rather means by which to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Pet 3:18).

So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

male and female he created them.

(Gen 1:27)

Sexuality and Creation

The Bible begins its discussion of human sexuality in the book of Genesis with the account of Creation. Jesus himself rooted his teaching on marriage and divorce in Genesis 2, citing the creation account as both authoritative and forever binding (Matt 19:4-6; Mark 10:6-9). The Apostle Paul reasoned likewise, anchoring his exhortations concerning Christian marriage in the specific language of Genesis 2:24 (Eph 5:31).

In Genesis 1-2 sexuality figures prominently in a larger conversation concerning God’s original intention for humankind—his crowning creative achievement. God, we are told, created human beings “male and female,” indicating that gender distinctions are part of the created order itself, not mere culturally conditioned artifacts. Gender supplies, then, an important component of what it means to be human.

Furthermore, gender distinctions prove essential for the fulfillment of God’s purposes for humanity. Indeed, the fulfillment of God’s initial mandate requires humankind to be both male and female. We read in Genesis 1:28: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it.’” Obedience to this original divine directive would be impossible without God creating and blessing innate gender distinctions.

Gender enables the wonderful mix of likeness and difference that makes sexual intimacy and procreation possible. Gender and sex are both divine gifts, part of a finished creation that God pronounced “very good” (Gen 1:31). However puzzling and problematic human sexuality may have become—especially in our day—God did not intend it to be this way.

Sexuality is a divine blessing. God created human beings, not only for spiritual intimacy with himself, but also for an extraordinarily rich intimacy within marriage. We read in Genesis 2:24: “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Gen 2:24). This same truth we find underscored in the New Testament (Matt 19:4-6; Eph 5:31).

The creation account lays the foundation for a consistent and comprehensive theology of sexuality that will be developed throughout the rest of sacred Scripture. We may summarize the biblical understanding in brief: Human sexuality is a divine gift, by which human beings, created male and female, may experience within marriage a deep and multi-faceted union—one that is physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual—and fulfills the divine mandate to “be fruitful and increase in number” (Gen 1:28).

Before we conclude this overview of sexuality and creation, however, we should interject one important observation: while the Bible consistently celebrates the gift of marriage (Gen 2:18, 2:24; Prov 18:22, 19:14; 1 Cor 7:2; Heb 13:4), it also celebrates the gift of celibacy (Matt 19:10-12; 1 Cor 7:25-38). Both are divine blessings. Both provide a context for human flourishing.

Sexuality and the Fall

God’s initial created order was, indeed, “very good” (Gen 1:31), but the Fall changed everything. It disrupted, first of all, the spiritual intimacy that God intended human beings to enjoy with him. It disrupted, secondly, the intimacy that God intended us to enjoy within marriage, including its sexual dimension. In a word, since the Fall, our sexuality is broken. The Fall left no aspect of human nature or human experience uncorrupted. Human nature fell; and human sexuality fell with it.

It should come as no surprise, then, that we find such sexual disorder in the world. God’s original design for sex—that it thrive within the context of a marriage between one man and one woman—has been thwarted in countless ways. Pre-marital sex, co-habitation without marriage, adultery, pornography, and various forms of sexual abuse are rife in contemporary culture.

Sadly, we witness these disorders even in the church. On rare occasions, even some pastors have succumbed to sexual immorality. Sexual abuse perpetrated by members of the clergy is but one of the more egregious signs of the depth and pervasiveness of human sin.

Disordered sexuality is not a uniquely contemporary problem. It was a plight in the biblical world as well. Many biblical passages clearly forbid particular sexual practices (Exod 20:14, 22:19; Lev 18, 20:10-21; Deut 22:13-30, 23:17-18; Matt 5:27-30; Mark 7:21-23; John 7:53-8:11; Acts 15:19-20; Rom 13:13; 1 Cor 5:11, 6:13, 6:18, 10:8; 2 Cor 12:21; Gal 5:19; Eph 5:3; Col 3:5-6; 1 Thess 4:3-5; Rev 2:20). Other texts catalogue the egregious consequences of disordered sexuality (Gen 19:1-29, 19:30-38; Num 25; 2 Sam 11-12; 2 Sam 13; 1 Kgs 11; Prov 2:16-19, 6:30-35).

From almost the beginning of the human story, God’s gift of sexuality—which he intended for our good—has been misused by us to our own detriment. Even the most illustrious Old Testament heroes—Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, and Solomon—practiced polygamy, though God originally intended marriage for one woman and one man. David himself was an adulterer. Biblical spirituality, in both its Old and New Testament manifestations, has been threatened with destruction by disordered sexual desire in its myriad forms.

We should not think, then, that our contemporary sexual chaos and confusion are somehow unique. They are evidence of the fallen human condition. Disordered sexuality is a problem both for believers and unbelievers. It is a problem for both men and women. It is a problem for those with both different-sex and same-sex attraction. Clearly disordered sexuality is a universal human problem.

But we currently find ourselves at a cultural crossroads. Two particular expressions of sexual disorder have come to occupy center stage in the contemporary debate on human sexuality, namely homosexuality and transgenderism. These have always been part of the fallen human condition, but the widespread clamor for their acceptance as morally appropriate lifestyle choices is unprecedented. It is incumbent upon the church, then, to think about such disorders—and those who wrestle with them—as deeply, biblically, and compassionately as possible.

Homosexuality

Homosexuality has become a hotly contested topic in recent years. Matters of great import hinge on this debate, including the nature of human sexuality and the nature of biblical authority. So we must think deeply and speak clearly to the issue. We are, however, called as Christians to speak the truth in love (Eph 4:15). That requires us to carefully navigate the narrow space between two different errors.

On the one hand, we cannot accept the growing cultural consensus regarding homosexuality. More and more people accept homosexual behavior as a valid personal choice, exempt from any kind of moral censure. Same-sex marriage is becoming commonplace. Increasingly, objection to homosexual practice—no matter how charitably expressed—is characterized as hateful and “homophobic.” We cannot simply adjust our theology to accommodate the changing moral climate. We must not exchange conventional “wisdom” for the truth of God’s Word.

On the other hand, we must not overreact. We cannot single out homosexual practice, as if it were uniquely subject to divine denunciation. Indeed, the Scriptures clearly indicate God’s disapproval of homosexual behavior (Gen 19:1-22; Judg 19:1-21; Lev 18:22, 20:13; Rom 1:24-28; 1 Cor 6:9-10; 1 Tim 1:10). But the Scriptures are equally clear about God’s disapproval of heterosexual immorality. (See previously cited Scriptures.) Sexual immorality of all kinds contradicts clear biblical teaching, distorts the divine gift of sexuality, and stands under the righteous judgment of a holy God. The Scriptures warn us: “Flee from sexual immorality” (1 Cor 6:18), in whatever form that immorality may take.

While we find ourselves in the midst of a cultural debate on homosexual practice, we also find ourselves debating sexual orientation itself. Some see sexual orientation as a matter of biological determinism. People are prone to same-sex attraction because of genetics, they say. Others think that it is conditioned by initial sexual experiences. Still others think that same-sex attraction is purely voluntary.

At this point, thoughtful Christians may have more questions than answers. Human sexuality is a remarkably complex phenomenon with biological, psychological, emotional, and spiritual components. To explain same-sex attraction over-simplistically—as merely nature, merely nurture, or merely an act of the will—fails to do justice to sexuality’s complexity.

But we do know this: we live in a fallen world in which much is not as it was supposed to be. Disaster, disease, death—none of these accord with God’s original intent. They are part and parcel of a creation in “bondage to corruption” (Rom 8:21). In a fallen, disordered creation, it should come as no surprise that human desires become disordered, that sexual desire—which was designed to blissfully propel us toward sexual intimacy and procreation within marriage—gets bent out of shape. Some people, through no fault of their own, find themselves struggling with same-sex attraction. This fits with what we know about our fallen world and our falleness within it. Creation is broken, waiting to be restored. We are still waiting for Jesus to make “all things new” (Rev 21:5).

Nonetheless, we do not need to fully understand the origins of same-sex attraction to insist that God both demands and divinely enables obedience to his commands. The Bible clearly prohibits sex beyond the bounds of heterosexual marriage. So even if the Bible has little to say directly about sexual orientation, that is something of a moot point. What the Bible prohibits is sexual immorality. Sexual attraction is not the issue; sexual behavior is.

Transgenderism

Though God originally created two distinct and complementary sexes (Gen 1:27; Matt 19:4), a distinction evident in the physiological makeup of the human race, one of the effects of the Fall is that some persons experience gender confusion. They perceive their gender to differ psychologically from their gender biologically. This differs from the rare condition of intersexualism or hermaphroditism, conditions in which a person’s sex is biologically ambiguous—that is, a person possesses both male and female primary sexual traits. In the case of transgenderism, an individual’s sex is biologically clear but psychologically unclear. It is an issue, not of physiology, but of self-perception.

Recently, the American medical community has begun providing a range of treatment options for what is technically called “gender dysphoria,” including hormone therapy and gender reassignment surgery. Many LGBT (Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender) advocates are seeking to normalize transgenderism, insisting that individuals have a right to define gender according to their self-perception, rather than according to their biological makeup. Furthermore, many public schools are encouraging parents and staff to validate the feelings of those with “gender dysphoria.”

Nonetheless, any understanding of gender as self-defined or self-determined stands in sharp opposition to the created order and to the Word of God. God, in his wisdom, made humankind “male and female” (Gen 1:27). That order, and each individual’s participation in it, must be valued and affirmed. Gender is an important component of human personhood and cannot be tampered with without individuals suffering untold harm.

How gender roles should be understood and appropriately expressed may vary from culture to culture, but gender itself remains rooted in Creation rather than culture. While gender embraces more than mere biology, it cannot be determined apart from it.

It is indeed tragic that the Fall has introduced biological anomalies like intersexuality into human experience. It is tragic that some individuals suffer from gender identity confusion. We look longingly for the liberation of creation from its current “bondage to corruption” (Rom 8:21) and the “redemption of our bodies” (Rom 8:23). In the meantime, we must show love and compassion to those struggling with gender identity confusion and invite them to share in the hope for wholeness held out in the gospel.

While we cannot condone the actions of those who seek to chemically or surgically alter their biologically indicated gender, we must sympathize with the profound “gender dysphoria” that inclines them to do so. Some of those who wrestle with this issue are our brothers and sisters in Christ. We must embrace them in the bonds of Christian affection and fellowship, following the example of Jesus, of whom it was said: “A bruised reed he will not break” (Isa 42:3; Matt 12:20).

As believers, we are called to extend to our neighbors love and compassion. We are called to affirm the worth of every person as an image bearer of God. We are called to invite them into a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Yet we also insist that individuals should not seek to alter their biologically indicated gender in order to align it with their gender as self-perceived.

Sexuality and Redemption (Present and Future)

Disordered sexuality remains a deep and pervasive problem, but God has provided a redemptive remedy in the gospel of Jesus Christ. God created us for wholeness as human beings—including sexual wholeness. This wholeness, so tragically distorted by sin, can be restored by God’s grace. Our fallen sexuality can be redeemed in Christ.

We can be redeemed from the penalty of sin. Jesus bore all of our sins on the cross. Christ died for those with same-sex attraction and gender confusion just as he died for those of us whose lives are sexually broken in other ways (Rom 3:23). There is no sin, sexual or otherwise, that cannot be forgiven by God for those who trust in Jesus (1 Cor 6:9-11). When we are in Christ, sin’s penalty is cancelled. Our true identity, then, is found in Christ, not in sexual attraction.

We can now also be redeemed from the power of sin. God’s moral demands are impossible to meet in our own strength. But Jesus breaks the power of cancelled sin. With the divine aid of God’s indwelling Holy Spirit, God’s grace enables those who follow Jesus to live lives of moral purity and holy sexuality. This does not mean that grace necessarily eliminates the desire for sexual expressions God has ruled out of bounds. It does not mean, for example, that God will necessarily eliminate a person’s same-sex attraction or gender confusion. God has clearly forbidden adultery, and yet the Scriptures and Christian experience make clear that Christians still wrestle with adulterous desires. Temptation to sin remains a characteristic feature of the Christian life. But while temptation may be inevitable, succumbing to temptation is not (1 Cor 10:13). God provides us freedom from sin’s enslavement (Rom 6:6). But, as followers of Christ, in order to experience this freedom, we must continue to resist the dangerous undertow of our sinful nature (Gal 5:17; Col 3:5). We are enabled to resist the power of sin, sexual and otherwise, as we walk in the Spirit sustained by God’s strength (Gal 5:16; Phil 4:13).

Those in Christ will ultimately be redeemed from the presence of sin. While we can, by God’s grace, progressively overcome the power of sin during this life, we will not attain complete perfection until our bodies are fully redeemed and glorified (Rom 8:23). Then we will forever dwell, sin-free, in the new heaven and the new earth (Rev 21:1-5). While gender distinctions will remain in eternity—we will still be male or female—human sexual expression was designed by God only for the current created order, where it serves as a symbol of the spiritual intimacy between Jesus and his bride, the Church (Eph 5:31-32). Once Jesus has been fully united with his bride, marriage and sexual expression, as we now know them, will be replaced with the higher pleasures and the perfect intimacy of the new creation (Matt 22:23-33).

Human Sexuality: Core Affirmations

Therefore, the Missionary Church, in faithfulness to the Scriptures, and in concert with historic Christian orthodoxy, affirms the following truths:

o We affirm that God’s intention for sex is that it adorn the institution of marriage—a sacred covenant between one man and one woman.

o We affirm that sex is a divine gift, given to seal the marriage covenant, and intended both for pleasure (Prov 5:18-19) and for procreation (Gen 1:28).

o We affirm that sex is part of the current order of creation, where it serves as a symbol of that glorious spiritual intimacy by which it will be subsumed in the new creation (Matt 22:23-33).

o We affirm that God intends heterosexual marriage to serve as a living symbol of the relationship between Jesus and his bride, the Church (Eph 5:31-32).

o We affirm that God declares all sex outside the boundaries of marriage—whether pre-marital or extramarital, whether heterosexual or homosexual—as sin.

o We affirm that sexual disorder is a universal human problem and that all sexual sin lies under the judgment of God.

o We affirm that God calls and empowers all Christians, whatever the nature of their sexual attraction, to moral purity and “holy sexuality.”

o We affirm that homosexuality is contrary to God’s original design for human flourishing and that homosexual behavior is clearly forbidden in the Scriptures.

o We affirm that homosexual marriage, even though it may be sanctioned by the State, remains forbidden by God.

o We affirm that gender is a divine gift, essential to both our humanity and personal identity.

o We affirm that God’s design was the creation of two distinct and complementary sexes, male and female, a distinction evident in physiological makeup of the human race.

o We affirm that gender identity is biologically (physiologically) determined, rather than being dependent on self-perception.

o We affirm that sexual sin—in whatever form it manifests itself—cannot efface the image of God. All human beings—whatever the precise nature of their sin—remain worthy of our compassion and respect, just as they remain the object of the lovingkindness of God (Rom 5:8).

o We affirm that God calls us to love sinners, even as we grieve for their sin.

o We affirm that all have sinned (Rom 3:23) and are in need of the redeeming and restorative grace of God.

o We affirm our confidence in the saving power of the gospel (Rom. 1:16) and the life transforming power of the indwelling Holy Spirit (2 Cor 3:18). God intends grace, rather than sin, to have the last word in the lives of his children. “Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor 15:57).

— Adopted by the 2015 General Conference

We recognize there are committed Christians who hold differing views concerning the assurance of the believer. Because of our commitment to the Great Commission and our Purpose Statement, we will not make the differing views of the assurance of the believer an issue of division or disunity. We will proclaim the holiness of God, the love of God for all persons, and the call to holy living, regardless of differing views on the assurance of the believer. Regional and district directors and credentialing committees are to use this position paper in the credentialing process.

The Scriptures teach that the Christian believer may have the blessed assurance of being saved. He need not live in uncertainty as to his relationship with God. He can know beyond doubt that his sins are forgiven and he is a child of God.

Assurance of Acceptance

First, the believer may be assured by the witness of the Spirit, that inward evidence of acceptance with God. “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children” (Rom 8:16). “Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us” (1 John 3:24). The Spirit bears witness after faith has been exercised in the promises of God (Cf. Heb 11:5-6).

Other evidences are also given by which the believer may be certain about his saved relationship. The first Epistle of John, which centers on knowing, conditions that certainty on such evidences as conforming one’s life to the Word of God (2:3-5); doing what is right (2:29, 3:7-10); loving fellow Christians (3:14-15); possessing an uncondemning heart (3:19-21); and living victoriously over sin and Satan (5:18).

Assurance of Security

There is another aspect to assurance, the certainty of being kept. We may enjoy assurance of present acceptance, but what about the future? Can we have the assurance of perseverance? Sometimes defeated people are discouraged from beginning the Christian life for fear they will not “hold out.”

There is no question about the gracious purpose and the power of God to keep his own from falling, and to present them before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy (Jude 24). God’s enabling power far exceeds even our asking. He “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us” (Eph 3:20). God is greater than every degree and kind of opposition. Paul therefore asks, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31). No outside enemy or force is strong enough to sever us from the love of God. “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 8:37-39).

Condition of Security

We need not worry, therefore, about God’s ability or loving purpose to make us final victors. But this outcome is not automatic or inevitable. Throughout the New Testament it is consistently taught that the keeping power of God becomes effective through the exercise of faith. The elect “through faith are shielded by God’s power” (1 Pet 1:5). The writer to the Hebrews, addressing them as “holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling,” calls for steadfast faith: “We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first” (Heb 3:1, 14).

Let us observe that the scriptural condition for salvation is believing. “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:36). See also John 3:16, 18; 5:24; 6:40, 47. But the word “believes” used in all of these passages is in the present tense, and it means “to believe and to continue to believe.” It is the continuous or progressive present, and implies not only an initial act of faith but a maintained attitude. Assurance of security, therefore, is for the believing one. We are saved by faith and we are kept by faith.

False Security

Nowhere in the New Testament is it suggested that a Christian can presume on his saved relationship. Nowhere is the idea conveyed that he has “arrived” and all he needs to do is “coast in” because of an initial act of faith. Nowhere is encouragement given to the backslider that since he was once saved he will always be saved. Nowhere is there any support for the antinomian heresy that a Christian can indulge in sin with impunity. On the contrary, followers of Christ are exhorted to “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation” (Matt 26:41); “be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the lawless men and fall from your secure position” (2 Pet 3:17); “be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure” (2 Pet 1:10); hold “on to faith and a good conscience” in order to avoid shipwreck (1 Tim 1:18); “be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good” (Titus 3:8); “hold unswervingly to the hope we profess “ (Heb 10:23); “stand firm in the Lord” (Phil 4:1).

The Christian is warned of mortal dangers through salt losing its saltiness (Luke 14:34-35); through failing to remain in Christ (John 15:6); in being moved from the hope held out in the gospel (Col 1:23); in wandering from the faith (1 Tim 6:10); in escaping from the trap of the devil (2 Tim 2:24, 26); in ignoring such a great salvation (Heb 2:3); in turning away (apostatizing) from the living God (Heb 3:12); in being hardened by sin’s deceitfulness (Heb 3:13); in deliberately keeping on sinning (Heb 10:26-31); in wandering from the truth (Jas 5:19-20); in being overcome by the world (2 Pet 2:20-22); in forsaking one’s first love (Rev 2:4, 5).

This is the clear teaching of the New Testament. God’s sovereign provision is coupled with human responsibility. The declarations of Scripture are always linked with demands, the indicatives with imperatives. Security is for the one who is believing. We are kept by the power of God through faith. The classical passages on God’s keeping power, John 10 and Romans 8, both condition security on human faith evidenced in obedience. The promise of eternal life and protection from enemies is for those who listen to the voice of Christ and follow him (John 10:27-28). The promises in Romans 8:29-39 are for those who love God (vs. 28), a love which will be demonstrated by keeping the commandments of Christ (See John 14:15, 21, 23-24; 15:9-10; compare Matt 28:19-20).

Truth in Balance

These complementary truths, divine sovereignty and human responsibility, have not always been kept in balance. In fact, men, seizing upon one to the exclusion of the other, have tried to erect entire theological systems on only one of them. For example, Calvin, who was preceded by Augustine, erected his system on the principle of the sovereignty of God with five main points: (1) unconditional election; (2) limited atonement; (3) total moral inability and depravity; (4) irresistible grace; and (5) the final perseverance of the saints. Calvin held that God predestinated some, including babies, to be saved; others to be damned. The difference in destinies was found not in any human response to or rejection of the gospel but in the inscrutable will of God. Some of his followers have carried these principles to fatalistic extremes. They have opposed any evangelistic or missionary effort as an affront to God’s sovereignty. Many so called Calvinists today hold greatly modified views of the system even though they still hold to the capstone of the structure “Once in grace, always in grace” or “Once saved, always saved.”

Arminius, who belonged to the generation following Calvin, attempted to counter the Calvinistic system by insisting upon (1) election conditioned upon God’s foreknowledge of individual response to the gospel; (2) atonement with the world in view; (3) moral good only through regeneration based on the faith of the individual; (4) possibility of resisting grace; (5) perseverance through the help of the Holy Spirit by the response of faith. Historically the Missionary Church has been in agreement on these five points. However, some of those who followed Arminius went much further. They built their system on the principle of human freedom to the exclusion of divine sovereignty and came out with a revised form of the heresy of Pelagianism. They denied human depravity, affirmed man’s inherent goodness, stressed human effort and volition, and ended up with salvation by works.

Final Arbiter

The final arbiter of truth is the Word of God, to which the Missionary Church is committed. The Word sets forth both the truth of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. God in his sovereignty chose to create man a free being to exercise choice within his sovereign purpose.

Admittedly, the operation of both transcends human understanding, but the greatest theologian of all time, the Apostle Paul, holding to both could only bow in praise before the unsearchable wisdom of God. In the 9th chapter of Romans, he sets forth in unrelieved clarity God’s initiative, purpose, and work in saving man by sovereign grace. “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy.” “Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?” But in the chapter which follows, man’s responsibility is set forth with such emphasis that the initiative for his salvation seems to rest solely with him: “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.” “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Then the Apostle places still more responsibility on man: “And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”

Then in the 11th chapter of Romans, these two great principles are repeatedly joined. The fact is stated, but the method transcends human understanding. The great theologian can only express wonder and praise as he marvels at the transcendent ways of God: “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgment, and his paths beyond tracing out!”

To sum up, the Scriptures teach both divine sovereignty and human responsibility. They teach, on the one hand, the adequacy of God’s provision in grace to save us, and on the other hand, the need of exercising and maintaining faith to make the provision of salvation effective. Through faith the believer may enjoy the assurance of both present acceptance and God’s keeping power. But a lapse of vital, operative, obedient faith can lead to tragedy. New Testament Christians are warned that there is no escape from the consequences of persistent backsliding and that the possibility of apostasy is a biblical reality. Throughout the New Testament, Christians are urged to maintain a steadfast faith in and fidelity to the Lord Jesus Christ.

— Revised by the 2005 General Conference