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Introduction
To sanctify is to set apart for holy use, to separate out from the profane for the sacred (Hebrew, qadesh; Greek, hagiazo). As with justification, sanctification is the work of God. It is a work of grace based on the merit of Christ. Paul writes in Galatians 6:14, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” Through the work of Christ, God separates the believer from sin for the purpose of holiness, which is accomplished as the believer follows after the Spirit putting to death the misdeeds of the body (See Romans 6:22; 8:1-14).

The entire Christian life depends on the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. As Paul wrote to the Thessalonians, “…from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth” (2 Thess. 2:13,14). Peter also wrote that we are “God’s elect…who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and sprinkling by His blood” (1 Peter 1:1,2). What then is involved in this sanctifying work of the Spirit in the believer? The full breadth of that work includes two dimensions. The first is initial sanctification that is positional in Christ and occurs when a person receives Jesus Christ as Savior. The second is the experiential dimension that is expected and commanded of Christians. For example, note Paul’s words in Philippians 2:12, “…continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling.” The moment one accepts Christ as Savior the believer dies to sin and becomes alive to holiness (Romans 6:2-4). Then Paul commands Christians to keep on counting themselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:11). Christians should stop letting this age squeeze them into its mold but should continue permitting themselves to be transformed by the renewing of their minds (Romans 12:2). Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24).

I. Initial Sanctification
To understand the full implication of what the work of sanctification includes, we must first appreciate the biblical truth involving our identification with Christ in His death on the cross. He not only died as our Redeemer, but He also died as our substitutionary Representative, paying the price for our sins. In Christ therefore, God sees every believer as being crucified with His Son and hence as a saint positionally sanctified in Him (Romans 6:6,7; 1 Cor. 1:30, 6:11; Galatians 2:20). Paul writes that God made Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin on behalf of us in order that we ourselves might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21). The idea is that the Christian’s position in the mind of God is that of a person who died with Christ and is positionally sanctified. In God’s sight the Christian is viewed as never having sinned. Thus even the carnal Christians in Corinth (1 Cor. 3:1) could be truthfully called saints earlier in Paul’s letter (1 Cor. 1:2). However, one cannot read the New Testament or observe the lives of some Christians without concluding that not every Christian who is indwelt by the Spirit is “filled with the Holy Spirit,” that is, living according to His controlling leadership. It is a fact of the Bible that every Christian is indwelt by the Spirit of God (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor.6:19,20) but not all are controlled by Him. (See Romans 7:14; Hebrews 5:11-6:12)

II. Experiential Sanctification
Positional sanctification, consequently, must be translated into one’s own personal life experience by the help of the Holy Spirit via the Word of God (John 17:17). This is that to which Paul refers when he writes to the Christians in 1 Thessalonians 4:3, “This is the will of God, even your sanctification.” While this experiential dimension of sanctification begins at conversion, substantial progress in holiness occurs when a believer willfully makes a complete commitment to the Lord’s control (Rom. 6:12,13; 12:1). Experiential sanctification involves three aspects.

A. The Decisive Aspect.
The decisive aspect is commanded by Paul of the Roman Christians in Romans 6:12,13 and exhorted in 12:1. He describes this aspect as the presenting of one’s bodily members to God by a determined effort of will. This placing of one’s bodily members at God’s disposal can begin at conversion, as it did for the household of Cornelius (Acts 10:44-46). However, more often than not it begins with a resolute decision subsequent to salvation to make Christ Lord of every area of one’s life. This decision usually follows a period of education and spiritual growth until one comes to realize that there is more to the Christian life than what has been experienced to that point in time. This is what Jesus had in mind when He said in Matthew 16:24 that, if anyone wished to come after Him as a disciple, he would have to deny himself and take up his cross, thus putting himself at God’s disposal. Some call this decision “dedication,” “consecration,” or “a crisis experience.” This is the point when, to the best of one’s ability and with all the light available at the time, a person gives all of one’s self and bodily members over to God’s control and God then “baptizes” or “fills” the individual with His Spirit. (Compare Acts 1:5 and Acts 2:4.)

B. The Progressive Aspect.
From then on, the progressive aspect of sanctification continues at a more rapid pace. In Romans 6:11 Paul commands the Christians to count themselves dead repeatedly to sinning of all kinds and alive unto God every time they are tempted to sin. In Romans 12:2, believers are to stop letting this age conform them into its likeness and they are to continue letting the Lord transform their living by the renewing of their minds. As Jesus stated in Matthew 16:24, they are to continue following and obeying Him and His teachings. The intent is that the longer we live this progressively holy life, the more our lives will become conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ, God’s Son (Rom. 8:29). We are to continue being filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18).

The Spirit-filled life is a life lived under the control of the Holy Spirit using the Bible as one’s guide. This does not mean that a Spirit-filled Christian will never yield to temptation and sin. However, if one should sin, confession should be made immediately and personal forgiveness accepted by faith (1 John 1:9-2:2). It is to be remembered that the fruit of the Spirit does not come automatically to people still involved with sin dwelling in their members (Rom. 7:14-25). The fullness of the Spirit does not make obedience to God an automatic thing nor the demonstration of the fruit of the Spirit something easy to exhibit on all occasions. However, this does not mean that the ideal should not be one’s aim. New circumstances may call for renewed dedication of one’s body to God as a living sacrifice when the Spirit leads and as the Christian matures in Christ. All of this involves lifelong growth and development in Christ-likeness through the continual sanctifying work of the Spirit by the truth of His Word (John 17:17).

C. The Completed Aspect.
Finally, the sanctifying work of the Spirit is completed, in one sense, at the time of physical death when the spirit of the Christian enters into the Lord’s presence (Heb. 12:22, 23). However, sanctification will be completed in the final sense, when the Christian’s body is resurrected and glorified (1 Cor. 15:51-54; Phil. 3:20,21; 1 John 3:2). Then the believer will attain complete sanctification for all eternity.

Summary
To reiterate, the Holy Spirit enters and indwells the life of an individual at his/her conversion, and sainthood begins positionally (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 6:19,20). The Spirit takes over control in many Christians’ lives in a decisive moment of sanctification when that Christian permits the Spirit total control. From then on, the indwelt and controlled Christian is expected to continue walking according to the Spirit’s leading via God’s Word, the Bible (John 17:17). This filling or controlling is something that is intended to continue in the sanctified Christian’s life (Eph. 5:18; 2 Cor. 7:1) until it is completed, in one sense, at the Christian’s death (Heb. 12:22,23) and, in the final sense, at Christ’s return when the Christian receives a resurrection body (Phil. 3:12-14, 20, 21).

*adopted by the 2003 General Conference

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Introduction
A revival of speaking in tongues influenced North America and other parts of the world in the last century, and the effects of this revival continue today. This movement has had a broad scope geographically, culturally and socially. So it is not surprising that there has also been a wide variation in the experiences and degrees of involvement in this phenomenon, as well as in the acceptance or rejection of the people and groups who espouse this teaching. Some who speak in tongues teach and insist that the gift of tongues is the evidence or sign that one is filled with the Holy Spirit. Some who do not speak in tongues teach and insist that the gift of tongues is not for this age, but was only for the time of the apostles and the birth of the church. Others find themselves somewhere in between.

The Missionary Church believes the entire record of the Bible concerning the Person and work of the Holy Spirit, and the gift of tongues must be understood against this larger backdrop.

A Spirit-Filled Life Will Be Characterized by Both the Fruit of
the Spirit and Proper Use of the Gifts of the Spirit
We believe that every Christian should be filled with the Spirit. This truth must continue to have strong emphasis in our teaching and preaching. The Spirit-filled life has been a basic tenet of the Missionary Church from its beginning, and our Constitution states what we believe concerning the work of the Spirit in people’s lives: “The divine work of making men holy begins in repentance and regeneration, yet, through a subsequent crisis experience, the believer is to die to self to be purified in heart, and to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that he may be separated wholly unto God to serve Him in righteousness and holiness. After the crisis experience, the believer is to be perfected in holiness in the fear of God and to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

Historically, the Missionary Church has stood for a warm-hearted, vital experience of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. We have endeavored to hold to a correct interpretation of the Christian life as presented in the Scriptures. We believe there is an experience of the Spirit’s fullness subsequent to the conversion experience. The vitality of this Spirit-filled life is dependent on a continual day-by-day abiding in Christ in complete abandonment to His will. This life will be characterized by both the fruit of the Spirit and a proper use of the gifts of the Spirit. We still maintain this position.

Possessing Spiritual Gifts Is Not Evidence for the Fullness of the Spirit
Gifts can obviously be counterfeited. The words of Jesus in Matthew 7:21-23 are sobering: “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'” If some of the greater gifts, such as prophecy, can be exercised so as to be regarded by Jesus as a work of iniquity, we should not be surprised when other gifts also become a counterfeit of Satan.

So while we recognize the gifts of the Holy Spirit as taught in Scripture to be valid gifts for the church today, no particular gift or gifts are the necessary or required evidence of the fullness of the Holy Spirit, nor are they considered as the evidence of Christian maturity.

Although there are several instances in Scripture where people spoke in a tongue following an infilling of the Holy Spirit, this is not normative throughout Scripture. We believe these instances are descriptive of what happened during a unique time of historical transition, chronicled in the book of Acts. However, the absence of explicit commands in the New Testament letters linking the practice of tongues to Spirit-filled living indicates that these instances are not intended to be prescriptive for all Christians in the church era. Furthermore, to insist that speaking in tongues is evidence of the Holy Spirit’s fullness invalidates the experience of all those believers whose lives have given abundant evidence of the power of the Spirit but who have never spoken in tongues.

The Gifts of the Spirit Are for “The Common Good” in the Body of Christ
Every Christian has at least one gift. “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good” (1 Corinthians 12:7). Spiritual gifts are given by the Holy Spirit “just as He determines” (1 Corinthians 12:11). Christians should not expect to receive or to exercise any one particular gift, several gifts, or all the gifts. With this fact in mind Paul asked, “Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues? Do all interpret?” (1 Corinthians 12:29-30). It is clear, grammatically and contextually, that the intended answer to these questions is, “No.” Therefore, Christians need each other.
Gifts are always related to service and are not to be used as a measure of Christian experience. We agree with A.B. Simpson when he said, “…our possession of these gifts does not affect our personal salvation and sanctification, and our standing with God as subjects of His grace.”1 Gifts are not to be exercised selfishly, but are for the profit of the whole body.

The Gift of Tongues Must Be Practiced with Orderliness, Unity and Love
Speaking in tongues is referred to in scripture both in corporate and private worship. The guidelines for speaking in tongues in a corporate setting are found in 1 Corinthians 14 and state 1) that no more than two or, at the most, three may speak in a tongue during a service, and 2) there must be one present who can interpret. Paul says that in the church, he would rather speak five intelligible words than ten thousand in a tongue. Private speaking in tongues refers to a private conversation with God. Paul sees limited value in this, however, since the benefit consists only in the personal edification of the speaker-not the edification of the entire body (1 Corinthians 14:2, 4).
The gift of tongues is not intended to be divisive. However, due to the passion people have for their positions, both the acceptance and the rejection of tongues have often caused division in churches, homes, and other groups. Pride and division in the Corinthian church created problems in the unity of the body. The instruction clearly shows that loveless Christianity, unbiblical judgment of others, rifts in a congregation, and refusal to listen to the teaching of Scripture are not of the Holy Spirit.

Christians Should Be Known by Their Fruit Rather Than by Their Gifts
The Missionary Church considers the biblical distinction between the gifts and the graces of the Spirit important. The gifts of the Spirit are clearly presented in 1 Corinthians 12. The graces of the Spirit are bound together by love (1 Corinthians 13), and the desire for spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 14:1) must be preceded by earnest pursuit of love. The graces of the Spirit are also identified as fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). It is evident that one may possess a gift or several of the gifts of the Spirit without enjoying the necessary graces of the Spirit. A gift, such as prophecy, can be exercised without the grace of love and thus be little more than noise. (1 Corinthians 13:1).

The graces or fruit of the Spirit make it possible for the Christian to exercise the gifts of the Spirit in a manner that will bring glory to God and will bring His blessing upon and enhance the testimony of the church of Jesus Christ. Since Paul presents love as “the most excellent way,” it suggests that love is the true essence of all the graces of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:31b). The truth of 1 Corinthians 13 indicates that this is so. All of the other graces or fruit spring out of love: joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

Christians should be known by their fruit rather than by their gifts. The most visible evidence of the fullness of the Spirit in the life of the Christian is love: love for God, love for the body of Christ, and love for a lost world.

Summary
The believer must have a passion for the Person of the Holy Spirit, the Giver of gifts. The Bible clearly teaches that the Christian life is a relationship with a Person, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is made real to us by the Holy Spirit.

The Missionary Church believes that the consuming passion of the Holy Spirit is to present and glorify Christ (John 15:26). Anything that detracts from the central theme, Jesus Christ, lessens the effectiveness of the church. Like Paul, we are “resolved to know nothing…except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2). Seeking manifestations more than seeking Christ is a danger to be avoided. To quote A.B. Simpson again, “When we seek anything less than God, we are sure to miss His highest blessing and likely to fall into side issues and serious errors.”2

Pastors should teach the Spirit-filled, victorious Christian life-not as an option for the Christian, but as a necessity. Our congregations need to know the deepened experience of the grace of God in their lives. We must not lose sight of what God has already done for us or deny His past blessings. We counsel our people to be “led by the Spirit of God” (Romans 8:14) and “eagerly desire the greater gifts.” (1 Corinthians 12:31, 14:39).

1A. B. Simpson, Gifts and Grace (Camp Hill, PA:
Christian Publications, 1993), p. 1.
2A. B. Simpson,

*revised by the 2003 General Conference

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Leadership is a term with many connotations. When we add the modifier “Christian,” the connotations increase. Some of these meanings come from the culture of which we are a part, and some come from Scripture. It is important that we learn to distinguish between these two sources.

There is a tendency on the part of Christians to want to define an ideal model of leadership by studying leaders in the Bible, but we must recognize that the patriarchal culture of the Old Testament and the Greco-Roman culture of the New Testament were quite different from the culture of the latter 20th century Western world. This is not to say that there are no biblical guidelines for leadership. It is only to say that the result of the biblical principles of leadership applied to our situation may look different than when applied to other cultures at other times.

For example, in the New Testament we find no highly developed church structures as we do today in the West. Organization and leadership within the early church were relatively simple. For that reason, we find no models for the leadership of our large, urban churches with their professional staffs or for denominations with national and international dimensions. To say that we find no models, however, is not to say we find no principles; and it is to those principles that we need to give careful attention as we seek to develop models for our present situation.

The first New Testament principle to be noted is that every church leader demonstrates exemplary Christian character (1Tim. 3, Tit. 1:5-9). In pagan societies even to this day, character is not as important as the pragmatic ability to get results. Whoever can control spiritual power most effectively is looked to as a spiritual leader, regardless of his or her personal character or ethics. In the church, however, what a person is, is more basic than what he can do. A leader is to be a living demonstration of the highest qualities of Christian life and thought and a living proof that biblical ethics work. These qualities and the living proof are not required only of leaders. Every Christian, whether in a leadership role or not, should be marked by them. The ideal is “every man mature in Christ” (Col. 1:28). The point is that the basic qualification for leadership is a significant degree of spiritual maturity based on sound doctrine and continuing spiritual growth. A significant factor in this maturing process will be a lifestyle which puts into practice biblical values and which resists the molding pressures of contemporary non-Christian cultural values.

A second principle related to Christian leadership is that service is more important than status. Jesus made it clear that His followers were not to seek position or power for themselves (Matt. 20:20-28; John 13:16). There is one Lord; and the words meaning “rule” (Greek words with the root arch) are never used in the New Testament in reference to relationships among Christians. So the Christian leader is not a ruler; he is a servant, although not primarily a servant of the people he serves. He is primarily a servant of God from whom he receives his guidance and direction.

For the leader to function only on the level of the group is to abdicate the role of the leader. This balance between being a servant and being a leader is demonstrated for us by Jesus Himself. The accounts of the cleansing of the temple and the washing of the disciples’ feet, picture for us the balance which should be found in a leader, as one who exercises authority and yet ministers to the people with the heart of a servant.

A related principle is that leadership is more a matter of function than office, of doing the ministry than of being a minister. Leadership in groups almost always begins as a ministry function and gradually becomes institutionalized into an office. The tendency, then, is to begin to think of holding the office rather than of performing the function of a servant-leader. Seeking an office for personal satisfaction or as the base for exercising authority is contrary to the biblical concept of servant-leadership.

A third principle relates to the existence of various types of leaders, ranging from the prophetic type, characterized by the ability to motivate people to obey the Word of God, to the priestly type, more akin to our modern concept of management. The latter type of leader will organize and run the programs conceived by the former, and some leaders will have varying degrees of these characteristics. The danger is that tension may arise between the two functions or between the people carrying out the functions, or that one function will tend to predominate at the expense of the other. For this reason, some prefer to distinguish between leadership and management.

However we may define the terms, we need to recognize that the body needs all of its members and both types of leadership.

A distinction is also made between professional and lay leaders. The concept of professional church leaders is not as clear in the New Testament as the general concept that leadership is a legitimate function in the church. Professionalism has grown as the church has developed institutional identity. The cultural factors become significant when dealing with this aspect of leadership. The church in a tribe with a subsistence level economy would not have the option of professional leaders although it would certainly need leaders. The house churches in places where there is government suppression of Christianity, as in China, do not have the option of professional leadership as we know it, but the criteria for leaders would still apply.

This does not make professional clergy unbiblical; but it does mean that we need to begin with a concept of leadership in the church which comes from biblical principles and which recognizes that some of our common concepts and patterns of leadership are more a product of 20th century Western society than a project of biblical principles or patterns.

A fourth principle underlying leadership in the church involves the recognition by the leader and by the church that a qualification for leaders is the possession of the appropriate leadership gifts of the Holy Spirit. This is why a leader needs more than just the general qualities of mature Christian character. All members of the body should possess these, and persons who are not in leadership posts are not exempt from the need to reach such standards. Neither are they second class members of the church. It is simply a matter of recognizing that God, in His sovereignty, has given various gifts to the members of His body and that they need to be recognized, not on a hierarchical basis, but on the basis that all gifts are for the building up of the church. A leader, then, is one who has God-given leadership gifts and uses them within the church with the spirit of a servant.

The fifth principle is that Christian leadership involves skills which need to be developed through careful study and practice. Those skills may vary with the cultural expectations of leaders and with the complexity of the organization involved, but diligence, in order to be “a workman who has no need to be ashamed”. applies to leaders as well as to every other member of the church.

These skills will include varying combinations of such things as guiding in the development of purposes, goals and objectives; motivating the church in the pursuit of these ends; instructing the church in God’s Word; helping the members of the church identify and use their gifts for the good of the church and the fulfillment of the person; keeping group and personal need-satisfaction in balance; counseling; encouraging; organizing and managing the activities and ministries of the church; administering discipline; serving musically; and doing evangelism and church planting in unreached areas.

A caution needs to be raised about the tendency to confuse certain personality types with gifts of leadership. Stereotypes of leaders are sometimes formed on less than valid biblical criteria, and anyone who fits the stereotype is thought to be a potential leader. Adherence to the above principles will help to avoid the error.

A second caution relates to the tendency for leaders to seek to avoid the risks involved in leadership by shunning the role entirely or by trying to transfer responsibility to the church or to a committee or board. It is clear from Scripture that God’s people have not always been willing to follow God’s appointed leaders. Jeremiah’s case is an outstanding example of this resistance. This can prove to be a severe test for the servant-leader.

In summary, the criteria for leadership in the church are: (1) spiritual maturity as defined by the Scriptures, (2) a servant spirit committed to the service of the church, (3) a sense of divine call, (4) appropriate spiritual gifts, and (5) developed leadership skills.

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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 (2:35); doing what is right (2:29; 3:710); loving fellow Christians (3:14-15); possessing an uncondemning heart (3:1921); 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 Peter 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 Peter 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 (Lk. 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. 10:2631); in wandering from the truth (James 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 socalled 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 2011 General Conference

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A Biblical View of Human Sexuality

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)

OTHER RESOURCES

*Not in the Human Sexuality Position Paper

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A biblical response to racism begins with the understanding that we are all one human race (Acts 17:26). All human beings  are created by God and bear his image and his likeness equally (Gen 1:26-27, 5:1, 9:6). While the Bible does not provide us  with a concept of race in the scientific anthropological sense of the term, it does speak to the various divisions among people  groups, ethnicities, and cultures, and is well acquainted with the realities of disharmony and alienation that exist along these  lines. 

Scripture teaches us that this alienation is a direct result of the fall, where sin initially entered our world through our first  parents (Gen 3:14-24). This led to envy and strife (Gen 4:8-16), the radical corruption of our hearts being bent toward evil  (Gen 6:5-6), and widespread division among people (Gen 11:1-9).1 We understand the sin of racism as a specific form of  alienation from the fall. It can be defined as prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism toward a person of a different race  based upon the belief that one’s own race is superior. Racism is a pervasive evil that disparages other image bearers on the  basis of differences in physical appearance, cultural practice, or certain behavioral traits that correspond to such differences.  It is a sin that divides both humanity and the church. And like other sins, it can be both intentional and unintentional and  come in forms of both commission and omission (Jas 4:17; Lev 4:27). 

Insofar as racism violates the image of God in a person, it is first and foremost a sin against God (Gen 9:6; Ps 51:4). We are  all equally bearers of God’s image, and to be prejudiced against another image bearer is an affront against what God has  created. Yet racism is also a sin against our neighbor. In the Old Testament, God revealed his intention to bless every nation  and people on earth through Abraham’s offspring (Gen 12:3, 22:18). The New Testament also urges us to love our neighbor  as ourselves (Mark 12:31), and to honor the image of God in our fellow persons (Jas 3:9; 1 John 4:20). 

When it comes to a cure for racism, Scripture reminds us that the mind “set on the flesh is hostile to God” (Rom 8:7). With  this mind we cannot submit to God’s law in our own power. Only by being united with Christ in his death can the power of  sin be broken — and this includes the sin of racism (Rom 6:6-7). Christ himself is our peace, having broken down in his flesh  the dividing walls of hostility among different ethnicities, cultures, and races (Acts 2:1-11; Eph 2:14; Col 3:11). His  redemption makes a new creation (Gal 6:15; 2 Cor 5:17). Scripture calls believers to be transformed by the renewal of their  minds, to set their minds on the Spirit, and to regard no one according to the flesh (Rom 12:2, 8:6; 2 Cor 5:16). We are urged  not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought (Rom 12:3), and to avoid showing partiality in our churches (Jas 2:1-4;  Acts 10:34-35). Racism not only violates the image of God, but it also denies the truth of the gospel that all believers are  one in Spirit and have been baptized into one body (John 17:22-23; 1 Cor 12:12-13; Gal:3:28). 

Jesus plainly says that the work of the gospel in the lives of his disciples will inevitably bear much fruit (John 15:8). It is worth  noting that Jesus explained and illustrated neighbor love with a parable featuring persons of different ethnicities (Luke  10:25-37). In his own earthly ministry, he himself crossed barriers of gender, class and ethnicity in his encounter with the  Samaritan woman (John 4:7-42). Furthermore, in the early church we see the Holy Spirit confronting cultural and ethnic  divisions, bringing about gospel reconciliation (Acts 6:1-7, 10:1-22). Scripture clearly and repeatedly calls God’s people to  treat those of a different appearance, background, language group, ethnicity, or culture with respect, love, dignity and care  — modeling true unity before the world (John 13:34-35, 17:21; Rom 12:5; Phil 2:2-3). 

1 While some would try to argue that God intended a separation by race at Babel, we reject any notion that this scattering was done  along racial lines or for purposes of racial “purity.” We further reject as a misreading of Paul the idea that God has placed intentional  boundaries between people based on racial or ethnic distinctions (See Paul’s Areopagus sermon in Acts 17:26).  

We reject as unbiblical any theory that would assign guilt or innocence, superiority or inferiority, on the basis of skin color  alone. God has created us as a rational, moral people who are both capable of making choices and being held responsible  for those choices. Scripture teaches that no sin is inevitable and only one sin is unpardonable — racism is neither. We call  upon the Missionary Church to first and foremost think biblically about the sin of racism. 

Like many North American denominations, we recognize that the Missionary Church has a somewhat complicated history  on the subject of race. With historical beginnings in the late nineteenth century resulting in a 1969 merger, our roots reveal  a mixed record. Early publications from our forbearers often reflected an indifference regarding racial issues. When  addressed, our approach toward racial injustice was often patronizing and at times resorted to stereotyping.2 We were both  reserved and late to offer condemnation of Jim Crow laws or explicitly racist groups.3 One of our denominational schools  even prohibited interracial dating and marriage.4 Stated plans to more intentionally and effectively embrace minority groups  were not well received, much less carried out.5 In short, our history reveals that the Missionary Church has tended to drift  along with our culture on this issue.6 The numerical growth of Latino brothers and sisters within our denomination more  recently has been a tremendous blessing. The Missionary Church must intentionally and consistently address any sense of  disconnectedness and second-class status in our regional and national meetings. Our denomination has much to learn about  developing ministries in urban, inner-city, and non-Anglo communities across the nation. Our church planting strategies  have historically reflected a tendency to start new works where there has been the greatest interest (and perceived  potential to be successful) — not necessarily where there was the greatest need. We not only lament the legacy of every  form of racism in our world, but we also acknowledge the presence of historical failures and ongoing shortcomings within  our own denomination. 

When it comes to a sin like racism, it is important to note that Scripture distinguishes between sin’s guilt and its corruption.  Culpability for sin is personal, but corruption can be corporate (Rom 3:10-12, 8:20-21). Some within the Missionary Church  may be personally guilty of the sin of racism and have an obligation to seek repentance. Others may simply live in the midst  of the corruption of this particular sin and be inheritors of a mixed record. We challenge everyone to examine their own  hearts and ask the Lord to reveal any hidden faults (Ps 19:12-14). We also understand that when damage done by previous  generations remains unaddressed or unresolved, such damage needs to be repaired and such wrong needs to be righted.  Scripture presents several biblical precedents for corporate repentance when not every individual involved was personally  guilty (2 Chr 6:24-39; Neh 9:33; Matt 23:31; Rev 2:13-16). Even if one is not directly culpable for specific past sins, repenting  of corporate or historical sins can be an expression of regret and a form of public disavowal (Dan 9:3-15). As recipients of  the Missionary Church’s heritage, we acknowledge and lament these sins — and where appropriate, we confess such sins  personally. Furthermore, we unequivocally renounce any statutes, systems, or structures in our world that would strip  individuals of their image bearer status based on prejudice against skin color, ethnicity, language group, or cultural  background. 

We know that the church will one day worship as a great multi-ethnic, multi-racial, multi-cultural assembly (Isa 2:1-4; Zech  8:23; Heb 12:22-23; Rev 7:9-10). This picture of the heavenly state, where every tribe, tongue and nation gathers to worship  God (Heb 12:18-24), should be reflected in our earthly state (1 Pet 2:9-10). We therefore express our desire to mature in  our racial diversity and harmony as brothers and sisters in the Missionary Church. Toward that end we furthermore call  upon local churches, regions, and our entire denomination to recognize that from the earliest days of the church God has  gifted and called a diverse group of leaders in order that they may raise up a similarly diverse and beautiful bride (Acts 13:1).  We live and minister in the bright light of this first-century biblical example. We wholeheartedly affirm our partnership in  the gospel and our equal standing together before the Lord — all purchased with the precious blood of Christ. Our prayer  is that the Missionary Church will grow as a unified and diverse community of equal image bearers who are being  increasingly conformed to the image of God’s Son (John 17:21; Rom 8:29). 

2 See various articles in the Gospel Banner, years 1883-1969. 

3 In a March 23, 1916, editorial in the Gospel Banner, J. A. Huffman (UMC) condemned segregation, one of the cornerstones of Jim  Crow laws. In a September 4, 1924, Gospel Banner article, a contributing writer decried the impact of the Ku Klux Klan and called out  ministers who were complicit with the KKK. These two instances are the closest the Missionary Church has come in its history to  officially denounce Jim Crow laws and the Ku Klux Klan. 

4 Fort Wayne Bible College prohibited interracial dating until 1972. See “Inter-racial Dating,” BC Book (1959-60), 19; cf. “Inter-racial  Dating” in BC Book (1969-70), 31. 

5 See the “1965 Action of the MCA Study Committee for Reaching Minority Groups,” (Fort Wayne, IN: March 15, 1967), housed in  the Missionary Church Archives at Bethel University. 

6 As recently as 2019, the Missionary Church’s Constitution and position papers gave racism only a single, brief mention. “WE STAND  . . . FOR government based on the equal rights of all citizens regardless of race, gender, or faith — . . . AGAINST racism and anti Semitism anywhere, anytime.” See Position Paper XI: “Our Values,” adopted by the 1989 General Conference) in the Constitution of  the Missionary Church.

— Adopted by the 2021 General Conference