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With Christians
in other communions we confess belief in the triune God – Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit. This confession embraces the biblical witness
to God’s activity in creation, encompasses God’s gracious self-involvement
in the dramas of history, and anticipates the consummation of God’s
reign.
We hold in common with all Christians a faith in the mystery of
salvation in and through Jesus Christ. At the heart of the gospel
is God’s incarnation in Jesus of Nazareth. Scripture witnesses to
the redeeming love of God in Jesus’ life and teachings, his atoning
death, his resurrection, his sovereign presence in history, his triumph
over the powers of evil and death, and his promised return. Because
God truly loves us in spite of our willful sin, God judges us, summons
us to repentance, pardons us, receives us by that grace given to
us in Jesus Christ, and gives us hope of eternal life.
We share the Christian belief that God’s redemptive love is realized
in human life by the activity of the Holy Spirit, both in personal
experience and in the community of believers. This community is the
church, which the Spirit has brought into existence for the healing
of the nations.
Through faith in Jesus Christ we are forgiven, reconciled to God,
and transformed as people of the new covenant.
Life in the Spirit involves diligent use of the means of grace such
as praying, fasting, attending upon the sacraments, and inward searching
in solitude. It also encompasses the communal life of the church
in worship, mission, evangelism, service and social witness.
We understand ourselves to be part of Christ’s universal church
when by adoration, proclamation, and service we become conformed
to Christ. We are initiated and incorporated into this community
of faith by Baptism, receiving the promise of the Spirit that recreates
and transforms us. Through regular celebration of Holy Communion,
we participate in the risen presence of Jesus Christ and are thereby
nourished for faithful discipleship.
With other Christians we recognize that the reign of God is both
a present and future reality. The church is called to be place where
the first signs of the reign of God are identified and acknowledged
in the world. Wherever persons are being made new creatures in Christ,
wherever the insights and resources of the gospel are brought to
bear on the life of the world, God’s reign is already effective in
its healing and renewing power.
We also look to the end time in which God’s work will be fulfilled.
This prospect gives us hope in our present actions as individuals
and as the Church. This expectation saves us from resignation and
motivates our continuing witness and service.
We share with many Christian communions a recognition of the authority
of Scripture in matters of faith, the confession that our justification
as sinners is by grace through faith, and the sober realization that
the church is in need of continual reformation and renewal.
We affirm the general ministry of all baptized Christians who share
responsibility for building up the church and reaching out in mission
and service in the world.
With other Christians, we declare the essential oneness of the church
in Christ Jesus. This rich heritage of shared Christian belief finds
expression in our hymnody and liturgies. Our unity is affirmed in
the historic creeds as we confess one holy, catholic (universal),
and apostolic church.
(Paragraph 101, Book of Discipline, United Methodist Church, 2004)
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