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Unified StatementTHE FAITHFUL CHRISTIAN LAITY OF THE UNITED METHODIST CHURCHUNIFIED STATEMENT
We, The Faithful Christian Laity of the United Methodist Church (Faithful
Christian Laity), believe in and affirm the United Methodist Church’s
Articles of Faith, as written in ¶103 in The Book of Discipline of the
United Methodist Church (Book of Discipline). We believe that the sacred
Scriptures received through and from the early church, affirmed by the
Protestant Reformation, and passed down to the United Methodist Church, is
the inspired and authoritative witness for Christian life and doctrine. Like
John Wesley, we believe that Bible is the “final authority in all doctrinal
matters.” The Bible says that all have sinned, and all can be cleansed of
their sin and reconciled to God by the death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ. We, as Christians, are called to “go now and leave your life of sin”
(John 8:11). This calls for repentance and an earnest desire to turn from a
sinful life. We believe that “no Christian whatsoever is free from the
obedience of the commandments which are called moral” (Article VI of the
Book of Discipline). We believe that we are called to sanctification, “that
renewal of our fallen nature by the Holy Ghost, received through faith in
Jesus Christ, whose blood of atonement cleanseth from all sin; whereby we
are not only delivered from the guilt of sin, but are washed from its
pollution, saved from its power, and are enabled, through grace, to love God
with all our hearts and to walk in His holy commandments blameless.” Both
the Holy Bible and the Book of Discipline (1 Timothy 3, and ¶304.3,
respectively) call for church leaders to maintain the highest standard of
holy living in the world. 1. Remain true to our calling to empower people to become transformed
disciples of Jesus Christ to proclaim to each other, the community, and
the world, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. We are
united in the desire to serve the poor, the hungry, the naked, the
stranger and prisoner, focusing on others’ needs rather than our own. We
will provide a sanctuary where the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit are
worshipped in holiness and where the saints are instructed in the ways of
the Lord. We believe that God’s grace extends freely to all who would receive it and
it is the responsibility of the church to minister to all who seek God
without regard to age, gender, marital status, or sexual orientation. We
stand firm in our belief that once justified through faith in Jesus Christ,
the regeneration of the Holy Spirit calls to us to repent of our sins and
reject the lifestyle choices that would keep us in bondage to sin, with sin
clearly defined for us by God in the Bible. It is the responsibility of the
church to gently lead those who would continue or fall back into sin after
justification towards repentance. If the person is unrepentant, as evidenced
by openly living a life contrary to God’s Word and fails to respond by
private and group counsel of the Church (Matthew 18:15-17), we are commanded
to expel the immoral brother (1 Corinthians 5:9-13). And when the immoral
person has repented and responded to the “punishment by the majority” we
will “forgive and console him, so that he may not be overwhelmed by
excessive sorrow” (2 Corinthians 2:5-11). |