Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them,
because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Since its founding, Claxton First Church remains today as a Scripturally based church with a historically Wesleyan theology.
The following is mostly an amalgam based upon The Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church and the Confession of Faith of the Evangelical United Brethren which were the bases of Claxton First’s orthodoxy with its prior identity as a United Methodist Church.
The development of this Statement of Faith was a process addressing the essentials of the Christian faith, updating some of the language, and not carrying forward some portions obviously meant for a different time of historical relevancy. This Statement of Faith is not intended to launch a “new doctrine” of Methodism or to start a new denomination. It is not meant to be considered as somehow superior to other Statements of Faith, or Doctrinal standards, of other Wesleyan theologically based ministries or denominations.
This Statement of Faith is utilitarian for the practical purpose of serving as a functional doctrine for a church launching independent from its prior denominational moorings. This Statement of Faith is intended to represent the reality that Claxton First is, indeed, a Scripturally based church with a historically Wesleyan Theology.
Click here for a printable PDF of this Statement of Faith.
The following Statement of Faith is divided into four sections:
I. The Holy Divine – the composition of the Holy Trinity
II. The Human Dilemma – the culpability of all humanity
III. The Full Work of Saving Grace – Grace for the lost and the found
IV. The Body of Christ – the Church
I. THE HOLY DIVINE
TRINITY
There is one living and true God who is triune in nature,
three persons in One: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Genesis 1:1, Exodus 20:3, Isaiah 46:9, Matthew 16:17, 2 Corinthians 13:14
GOD THE FATHER
There is one God, who created the universe and all that is in it.
Genesis 1:1; Hebrews 1:2, Hebrews 11:3, John 1:1-3, Colossians 1:15-16
God is sovereign; meaning God is the ruler of all
creation.
2 Samuel 7:22, Psalm 103:19, Isaiah 48:16
God’s love and grace.
Psalm 32:5, Matthew 11:28-30, John 3:16, 1 John 1:9, 1 John 4:9-10, 1 Timothy 2:3-4
GOD THE SON
Jesus Christ is the Son, who is the Word of the Father,
the one eternal God, and is of one substance with the Father.
Jesus Christ took humanity’s nature when born of the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit; meaning God and humanity were joined together in One person.
Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:22-23, Luke 1:26-28, Galatians 4:4, Hebrews 4:15
Jesus Christ truly suffered, was crucified, dead, and buried,
to reconcile His Father to us, and to be a sacrifice for original sin
and for all sins past, present, and future.
Jesus Christ truly rose from the dead as the resurrected Savior and Mediator, who intercedes for us,
and by Him all men will be judged.
Mark 16:5-7, Luke 24:36-43, John 10:10b, 1 Timothy 2:5, Revelation 1:18
GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit proceeds from and is one in being
with the Father and the Son. He convicts the world
of sin, of righteousness and of judgment.
This Gift leads us through faithful response to the Gospel.
He comforts, sustains and empowers the faithful
and guides them into all truth.
John 14:17, John 14:23, John 14:26, John 15:5, John 16:13-15, 1 Corinthians 6:19,
Galatians 4:6, Galatians 5:16-25, Acts 2:38-39, Romans 8:9
HOLY BIBLE
The Holy Bible, Old and New Testaments,
reveals the Word of God,
indisputable and incontestable on all subjects
in the original manuscripts.
It is to be received through the Holy Spirit
as the true rule and guide for faith and practice.
Whatever is not revealed in or established by the Holy Scriptures
is not to be made an article of faith
nor is it to be taught as essential to salvation.
Psalm 119:140, Psalm 119:142, Psalm 119:160, 2 Timothy 3:15-17
OLD TESTAMENT
The Old Testament and the New Testament agree since Christ is the focus of both, the Old Testament providing a complete background for the Gospel message of the New Testament.
NEW TESTAMENT
The New Testament records the fulfillment of the prophecies and promises of the Old Testament in the
first Advent of our Lord and Savior.
The absolute Word of God finds completion in the
Gospel writings, epistles, and revelation of the Apostles.
II. THE HUMAN DILEMMA
ORIGINAL SIN
Original sin is the corruption of the nature of every human being, that naturally is present in the offspring of Adam,
meaning everyone is very far from original righteousness,
and is by nature continually inclined to evil.
Isaiah 64:6, John 3:19, Romans 3:23
SIN AND FREE WILL
Every person is fallen from righteousness and, apart from the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, is destitute of holiness and inclined to evil. Except a person be born again, he/she cannot see the Kingdom of God. In his/her own strength, without divine grace, a person cannot do good works pleasing and acceptable to God. However, a person influenced and empowered by the Holy Spirit is responsible to exercise his/her free will
for this holy good.
THE JUDGMENT AND THE FUTURE STATE
All persons stand under the righteous judgment of Jesus Christ, both now and in the last day. Holy Scripture reveals there will be a resurrection of the dead: the righteous to life eternal
and the wicked to endless condemnation.
John 3:16, John 11:25-26, Hebrews 9:27
III. THE FULL WORK OF SAVING GRACE
PREVENIENT GRACE
Prevenient Grace identifies God’s required contribution for one’s salvation response while not overriding an individual’s
God-given free will. Experientially for the regenerate believer, Prevenient Grace is the precursor to Justifying Grace by how it draws and enables a person to respond to the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Prevenient Grace is not to be misconstrued
as providing for universal salvation for all humanity.
Genesis 12:2-3, John 6:44, Romans 5:6-8, 1 John 4:10, 1 John 4:19
JUSTIFICATION AND REGENERATION
We are never accounted righteous before God through our works or merit, but that penitent sinners are justified
or accounted righteous before God
only by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Regeneration (rebirth, born again, new creature in Christ) is the renewal of individual persons in righteousness through Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, whereby we are made partakers of the divine nature and experience newness of life. By this new birth the believer becomes reconciled to God
and is enabled to serve Him with the will and the affections.
Although a person may have experienced regeneration, it is possible to depart from grace and fall into sin; and he/she may even then, by the grace of God, be renewed in righteousness.
John 1:12, John 3:3, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Galatians 4:4-5, Ephesians 2:8
GOOD WORKS
Good works follow regeneration and are the necessary fruits of faith, but they do not have the virtue to remove our sins or to avert divine judgment. Good works, pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, spring from a true and living faith,
for through and by them faith is made evident.
SANCTIFICATION AND CHRISTIAN PERFECTION
Sanctification is the work of God's grace through the Word and the Spirit, by which those who have been born again are cleansed from sin in their thoughts, words, and deeds, and are enabled to live in accordance with God's will, and to strive for holiness without which no one will see the Lord.
Entire sanctification is a state of perfect love, righteousness, and true holiness which every regenerate believer may obtain by being delivered from the power of sin, by loving God with all the heart, soul, mind and strength, and by loving one's neighbor as one's self. Through faith in Jesus Christ this gracious gift
may be received in this life both gradually and instantaneously
and should be sought earnestly by every child of God.
Joel 2:16a, John 17:17, John 17:19, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Hebrews 13:12
IV. THE BODY OF CHRIST
THE CHURCH
The Christian Church, as the body of Christ, is the community
of all true believers under the Lordship of Christ.
We believe it is one, holy, apostolic, universal.
It is the redemptive fellowship in which the Word of God
is preached by those
divinely called,
and the sacraments are duly administered.
Under the discipline of the Holy Spirit the Church exists
for the purposes of worship, the edification of believers,
and the redemption of the world.
1 Corinthians 12:27, Colossians 1:15-20
WORSHIP
Divine worship is the duty and privilege of all persons who,
in the presence of God, bow in adoration, humility and dedication. Divine worship is essential to the life of the Church,
and that the assembling of the people of God for such worship
is necessary to Christian fellowship and spiritual growth.
THE SACRAMENTS
There are two Sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord:
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
Christ both instructed and participated in both.
They are means of grace by which God works
through the Holy Spirit to quicken,
strengthen, and confirm our faith in Jesus Christ.
Matthew 3:13-17, Luke 22:19-20
BAPTISM
Baptism is not only a sign of one’s profession of faith in Jesus Christ and a mark of difference whereby Christians are distinguished as followers of Jesus Christ,
but also a sign of regeneration or the new birth.
Matthew 3:13-17, Matthew 28:19, Mark 1:9-11, Mark 10:39, Acts 2:37-41
THE LORD’S SUPPER
The Lord's Supper is a representation of our redemption, a memorial of the sufferings and death of Christ, and an expression of love and union which Christians have with Christ and with one another. Those who partake of the bread and cup in faith partake of the body and blood of Christ
in a spiritual manner until He comes.
Luke 22:14-20, I Corinthians 11:23-29
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The Apostles’ Creed
Claxton First affirms the oldest creed of the Christian church
known as the Apostles’ Creed.
Although the Apostles’ Creed is not to be equated with the value of Holy Scripture, the early church devised this unified creed for new converts to profess at baptism. Based upon the teachings of the Apostles, this is one of the most universally recognized summaries of the Christian faith. It’s a concise and formulated explanation of the Bible’s key message.
Claxton First seeks to recite the Apostles’ Creed on a regular basis. To learn the Apostles’ Creed is one way to be equipped to answer the question, “What do you believe?”
I believe in God, the
Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth;
And in Jesus Christ his
only Son, our Lord;
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, dead, and buried;
the third day he rose from the dead;
he ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy
Spirit,
the holy catholic** church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
** universal