What is a Christian?
Acts 11:26 | John 1:1-5, 14-18 | John 14:8-11 | Hebrews 1:1-3

A Christian is a person who believes that the living God is revealed in and through Jesus Christ, who accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who lives in obedient communion with God through the power of the Holy Spirit, and who takes his or her place in the community of Christ's church.

Who is Jesus Christ?
Acts 3:13-19 | Acts 10:36-43 | Acts 4:11-12 | Colossians 1:15-20
| John 1:1-5, 14-18 | John 14:8-11

The word Christ comes from the Greek word that means "anointed" and is comparable to the Hebrew word Messiah. Jesus is the Christ because in Christ "all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell," and through Christ "God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things." The people of God in the Old Testament looked forward to a promised messiah who would establish the reign of justice, love and peace for the whole world. Jesus is that Messiah.

Who is the Holy Spirit?
John 3:1-10 | John 4:1-30 | John 14:14-29 | John 15:26-27 | John 16:12-15
| Romans 8:1-17 | Acts 1:6-8, 2:1-13, 32-39 | 1 Corinthians 3:16; 12:13
| 1 Thessalonians 5:19 | John 20:19-23

The Holy Spirit proceeds from and is one in being with God the Father and the Son, Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit convinces the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgement. The Spirit leads people though faithful response to the gospel into the fellowship of the church. The Spirit comforts, sustains and empowers believers and guides them in pursuit of truth. (Various names for the Holy Spirit: Advocate, Comforter, Spirit of Truth, Holy Ghost, Spirit, Spirit of God, Spirit of Christ.)

What is the invitation to Christian discipleship?
Mark 1:16-20, 3:13-15 | John 20:21-22 | Acts 1:8

All people are invited by God to repent, to trust and follow Jesus Christ, to learn from his words and deeds, and to share in his mission, through the power of the Holy Spirit and in company of other Christians.

What is the mission of Jesus Christ?
Mark 1:14-15 | John 3:1-21

To proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God, to call people to "see" the kingdom, to repent, to "enter" the kingdom and to live obediently in the kingdom.

What is the kingdom of God?
1 Corinthians 15:24-28 | Mark 1:14-15 | Philippians 2:5-11 | Revelation 4:11
| Matthew 25:31-46; 13:24-33

The kingdom of God is God's active and sovereign reign over all creation, over all God has made. It is a new order of things where antagonisms between peoples, nations, sexes, races and generations are overcome and a new environment of justice, love, freedom and peace prevails. Only those persons who turn from their sin and accept Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord can fully "see" and "enter" the kingdom of God. In the end, God's reign will be acknowledged by all when God judges the whole human race through Christ.

What is sin?
Romans 3:9-18, 23; 7:13-20 | Psalm 51:1-5

Sin is the condition of estrangement from God that affects the whole human race and results in rebellion against God and God's kingdom. This rebellion leads to bondage. Sins are specific actions, words or thoughts that arise from our sinful condition and deny the presence, purpose and reign of God.

What are the effects of sin?
Mark 7:21-23 | Romans 6:23 | James 4:1-3 | 1 John 1:8; 3:4; 5:17

Sin corrupts our relationship with God, with one another, with ourselves and with all creation. The primary result of sin is bondage. Thus sin is more than a transgression; it is bondage. It not only alienates us from God, but it also brings us into captivity. It is more than an outward act or habit; it is a deep seated inward condition. It is not only a "contagious disease," but it is also a cumulative process related to social and cosmic dimensions of the world. It pollutes not only us, but also every aspect of our existence and infects the very structures of human life and society as well.

What is the good news (gospel/evangel)?
John 3:16-17 | Acts 10:36-43 | 2 Corinthians 5:17

The good news is that God has acted decisively and uniquely in Jesus Christ to deal with our sinful condition. God has acted to save us by offering us love, grace, forgiveness, acceptance and new life in Christ.

What is grace?
Matthew 11:28-30 | Luke 15 | John 3:16-17 | Romans 5:6-8 | Ephesians 2:4-9

Grace is God's sovereign love and unmerited favor to all. It is initiated by God and freely given to undeserving and ungodly people.

What is salvation?
Mark 2:1-4; 10:28-31, 45 | Romans 5:15-21 | 2 Corinthians 5:18-21

Salvation is the forgiveness of our sin, deliverance from bondage, and the gift of new life in Christ. It is a process that begins now, gives victory over sin and death, and is completed with God in heaven.

What is Christian conversion?
Acts 26:18; 9:1-21 | Ephesians 4:22-24

It is the change that God works in us as we respond to God's grace in repentance and faith. Repentance and faith are the necessary responses to Jesus and his message of the kingdom. Through repentance and faith, the saving initiative of God is translated into human experience. (Note that Paul's conversion should not be taken as the only model for Christian conversion. Many people experience a more gradual process.)

What is repentance?
Psalm 51:1-14 | Luke 3:1-14; 15:17-20

Repentance is turning away from sin and toward God. It is the turning of one's total life toward the total will of God. It is a response to God's initiative and grace.

What is Christian faith
Acts 16:29-31 | Ephesians 2:4-10 | James 2:14-26

Christian faith is a centered, personal, relational response to God that involves trust and obedience. Faith in Jesus Christ is trusting that through him alone, God gives us eternal life.

What has Jesus done to make salvation possible?
John 3:16-17 | Romans 8:31-39 | 2 Corinthians 5:14-18; 8:9 | Colossians 2:11-15
| Philippians 2:5

Jesus came to reveal God to humankind and to offer God's grace. To achieve this, Jesus shared our human life and death. He died on a cruel cross, but God brought him back from death, thereby conquering death and sin and opening the kingdom of God to all who repent and believe.

What is new birth?
John 3:1-8; 14-17 | Ephesians 2:1-5

New birth, regeneration and conversion are terms used to describe the process, in both its instantaneous and its gradual aspects, by which we are brought by God from the state of sin into new life in Jesus Christ, and in which we grow through the inspiration and workings of the Holy Spirit within us. To be born again is to see and to enter the kingdom of God.

How are we put right with God?
Romans 5:1-2; 8:1 | 1 Corinthians 1:26-31

We are put right (or justified) with God when we accept God's forgiveness of our sin in Jesus Christ and when we, through the grace of God, become God's children. God restores us to a right relationship. God does this on the basis of what Jesus Christ has done for us in his death and resurrection and on the basis of our faith. We are put right when God forgives our sin, accepts us and declares us to be God's children.

How do we become God's holy people?
Romans 12:1-21 | Ephesians 3:14-21; 4:12-16 | 1 Peter 2:9-10

We become God's holy people (or, we are sanctified) through the power and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. As we are made new from within, we are transformed by God's patient love into the likeness of Christ. We are given the power to do the will of God and therefore we grow up into Christian maturity both individually and corporately.

How can we know we are saved?
John 10:27-30 | Romans 8:14-17, 31-39 | Galatians 5:19-23 | 2 Timothy 2:11-13
| Hebrews 10:23-25 | 1 John 1:5-2:6

Assurance of salvation is given to us in the Bible, by the inner witness of the Holy Spirit, by the evidence in our words and deeds, and through the inspiration, support and encouragement of our brothers and sisters in fellowship of the church. (The Bible does not encourage us to rely solely on our feelings.)

What are the marks of persons who are right with God?
John 13:35 | 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13 | Galatians 5:22-26

They show the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control, but the greatest of all marks is love.

What is the church of Jesus Christ?
Matthew 16:13-20 | John 17:18-23 | Romans 1:6 | 1 Corinthians 1:9; 12:12-31

The church of Jesus Christ is a worldwide community of all those who have been called into being by God and who live under the lordship of Jesus Christ. It is a redeemed and redeeming fellowship in which the gospel is proclaimed and the sacraments are offered. Under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the church seeks to provide opportunities for worship, growth in faith and witness to the world. Methodists share a common heritage with all Christians everywhere who claim Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Every church is a local outpost of the worldwide community of believers.

What are the distinctive features of the Methodist / Wesleyan movement?
Its message has been summarized as:

• All need to be saved.
• All may be saved.
• All may know that they are saved.
• All may be saved to the utmost.

• the importance of blending knowledge with vital piety, a quickened mind with a warmed evangelical heart;
• the importance of shared leadership (lay and clergy) in the life and mission of the church;
• the importance of blending personal commitment with social responsibility; Methodists have always held that the purpose of Christian conversion is not only to get one's soul ready for heaven, but also to taste the first fruit of heaven through a life of justice, love and mercy in this world;
• the importance of hymn singing in worship and in teaching Christian truth;
• the importance of blending, preaching and testifying with sacremental worship (the Lord's Supper and baptism);
• the importance of expressing gratitude for God's grace by rendering unselfish service;
• the development of congregations into smaller groups for instruction, pastoral care and fellowship;
• the importance of blending ardor with order in matters of faith and practice;
• the importance of a connectional system that links local congregations to districts, to conferences and to the worldwide fellowship.