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The stated goal or mission statement of the Church of the Nazarene is to "make Christlike disciples in the nations." |
Prayer for learning |
In a sermon at New York's Madison Avenue Presbyterian church, George Buttrick described the inward coronation of Christ in people's hearts as taking place "among confession, and tears and great laughter." |
Christian beliefs: A statement of faith
"What you heard from me, keep as the pattern of sound teaching." -- 2 Timothy 1:13
What are the key Nazarene beliefs and doctrines?
Teaching and learning in the School of Theology and Ministry at Southern Nazarene University is grounded in and shaped by the statement of faith in the sixteen Articles of Faith of our denomination, the Church of the Nazarene. Those brief affirmations of belief asked of church members are our "faith statement." Below are some explanatory thoughts on some of the doctrinal positions expressed in the Nazarene Articles of Faith.
Theocentric and Christocentric/ The uniqueness of Christ
We clearly affirm the full deity and humanity of Jesus Christ. In our classes, we make clear that, in Christ alone, the Eternal God has definitively and finally revealed Himself. Jesus Christ is God incarnate. Thus, to be Christ-centered is also to be God-centered. Jesus both is and preached the gospel. He is uniquely the Heavenly Father's Good News, the Gospel of God.
For us, Jesus is Lord of all, the Savior of the world who in the cross and His resurrection met and conquered death, hell, sin and the grave. Christ has put to flight all powers of evil, and by the Holy Spirit Christ now makes His victory available to all His disciples.
At SNU, we focus attention on Christ rather than on the disciple. While the individual disciple is important, we want to steer students away from the errors of subjectivism, introversion and isolationism. The New Testament order is: first, our being "in Christ" and, secondly, "Christ in" us.The Christian Scriptures
We try to inspire in students a love for Sacred Scripture -- both the Old and New Testaments. We present a comprehensive picture of the biblical narrative. We introduce students to the structure of the Bible so that they will not be lost in nor discouraged by the Bible's size and complexity.
The doctrine of the Scriptures that the membership of the Church of the Nazarene embraces is our norm ("Whatever is not contained therein is not to be enjoined as an article of faith"). The Old and New Testaments inerrantly reveal the will of God in all things necessary for our salvation. Those writings are authoritative in all things related to faith and Christian practice.
The movement of which we are a part is not fundamentalist in its doctrine of the Scriptures. Among other things this means that the authority of the Scriptures is soteriological (concerned with salvation). Salvation, of course, includes both Christian faith and practice. Hence, where the Scriptures speak on matters of ethics -- how the life of Christ is manifest in the Church and His disciples -- they are authoritative. [ more on authority of Bible ]The Church
We teach the central importance of the Church as the body of Christ. It is in the Church that one comes to know what it means to be a Christian. John Wesley's statement that "There is no holiness but social holiness" has become an important theme for SNU's School of Theology and Ministry. It is within the koinonia (or fellowship of believers) produced by the Holy Spirit that one learns the whole story of God. [ more on Wesley ]
The Body of Christ has a history which helps us understand today what it means to be Christian. So, we show students the major elements of Church history. We want our students to develop an appreciation for the triumphant saints who have paved the path for us. [ see church history PowerPoint ]
The Order of Salvation
The Wesleyan Order of Salvation guides our thinking and teaching. The reality and meaning of prevenient grace, conviction of sin by the Holy Spirit, justification by grace through faith alone, regeneration as initial sanctification, growth in grace, entire sanctification, and eventual glorification are very evident as themes in our classes.
We make clear that all persons everywhere are called to be Jesus' disciples. In this regard, we are explicitly Arminian.
We believe that Christ radically changes people who come to Him. We don't think that God merely looks at repentant sinners in a different way. We believe in a genuine regeneration of the penitent sinner. Before a person can be truly raised to new life in Christ, he or she must be crucified with Christ. Life in Christ means life in and through the resurrected and reigning Lord.
At SNU, we teach that Christians can live in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit witnesses to Jesus Christ as the Promised Messiah and draws persons to Him. The Holy Spirit is the Divine agent of justification, regeneration and sanctification. He makes victory over sin normative for Christian life, and facilitates life-long growth in grace. We seek to teach students the meaning of entire sanctification and urge them to make the promise their own. [ How entire is entire? ]
We clearly teach the importance of the fruit of the Spirit in the lives of believers. All Christians everywhere are to show the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Such fruit is normative and singular. The primary and dependable evidence of the Holy Spirit is His fruit in the lives of obedient disciples.
We lift up the hope of the Second Coming of Christ when He will consummate His inaugurated Kingdom. The relationship between the inauguration of the Kingdom of God in Christ's person, and His return in glory will be made clear in our classes. The Second Coming of our Lord is cause for hope, joyous anticipation and watchfulness among His disciples. On the other hand, the Second Coming must never become the subject of fruitless speculation. It must never be viewed as scintillating entertainment, a reason for fear among God's people, or a topic that assumes a life of its own. Our soteriology -- belief about salvation -- is holistic and firmly grounded in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. [ essay on Matthew 24:14 ]Sacraments
We emphasize to students the essential role of water baptism and the Lord's Supper as sacraments formative of the Church's identity and as means of God's grace. Water baptism is the appropriate public demonstration of commitment to the community of faith. We teach that the Lord's Supper celebrates the central reality of the Incarnation -- God the Son come in human nature. [ devotional thoughts on Holy Communion ]
The Triune God
We teach that Christians worship the One God who is triune -- Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We were created to worship God and to enjoy Him all the days of our lives. Worship of God and service to Him is the center of Christian life. All else flows from that worship.
Christian Service and Witness
Nazarenes teach that Christ calls and empowers believers for service in the Church and in the world. Although God does not call all persons to ordained Christian ministry, He does call and empower all believers for Christian ministry. Every believer has a ministry to exercise before God and for others. Toward that end, God equips Christians through the gifts of the Spirit: "There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good" (1 Corinthians 12:4-7 NRSV).
Compassionate Ministry
The movement of which SNU is a part was born in a revival that joined love for God and love for persons -- with special reference to the poor and disenfranchised. Phineas Bresee and other early Nazarene leaders insisted that Christian holiness included a love for and practice of justice and mercy. True to his Wesleyan heritage, Bresee thought that Christian salvation addresses the whole person. Both Wesley and Bresee thought that the compassionate Christ who brings good news to the poor, gives light to those who sit in darkness, and sets captives free is the Christ by whom all Christians should be discipled. The Church of the Nazarene that Phineas Bresee envisioned was one that would carefully take its instructions from Matthew 25. [ more on compassionate ministry ]
Our belief as Nazarenes is that following Jesus must include believing that the gospel is good news for marginalized people, for victims of abuse, for prisoners and their families, for the illiterate, and for victims of tragedies that threaten to destroy them.
We want to show how complete and holistic the Gospel of our Lord is. [ Come share the dream ]
"You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine." -- Titus 2:1
Core values for the Church of the Nazarene [ read statement ]
 | A brief, succinct statement of orthodox Christian fundamentals is "The Apostles' Creed." [ read more ] |
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Howard Culbertson, 5901 NW 81st, Oklahoma
City, OK 73132 | Phone: 405-740-4149 - Fax:
405-491-6658
Copyright © 2000, 2001 - Last Updated: June 2, 2015 | URL: http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/dept.htm