The Evangelical Methodist Church
catechism the journey of faith __________
“We should so work as if we were to be saved by our works; And so rely on Jesus Christ, as if we did no works.” —Francis Asbury: God’s Circuit Rider (1745-1816)
The Evangelical Methodist Church
CATECHISM Published by the authority of the 30th General Conference of the Evangelical Methodist Church, held in Indianapolis, Indiana March 12-15, 2010 General Editor: Dr. Edward W. Williamson, General Superintendent Department of Publications Editor: Mrs. Peggy Trim, Deaconess
Copyright Š 2012 by the General Conference of the Evangelical Methodist Church Department of Publications PRINTING 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the Department of Publications. All Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (NIV) of the Bible unless otherwise noted. Printed in USA by 48HrBooks (www.48HrBooks.com)
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Evangelical Methodist Church International Headquarters P. O. Box 17070 Indianapolis, IN 46217 Location: 6838 South Gray Road Indianapolis, IN 46237
Additional copies of this publication may be ordered by contacting the Department of Publications at:
Phone: 317-780-8017 Email: publications@emchurch.org www.emchurch.org
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Table of Contents Foreword .................................................................................. 6 Lesson 1: Our History and Commitment ............................... 7 Lesson 2: The Articles of Religion ....................................... 15 Lesson 3: A Biblical View of the Scriptures ........................ 39 Lesson 4: A Biblical View of God and Humanity ................. 41 Lesson 5: A Biblical View of Sin and Redemption .............. 47 Lesson 6: A Biblical View of God’s Plan for Salvation ........ 51 Lesson 7: Sanctification ..................................................... 55 Lesson 8: A Biblical View of the Church and the Sacraments ......................................................... 59 Lesson 9: A Biblical View of Eternity .................................. 65 Lesson 10: Missions ............................................................ 69 Lesson 11: Our Government: Congregational and Connectional ............................................... 79 Lesson 12: Membership Responsibility ………. .................... 83 Lesson 13: Membership ...................................................... 89 Membership Covenant ...................................... 90 Appendix A: John Wesley’s The Scripture Way of Salvation A Break-Through Sermon .................................... 91 Appendix B: The Scripture Way of Salvation, John Wesley’s Sermon in Modern English … ............... 99 Appendix C: Explanatory Notes, Evangelical Methodist Articles of Faith ……………………… ................. 113 Appendix D: Basic Denominational Principles .................. …..127 Answers to Lesson Questions ................................................ 129
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Forward The General Board of Christian Education congratulates you for taking this step in expanding your knowledge of the basic doctrinal teachings to which the Evangelical Methodist Church adheres. The EMC is Wesleyan in doctrine which promotes purity of heart and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. It is the desire of this Board that as you embark upon your journey through this study you will come to know the EMC better and appreciate its stand for holiness. While this study perhaps will not answer all your questions, it will serve as a foundation upon which you, as a student, may build your understanding of the Wesleyan tradition. As you work your way through this study, you will not only develop a better understanding of what the EMC is, but also establish personal disciplines of study which will serve you well as you grow in your personal relationship with the Lord. While this study gives you a basic understanding of the EMC, it also gives you information for becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ. Another study, Discipleship Training, A Venture in Learning and Accountability offered by the General Board of Christian Education, will help you become more disciplined in your daily walk with the Lord. It will also give you tools to disciple others, thus fulfilling the Great Commission that Jesus gave the Church while it waits for His return. The pastor and lay leaders will enlarge and supplement this material to accommodate their local church mission statement and unique missional ministries. 2010-2014 General Board of Christian Education Members: Rev. Debbie Miller, Chair Rev. Dan Cottrell Dr. William Dean Rev. John Gentry Mr. Benoit Kitenge Rev. Robert Perkins Rev. Daniel Stiles
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esson 9 A Biblical View of Eternity
IMMORTALITY Throughout human history a belief has been embedded within us that death is not the end of our existence. Deep within our human awareness there is a natural confidence that a part of us will survive physical death to see another realm of life. The Bible confirms what we have believed and reveals that our existence and destination after death will be determined by our relationship with the eternal God. We must be careful to understand the biblical teaching on eternity, that we have responsibilities to our Lord for the present. That is, we are to live in the present, serving God, and not be so absorbed with the events of the future. The Bible teaches that the soul will survive physical death as it is immortal. Although the Old Testament does not discuss in detail the subject of immortality, there are references that refer to life after death such as Psalm 49:15, Ecclesiastes 12:7. The New Testament discusses immortality in greater detail: Matthew 10:28; Matthew 16:26 and 1 Corinthians 15:12-55. It is clear, from both the teachings of the Scriptures and from the deep instincts of humanity, that there will be life after death. HEAVEN The Bible is clear in its teaching that there are two places in which the soul will spend eternity, heaven or hell. We do not adhere to the Roman Catholic doctrine of purgatory; we do not believe that such a doctrine can be proven from the Word of God. Heaven will be the eternal home for those who profess Christ as Savior and who have lived their lives in obedience to Him. In Matthew 10:32 Jesus promised, “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.” Jesus also promised that in the Father’s house there are many mansions (KJV). In Revelation we see a beautiful picture of the eternal home of the redeemed; it will be a place of beauty, pure gold, like clear glass, precious stone, and twelve gates of 65
pearl with streets of pure gold. The city will have no need of the sun or moon, for the glory of God will illumine it and its lamp is the Lamb. Heaven is not an unending church service of sing-along hymns and choruses. There is a difference between the present heaven (where Christians go when they die) and the ultimate, eternal heaven where we dwell with God on the New Earth. Ultimately, heaven becomes literally a physical New Earth free of the curse of sin and death, where fellowship, worship and life is experienced as God originally intended for us in the original Garden of Eden. John also tells us that heaven will be a holy place prepared for holy people. In heaven we will commune directly with God as He shall live among us. Heaven is the eternal reward for our faith in Christ. In this place of beauty, holiness, peace and contentment we will sing and worship God for all of eternity. What keeps us out of heaven is universal, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Sin severs our relationship with our Creator Heavenly Father (Isaiah 59:2), because the holy God cannot allow sin in His Presence. As sinners we are not entitled to enter God’s Presence. As the author Randy Alcorn says, “So heaven is not our default destination. No one goes there automatically. Unless our sin problem is resolved, the only place we will go is our true default destination…hell”. (Heaven, page 57) The Bible teaches we can know, and should know before we die, our eternal destination. It is not a flip of the coin; it is determined by our choice, by grace of receiving God’s solution. God determined that He would rather go to Hell on our behalf than live in heaven without us. God so loved the world that He gave His Son (John 3:16) and paid a horrible price on the cross so we would not have our eternal destiny in hell. Like any gift, forgiveness may be offered, but it is not ours until we choose personally to receive it. HELL There are many voices in the church and the secular world that deny hell. They will either say it is an invention of the church or that God is love so everyone will be saved. There is a problem with these beliefs; Jesus says more than anyone else about hell. (Matthew 10:28; 13:40-42; Mark 9:43-44) 66
The Bible teaches hell as a literal, horrible place in which the unrighteous will spend eternity. Jesus predicted that this place will be occupied by far too many who needlessly fall victim to its eternal torments. He said there is a narrow road that leads to life, a wide road that leads to destruction. (Matthew 7:13, 14) Scriptures teach that hell will be a place of torment and darkness, a place of agony, pain, continual suffering, weeping and gnashing of teeth and will last for all of eternity. There will be no relief as the unbeliever’s soul will live for eternity. Jesus paints a graphic picture in the story of the rich man and Lazarus. The picture is one where the wicked suffer terribly, are fully conscious, retain their desires, memories and reasoning, long for relief, have no hope and cannot be delivered or comforted. How long will hell last? Hell is an eternal, literal place reserved for those who have refused to accept God’s gracious gift of Jesus. C.S. Lewis said in The Problem of Pain, “There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than this, if it lay in my power. But it has the full support of Scripture, and specially, of our Lord’s own words; it has always been held by Christendom; and it has the support of reason” (page 118). The reality of hell should break our hearts for the lost friends, relatives, and neighbors who have never accepted Christ. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST When will this event occur? This has been a subject of much debate and discussion throughout the centuries. We are told in the Scriptures that no one knows when the event will occur; only God knows. Our responsibility is always to be prepared because the moment could occur at any time. What we do know for sure is that the Scriptures tell us there will be an end of time. As Jesus ascended into heaven, two angels appeared to the disciples repeating the promise given by Jesus to His disciples that He will return in just the same way as He ascended (Acts 1:11). Matthew 24:30 tells us that the Son of Man will come on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. Jesus taught that His second coming will be sudden, “as a thief in the night.” It will be preceded by ample signs and warnings. Matthew 24:3-28 describes for us some of the events: false prophets will arise; there will be wars and rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, persecution of Christians and wickedness. 67
Jesus also taught that the gospel will be preached throughout the entire world, and then the second coming will occur. In Luke 17:26-30 Jesus tells us that, as in the days of Noah, the same will be true in that day. Many will give themselves to the pleasures of the world, and there will be little concern for the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Before the final judgment of the world, God will resurrect all the dead, both righteous and unrighteous. This was foretold in Daniel 12:2. Also Jesus spoke of the resurrection of the dead in John 5:28-29. Once the dead are resurrected, then the final judgment will occur. THE FINAL JUDGMENT 1 Corinthians 3:13 (NAS) reads: “…each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it…” God has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed. He has already given proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. (Acts 17:31) The Man appointed to the office of Judge is Jesus himself. He has experienced and shared in the totality of all human experiences giving Him authority to judge correctly. We all shall stand before the judgment seat of God and give an account of our lives. The verdict received by the righteous will be “Well done, thou good and faithful servant… enter into the joy of your master.” The unrighteous will receive the verdict, “Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.” Lesson 9 – REVIEW A Biblical View of Eternity 1. The Scripture teaches that there is _____________ after death. 2. The soul of man is considered to be _____________________. 3. Who will be the final Judge of all? _______________________. 4. At the judgment seat, every individual will have to give an ___________________________________ of his life. 5. What is the last event Jesus foretold would take place prior to His return? _________________________________________ 68