What Does the United Methodist Church Believe?
While it is true that all Christians worship the same Savior, there are differences of emphasis amongst the different Christian churches. The United Methodist Church has a particular heritage and areas of emphasis which sets us apart as uniquely called by God to share the story of Jesus. We will spend August 2023 sharing four Doctrines of our faith. I am encouraging us to know the beliefs of the United Methodist Church. While these beliefs are held in common with other churches, we have a unique UMC perspective. These are set out in our Book of Discipline and can be found on the UMC Church website Who We Are / What We Believe.
Week 1: All Are Welcome
THE DOCTRINE OF GRACE (Week 1)
August 6 - Ephesians 1:7
"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us".
Methodist people speak of the Grace of God that is available to everyone, irrespective of social status, gender, or even criminal history. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, insisted that all people could be saved. This became a founding principal of Methodism – that anyone is welcome to experience the Grace of God. In Wesley’s time, it was generally believed that some were born more noble than others, and in contrast some were irredeemably “vile” and beyond the love of God or humanity. The Methodists disagreed, preaching a Gospel that insisted that all could be embraced by the love of God. This loving embrace was freely given, without first satisfying religious ritual or some personal sacrifice.
Methodists believe salvation to be a free gift of God, “lavished upon us according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7). Grace is freely given, but at the same time it is not imposed. An individual must respond by accepting it, for God will not force that gift upon anyone. Here Wesley differed from Reformers such as John Calvin, who believed that some were chosen and some rejected by God. Wesley taught that God’s grace set the human will free to allow the individual the space to accept or reject God’s offer of salvation (what Methodists referred to as Prevenient Grace). All can be saved - but not all may choose to be saved.
As Charles Wesley put it in one of the many hymns with a similar theme:
Come, sinners, to the gospel feast,
Let every soul be Jesu’s guest;
You need not one be left behind,
For God has bidden all mankind.
When we respond to the love of God (Justifying Grace) we discover that this Grace-filled love of God is a life-long encounter between the Spirit of God and ourselves (Sanctifying Grace). God meets us at a place of spiritual immaturity but does not leave us there. Our encounter with God changes us and we are invited into lifelong spiritual growth.
An Open Table
This invitation is visibly expressed when we share in Holy Communion. Methodist people practice what we call an “open table”. Methodists believe that when we come to the Communion Table, Jesus Christ is our host. It is Jesus “who chose us before the foundations of the earth” (Ephesians 1:4) who now invites us to come and participate in this holiest of meals. We come with an open heart, seeking to be transformed by the Love of Jesus. At the same time, we are willing to trust that others who come to Communion are similarly touched by the Spirit of God. John Wesley taught that the life of a seeker could be changed through receiving the Sacrament of Holy Communion. We therefore choose to accept everyone else who wants to receive Communion – for ours is a table where all are welcome to receive the signs of the Grace of God.
Daily Readings
Monday: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Tuesday: Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20-21)
Wednesday: But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
Thursday: For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:16-17)
Friday: But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10)
Saturday: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. (Titus 2:11-14)
August 6 - Ephesians 1:7
"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us".
Methodist people speak of the Grace of God that is available to everyone, irrespective of social status, gender, or even criminal history. John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist movement, insisted that all people could be saved. This became a founding principal of Methodism – that anyone is welcome to experience the Grace of God. In Wesley’s time, it was generally believed that some were born more noble than others, and in contrast some were irredeemably “vile” and beyond the love of God or humanity. The Methodists disagreed, preaching a Gospel that insisted that all could be embraced by the love of God. This loving embrace was freely given, without first satisfying religious ritual or some personal sacrifice.
Methodists believe salvation to be a free gift of God, “lavished upon us according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7). Grace is freely given, but at the same time it is not imposed. An individual must respond by accepting it, for God will not force that gift upon anyone. Here Wesley differed from Reformers such as John Calvin, who believed that some were chosen and some rejected by God. Wesley taught that God’s grace set the human will free to allow the individual the space to accept or reject God’s offer of salvation (what Methodists referred to as Prevenient Grace). All can be saved - but not all may choose to be saved.
As Charles Wesley put it in one of the many hymns with a similar theme:
Come, sinners, to the gospel feast,
Let every soul be Jesu’s guest;
You need not one be left behind,
For God has bidden all mankind.
When we respond to the love of God (Justifying Grace) we discover that this Grace-filled love of God is a life-long encounter between the Spirit of God and ourselves (Sanctifying Grace). God meets us at a place of spiritual immaturity but does not leave us there. Our encounter with God changes us and we are invited into lifelong spiritual growth.
An Open Table
This invitation is visibly expressed when we share in Holy Communion. Methodist people practice what we call an “open table”. Methodists believe that when we come to the Communion Table, Jesus Christ is our host. It is Jesus “who chose us before the foundations of the earth” (Ephesians 1:4) who now invites us to come and participate in this holiest of meals. We come with an open heart, seeking to be transformed by the Love of Jesus. At the same time, we are willing to trust that others who come to Communion are similarly touched by the Spirit of God. John Wesley taught that the life of a seeker could be changed through receiving the Sacrament of Holy Communion. We therefore choose to accept everyone else who wants to receive Communion – for ours is a table where all are welcome to receive the signs of the Grace of God.
Daily Readings
Monday: For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
Tuesday: Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:20-21)
Wednesday: But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:9-10)
Thursday: For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. (John 1:16-17)
Friday: But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. (1 Corinthians 15:10)
Saturday: For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works. (Titus 2:11-14)
Week 2: All Are Peace-Makers
THE DOCTRINE OF PEACE (Week 2)
August 13 - Ephesians 2:14
For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.
God's earth is aching for peace. There is violence in families, communities, and between countries. People use race, religion, and history as an excuse to wage war against each other. The recent shooting in Fargo, ND, is just one of many, many instances where innocent lives are lost. Bishop Lanette Plambeck of the Dakotas Conference of the United Methodist Church urges us as follows: “In the face of this tragedy, let us channel our holy anger into action as we stand up for life while holding all those whose lives have been forever changed by this shooting and so many others in our prayers.” This is consistent with the call of the United Methodist Church for us to work for God’s shalom: “We who are disciples of Jesus Christ are called to be peacemakers for the transformation of the world.”
This echoes Jesus’ insistence that “Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). If a child of God is a peacemaker, then we should all be involved in bringing God’s peace to our world. In Ephesians Chapter 2, we discover that all peace begins with Jesus – who is our peace (Ephesians 2:14). Jesus reconciled us to himself while we were strangers and has welcomed us into God’s family. This generous welcome enables us to discover that God offers the same welcome to others who are aliens and strangers – thus tearing down the dividing wall of hostility (Ephesians 2:16).
This does not mean that we avoid conflict. Instead, it calls for us to work for a world where the possibility of peace can be born. And this means that peacemakers are called to make peace in places of conflict and situations that might cause conflict. Unfortunately, in our Midwestern world where our culture advocates “niceness,” we are even more inclined to avoid confronting situations where there is conflict. Midwestern people avoid conflict by pretending that there is nothing wrong. But peace-making is not being nice. Peace-making may be kind, but it is not passive. Peace-making is a commitment to move towards violence, and then to seek to transform violence into peace.
For this reason, the United Methodist Church encourages Methodist people to “advocate for actions that promote peace and oppose war” and “engage in advocacy for peace and justice, provide training for conflict resolution, and become instruments of peace.” Bishop Lanette notes that “we cannot stop with ‘thoughts and prayers.’ Educate yourself about gun violence in the United States. What are gun violence statistics? Read about ways United Methodists can take a stand against gun violence.” In the search for peace, The United Methodist Church encourages local churches to help prevent gun violence through advocacy “at the local and national levels for laws that prevent or reduce gun violence." United Methodist congregations are also asked "to display signs that prohibit carrying guns onto church property."
Daily Readings
Monday: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matthew 5:9)
Tuesday: You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. (Isaiah 26:3)
Wednesday: The Lord gives strength to his people, and the Lord blesses his people with peace. (Psalm 29:11)
Thursday: If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:18)
Friday: Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished, you have done for us. (Isaiah 26:12)
Saturday: For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in the congregations of the Lord's people. (Corinthians 14:33)
August 13 - Ephesians 2:14
For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.
God's earth is aching for peace. There is violence in families, communities, and between countries. People use race, religion, and history as an excuse to wage war against each other. The recent shooting in Fargo, ND, is just one of many, many instances where innocent lives are lost. Bishop Lanette Plambeck of the Dakotas Conference of the United Methodist Church urges us as follows: “In the face of this tragedy, let us channel our holy anger into action as we stand up for life while holding all those whose lives have been forever changed by this shooting and so many others in our prayers.” This is consistent with the call of the United Methodist Church for us to work for God’s shalom: “We who are disciples of Jesus Christ are called to be peacemakers for the transformation of the world.”
This echoes Jesus’ insistence that “Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God” (Matthew 5:9). If a child of God is a peacemaker, then we should all be involved in bringing God’s peace to our world. In Ephesians Chapter 2, we discover that all peace begins with Jesus – who is our peace (Ephesians 2:14). Jesus reconciled us to himself while we were strangers and has welcomed us into God’s family. This generous welcome enables us to discover that God offers the same welcome to others who are aliens and strangers – thus tearing down the dividing wall of hostility (Ephesians 2:16).
This does not mean that we avoid conflict. Instead, it calls for us to work for a world where the possibility of peace can be born. And this means that peacemakers are called to make peace in places of conflict and situations that might cause conflict. Unfortunately, in our Midwestern world where our culture advocates “niceness,” we are even more inclined to avoid confronting situations where there is conflict. Midwestern people avoid conflict by pretending that there is nothing wrong. But peace-making is not being nice. Peace-making may be kind, but it is not passive. Peace-making is a commitment to move towards violence, and then to seek to transform violence into peace.
For this reason, the United Methodist Church encourages Methodist people to “advocate for actions that promote peace and oppose war” and “engage in advocacy for peace and justice, provide training for conflict resolution, and become instruments of peace.” Bishop Lanette notes that “we cannot stop with ‘thoughts and prayers.’ Educate yourself about gun violence in the United States. What are gun violence statistics? Read about ways United Methodists can take a stand against gun violence.” In the search for peace, The United Methodist Church encourages local churches to help prevent gun violence through advocacy “at the local and national levels for laws that prevent or reduce gun violence." United Methodist congregations are also asked "to display signs that prohibit carrying guns onto church property."
Daily Readings
Monday: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. (Matthew 5:9)
Tuesday: You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. (Isaiah 26:3)
Wednesday: The Lord gives strength to his people, and the Lord blesses his people with peace. (Psalm 29:11)
Thursday: If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:18)
Friday: Lord, you establish peace for us; all that we have accomplished, you have done for us. (Isaiah 26:12)
Saturday: For God is not a God of disorder but of peace—as in the congregations of the Lord's people. (Corinthians 14:33)
Week 3: All Are God's Beloved
THE DOCTRINE OF HUMANITY (Week 3)
August 13 - Ephesians 5:1-2
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.
There is a thread of loving welcome that weaves its way through Scripture: God loves every. single. person. At Creation, God looked at the newly created human beings and saw that what was made was very good. The Psalmist repeats this in the words of a prayer:
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Psalm 139:14
We are reassured in John’s Gospel that God so loved the world that he sent his son “that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). The “whoever” of this mandate is shown in the way Jesus lived his life. He loved the forgotten people who lived on the margins of society – the sick, the lepers, the women, the non-Jewish, and many others who were excluded from the respectable society of his day. Jesus didn’t set conditions for participation in the kingdom of God. Instead, he announced that the kingdom was already among the people.
It is true that there were many moments when the people of God forgot this. Our religious Hebrew texts describe how the Children of Israel thought that God should hate the same people as they did. And so, they taught that God hated people such as the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites (Deuteronomy 20:16–18). Other groups such as the Philistines, the Moabites, and the Babylonians were called enemies and epic battles were fought against them in the name of God. Added to the list of people they thought God despised were individuals deemed to be ritually unclean: these included eunuchs, and people with skin diseases, and homosexuals, and people with physical deformities and menstruating women. But let us not be fooled by the way human prejudice was passed off as the will of God.
The good news is that God has fearfully and wonderfully made every human being, in our amazing diversity of expressions, customs and ways of looking at life. At Pentecost the Holy Spirit blessed everyone who heard the gospel – everyone: men and women and trans and non-binary and intersex people heard the good news preached by St Peter. The Holy Spirit was at work in people of all abilities and disabilities, so that anyone can share in the good news of Jesus. And the Holy Spirit brought people into one body, irrespective of gender, and skin color, culture, and language (Galatians 3:26-29; Ephesians 2:11-22).
For this reason, the UMC has stated:
We affirm that all persons are individuals of sacred worth, created in the image of God.
This then begs the question: Are all people welcome at our church? How do we respond to a gay couple who shows up for worship? What about people of native American origin? Can we open our hearts to people who are different from us? When a wheelchair-bound visitor comes to our door, are there spaces he or she is unable to get to? Are we able to open our minds to explore the potential barriers to people with unique physical challenges?
As United Methodists, we are in ministry with people of all abilities and cultures, and we want to enable full participation in worship and church activities. The challenge in Ephesians is for us to “walk in love” alongside all who seek the Lord (Ephesians 5:2). Together, we can “be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart” (Ephesians 5:19). This will ask us to open our doors to all who need to hear the love of God. For this reason, the byline of the United Methodist Church is “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors”.
Daily Readings
Monday: I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other. (John 13:34-35)
Tuesday: But you, dear friends: build each other up on the foundation of your most holy faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, keep each other in the love of God, wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will give you eternal life. (Jude 1:20-21)
Wednesday: I ask that you’ll have the power to grasp love’s width and length, height and depth, together with all believers. I ask that you’ll know the love of Christ that is beyond knowledge so that you will be filled entirely with the fullness of God. (Ephesians 1:5-6)
Thursday: God destined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ because of his love. This was according to his goodwill and plan and to honor his glorious grace that he has given to us freely through the Son whom he loves. (Ephesians 1:5-6)
Friday: Let them thank the Lord for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all people, because God satisfied the one who was parched with thirst, and he filled up the hungry with good things! (Psalm 107:8-9)
Saturday: Dear friends, let’s love each other, because love is from God, and everyone who loves is born from God and knows God. The person who doesn’t love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)
August 13 - Ephesians 5:1-2
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us.
There is a thread of loving welcome that weaves its way through Scripture: God loves every. single. person. At Creation, God looked at the newly created human beings and saw that what was made was very good. The Psalmist repeats this in the words of a prayer:
I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful, I know that full well.
Psalm 139:14
We are reassured in John’s Gospel that God so loved the world that he sent his son “that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16). The “whoever” of this mandate is shown in the way Jesus lived his life. He loved the forgotten people who lived on the margins of society – the sick, the lepers, the women, the non-Jewish, and many others who were excluded from the respectable society of his day. Jesus didn’t set conditions for participation in the kingdom of God. Instead, he announced that the kingdom was already among the people.
It is true that there were many moments when the people of God forgot this. Our religious Hebrew texts describe how the Children of Israel thought that God should hate the same people as they did. And so, they taught that God hated people such as the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites (Deuteronomy 20:16–18). Other groups such as the Philistines, the Moabites, and the Babylonians were called enemies and epic battles were fought against them in the name of God. Added to the list of people they thought God despised were individuals deemed to be ritually unclean: these included eunuchs, and people with skin diseases, and homosexuals, and people with physical deformities and menstruating women. But let us not be fooled by the way human prejudice was passed off as the will of God.
The good news is that God has fearfully and wonderfully made every human being, in our amazing diversity of expressions, customs and ways of looking at life. At Pentecost the Holy Spirit blessed everyone who heard the gospel – everyone: men and women and trans and non-binary and intersex people heard the good news preached by St Peter. The Holy Spirit was at work in people of all abilities and disabilities, so that anyone can share in the good news of Jesus. And the Holy Spirit brought people into one body, irrespective of gender, and skin color, culture, and language (Galatians 3:26-29; Ephesians 2:11-22).
For this reason, the UMC has stated:
We affirm that all persons are individuals of sacred worth, created in the image of God.
This then begs the question: Are all people welcome at our church? How do we respond to a gay couple who shows up for worship? What about people of native American origin? Can we open our hearts to people who are different from us? When a wheelchair-bound visitor comes to our door, are there spaces he or she is unable to get to? Are we able to open our minds to explore the potential barriers to people with unique physical challenges?
As United Methodists, we are in ministry with people of all abilities and cultures, and we want to enable full participation in worship and church activities. The challenge in Ephesians is for us to “walk in love” alongside all who seek the Lord (Ephesians 5:2). Together, we can “be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart” (Ephesians 5:19). This will ask us to open our doors to all who need to hear the love of God. For this reason, the byline of the United Methodist Church is “Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors”.
Daily Readings
Monday: I give you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, so you also must love each other. This is how everyone will know that you are my disciples, when you love each other. (John 13:34-35)
Tuesday: But you, dear friends: build each other up on the foundation of your most holy faith, pray in the Holy Spirit, keep each other in the love of God, wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will give you eternal life. (Jude 1:20-21)
Wednesday: I ask that you’ll have the power to grasp love’s width and length, height and depth, together with all believers. I ask that you’ll know the love of Christ that is beyond knowledge so that you will be filled entirely with the fullness of God. (Ephesians 1:5-6)
Thursday: God destined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ because of his love. This was according to his goodwill and plan and to honor his glorious grace that he has given to us freely through the Son whom he loves. (Ephesians 1:5-6)
Friday: Let them thank the Lord for his faithful love and his wondrous works for all people, because God satisfied the one who was parched with thirst, and he filled up the hungry with good things! (Psalm 107:8-9)
Saturday: Dear friends, let’s love each other, because love is from God, and everyone who loves is born from God and knows God. The person who doesn’t love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)
Week 4: A Biblical Foundation
THE DOCTRINE OF SCRIPTURE (Week 4)
August 27 - Ephesians 6:13
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
Methodist people believe that the Bible is the foundational bedrock to our faith. Along with the Protestant tradition we accept the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. These are our sacred scriptures and contain all that is needed for our salvation. Ephesians Chapter Six invites followers of Jesus to put on the armor of God – which includes “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”.
Methodist people embrace Jesus as the Word of God. John’s Gospel describes Jesus Christ as the living Word of God, come to live alongside of us, and to bring us the Good News of the love of God (John 1:1-18). The Bible is our primary source of information about Jesus, and as such is the foundation of our faith. This does not make the Bible infallible. While we believe that those who wrote the Bible were inspired by the Spirit of God, we also recognize that those who wrote the Bible were confined by their worldview and their culture. However, the limitations of the Biblical writers in their knowledge of geography and science and history in no way limits the truth of their experience of the Spirit of God in their lives, and it is to this truth that we turn and return.
It is important to note that not everything in the Bible is Christian. We therefore read the Bible through the perspective of the teaching of Jesus, weighing up what we find in the Bible against what Jesus taught. To do this we use tools handed down by our Methodist tradition, our human reason, and our lived experience.
Sadly, selective proof-texting has enabled Christians to use the Bible in support of eliminating Jews in Nazi Germany; and to support oppressing black people in South Africa; and to harass and kill LGBTQ people in Uganda. For this reason, “We interpret individual texts in light of their place in the Bible as a whole.” The Methodist way of reading Scripture using tradition, reason and experience enables us to listen more carefully for the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Unlike those Protestant Reformers who insisted upon the principle of sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), the United Methodist Church believes Scripture to be primary, but that it functions best when used with other theological resources.
We are aided by scholarly inquiry and personal insight, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. As we work with each text, we take into account what we have been able to learn about the original context and intention of that text. In this understanding we draw upon the careful historical, literary, and textual studies of recent years, which have enriched our understanding of the Bible.
That said, we always receive Scripture under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This occurs in private prayer, in worship, through Spirit-guided preaching, in receiving the Sacrament of Holy Communion, and in many other ways. We need the Holy Spirit to convict us, and to reveal the deeper teachings of Scripture.
Daily Readings
Monday: All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Tuesday: For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Romans 15:4)
Wednesday: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. (Matthew 24:35)
Thursday: For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12-13)
Friday: And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luke 24:27)
Saturday: But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)
August 27 - Ephesians 6:13
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
Methodist people believe that the Bible is the foundational bedrock to our faith. Along with the Protestant tradition we accept the thirty-nine books of the Old Testament and the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. These are our sacred scriptures and contain all that is needed for our salvation. Ephesians Chapter Six invites followers of Jesus to put on the armor of God – which includes “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”.
Methodist people embrace Jesus as the Word of God. John’s Gospel describes Jesus Christ as the living Word of God, come to live alongside of us, and to bring us the Good News of the love of God (John 1:1-18). The Bible is our primary source of information about Jesus, and as such is the foundation of our faith. This does not make the Bible infallible. While we believe that those who wrote the Bible were inspired by the Spirit of God, we also recognize that those who wrote the Bible were confined by their worldview and their culture. However, the limitations of the Biblical writers in their knowledge of geography and science and history in no way limits the truth of their experience of the Spirit of God in their lives, and it is to this truth that we turn and return.
It is important to note that not everything in the Bible is Christian. We therefore read the Bible through the perspective of the teaching of Jesus, weighing up what we find in the Bible against what Jesus taught. To do this we use tools handed down by our Methodist tradition, our human reason, and our lived experience.
- Tradition: This includes the formally agreed teachings like the creeds, the content of the Methodist Book of Discipline, and the statements and reports from the UMC General Conference.
- Reason: This means becoming aware of different points of view and using our own critical thinking to make sense of God's world.
- Experience: Methodism invites us to listen to life experience, especially when we pray and reflect about our story with other Christians.
Sadly, selective proof-texting has enabled Christians to use the Bible in support of eliminating Jews in Nazi Germany; and to support oppressing black people in South Africa; and to harass and kill LGBTQ people in Uganda. For this reason, “We interpret individual texts in light of their place in the Bible as a whole.” The Methodist way of reading Scripture using tradition, reason and experience enables us to listen more carefully for the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
Unlike those Protestant Reformers who insisted upon the principle of sola Scriptura (Scripture alone), the United Methodist Church believes Scripture to be primary, but that it functions best when used with other theological resources.
We are aided by scholarly inquiry and personal insight, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. As we work with each text, we take into account what we have been able to learn about the original context and intention of that text. In this understanding we draw upon the careful historical, literary, and textual studies of recent years, which have enriched our understanding of the Bible.
That said, we always receive Scripture under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. This occurs in private prayer, in worship, through Spirit-guided preaching, in receiving the Sacrament of Holy Communion, and in many other ways. We need the Holy Spirit to convict us, and to reveal the deeper teachings of Scripture.
Daily Readings
Monday: All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the person of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Tuesday: For whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Romans 15:4)
Wednesday: Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away. (Matthew 24:35)
Thursday: For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12-13)
Friday: And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luke 24:27)
Saturday: But he answered, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” (Matthew 4:4)
Want to Know More?
For those who would like to know more about The United Methodist Church, the best place to get basic information about the denomination is on the web pages at UMC.org
Go to Basics of Our Faith and Frequently Asked Questions
Our Wesleyan Heritage is another source of information about our beliefs, including the concepts of grace and good works.
Go to Basics of Our Faith and Frequently Asked Questions
Our Wesleyan Heritage is another source of information about our beliefs, including the concepts of grace and good works.