Shelby

Thank you very much, but i must say that I forgot to sight my help for that. It is our doctrinal book that The Salvation Army puts out when potential members are learning about our doctrines. I apologize. I did not mean to take credit for that. I decided instead of trying to explain that I could research it and give you a more solid answer that does reflect what I do believe. Here is the forward. This book is about the faith of the Salvationist (term for member). It is based upon the eleven Articles of Faith which, since 1878, have been the basis of The Salvation Army's witness to the Christian gospel. Some may wonder why Salvationists place such emphasis upon a written statement of faith. After all, they are people who rightly maintain that a Christian is one who enters trustfully into a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and is born again of the Holy Spirit. They emphasise that faith is a personal affair, often springing from an experience of God's grace that is beyond the reach of definition or analysis. They may well be suspicious of any attempt to reduce this life-changing encounter to a form of words on a page. Yet without words, the experience fails to be named, clarified or shared. Faith is not only personal: it has a public face. The earliest Christians acknowledged one another in the simple confession: 'Jesus is Lord' (1 Corinthians 12:3). This was their creed. As they shared it, they grounded their personal experience in the risen Christ, verified one another's experience and called upon the world to acknowledge the lordship of Christ. It was from these biblical beginnings that the creeds of the Church grew to be authoritative statements of the Christian faith. They have a long history, some of which is referred to within these pages. Doctrine is the teaching of the Church. It is an expanded explanation of faith, founded on Scripture and developed from a basic creed. The eleven Articles of Faith are an expression both of personal faith and of a common vision. They are consistent with the classical Christian creeds and identify Salvationists as members of the universal Church. They also express the fundamental evangelical convictions of Wesleyanism, the branch of the Church out of which The Salvation Army grew. Salvationists emphasise in their doctrine and in their mission the universal call to personal salvation, the challenge to holiness and the need for evangelical zeal. The Eleven Doctrines have remained essentially unchanged in a rapidly changing world. A number of Handbooks of Doctrine have, however, been produced, the most recent of which was published in 1969. It was decided that the time was fitting for a further explanatory volume. This book differs from its predecessors in a number of ways. It is narrative in form, so that teaching is presented in short paragraphs, rather than point by point. This should enable the progression of thought to be clearly seen and allow for flexible use in both study groups and the classroom. The narrative style means that we examine the truths of our faith on two levels, both as the work of God in history which accomplished our salvation, and as the record of our own journey of faith, from sin through to salvation and holiness. The narrative approach is reflected, too, in the Handbook's title: Salvation Story. Salvationists base their understanding of doctrine on the witness of the Bible, the living word of God. Our Articles of Faith make that clear, and therefore this book seeks to be faithful to Scripture. Scripture references appear throughout and can usually be found at the end of the section to which they relate. References are selective rather than comprehensive and allow students to research those that are helpful and to discover others for themselves. This Handbook is deliberately concise. Its purpose is to provide a testament to the faith that is shared by Salvationists all over the world. For that reason, it is written throughout in the first person plural. It is hoped that Salvationists will recognise within it a commonly understood approach to Christian truth and identify themselves with it. Furthermore, it is not intended to be exclusive to Salvationists. It allows them to declare what they believe and to invite others to share the same experience of saving grace. This book, with its accompanying Study Guide and other publications, will provide a useful resource for all Salvationists, including new converts and officer-cadets, in their study of the fundamentals of our faith.

Amen John! Couldn't have said it better myself. God bless you for seeking knowledge regarding your questions. I love it when peope seek and find and share! GBU

Depravity The terms

I am in the Central Territory. I have been an officer (minister). I left the work to get married and will be returniing as soon as my husband attend and finished training (Seminary). Steve H. I was just stating that we have the most in common and historically based similarities. There is a difference in the baptisms that the Methodists practice than other churchs. My friends who belong to the United Methodist Church believe that their baptism is and outward sign of an inward working. While other churchs believe you are not truly saved and sanctified until you have been baptized. For us in TSA you could say our uniforms are that of a daily baptism, an outward sign of an inward working. I have been in TSA for 20 years. Here are our doctrines: We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God; and that they only constitute the divine rule of Christian faith and practice. We believe that there is only one God, who is infinitely perfect - the Creator, Preserver and Governor of all things - and who is the only proper object of religious worship. We believe that there are three persons in the Godhead - the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost -undivided in essence and co-equal in power and glory. We believe that in the person of Jesus Christ the divine and human natures are united; so that he is truly and properly God, and truly and properly man. We believe that our first parents were created in a state of innocency but, by their disobedience, they lost their purity and happiness; and that in consequence of their fall all men have become sinners, totally depraved, and as such are justly exposed to the wrath of God. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has, by his suffering and death, made an atonement for the whole world, so that whosoever will may be saved. We believe that repentance toward God, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit are necessary to salvation. We believe that we are justified by grace, through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ; and that he that believeth hath the witness in himself. We believe that continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ. We believe that it is the privilege of all believers to be 'wholly sanctified', and that their 'whole spirit and soul and body' may 'be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ' (1 Thessalonians 5:23). God Bless you all, I really appreciate your input.

I agree with some that said neither. I am a Christian and more Wesleyan than anything, if a label is to be made. This is what I believe. I believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God; and that they only constitute the divine rule of Christian faith and practice. I believe that there is only one God, who is infinitely perfect - the Creator, Preserver and Governor of all things - and who is the only proper object of religious worship. I believe that there are three persons in the Godhead - the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost -undivided in essence and co-equal in power and glory. I believe that in the person of Jesus Christ the divine and human natures are united; so that he is truly and properly God, and truly and properly man. I believe that our first parents were created in a state of innocency but, by their disobedience, they lost their purity and happiness; and that in consequence of their fall all men have become sinners, totally depraved, and as such are justly exposed to the wrath of God. I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has, by his suffering and death, made an atonement for the whole world, so that whosoever will may be saved. I believe that repentance toward God, faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit are necessary to salvation. I believe that we are justified by grace, through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ; and that he that believeth hath the witness in himself. I believe that continuance in a state of salvation depends upon continued obedient faith in Christ. I believe that it is the privilege of all believers to be 'wholly sanctified', and that their 'whole spirit and soul and body' may 'be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ' (1 Thessalonians 5:23). This is what I believe.

I just heard of this for the first time on this forum. Scary, I must live under a rock. I go to The Salvation Army as my church and we have doctrines much like the Methodists. But I am positive that The Salvation Army will not be going that route. It feels like this is all happening so fast. I don't understand the thought process of those jury members, or the overseeing bishop. I am puzzled to think of how God is going to use this for His glory, but he will, soon, he will. God bless you all as you endeavor to seek His will. Shelby