What Do We Believe at Seminario Wesleyano de Venezuela?

Statement of Faith

We Believe:

God

In the one God, Creator and Sustainer of all things, infinite in love, perfect in judgments and unchanging in mercy.  God exists eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;

Scripture

In the divine inspiration, truthfulness and authority of both the Old and New Testaments, the only written Word of God.  The Scriptures are the only infallible and sufficient rule of both faith and practice.  The Holy Spirit enlivens the truth of God’s Word to all people of every age;

Humankind

That human beings were created in the image of God.  This image was marred in every part through the disobedience of our first parents, and fellowship with God was broken by sin.  God, through prevenient grace, restores moral sensibility to all humankind and enable all to respond to His redemptive love and accept his saving grace, if they will;

Jesus Christ

That Jesus Christ is God’s incarnate Son, born of the virgin Mary, conceived by the Holy Spirit.  He died for the sins of all, taking on Himself God’s judgment upon sin.  He died and three days later bodily rose from  the grave and ascended Heaven where He intercedes for us;

Holy Spirit

That the Holy Spirit is God present and active in the world.  The Holy Spirit was given to believers in the Church in His fullness at Pentecost.  By the Spirit, Christ lives in His church, the Gospel is proclaimed and the Kingdom of God is manifested in the world;

Justification

That God graciously justifies and regenerates all who trust in Jesus Christ.  Saved by grace through faith children of God begin to live in holiness through the power of the Holy Spirit;

Entire Sanctification

That God calls all believers to entire sanctification through full surrender and faith. Through sanctifying grace believers overcome sin and live in perfect love for God and neighbor;

Assurance of Believers

That believers are assured that they are children of God through the inward witness of the Holy Spirit with their spirit, receive the gracious promises of the Word to believers and are enabled to bear the fruit of the Spirit;

Witness of Believers 

That Christians are called to live in daily witness to the grace of God in Christ through both faith and action, word and deed.  Believers witness to the will of God for justice, righteousness and mercy in all structures and relationships of human society; 

The Church

That the church is the people of God redeemed by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord sharing corporately in the proclamation of the Word and celebrating the Sacraments of Baptism and The Lord’s Supper.  The church is the Body of Christ visible and present in the world. Its primary mission is to make disciples of all the peoples of the world;

The Second Coming of Christ

In the personal return of Jesus Christ, in the bodily resurrection of all persons, in final judgment and in eternal reward and punishment, the reign of Christ in the ultimate victory over Satan and all evil.