Reading 15.2

Conference for Prayer and Counsel
Respecting Uniformity in the Testimony and Teaching of the Alliance
May 25-28, 1906

The Committee appointed by the Board to prepare a plan for a conference on the matters above stated, recommend that such a conference be held immediately before the annual Council at Nyack in the beginning of June and that as many as possible of our Alliance workers throughout the country be invited and urged to attend.

The importance of Unity upon a common basis of testimony and teaching is becoming more and more urgent and the need of prayer for the great objects which we hold in common is emphasized at this time as never before. In connection with this conference the following plan is suggested:

  1. That it shall be held for at least three days and that at least one hour each session shall be given to prayer and the rest of the time to conference respecting our Alliance testimony and teaching.
  2. That the various subjects covered by this report be introduced by a short paper not exceeding fifteen minutes and followed by five or ten minute addresses by the members of the conference.
  3. That a Committee be appointed by the conference for the purpose of carefully following the various discussions and drawing up a brief paper to be submitted to a subsequent meeting and adopted as the sense of the conference upon the matter in question.
  4. That specific subjects be taken up at the various meetings of the Council for prayer and made the subject of earnest, united, believing intercession.
  5. The following outline of subjects to be discussed is respectfully submitted as a basis for the deliberations of the proposed conference:

I. Open Questions

That the conference recognize certain matters of teaching and testimony as not with the direct province of the Alliance, but open questions about which our brethren agree to differ and hold in mutual charity their individual convictions according to their various denominational connections and previous teachings. These open questions include:

  1. Church government
  2. the subjects and modes of baptism
  3. the doctrines know as Calvinism and Arminianism
  4. Various ceremonies and practices such as feet washing, etc.

II. Our Distinctive Testimony

  1. Christ, our Saviour, always assuming that we stand unequivocally upon the Deity of Christ, His vicarious sacrifice and the necessity of regeneration through the power of the Holy Spirit.
  2. Christ, our Sanctifier, assuming the following essential points:
      a. A definite second blessing, distinct in nature, though not necessarily far removed in           time, from the experience of conversion;
      b. the baptism of the Holy Ghost as a distinct experience, not merely for power for               service, but for personal holiness and victory over the world and sin;
      c. the indwelling Christ in the heart of the consecrated believer as a distinct experience;
      d. sanctification by faith as a distinct gift of God's grace to every open and surrendered         soul;
      e. growth in grace and the deeper filling of the Holy Spirit as distinct from and the result      of the definite experience of sanctification.

It is understood that all our Alliance officers and teachers are at liberty to present the truth of sanctification in such phases and phrases as his own convictions warrant, in general accordance with the above specifications, but with the understanding that such extreme views as are sometimes taught under the name of "eradication" or "suppression" shall not be presented in an aggressive or controversial spirit toward those who differ.

III. Divine Healing

It is understood the Alliance holds and teaches:

  1. The will of God to heal the bodies of those who trust and obey Him by His own direct power without means.
  2. The atonement of Christ for the body.
  3. The life of the risen Christ for our mortal frame received by faith.
  4. The ordinance of anointing and laying on of hands with proper recognition of the necessity of faith on the part of the individual anointed.
  5. Power over evil spirits through the name of Jesus.
  6. The disclaiming of all merit or individual power on the part of the worker and the constant recognition of the name of Jesus as the source of all supernatural power.

IV. The Lord's Coming

  1. The Alliance holds and teaches the personal and premillennial coming of the Lord Jesus.
  2. (blotted out - unreadable)
  3. Liberty is accorded to our teachers in connection with the various opinions held about Anti-Christ, the Tribulation, the Last Week of Daniel, Rapture, etc., but with the understanding that any spirit of antagonism and strife toward those who may hold different opinions is discountenanced.

HENRY WILSON                      J.D. WILLIAMS
A.E. FUNK                                 F.H. SENFT
A.B. SIMPSON

Reading 15.3

Doctrinal Statement of 1928 for Alliance Bible Schools

The Manual of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, (1929 edition)

  1. The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God. They contain a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men, and constitute the Divine and only rule of Christian faith and practice. -- I Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21.
  2. There is one God, Who is infinitely perfect, existing eternally in three persons Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
  3. Jesus Christ is true God and true man. He was conceived by the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary. He died upon the cross, the just for the unjust as a substitutionary sacrifice, and all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood. He arose from the dead according to the Scriptures. He is now at the right hand of the Majesty on high as our Great High Priest, and He will return again to establish His Kingdom of righteousness and justice.
  4. The Holy Spirit is a Divine Person, the Executive of the Godhead, the Comforter sent by the Lord Jesus Christ to indwell, to guide, and to teach the believer, and to convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.
  5. Man was originally created in the likeness and image of God; he fell through disobedience, incurring thereby both physical and spiritual death. All men are born with a sinful nature, are separated from the life of God, and can be saved only through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The portion of the impenitent and unbelieving is existence forever in conscious torment; and that of the believer, in everlasting joy and bliss.
  6. Salvation has been provided through Jesus Christ for all men; and those who receive Him are born again of the Holy Spirit, obtain the gift of eternal life, and become the children of God.
  7. There shall be a bodily resurrection of the just and of the unjust: for the former, a resurrection unto life; for the latter, a resurrection unto judgment.
  8. The church consists of all those who have believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, are washed in His blood, and have been born again of the Holy Spirit. It has been commissioned of the Lord to witness in His name, to comfort and build up its members in the holy faith, and especially to fulfill the terms of the Great Commission to go forth into all the world as a witness, preaching the Gospel to all nations.
  9. It is the will of God that each believer should be filled with the Holy Spirit and thus be sanctified wholly, being separated from sin and the world and fully consecrated to the will of God, thereby receiving power for holy living and effective service. This is recognized as an experience wrought in the life subsequent to conversion.
  10. Provision is made in the redemption of the Lord Jesus Christ for the healing of the mortal body in accordance with His Word. The anointing with oil, as set forth in the fifth chapter of James, is to be practiced by the Church in this present age.
  11. The premillennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is a practical truth which should be preached, showing its relation to the personal life and the service of the believer.

   

Reading 15.4

STATEMENT OF FAITH (1965)

  1. There is one God, who is infinitely perfect, existing eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
  2. Jesus Christ is true God and true man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. He died upon the cross, the Just for the unjust, as a substitutionary sacrifice, and all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood. He arose from the dead according to the Scriptures. He is now at the right hand of the Majesty on high as our great High Priest. He will come again to establish His kingdom of righteousness and peace.
  3. The Holy Spirit is a Divine Person, sent to indwell, guide, teach, empower the believer, and convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.
  4. The Old and New Testaments, inerrant as originally given, were verbally inspired by God and are a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men. They constitute the divine and only rule of Christian faith and practice.
  5. Man was originally created in the image and likeness of God; he fell through disobedience, incurring thereby both physical and spiritual death. All men are born with a sinful nature, are separated from the life of God, and can be saved only through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The portion of the impenitent and unbelieving is existence forever in conscious torment; and that of the believer, in everlasting joy and bliss.
  6. Salvation has been provided through Jesus Christ for all men; and those who repent and believe in Him are born again of the Holy Spirit, receive the gift of eternal life, and become the children of God.
  7. It is the will of God that each believer should be filled with the Holy Spirit and be sanctified wholly, being separated from sin and the world and fully dedicated to the will of God, thereby receiving power for holy living and effective service. This is both a crisis and a progressive experience wrought in the life of the believer subsequent to conversion.
  8. Provision is made in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ for the healing of the mortal body. Prayer for the sick and anointing with oil are taught in the Scriptures and are privileges for the Church in this present age.
  9. The Church consists of all those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, are redeemed through His blood, and are born again of the Holy Spirit. Christ is the Head of the Body, the Church, which has been commissioned by Him to go into all the world as a witness, preaching the Gospel to all nations. The local church is a body of believers in Christ who are joined together for the worship of God, for edification through the Word of God, for prayer, fellowship, the proclamation of the Gospel, and observance of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's supper.
  10. There shall be a bodily resurrection of the just and the unjust; for the former, a resurrection unto life; for the latter, a resurrection unto judgment.
  11. The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is imminent and will be personal, visible, and premillennial. This is the believer's blessed hope and is a vital truth which is an incentive to holy living and faithful service.