This We Believe

An excerpt from This We Believe
By Hubert Harriman, President
October–December 2011

“What do you believe?”

This is a common question asked of Christian organizations and is generally clarified with a Statement of Faith. By this, we try to identify who we are. My great concern for World Gospel Mission is that our Statement of Faith not be about identification, but about incarnation.

WGM has a longstanding history in the Wesleyan tradition. A vital Statement of Faith we emphasize is “We believe in the present and personal ministry of the Holy Spirit, purifying and enabling Christians to live holy lives,” followed with “We believe God created man in His own image to reflect His glory.” But we all know this is nothing but doctrinal drivel if we can’t live it.

“We believe in the present and personal ministry of the Holy Spirit, purifying and enabling Christians to live holy lives.” The Holy Spirit is called “Holy Spirit,” not to distinguish Him from the Father and Son, for each of the Trinity is holy, but to describe what He does in us. The huge question is “Can God do something in us so we can reflect His glory?” Our declaration is a resounding “Yes, He can!” John wrote that “if we walk in the light as He Himself is in the light…the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:6-7 NASB). The doctrine and message of holiness is that, if we walk in the light, with full face toward God instead of self, with the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, we can again reflect His glory!

To view WGM's Statement of Faith visit: http://www.wgm.org/page.aspx?pid=226.