APPENDIX A: WESLEY’S 25 ARTICLES OF RELIGION, 1750

ARTICLE 1—Of Faith in the Holy Trinity

There is but one living and true God, everlasting, without body or parts, of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness; the maker and preserver of all things, both visible and invisible. And in unity of this Godhead there are three Persons of one substance, power, and eternity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.  God is Spirit infinite eternal and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth and these three are one God, equal in power and glory.

ARTICLE 2—Of the Word, or Son of God, Who Was Made Very Man

Humanity’s Redeemer is the Lord Jesus Christ.  He, being the eternal Son of God, became man.  He is the Word of the Father, the very and eternal God, of one substance with the Father, took man's nature in the womb of the blessed Virgin; so that two whole and perfect natures, that is to say, the Godhead and Manhood, were joined together in one person, never to be divided; whereof is one Christ, very God and very Man, who truly suffered, was crucified, died, and was buried, to reconcile His Father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for actual sins of men.  Jesus Christ was and continues to be God and man in two distinct natures but one Person forever.  Christ the Son of God became human by obtaining for himself a real body and a rational soul.  Being conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary, he was born of her, yet without sin.  Christ, as our Redeemer, executes the offices of a Prophet, of a Priest, and of a King, both in his state of humiliation and exaltation.  Christ executes the office of a Prophet in revealing to us by his word and Spirit the will of God for our salvation.  Christ executes the office of a Priest by offering himself once (for all time) as a sacrifice to satisfy Divine Justice and reconcile us to God, and in making continual intercession for us. Christ executes the office of a King in subduing us to himself, in ruling and defending us, and in restraining and conquering all his and our enemies.

ARTICLE 3—Of the Resurrection of Christ and Humanity

Christ did truly rise again from the dead, and took again His body, with all things appertaining to the perfection of man's nature, wherewith He ascended into heaven, and there sitteth until He returns to judge all men at the last day. Christ’s humiliation consisted of his being born in a low condition, made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, and the cursed death of the cross, in being buried, and continuing under the power of death for a time.  Christ’s exaltation consists of his rising again from the dead on the third day, in ascending up to heaven, and sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and in coming to judge the world at the last day.  At the resurrection Christians, being raised up in glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment of God for all eternity.

ARTICLE 4—Of the Holy Ghost

The Holy Ghost, proceeding from the Father and the Son, is of one substance, majesty and glory with the Father and the Son, very and eternal God.

ARTICLE 5—Of the Sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures for Salvation

The Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation; so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man that it should be believed as an article of faith, or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. In the name of the Holy Scripture we do understand those canonical books of the Old and New Testament of whose authority was never any doubt in the church.

The names of the canonical books are: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, The First Book of Samuel, The Second Book of Samuel, The First Book of Kings, The Second Book of Kings, The First Book of Chronicles, The Second Book of Chronicles, The Book of Ezra, The Book of Nehemiah, The Book of Esther, The Book of Job, The Psalms, The Proverbs, Ecclesiastes or the Preacher, Cantica or Songs of Solomon, Four Prophets the Greater, Twelve Prophets the Less.

All the books of the New Testament, as they are commonly received, we do receive and account canonical. 

Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.  The Word of God, which is contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, is the only rule to direct us how we may glorify God and enjoy him.  The Scriptures principally teach, what we are to believe concerning God, and what duty God requires of us.  The Spirit of God makes the reading, but especially the preaching of the word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation.  For the word to become effectual for salvation, we must diligently apply ourselves to preparation and prayer.  We must receive it with faith and love, store it in our hearts, and practice it in our lives.

ARTICLE 6—Of the Old Testament

The Old Testament is not contrary to the New; for both in the Old and New Testament everlasting life is offered to mankind by Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and man, being both God and Man.  Wherefore they are not to be heard who feign that the old fathers did look only for transitory promises.  Although the law given from God by Moses as touching ceremonies and rites doth not bind Christians, nor ought the civil precepts thereof of necessity be received in any commonwealth; yet notwithstanding, no Christian whatsoever is free from the obedience of the commandments which are called moral. 

The duty which God requires of Humanity is obedience to his revealed will.  The rule that God first revealed to Humanity was obedience to the Moral Law as summarized in the Ten Commandments.  The Sum of the Ten Commandments is to love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind, and our neighbor as ourselves.  The preface to the Ten Commandments is: I am the Lord your God, who has brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.  This teaches that because God is the Lord our God and redeemer, we are bound to keep all his Commandments. 

The first Commandment is that we shall have no other gods before me.  This Commandment requires us to know and acknowledge God as the only true God, as our God, and to worship and glorify him accordingly.  The First Commandment forbids us to deny, or not worship and glorify, the true God as God, and as our God.  It also forbids giving worship and glory to any other thing which is due God alone.  The words “before Me” in the First Commandment, teach, that God, who sees all things, takes notice and is very displeased with the sin of having any other God.

The Second Commandment is that we shall not make for ourselves an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.  We shall not bow down to them or worship them; for the Lord our God is a jealous God, punishing children form the iniquity of parents, to the third and the fourth generation of those who reject him, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love him and keep his commandments.  The Second Commandment requires us to receive, observe, and keep in purity and in their entirety the religious worship and ordinances that God has appointed in his word.  The Second Commandment forbids the worship of God by images, or any other way not appointed by his word.  We learn from the Second Commandment that God is sovereign over us, that we are his property, and his zeal for his own worship.

The Third Commandment is that we shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord our God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.  The Third Commandment requires the holy and reverent use of God’s names, titles, attributes, ordinances, word, and works.  The Third Commandment forbids all profanity and abusing of anything that God uses to make himself known.  We learn from the Third Commandment that while transgressors of this Commandment may escape punishment from men, yet the Lord our God will not suffer them to escape his righteous judgment.

The Fourth Commandment is to remember the sabbath day and keep it holy.  Six days we shall labor and do all our work.  But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord our God; we shall not do any work—ourselves, our son or our daughter, our male or female slave, our livestock, or the alien resident in out towns.  For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested the seventh day; therefore, the Lord blessed the sabbath day and consecrated it.  The Fourth Command requires us to keep holy to God the set times that he has appointed in his word—specifically, the seventh day to be a holy Sabbath to him.  Till the resurrection of Christ God appointed the seventh day of the week (Saturday) to be the weekly Sabbath.  Ever since then he appointed the first day of the week (Sunday) as the Sabbath in perpetuity till the end of the world.  The Sabbath is sanctified by resting in a holy manner for the entire day.  We even rest from secular employment and recreation, which are lawful on other days.  We spend the whole time in the public and private exercise of God’s worship, except for what time is needed for works of necessity and mercy.  The Fourth Commandment forbids the omission, or careless performance, of the duties required, and the profaning the day by idleness, or doing that which is in itself sinful, or by unnecessary thoughts, words, or works, about worldly employments, or recreation.  We learn from the Fourth Commandment that God allows us six days of the week for our own employment, the seventh day belongs to him in a special way, and he blesses the Sabbath Day.

The Fifth Commandment is to honor our father and our mother, so that our days may be long in the land that the Lord our God is giving us.  The Fifth Commandment requires us to preserve the honor and perform the duties that belong to everyone in their various places and relationships as superiors, inferiors, and equals.  The Fifth Commandment forbids neglecting or doing anything against the honor and duty that belongs to everyone in their various places and relationships.  We learn from the Fifth Commandment that God promises a long life and prosperity (as far as it brings God glory and brings us benefit) to all who keep this Commandment.

The Sixth Commandment is that we shall not murder and requires all lawful endeavors to preserve our own life and the lives of others.  The Sixth Commandment forbids taking our own lives or the lives of our neighbors unjustly, or anything related to such acts.

The Seventh Commandment is that we shall not commit adultery and requires the preservation of our own and our neighbor’s chastity in thought, speech, and behavior.  The Seventh Commandment forbids all unchaste thoughts, words, and actions.

The Eighth Commandment is that we shall not steal and requires the lawful acquisition and accumulation of ours and other’s wealth and estate.  The Eighth Commandment forbids whatever does or may unjustly hinder our own, or our neighbor’s wealth and estate.

The Ninth Commandment is that we shall not bear false witness against our neighbor and requires us to maintain and promote honesty between persons and maintain and promote our own and our neighbor’s good name, especially when asked to bear witness.  The Ninth Commandment forbids untruthful bias and whatever would injure our own or our neighbor’s good name.

The Tenth Commandment is that we shall not covet our neighbor’s house; we shall not covet our neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to our neighbor.  The Tenth Commandment requires the full contentment with our own condition, and a right and charitable frame of spirit towards our neighbors and all that is theirs.  The Tenth Commandment forbids being discontent with our estate, being envious of or unhappy about our neighbor’s good fortune, and all inordinate actions and desires towards anything that is theirs.

Some sins in themselves, and by reason of their respective severity, are more heinous in the sight of God than others, but every sin deserves God’s wrath and curse, both in this life and the life to come.      

ARTICLE 7—Original Sin, Immortality of the Soul, Heaven and Hell

Original sin standeth not in the following of Adam (as the Pelagians do vainly talk), but it is the corruption of the nature of every man, that naturally is engendered of the offspring of Adam, whereby man is very far gone from original righteousness, and of his own nature inclined to evil, and that continually.

The work of creation is God’s making all things out of nothing, by his powerful word, in the space of six days, and it was all very good.  God created mankind, male and female, after his own image, in a state of knowledge, righteousness, and holiness; and he gave them dominion over the creatures.  God’s works of providence are his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions.  When God created the first man, he entered in a covenant of life with him, upon a condition of perfect obedience forbidding him to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, upon pain of death.  Our first parents, being left to the freedom of their own wills, fell from the state they were created in by sinning against God.

Sin is transgression of the law of God.  The sin our first parents committed that caused them to fall from the state they were created in was eating the forbidden fruit.  The covenant God made with Adam was not only for himself, but for his posterity, all Humanity, descending from him by ordinary generation who sinned in him, and fell with him in his first transgression.  The fall brought Humanity into a state of sin and misery.  The sinfulness of the state into which Humanity fell consists of the guilt of Adam’s first sin, the lack of original righteousness, the corruption of the entirety of human nature (which is commonly called Original Sin), and all actual transgressions that proceed from it (Actual Sin).  The misery of that state into which Humanity fell is the lost communion with God.  They are under his wrath and curse, and so made liable to all the miseries of this life, even to death itself, and to the agonies of hell forever.

ARTICLE 8—Of Free Will 

The condition of man after the fall of Adam is such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and works, to faith, and calling upon God; wherefore we have no power to do good works, pleasant and acceptable to God without the grace of God by Christ enabling (preventing ) us, that we may have a good will, and working with us, when we have that good will.

ARTICLE 9—Of Justification and Sanctification

We are accounted righteous before God only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, by faith, and not for our own works or deservings; whereof, that we are justified by faith, only, is a most wholesome doctrine, and very full of comfort.  We are made partakers of the redemption purchased by Christ by the Holy Spirit effectually applying it to us.  The Spirit applies the redemption purchased by Christ to us by working faith in us and thereby uniting us to Christ.  For those who genuinely believe partake in this life of the benefits of justification, sanctification, and the several benefits in this life that either accompany or flow from them.  Justification is an act of God’s free grace through which he pardons all our sins and accepts us as righteous in his sight, only for the righteousness of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone.  Sanctification is the work of God’s free grace through which we are renewed in our entire person after the image of God, and are we enabled to die to sin and live righteously.  The benefits in this life that either accompany or flow from justification and sanctification are the assurance of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Spirit, increase of grace, and perseverance in these till the end.  The benefits Christians receive from Christ at their death is that their souls pass into glory, and their bodies rest in their graves, till the resurrection.  At the resurrection Christians, being raised up in glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment of God for all eternity.

ARTICLE 10—Of Good Works

Although good works, which are the fruits of faith, and follow after justification, cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God's judgment; yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and spring out of a true and lively faith, insomuch that by them a lively faith may be as evidently known as a tree is discerned by its fruit.

ARTICLE 11—Of Works of Supererogation

Voluntary works—besides, over and above God's commandments—which they call works of supererogation, cannot be taught without arrogancy and impiety. For by them men do declare that they do not only render unto God as much as they are bound to do, but that they do more for His sake than of bounden duty is required; whereas Christ saith plainly: When you have done all that is commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants.

ARTICLE 12—Of Sin after Justification

Not every sin willingly committed after justification is the sin against the Holy Ghost, and unpardonable.  Wherefore, the grant of repentance is not to be denied to such as fall into sin after justification.  After we have received the Holy Ghost, we may depart from grace given, and fall into sin, and, by the grace of God, rise again and amend our lives.  And therefore they are to be condemned who say they can no more sin as long as they live here; or deny the place of forgiveness to such as truly repent.

ARTICLE 13—The Church

The visible church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men in which the pure Word of God is preached, and the Sacraments duly administered according to Christ's ordinance, in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same.

ARTICLE 14—Of Purgatory

The Romish doctrine concerning purgatory, pardon, worshiping, and adoration, as well of images as of relics, and also invocation of saints, is a fond thing, vainly invented, and grounded upon no warrant of Scripture, but repugnant to the Word of God.

ARTICLE 15—Speaking as the People Understand and the Importance of Prayer 

It is a thing plainly repugnant to the Word of God, and the custom of the primitive church, to have public prayer in the church, or to minister the Sacraments, in a tongue not understood by the people.  Prayer is an offering up of our desires to God for things agreeable to his will, in the name of Christ, with confession of our sins and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies.  The whole word of God is of use to direct us in prayer; but the special rule of direction is that form of prayer which Christ taught his disciples, commonly called the Lord’s Prayer.

The preface of the Lord’s Prayer, (which is, Our Father in heaven,) teaches us to draw near to God with all holy reverence, and confidence as children to a father, able and ready to help us and that we should pray with and for others.  In the first petition, (which is, Hallowed by your name,) we pray, that God would enable us, and others, to glorify him in all that whereby he makes himself known; and that he would dispose all things to his own glory.  In the second petition, (which is, Your kingdom come,) we pray, that Satan’s kingdom may be destroyed, that the kingdom of grace may be advanced, ourselves and others brought into it, and kept in it, and that the kingdom of glory may be hastened.  In the third petition, (which is, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven,) we pray, that God by his grace would make us able and willing to know, obey, and submit to his will in all things, as the angels do in heaven.  In the fourth petition, (which is, Give us this day our daily bread,) we pray, that of God’s free gift, we may receive a competent portion of the good things of this life, and enjoy his blessing with them.  In the fifth petition, (which is, And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors,) we pray, that God, for Christ’s sake, would freely pardon all our sins, which we are the rather encouraged to ask, because by his grace we are enabled, from our heart, to forgive others.  In the sixth petition, (which is, And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one,) we pray, that God would either keep us from being tempted to sin, or support and deliver us when we are tempted.  The conclusion of the Lord’s Prayer, (which is, For the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours forever.  Amen,) teaches us, to take our encouragement in prayer from God only, and in our prayers to praise him, ascribing kingdom, power, and glory to him; and in testimony of our desire and assurance to be heard, we say, Amen.  

ARTICLE 16—Of the Sacraments

Sacraments ordained of Christ are not only badges or tokens of Christian men's profession, but rather they are certain signs of grace, and God's good will toward us, by which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm, our faith in him. There are two Sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord in the Gospel; that is to say, Baptism and the Supper of the Lord. Those five commonly called sacraments, that is to say, confirmation, penance, orders, matrimony, and extreme unction, are not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel; being such as have partly grown out of the corrupt following of the apostles, and partly are states of life allowed in the Scriptures, but yet have not the like nature of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, because they have not any visible sign or ceremony ordained of God. The Sacraments were not ordained of Christ to be gazed upon, or to be carried about; but that we should duly use them. And in such only as worthily receive the same, they have a wholesome effect or operation; but they that receive them unworthily, purchase to themselves condemnation, as St. Paul saith.

The external and ordinary means through which Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption are his ordinances, especially the word, sacraments, and prayer.  A sacrament is a holy ordinance instituted by Christ, where, by visible signs, Christ and the benefits of the new covenant are represented, sealed, and applied to Christians.  The sacraments of the New Testament are baptism and the Lord’s Supper.  The sacraments become effectual means of salvation, not from any virtue in them or from any virtue in those who administers them, but only by the blessing of Christ and the working of his Spirit in them who by faith receive them.

ARTICLE 17—Of Baptism

Baptism is not only a sign of profession and mark of difference whereby Christians are distinguished from others that are not baptized; but it is also a sign of regeneration or the new birth.  The baptism of young children is to be retained in the Church. 

To escape the wrath and curse of God due us for sin, God requires of us faith in Jesus Christ, repentance unto life with the diligent use of all outward means by which Christ communicates to us the benefits of redemption.  Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace through which we receive, and rest upon, him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the Gospel.  Repentance unto life is a saving grace through which sinners, out of a true sense of their sin and awareness of the mercy of God in Christ, do, with grief and hatred of their sin, turn from it unto God, and with

complete intentionality endeavors after new obedience.

Baptism is a sacrament wherein the washing with the water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, signifies and seals our engrafting into Christ, and partaking of the benefits of the covenant of grace, and our engagements to be the Lord’s.  Baptism is not to be administered to any young that are out of the visible church, till they profess their faith in Christ, and obedience to him; but the infants of such as are members of the visible church are to be baptized. 

ARTICLE 18—Of the Lord's Supper

The Supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that Christians ought to have among themselves one to another, but rather is a Sacrament of our redemption by Christ's death; insomuch that, to such as rightly, worthily, and with faith receive the same, the bread which we break is a partaking of the body of Christ; and likewise the cup of blessing is a partaking of the blood of Christ.  Transubstantiation, or the change of the substance of bread and wine in the Supper of our Lord, cannot be proved by Holy Writ, but is repugnant to the plain words of Scripture, overthroweth the nature of a Sacrament, and hath given occasion to many superstitions.  The body of Christ is given, taken and eaten, in the Supper, only after a heavenly and spiritual manner.  And the means whereby the Body of Christ is received and eaten in the Supper, is faith.  The Sacrament of the Lord's Supper was not by Christ's ordinance reserved, carried about, lifted up or worshipped.

The Lord’s Supper is a sacrament, wherein by giving and receiving bread and wine, according to God’s appointment, his death is showed forth, and the worthy receivers are, not after a corporal and carnal manner, but by faith, made partakers of his body and blood, with all his benefits, to their spiritual nourishment and growth in grace.  It is required of them that would worthily partake of the Lord’s Supper, that they examine themselves of their knowledge to discern the Lord’s body of then faith to feed upon him of their repentance, love, and new obedience, lest coming unworthily, they eat and drink judgment to themselves.

ARTICLE 19—Of Both Kinds

The cup of the Lord is not to be denied to the lay people; for both the parts of the Lord's Supper, by Christ's ordinance and commandment, ought to be administered to all Christians alike.

ARTICLE 20—Of the One Oblation of Christ, Finished Upon the Cross

The offering of Christ, once made, is that perfect redemption, propitiation, and satisfaction for all the sins of the whole world, both original and actual; and there is none other satisfaction for sin but that alone. Wherefore the sacrifice of masses, in which it is commonly said that the priest doth offer Christ for the quick and the dead, to have remission of pain or guilt, is a blasphemous fable and dangerous deceit.

ARTICLE 21—Of the Marriage of Ministers

The ministers of Christ are not commanded by God's law either to vow the estate of single life or to abstain from marriage; therefore it is lawful for them, as for all other Christians, to marry at their own discretion, as they shall judge the same to serve best to godliness.

ARTICLE 22—Of the Rites and Ceremonies of Churches and Anointing of the Sick

It is not necessary that rites and ceremonies should in all places be the same, or exactly alike; for they have been always different, and may be changed according to the diversity of countries, times, and men's manners, so that nothing be ordained against God's Word.  Whosoever, through his private judgment, willingly and purposely doth openly break the rites and ceremonies of the church to which he belongs, which are not repugnant to the Word of God, and are ordained and approved by common authority, ought to be rebuked openly, that others may fear to do the like, as one that offendeth against the common order of the church, and woundeth the consciences of weak brethren.  Every particular church may ordain, change, or abolish rites and ceremonies, so that all things may be done to edification.

ARTICLE 23—Of the Rulers of the United States of America 

The president, the congress, the general assemblies, the governors, and the councils of state, as the delegates of the people, are the rulers of the United States, according to the division of power made to them by the Constitution of the United States, and by the Constitution of their respective states.  And the said states are a sovereign and independent nation, and ought not to be subject to any foreign jurisdiction. 

ARTICLE 24—Of Christian Men's Goods

The riches and goods of Christians are not common as touching the right, title, and possession of the same, as some do falsely boast.  Notwithstanding, every man ought, of such things as he possesseth, liberally to give alms to the poor, according to his ability.

ARTICLE 25—Of a Christian Man's Oath

As we confess that vain and rash swearing is forbidden Christian men by our Lord Jesus Christ and James His apostle, so we judge that the Christian religion doth not prohibit, but that a man may swear when the magistrate requireth, in a cause of faith and charity, so it be done according to the prophet's teaching, in justice, judgment, and truth.