Christian and Missionary Alliance - Beliefs

Beliefs

The C&MA's Statement of Faith defines it as an evangelical Protestant denomination. The following is a summary of the Statement of Faith for the U.S. Church:

• One God who exists as a Trinity.
• Jesus Christ is both God and man who died as a substitutionary sacrifice, was resurrected, ascended to heaven, and will return to establish his kingdom.
• The Holy Spirit indwells, teaches, and empowers believers; he convinces the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment.
• The Bible, in its original languages, is inerrant, divinely inspired, and the complete revelation of God's will for the salvation of men. It is the only rule for Christian faith and practice.
• Man was created in the image of God, but through disobedience is born with a sinful nature. Mankind can only be saved through Christ's "atoning work".
• Those who repent and believe in Christ are born again of the Holy Spirit, becoming children of God.
• The will of God is for each believer to be filled with the Holy Spirit and "sanctified wholly" to receive "power for holy living and effective service". This is both a "crisis" and "progressive" experience occurring after conversion. Sanctification is "Separation from sin" and "Separation to God". The believer must, through faith, surrender, accept Christ as sanctifier, and continue to abide in relationship with Christ through obedience to his Word.
• Within the "redemptive work" of Christ provision is made for bodily healing. Prayer for the sick and anointing with oil are scriptural and the privilege of the Church.
• The Church is all who believe in Christ, are redeemed through his blood, and are born again of the Holy Spirit. It has been called to fulfill the Great Commission. The local church is a body of believers joined together for worship, edification through God's Word, prayer, fellowship, proclaiming the gospel, and observing the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper.
• The just shall be resurrected unto life and the unjust unto judgment.
• The imminent second coming of Christ will be personal, visible, and premillennial.

A.B. Simpson articulated the Alliance's core theology as the Christological "Fourfold Gospel": Jesus Christ as Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Soon Coming King. Sanctification is sometimes described as "the deeper Christian life". This teaching is similar to that of the Higher Life movement and the Keswick Convention. It is perhaps best exemplified by the writings of A. W. Tozer. The C&MA also emphasizes missionary work, and believes that the fulfillment of the Great Commission is the reason it exists.