Alliance Perspectives
Christian faith.
Jesus introduced water baptism in connection with His Great Commission (Matthew 28:19). He said that new disciples were to be baptized in the Name of the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Alliance believes Jesus meant this to be a permanent practice, and Alliance churches encourage water baptism.
The Alliance firmly believes that children are especially close to God’s heart. Jesus clearly expresses His care for the youngest among us. We consider it the sacred responsibility of every person associated with the organization to protect, care for, and nurture the children God has graciously placed under our care.
As a fellowship of Great Commission Christians, The Alliance is all about bringing back the King. As believers in Jesus Christ, we know peace, hope, and forgiveness of sins—and we share His message of redemption with others, in our neighborhoods, our cities, and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).
From the dawn of human history, marriage has held a special place in God’s heart. The Bible makes it clear that God intended marriage to exist between one man and one woman for as long as both of them remain alive. Divorce is a departure from His loving purpose for men and women.
There are no two ways about it. Without Jesus, people are hopelessly lost. Whether they are in extreme poverty or wealth, those outside of Christ need to know that they can experience new life in Him. He calls us to join Him in His mission of evangelism and discipleship.
Alliance founder Dr. A. B. Simpson articulated the core “theology” of The Alliance. As we seek to know Jesus personally, being one with Him, He will reveal Himself as our Savior, Sanctifier, Healer, and Coming King. Simpson called this theology the Fourfold Gospel, the Christological summary on which our spiritual DNA is built.
Christian understanding of human identity is grounded in the Word of God. The significance of human sexuality is particularly evident in the account of Creation. We therefore affirm human sexuality to be a gift of God. By God’s grace, human sexuality both enriches and fulfills our personhood.
The whole of Jesus’ mission was to find lost people, to rectify their sinful acts, to place them in the right path. He came for this purpose. Jesus, King of Truth, taught that His mission to earth was “to seek and to save what was lost” (Luke 19:10). Indeed, His mission cannot be defined without speaking of people as being lost.
Sanctification relates to our position in Christ and is the process by which we can live a Spirit-filled life. Because many Christians have been badly taught, or because they have chosen to disregard the clear teaching of the New Testament regarding sanctification, they are missing out on much of what God has made available to every believer in Christ.
We believe that life begins at conception and that this life is to be considered human at that time. Because of the importance of this issue to society, the General Council of The Christian and Missionary Alliance has chosen to make a statement concerning its position on the subject of abortion.
It is the position of the C&MA that membership in a secret society, such as Masons, is not compatible with confession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In all things, grace and truth must be championed and must operate as guiding principles in the exercise of appropriate church leadership.
Spiritual gifts are supernatural empowerments given by the Holy Spirit to the followers of Christ so that they can do the work of building up the Body of Christ. They are not innate, natural talents, but rather they are provided by the Holy Spirit to minister to the Body.
The person and work of Jesus Christ are summed up in a name given to Him before birth: Immanuel, which means “God with us.” As God, Jesus has “life in Himself,” eternally the same, with all power and authority over heaven and earth. Revealed to us as God’s Son, He is everything the Father is, without exception or limitation.
Women may fulfill any function in the local church which the senior pastor and elders may choose to delegate to them consistent with the Uniform Constitution for Accredited Churches and may properly engage in any kind of ministry except that which involves elder authority.