I was recently asked what made the Nazarene church different from other evangelical churches. Over lunch, we talked about these distinctives. (For more, see our denominational website, nazarene.org)

I talked first about being Wesleyan vs. Fundamentalist.  One main difference is in our understanding of God. We do not view God as a Judge who is concerned with catching and punishing those who break the laws. We see God as more of a loving Father or gracious physician who seeks to heal and restore our relationship with Him.

 Another main difference is our understanding about the inspiration of the Christian Scripture. Wesleyans see the inspiration of scripture to include God’s saving purposes for all creation. It is not to be taken as a textbook on science, history, business, psychology, or any other field of study. The Bible was written over thousands of years, by dozens of people in their way and in their time. For us today, the Bible is God’s Word that is interpreted to our hearts in our time by Jesus, the living Word, through the Holy Spirit.

 This leads to differences in interpretations of Creation and End Times.  Regarding Creation, the Wesleyans allow a broad interpretation which could include the literal six 24-hour day creation, intelligent design, theistic evolution, and most other theories that would claim God as the creator of the universe. Wesleyans would also put more stock in the findings of biological, physical, and geological science. Regarding End Times, Wesleyans would allow a broad interpretation but would not get caught up in precise predictions about how things will happen. No one knows for sure, so we focus on what we do know – loving God and loving people as God enables us with His grace.

 The early formation of the Church of the Nazarene at the turn of the 20th century was centered on ministering to the marginalized, poor, addicted, and sexual promiscuous (prostitutes and unwed mothers in particular) members of society. In fact, we took the “Nazarene” name since Jesus was from Nazareth, a town that people in the first century would ask, “Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Our early fathers and mothers instilled a passion for missions and higher education, and a call of both women and men for ordained ministry.

 We are a holiness denomination, but we do not believe that “being filled with the Holy Spirit” is evidenced by the speaking of unknown and unlearned languages, especially a private prayer language.  Wesleyans would give credence to the Bible references in the New Testament to the early church speaking in tongues but would interpret this as known human languages that the speakers had not learned, or words being translated by the Spirit to the ears of the listeners. Wesleyans would not demand this experience as a sign of “sanctification” or “being filled with the Spirit,” but would acknowledge that is still happens today.  Wesleyans would emphasize the diversity of spiritual gifts given to the People of God and not single out one as the most important – except for maybe LOVE!

 The of the last pieces of my lunch conversation dealt with the distinctive belief of holiness denominations that God’s Spirit not only does something for us (regeneration) but also does something in us (sanctification) and through us (service).  This work in our hearts, by grace through faith, can take away our tendency toward sinning and disobedience. The Spirit of God aligns our hearts with His and gives us the capacity to engage with God’s work - bringing the Kingdom of God to earth.

 My final thought was that salvation for the Nazarene is not a personal matter that stops with “being saved,” but is the beginning of a lifelong process of spiritual formation.  This is lived out by faith in Christ as we serve others and engage in the Great Commission.