Like all Christians, Methodists believe that God sent his only son Jesus Christ to sacrifice Himself for the sins of humanity, and hold the Old and New Testaments of the Bible to be their holy book.
Methodism is one of the main branches of Protestantism. This means that in the 16th century it was part of the Reformation initiated by Martin Luther that broke away from the official church of the time (what we now refer to as the Roman Catholic branch of Christianity) because of diverging beliefs. These beliefs still distinguish Protestant branches from other Christian denominations today:
• Priests are not a special class of clergy; rather all members of a church are equals in the eyes of the Lord. Aside from Jesus Himself, church members do not need a special class of mediators between themselves and God.
• The Bible is the highest authority of God’s word; it has supremacy over other historic rituals like sacred traditions.
• Redemption from sin can be achieved through faith alone, as opposed to a combination of good deeds and faith.
• Salvation is granted by God and God alone through His divine grace and forgiveness; humans have no way of influencing God’s final decision about salvation.
• The Pope is not the head of the church and is not superior to other believers.
Methodism incorporates these basic elements of Protestantism and because of its history also shares much in common with Anglicanism, and even some aspects of Catholicism.