What We Believe

“In essentials unity, in non-essentials, liberty, in all things, charity.” At Journey of Faith, we believe that there are some biblical beliefs that are critical to the common unity of the local Christian church. These essential beliefs form the foundation for the community and ministry that is Journey of Faith. There are many other biblical principles that are valuable and edifying but not essential. Focusing on the non-essentials causes churches to quarrel and divide while neglecting the core beliefs that bind them together. Journey of Faith is committed to protecting the unity of the body by focusing on the essentials, allowing non-essentials to be sources of conversation and growth but not division, and giving charitable judgments to all. Here are the essentials:
 

Water Baptism:

Following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the new convert is commanded by the Word of God to be baptized in water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus Christ. (See Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:38; Mark 16:16; Acts 8:12, 36-38; 10:47, 48;).

The Lord’s Supper:

A unique time of communion in the presence of God when the elements of bread and grape juice (representing the body and blood of the Lord Jesus Christ) are taken in remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. (See Matt. 26:26-29; 1 Cor. 10:16; 11:23-25).

The Trinity:

There is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. These three are coequal and coeternal. (See 1 John 5:7; Gen. 1:26; Matt. 3:16,17; 28:19; Luke 1:35; Isa. 9:6; Heb. 3:7-11).

The Virgin Birth:

Jesus Christ was conceived by God the Father, through the Holy Spirit (the third person of the Trinity) in the Virgin Mary’s womb; therefore, He is the Son of God. (See Matt. 1:18, 25; Luke 1:35; Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:18, 23-25; Luke 1:27-35).

Redemption:

Man was created good and upright, but by voluntary transgression he fell; his only hope of redemption is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. (See Gen. 1:26-31; 3:1-7; Rom. 5:12-21).

Regeneration:

For anyone to know God, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential. (See John 6:44, 65).

Salvation:

We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ: His death, burial and resurrection. Salvation is a gift from God, not a result of our good works or of any human efforts. (See Eph. 2:8; Gal. 2:16; 3:8; Titus 3:5; Rom. 10:9, 10; Acts 16:31).

Repentance:

Repentance is the commitment to turn away from sin in every area of our lives to follow Christ, which allow us to receive His redemption and to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit. Thus, through repentance we receive forgiveness of sins and appropriate salvation. (See Acts 2:21; 3:19; 1 John 1:9).

Sanctification:

Sanctification is the ongoing process of yielding to God’s Word and His Spirit in order to complete the development of Christ’s character in us. It is through the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God that the Christian is enabled to live a godly life. (See 1 Thess. 4:3; 5:23; 2 Cor. 3:18; 6:14-18; 2 Rom. 8:29; 12:1,2; Heb 2:11).

Jesus Christ Indwells All Believers:

Christians are people who have sincerely invited the Lord Jesus Christ to come and live inside them by His Holy Spirit. They relinquish the authority of their lives over to Him thus making Jesus Lord of their life as well as Savior. They put their trust in what Jesus accomplished for them when He died, was buried, and rose again from the dead. (See John 1:12; 14, 16-17, 23; 15:4; Rom. 8:11; Rev. 3:20).

Baptism in the Holy Spirit:

Given at Pentecost, it is the promise of the Father, sent by Jesus after His ascension, to empower the Church to preach the gospel throughout the whole earth. (See Joel 2:28, 29; Matt. 3:11; Acts 1:5; 2:1-4, 17, 38, 39; 8:14-17; 19:1-6).

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit:

The Holy Spirit manifests through a variety of spiritual gifts to build and sanctify the church, demonstrate the validity of the resurrection and confirm the power of the Gospel. The Bible’s list of these gifts is not necessarily

exhaustive, and the gifts may occur in various combinations. All believers are commanded to earnestly desire the manifestation of the gifts in our lives. These gifts always operate in love and in harmony with the Scriptures and should never be used in violation of Biblical parameters. (See Heb. 2:4; Rom. 1:11; 12:4-8; Eph. 4:16; 1 Cor. 12:1-31; 14:1-40; 1 Peter 4:10).

Marriage:

The testimony of the God-breathed Holy Scriptures is that the marriage covenant shall be reserved only for one man and one woman. It was our Creator, the Lord God, who decided that man should not be alone, who specifically fashioned the woman as the suitable helper for the man, who literally made the woman from a part of the man and in the woman made the man complete, who designed sexual union to be with a husband cleaving to his wife as one flesh, who bestowed His divine blessing upon the unity of a man and a woman, who gave the man and the woman the ability to fulfill his charge to be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, and who ordained the pattern for human existence that a man and a woman would pair up and cleave to each other in one flesh. No other relationship can ever be the holy unity between one man and one woman established by our Creator, which the Apostle Paul frequently compared to the holy unity of Christ and the church, and man has no authority to alter the divine order of the unity between one man and one woman. (See Gen. 2:18-24; 1:27-28; Matt. 19:4-6; Eph. 5:23, 25, 31-32).

Sexuality:

Sexuality and the divinely prescribed boundaries for the expression thereof is clearly covered in the Holy Scriptures, which limit sexual expression to the marital relationship of one man with one woman. Homosexual acts, adultery, bestiality, and all forms of fornication are categorically condemned in the Holy Scriptures. (See 1 Cor. 6:18; 1 Thess. 4:3; Rom. 1:26-27; Prov. 5:3-5, 7:21-27; Gal. 5:19; Exodus 20:14; Deut. 5:18; Matt. 5:27, 19:18; Luke 18:20; Rom. 13:9; James 2:11; Lev. 20:10-21; 1 Cor. 10:8, 6:18; Jude 7).

He Created Male and Female:

God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complimentary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. (Gen. 1:26-27). Rejection of one’s biological sex is a

rejection of the image of God within that person.

Sanctity of Life:

All human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life. (Psalm 139; Jer. 1:5).

Resurrection:

Jesus Christ was physically resurrected from the dead in a glorified body three days after His death on the cross. In addition, both the saved and the lost will be resurrected; they that are saved to the resurrection of the life and they that are lost to the resurrection of eternal damnation. (See Luke 24, 36, 39; John 2:19-21, 20:26-28, 21:4; Acts 24:15; 1 Cor. 15:42, 44; Phil. 1:21-23, 3:21).

Second Coming:

Jesus Christ will physically and visibly return to earth for the second time to establish His kingdom. This will occur at a date undisclosed by the Scriptures. (See Matt. 24:30, 26:63-64; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thess. 4:15-17; 2 Thess. 1:7-8; Rev. 1:7).