Summary of Beliefs

This summary of our beliefs is based upon The Confessional Statement of The Gospel Coalition (TGC). For a more detailed expression, see our complete “Statement of Faith” which includes this summary, key bullet points, the complete TGC confessional statement and scriptural support.

1.THE TRI-UNE GOD:

There is one God, eternally existing as three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is all-loving, all-knowing, all-powerful, and is sovereignly bringing about his purposes to redeem his people and restore creation. Because of God, life has meaning and purpose.

2.REVELATION:

God has revealed himself through creation, through Jesus, and through the Scriptures. The Scriptures (the Bible) are the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, which contain everything we need to know about having a right relationship with God and our fellow human beings and is the authoritative basis for all our beliefs. We are called to submit to, study, and joyfully obey the authoritative Word of God.

3.THE CREATION OF HUMANITY:

God created men and women in his image. We are created, dependent beings, and recognize that men and women are created to complement one another through their distinct roles in the family and church. Because every human is created in the image of God, everyone deserves our dignity, honor, love, and respect, not because of who they are or what they do, but by sheer virtue of being human.

4.THE FALL:

We are all sinners by nature and by choice. In our quest for independence and the centrality of self, all people begin their lives alienated from God in sin, and in this condition are without hope and under judgment. The just penalty for our sins is death; apart from God’s loving, gracious, and saving intervention, we are under the wrath of God.

5.THE PLAN OF GOD:

From all eternity God determined in grace to save a great multitude of guilty sinners from every tribe and language and people and nation. God does the work of choosing and saving those who put their faith in Jesus in a way that mysteriously neither diminishes human responsibility nor marginalizes the importance and power of prayer and evangelism. We are called to repent and believe.

6.THE GOSPEL:

The gospel is the center of our historic faith and the main message of the Bible. It is the good news that Jesus lived, died, and rose so that, by faith in him, we can be reconciled with God. This gospel is not only the means by which people are saved, but also the truth and power by which are enabled to joyfully do what is pleasing to God and to grow in his likeness. The salvation offered in this gospel message is received by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone; no ordinance, ritual, work, or any other activity on the part of man is required in order to be saved. Both Christians and non-Christians need this gospel.

7.THE REDEMPTION OF CHRIST:

Jesus is the promised Messiah of the Scriptures, fully God and fully man. On the cross he accomplished redemption for sinners by standing in our place, absorbing God’s just wrath, and bearing our full penalty of our sins. By letting the cross crush him and rising from the grave, he broke the power of sin and death. His resurrection and ascension brings a living hope that one day all sin and evil will be destroyed. Jesus is the only way to salvation.

8.THE JUSTIFICATION OF SINNERS:

Jesus’ sinless life and atoning sacrifice is credited to all who trust in him as full payment for their sins, putting them in right standing with God. He is the sole Mediator able to restore the broken relationship (and resulting alienation) between God and people. We are motivated towards obedience because of the gift of justification.

9.THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT:

The Holy Spirit is actively working before, during, and after salvation. He is present with and in followers of Christ, working in unison with the Word of God to guide them in all truth. The Holy Spirit instructs, equips, revives, and empowers believers for Christ-like living, service, and mission.

10.THE KINGDOM OF GOD:

The Kingdom of God is the exercise of God’s sovereignty in all of creation and will be fully realized in the new heaven and new earth. We take part in advancing the Kingdom of God by living as salt and light in our world—for the glory of God and the good of others.

11.THE NEW PEOPLE OF GOD – THE CHURCH:

God wants all members of his worldwide Church to be active in a gospel-centered local church, which meets regularly for worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, observance of the baptism and communion, fellowship, the exercise of our gifts and talents, serving each other, and to be a life-giving presence in their local community and world. It functions as our adoptive spiritual family and is the primary means by which we experience his grace through relationship. The church is the heart of Christian community.

12.THE SACRAMENTS: BAPTISM AND THE LORD’S SUPPER:

Both baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordained by Jesus Christ as a means of grace for his followers. Although baptism is to be done once as a sincere profession of faith, The Lord’s Supper is to be observed repeatedly throughout the Christian life.

13.THE RESTORATION OF ALL THINGS:

God will physically resurrect all people at the second coming of Jesus Christ for either an eternity in hell or an eternity in the new heaven and new earth. God will renew creation and his people will joyfully live forever in the new heaven and new earth.

Statement of Faith

What does Sojourn Church London believe?

When it comes to Christian belief, Saint Augustine once said, “In essentials unity; in non-essentials liberty; and in all things charity.” We are grounded in the Scriptures and centered on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this reason, we embrace biblical and historic Christianity as expressed in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, and as summarized in the creeds of the early church (Apostles’ and Nicene). In addition, we take our doctrinal cues from the Protestant Reformation (16th Century) which championed the foundational truths that sinners are rescued and set free by grace alone, through faith alone, in the finished work of Christ alone, proclaimed in the Scriptures alone so that God alone gets the glory.

As part of a contemporary and broader movement of gospel-centered missional churches we have expressed our “Statement of Faith” around The Confessional Statement of The Gospel Coalition (TGC). Each of those 13 sections have been broken into four parts to help you:

  • A Summary
  • Key Bullet points
  • The official TGC statement
  • Scriptural Support

We aim for a “Humble Orthodoxy.” We hold these truths in humble conviction and believe them to be fully taught and validated by Scripture. While these are unavoidably imperfect documents still subordinate to Scripture, we believe they serve as helpful and reliable summaries of biblical, historic Christian teachings.

Where more specific issues aren’t addressed in detail here, see our Key Distinctives for other insights.

Summary: There is one God, eternally existing as three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is all-loving, all-knowing, all-powerful, and is sovereignly bringing about his purposes to redeem his people and restore creation. Because of God, life has meaning and purpose.

Key Points:

  • God eternally exists as three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
  • Each person is fully God.
  • There is one God.
  • God sovereignly rules and reigns over all things.
  • We should submit to, adore, enjoy, and glorify God.

TGC Statement:

We believe in one God, eternally existing in three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who know, love, and glorify one another. This one true and living God is infinitely perfect both in his love and in his holiness. He is the Creator of all things, visible and invisible, and is therefore worthy to receive all glory and adoration. Immortal and eternal, he perfectly and exhaustively knows the end from the beginning, sustains and sovereignly rules over all things, and providentially brings about his eternal good purposes to redeem a people for himself and restore his fallen creation, to the praise of his glorious grace.

Scripture: Genesis 1:1-2, 26, Deuteronomy 6:4, Matthew 3:16–17, Matthew 28:19-20, Luke 3:21-22

Summary: God has revealed himself through creation, through Jesus, and through the Scriptures. The Scriptures (the Bible) are the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, which contain everything we need to know about having a right relationship with God and our fellow human beings and is the authoritative basis for all our beliefs. We are called to submit to, study, and joyfully obey the authoritative Word of God.

Key Points:

  • God has revealed himself through his creation, though Jesus, and through the Scriptures.
  • To disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God.
  • The Bible is inerrant and the ultimate authority in all things.
  • We should joyfully read, study, and apply God’s word to our lives.

TGC Statement:

God has graciously disclosed his existence and power in the created order, and has supremely revealed himself to fallen human beings in the person of his Son, the incarnate Word. Moreover, this God is a speaking God who by his Spirit has graciously disclosed himself in human words: we believe that God has inspired the words preserved in the Scriptures, the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, which are both records and means of his saving work in the world. These writings alone constitute the verbally inspired Word of God, which is utterly authoritative and without error in the original writings, complete in its revelation of his will for salvation, sufficient for all that God requires us to believe and do, and final in its authority over every domain of knowledge to which it speaks. We confess that both our finitude and our sinfulness preclude the possibility of knowing God’s truth exhaustively, but we affirm that, enlightened by the Spirit of God, we can know God’s revealed truth truly. The Bible is to be believed, as God’s instruction, in all that it teaches; obeyed, as God’s command, in all that it requires; and trusted, as God’s pledge, in all that it promises. As God’s people hear, believe, and do the Word, they are equipped as disciples of Christ and witnesses to the gospel.

Scripture: John 8:31–32, Romans 1:18-20, 2 Timothy 3:16–17, Hebrews 4:12, 2 Peter 1:20–21

Summary: God created men and women in his image. We are created, dependent beings, and recognize that men and women are created to complement one another through their distinct roles in the family and church. Because every human is created in the image of God, everyone deserves our dignity, honor, love, and respect, not because of who they are or what they do, but by sheer virtue of being human

Key Points:

  • Men and women are created, dependent beings.
  • Men and women are made in God’s image to be God’s agents.
  • God’s image remains present, yet marred by sin, in all humankind.
  • Men and women are equal as image-bearers of God and accessibility to God.
  • Men and women are created to complement one another by assuming distinctive roles in the family and church.

TGC Statement:

We believe that God created human beings, male and female, in his own image. Adam and Eve belonged to the created order that God himself declared to be very good, serving as God’s agents to care for, manage, and govern creation, living in holy and devoted fellowship with their Maker. Men and women, equally made in the image of God, enjoy equal access to God by faith in Christ Jesus and are both called to move beyond passive self-indulgence to significant private and public engagement in family, church, and civic life. Adam and Eve were made to complement each other in a one-flesh union that establishes the only normative pattern of sexual relations for men and women, such that marriage ultimately serves as a type of the union between Christ and his church. In God’s wise purposes, men and women are not simply interchangeable, but rather they complement each other in mutually enriching ways. God ordains that they assume distinctive roles, which reflect the loving relationship between Christ and the church, the husband exercising headship in a way that displays the caring, sacrificial love of Christ, and the wife submitting to her husband in a way that models the love of the church for her Lord. In the ministry of the church, both men and women are encouraged to serve Christ and to be developed to their full potential in the manifold ministries of the people of God. The distinctive role of eldership within the church given to qualified men is grounded in creation, fall, and redemption; and must not be sidelined by appeals to cultural developments.

Scripture: Genesis 1:27–31, Genesis 2:18–25, Ephesians 5:22–33, 1 Corinthians 11:3, Romans 16:1–4

Summary: We are all sinners by nature and by choice. In our quest for independence and the centrality of self, all people begin their lives alienated from God in sin, and in this condition are without hope and under judgment. The just penalty for our sins is death; apart from God’s loving, gracious, and saving intervention, we are under the wrath of God.

Key Points:

  • We are sinners by nature and by choice.
  • Sin corrupts every aspect of our lives.
  • The just penalty for our sin is death.
  • We should earnestly seek to rid our lives of sin.

TGC Statement:

We believe that Adam, made in the image of God, distorted that image and forfeited his original blessedness—for himself and all his progeny—by falling into sin through Satan’s temptation. As a result, all human beings are alienated from God, corrupted in every aspect of their being (e.g., physically, mentally, volitionally, emotionally, spiritually) and condemned finally and irrevocably to death—apart from God’s own gracious intervention. The supreme need of all human beings is to be reconciled to the God under whose just and holy wrath we stand; the only hope of all human beings is the undeserved love of this same God, who alone can rescue us and restore us to himself.

Scripture Genesis: 3:1–7, Romans 5:12,19 & Romans 3:10–12

Summary: From all eternity God determined in grace to save a great multitude of guilty sinners from every tribe and language and people and nation. God does the work of choosing and saving those who put their faith in Jesus in a way that mysteriously neither diminishes human responsibility nor marginalizes the importance and power of prayer and evangelism. We are called to repent and believe.

Key Points:

  • God’s people were unconditionally chosen to experience his grace before the foundation of the world.
  • God does the work of saving and cleansing those who put their hope in Jesus.
  • All people are called to repent and believe.

TGC Statement:

We believe that from all eternity God determined in grace to save a great multitude of guilty sinners from every tribe and language and people and nation, and to this end foreknew them and chose them. We believe that God justifies and sanctifies those who by grace have faith in Jesus, and that he will one day glorify them — all to the praise of his glorious grace. In love God commands and implores all people to repent and believe, having set his saving love on those he has chosen and having ordained Christ to be their Redeemer.

Scripture: Ephesians 1:3–10 Revelation 5:9–10 & Romans 8:29–30

Summary: The gospel is the center of our historic faith and the main message of the Bible. It is the good news that Jesus lived, died, and rose so that, by faith in him, we can be reconciled with God. This gospel is not only the means by which people are saved, but also the truth and power by which are enabled to joyfully do what is pleasing to God and to grow in his likeness. The salvation offered in this gospel message is received by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone; no ordinance, ritual, work, or any other activity on the part of man is required in order to be saved. Both Christians and non-Christians need this gospel.

Key Points:

  • The gospel is news, not advice.
  • The gospel is the historically true story of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension.
  • God uses the gospel to transform us.
  • Both Christians and non-Christians need the gospel.

TGC Statement:

We believe that the gospel is the good news of Jesus Christ—God’s very wisdom. Utter folly to the world, even though it is the power of God to those who are being saved, this good news is Christological, centering on the cross and resurrection: the gospel is not proclaimed if Christ is not proclaimed, and the authentic Christ has not been proclaimed if his death and resurrection are not central (the message is “Christ died for our sins . . . [and] was raised”). This good news is biblical (his death and resurrection are according to the Scriptures), theological and salvific (Christ died for our sins, to reconcile us to God), historical (if the saving events did not happen, our faith is worthless, we are still in our sins, and we are to be pitied more than all others), apostolic (the message was entrusted to and transmitted by the apostles, who were witnesses of these saving events), and intensely personal (where it is received, believed, and held firmly, individual persons are saved).

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:1–5, 1 Corinthians 15:1–8 & Romans 10:9–13

Summary: Jesus is the promised Messiah of the Scriptures, fully God and fully man. On the cross he accomplished redemption for sinners by standing in our place, absorbing God’s just wrath, and bearing our full penalty of our sins. By letting the cross crush him and rising from the grave, he broke the power of sin and death. His resurrection and ascension brings a living hope that one day all sin and evil will be destroyed. Jesus is the only way to salvation.

Key Points:

  • Jesus is the promised Messiah of the Scriptures.
  • Jesus is fully God and fully man.
  • Jesus lived a life of perfect, sinless obedience to God’s will.
  • Jesus died as a substitute for us and paid the penalty for our sin.
  • Jesus physically rose from his grave, breaking the power of Satan, sin, and death.
  • Jesus is the only way to salvation.
  • Jesus is King over all creation.

TGC Statement:

We believe that, moved by love and in obedience to his Father, the eternal Son became human: the Word became flesh, fully God and fully human being, one Person in two natures. The man Jesus, the promised Messiah of Israel, was conceived through the miraculous agency of the Holy Spirit, and was born of the virgin Mary. He perfectly obeyed his heavenly Father, lived a sinless life, performed miraculous signs, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead on the third day, and ascended into heaven. As the mediatorial King, he is seated at the right hand of God the Father, exercising in heaven and on earth all of God’s sovereignty, and is our High Priest and righteous Advocate. We believe that by his incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus Christ acted as our representative and substitute. He did this so that in him we might become the righteousness of God: on the cross he canceled sin, propitiated God, and, by bearing the full penalty of our sins, reconciled to God all those who believe. By his resurrection Christ Jesus was vindicated by his Father, broke the power of death and defeated Satan who once had power over it, and brought everlasting life to all his people; by his ascension he has been forever exalted as Lord and has prepared a place for us to be with him. We believe that salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved. Because God chose the lowly things of this world, the despised things, the things that are not, to nullify the things that are, no human being can ever boast before him. Christ Jesus has become for us wisdom from God; our righteousness, holiness, and redemption.

Scripture: John 1:14, Matthew 1:18, 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Timothy 2:5, Matthew 28:18 & Romans 3:21–27

Summary: Jesus’ sinless life and atoning sacrifice is credited to all who trust in him as full payment for their sins, putting them in right standing with God. He is the sole Mediator able to restore the broken relationship (and resulting alienation) between God and people. We are motivated towards obedience because of the gift of justification.

Key Points:

  • Jesus’ death on the cross is credited to all who trust in him as full payment for their sins.
  • Jesus’ obedience in his sinless life is credited to all who trust in him as their righteousness and acceptance with God.
  • Justification is a free gift.
  • The gift of justification rightly motivates us toward obedience.

TGC Statement:

We believe that Christ, by his obedience and death, fully discharged the debt of all those who are justified. By his sacrifice, he bore in our stead the punishment due us for our sins, making a proper, real, and full satisfaction to God’s justice on our behalf. By his perfect obedience he satisfied the just demands of God on our behalf, since by faith alone that perfect obedience is credited to all who trust in Christ alone for their acceptance with God. Inasmuch as Christ was given by the Father for us, and his obedience and punishment were accepted in place of our own, freely and not for anything in us, this justification is solely of free grace, in order that both the exact justice and the rich grace of God might be glorified in the justification of sinners. We believe that a zeal for personal and public obedience flows from this free justification.

Scripture: Romans 3:21–31, Titus 2:11–14 & Titus 3:3–8

Summary: The Holy Spirit is actively working before, during, and after salvation. He is present with and in followers of Christ, working in unison with the Word of God to guide them in all truth. The Holy Spirit instructs, equips, revives, and empowers believers for Christ-like living, service, and mission.

Key Points:

  • The Holy Spirit is actively working before, during, and after salvation.
  • The Holy Spirit is with and in all followers of Jesus Christ, serving as a ‘down payment’ of our inheritance and guiding us in sanctification.
  • The Holy Spirit often works through the gifts of his people.
  • The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, and not an “it” or “force”.

TGC Statement:

We believe that this salvation, attested in all Scripture and secured by Jesus Christ, is applied to his people by the Holy Spirit. Sent by the Father and the Son, the Holy Spirit glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ, and, as the “other” Paraclete, is present with and in believers. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and by his powerful and mysterious work regenerates spiritually dead sinners, awakening them to repentance and faith, and in him they are baptized into union with the Lord Jesus, such that they are justified before God by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. By the Spirit’s agency, believers are renewed, sanctified, and adopted into God’s family; they participate in the divine nature and receive his sovereignly distributed gifts. The Holy Spirit is himself the down payment of the promised inheritance, and in this age indwells, guides, instructs, equips, revives, and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.

Scripture: Ephesians 1:13–14, John 14:26, John 16:8–14, Romans 8:9, 1 Corinthians 3:16 & 1 Corinthians 12:1–11

Summary: The Kingdom of God is the exercise of God’s sovereignty in all of creation and will be fully realized in the new heaven and new earth. We take part in advancing the Kingdom of God by living as salt and light in our world—for the glory of God and the good of others.

Key Points:

  • The Kingdom of God is the exercise of God’s sovereignty in the world.
  • The Kingdom of God is already present but not fully realized.
  • The Kingdom of God was initiated by Jesus and will be completed in the new heaven and new earth.
  • The Kingdom of God continues through Jesus’ people actively demonstrating and proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom.

TGC Statement:

We believe that those who have been saved by the grace of God through union with Christ by faith and through regeneration by the Holy Spirit enter the kingdom of God and delight in the blessings of the new covenant: the forgiveness of sins, the inward transformation that awakens a desire to glorify, trust, and obey God, and the prospect of the glory yet to be revealed. Good works constitute indispensable evidence of saving grace. Living as salt in a world that is decaying and light in a world that is dark, believers should neither withdraw into seclusion from the world, nor become indistinguishable from it; rather, we are to do good to the city, for all the glory and honor of the nations is to be offered up to the living God. Recognizing whose created order this is, and because we are citizens of God’s kingdom, we are to love our neighbors as ourselves, doing good to all, especially to those who belong to the household of God. The kingdom of God, already present but not fully realized, is the exercise of God’s sovereignty in the world toward the eventual redemption of all creation. The kingdom of God is an invasive power that plunders Satan’s dark kingdom and regenerates and renovates through repentance and faith the lives of individuals rescued from that kingdom. It therefore inevitably establishes a new community of human life together under God.

Scripture: Mark 1:14–15, Matthew 5:13–16, Matthew 22:36–40, Galatians 6:10, Colossians 1:15–19 & Revelation 21:1–5

Summary: God wants all members of his worldwide Church to be active in a gospel-centered local church, which meets regularly for worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, observance of the baptism and communion, fellowship, the exercise of our gifts and talents, serving each other, and to be a life-giving presence in their local community and world. It functions as our adoptive spiritual family and is the primary means by which we experience his grace through relationship. The church is the heart of Christian community.

Key Points:

  • God wants all members of his worldwide Church to be active in a gospel-centered local church
  • The church is the heart of Christian community.
  • Each local church is to be a sign and an agent of God’s kingdom.
  • Jesus died not just to reconcile us to God, but to reconcile us with each other.

TGC Statement:

We believe that God’s new covenant people have already come to the heavenly Jerusalem; they are already seated with Christ in the heavenlies. This universal church is manifest in local churches of which Christ is the only Head; thus each ”local church” is, in fact, the church, the household of God, the assembly of the living God, and the pillar and foundation of the truth. The church is the body of Christ, the apple of his eye, graven on his hands, and he has pledged himself to her forever. The church is distinguished by her gospel message, her sacred ordinances, her discipline, her great mission, and, above all, by her love for God, and by her members’ love for one another and for the world. Crucially, this gospel we cherish has both personal and corporate dimensions, neither of which may properly be overlooked. Christ Jesus is our peace: he has not only brought about peace with God, but also peace between alienated peoples. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both Jew and Gentile to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. The church serves as a sign of God’s future new world when its members live for the service of one another and their neighbors, rather than for self-focus. The church is the corporate dwelling place of God’s Spirit, and the continuing witness to God in the world.

Scripture: Ephesians 1:16–23, Ephesians 5:25, Matthew 28:18–20, John 13:34 & Ephesians 2:14-16, 19-22

Summary: Both baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordained by Jesus Christ as a means of grace for his followers. Although baptism is to be done once as a sincere profession of faith, The Lord’s Supper is to be observed repeatedly throughout the Christian life.

Key Points:

  • Baptism is the sign of initiation into God’s family. It is a visual and symbolic demonstration of a person’s union with Christ in the likeness of His death and resurrection.
  • The Lord’s Supper (Communion) is the sign of covenant renewal for followers of Jesus Christ. It symbolizes the breaking of Christ’s body and the shedding of His blood on our behalf and is to be observed repeatedly throughout the Christian life as a sign of continued participation in the atoning benefits of Christ’s death.
  • While both are commanded in Scripture, neither Baptism nor the Lord’s Supper are necessary for salvation.
  • See Doctrinal Distinctives for our approach to Baptism

TGC Statement:

We believe that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordained by the Lord Jesus himself. The former is connected with entrance into the new covenant community, the latter with ongoing covenant renewal. Together they are simultaneously God’s pledge to us, divinely ordained means of grace, our public vows of submission to the once crucified and now resurrected Christ, and anticipations of his return and of the consummation of all things.

Scripture: Matthew 28:18–20, Romans 6:3–5, Matthew 26:26–28 & 1 Corinthians 11:17–29

Summary: God will physically resurrect all people at the second coming of Jesus Christ for either an eternity in hell or an eternity in the new heaven and new earth. God will renew creation and his people will joyfully live forever in the new heaven and new earth.

Key Points:

  • Jesus Christ will return again in glory to consummate his Kingdom and to judge the living and the dead.
  • There will be a physical resurrection of both the saved and the condemned.
  • Those who die in their sins apart from Christ will experience eternal wrath in hell.
  • God will renew creation and his people will joyfully live forever in the new heaven and new earth.

TGC Statement:

We believe in the personal, glorious, and bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ with his holy angels, when he will exercise his role as final Judge, and his kingdom will be consummated. We believe in the bodily resurrection of both the just and the unjust—the unjust to judgment and eternal conscious punishment in hell, as our Lord himself taught, and the just to eternal blessedness in the presence of him who sits on the throne and of the Lamb, in the new heaven and the new earth, the home of righteousness. On that day the church will be presented faultless before God by the obedience, suffering and triumph of Christ, all sin purged and its wretched effects forever banished. God will be all in all and his people will be enthralled by the immediacy of his ineffable holiness, and everything will be to the praise of his glorious grace.

Scripture: Revelation 19:11–16, 1 Corinthians 15:20–26 & Revelation 21:1–5

Key Distinctives

Sojourn Church has clearly outlined three core areas of Christian beliefs in its foundational documents and on the website:

  1. Our Mission and Name
  2. Gospel-Centrality (See “Our Message-The Gospel”)
  3. Summary of Beliefs (a basic summary of the complete Statement of Faith)
  4. Statement of Faith (based on “The Gospel Coalition Confession” with additional study helps)

However, in addition to these, there are a few distinct areas of belief and practice where it is valuable to provide additional clarity since they will have an impact on our services, ministries, and community.

Summary: We enthusiastically embrace the sovereignty of God’s grace in saving sinners.

  • We affirm that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world, not on the basis of foreseen faith but unconditionally, according to his sovereign good pleasure and will.
  • We believe that through the work of the Holy Spirit, God will draw the elect to faith in his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, graciously and effectually overcoming their stubborn resistance to the gospel so that they will most assuredly and willingly believe.
  • We also believe that these, the elect of God whom he gave to the Son, will persevere in belief and godly behavior and be kept secure in their salvation by grace through faith.
  • We believe that God’s sovereignty in this salvation neither diminishes the responsibility of people to believe in Christ nor marginalizes the necessity and power of prayer and evangelism, but rather reinforces and establishes them as the ordained means by which God accomplishes his ordained ends.

Scripture: John 1:12-13; 6:37-44; 10:25-30; Acts 13:48; 16:30-31; Romans 3:1-4:25; 8:1-17,31-39; 9:1-23; 10:8-10; Ephesians 1:4-5; 2:8-10; Philippians 2:12-13; Titus 3:3-7; 1 John 1:7,9

Summary: We recognize and rest upon the necessity of the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit for all of life and ministry.

  • The Holy Spirit is fully God, equal with the Father and Son, whose primary ministry is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ; he also convicts unbelievers of their need for Christ and imparts spiritual life through regeneration (the new birth).
  • The Spirit permanently indwells, graciously sanctifies, lovingly leads, and empowers all who are brought to faith in Christ so that they might live in obedience to the inerrant Scriptures.
  • The model for our reliance upon the Spirit and our experience of his indwelling and empowering presence is the Lord Jesus Christ himself who was filled with the Spirit and entirely dependent upon his power for the performance of miracles, the preaching of the kingdom of God, and all other dimensions of his earthly ministry.
  • The Holy Spirit who indwelt and empowered Christ in like manner indwells and empowers us through spiritual gifts he has bestowed for the work of ministry and the building up of the body of Christ.
  • The gifts of the Holy Spirit that we see on display in the New Testament are still active within the life of the church. These gifts did not end with the close of the New Testament or the death of the last apostle (1 Cor. 12:1-11).
  • We recognize that the gifts are divine provisions central to spiritual growth and effective ministry and are to be eagerly desired, faithfully developed, and lovingly exercised according to biblical guidelines.

Scripture: Matthew 3:11; 12:28; Luke 4:1, 14; 5:17; 10:21; John 1:12-13; 3:1-15, 34; 14:12; 15:26-27; 16:7-15; Acts 2:14-21; 4:29-30; 10:38; Romans 8:9; 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:7-13; 12:28-31; 14:1-33; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Galatians 3:1-5; Ephesians 1:13-14; 5:18

Summary: We embrace a missionary understanding of the local church and its role as the primary means by which God chooses to establish his kingdom on earth.

  • The church has a clear biblical mandate to look beyond its own community to the neighborhood, the nation, and the world as a whole; thus, mission is not an optional program in the church but an essential element in the identity of the church.
  • We are called to make Christ known through the gospel and, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to bring his lordship to bear on every dimension of life.
  • Personal Evangelism is one of the key marks of every believer and we aim to strengthen all believers to be witnesses for Jesus in their homes, workplaces, and neighbourhoods.
  • A critical way we fulfill this mission is through the planting of churches that plant churches and the training of their leaders. Our aim is that Jesus Christ would be more fully formed in each person through the ministry of those churches God enables us to plant around the world.
  • We also believe we are responsible neither to retreat from our culture nor to conform to it, but with humility, through the Spirit and the truth of the gospel, to engage it boldly as we seek its transformation and submission to the lordship of Christ.

Scripture: Isaiah 52:7; Matthew 10:5-25; 28:18-20; Luke 4:18-19; 24:46-47; Acts 28:31; Romans 10:14-15; 2 Corinthians 10:4-5; Galatians 2:10; Ephesians 3:10; 4:11-16; 2 Timothy 4:1-5; Hebrews 10:23-25; 1 Peter 2:4-5, 9-10

Summary: We hold to a view of baptism that is often called “Credo-Baptism” and is done by immersion in water.

  • The precedent we find in the New Testament is baptism following conversion by immersion into water. Baptism by immersion is meant to symbolically depict the believer’s real union to Christ in His death and resurrection.
  • Baptism is an outward sign of an inward reality. When someone is baptized, they are saying that they are now trusting in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation, and desire him to be the Lord of their life.
  • In other words, we believe that baptism should come after faith in Jesus, rather than before. For this reason, we will not baptize infants or small children that are unable to make a thoughtful and sincere profession of faith.
  • Baptism is a necessary part of the Great Commission of Jesus Christ and is to be practiced by his church until the end of the world.

Scripture: Romans 6:1-4, 1 Peter 3:8-11, Matthew 28:18-20, Acts 2:37-41

Summary: We joyfully rest in the promises of the New Covenant for all believers

  • God, before the foundation of the world, purposed to manifest his glory in an unfolding way and has revealed himself and manifested his glory ultimately in the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ and his complete and perfect work on the Cross through which he has established a New Covenant in his blood. (Luke 22:20; Heb. 8:12)
  • Prior to the incarnation, all of history and all of Scripture had progressively been moving toward and aiming at the great day of Christ and the New Covenant reality that would glorify God forever and ever. This was God’s eternal plan, worked out through the creation of a physical world and universe; a way of going public with his glory in an incredible way for his own delight (Eph. 1:9-12; 3:8-11).
  • God foretold the new thing he would do, and in the fullness of time, he did it (Jer. 31:31-34; Ez. 36:25-27; Isa. 42:6-9). He established the Lord Jesus who reigns over a kingdom of redeemed people upon whom the Spirit has been poured. These kingdom citizens relate to God on the basis of a New Covenant in which Jesus himself is their High Priest, Judge, Shepherd, King, Prophet; their very life! (Gal. 4:4; Acts 2:36; Heb. 7:22; 8:6; 9:11; 10:14)
  • All of God’s previous revelation, including the Mosaic era, anticipated and led to the coming of Christ (Gal. 3:19). Even the Old Covenant was a “shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ” (Col. 2:17; Heb. 10:1). “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.” (2 Cor. 1:20) Thus, the pinnacle of God’s unfolding revelation comes to us in the New Testament Scriptures, in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Cor. 3:1-18; Heb. 8:7-13)
  • Here in the New Testament Scriptures, the Spirit, through his chosen apostles, gives us our Lord’s words about the mystery of Christ, “which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men” (Eph. 3:5). The two testaments proclaim the same message, but from differing standpoints. The first, sometimes using pictures or veiled and symbolic language, points forward in anticipation and the other, in clear and unmistakable terms, declares completion, accomplishment and fulfillment.
  • Thus, we must read all of Scripture in light of the New Covenant, established in Jesus Christ (Matt. 5:17; Luke 10:23-24; 24:27, 44; John 5:46; 8:56; Heb. 10:7). We must read Scripture in context. The Bible needs to be understood and communicated not only in its parts, but also in the whole. It seems consistent with God’s revelation that true biblical theology is the recognition of God’s purpose, unfolding and weaving its way from Genesis to Revelation on the timeline of redemptive history, culminating in Jesus Christ.

Scripture: Luke 22:20; Hebrews 8:1-10:39; 2 Corinthians 3:1-18

Summary: We embrace both the liberties and responsibilities we are given as Christians

  • Christian liberty is the freedom given to Christ followers to discern and decide in questions not explicitly defined by the Scriptures.
  • It is a freedom that requires dependence upon the Spirit, commitment to the Scriptures, and wisdom from the church community. Christian liberty should always lead us to consider our conscience (does this make me want to do something that is sinful or lead to more sin?) and our context (how will my actions impact my brothers or sisters around me?).
  • Activities that are neither moral (commanded by God) nor immoral (prohibited by God) are indifferent before God and left to our conscience; people may choose to engage in or abstain from them.
  • Examples may include such varied things such as vocation, entertainment, consuming alcohol, celebrating special days like Christmas, educational choices, political involvement, hobbies, etc.
  • Christian conduct in these matters is ruled by two considerations: stronger Christians should not cause their weaker counterparts to stumble, and weaker Christians are not to condemn their stronger counterparts for engaging in these activities.
  • Further we should recognize that while we are not under the Old Covenant Mosaic Law as New Covenant believers, we are still under the Law of Christ (1 Cor. 9:21), which we hold to be the body of teachings, exhortations, edifications, and commands that came through Jesus and the Apostles as found in the New Testatment that are directly applicable to all believers today.

Scripture: Rom. 14:1-23, 1 Cor. 9:19-23; Gal. 6:1-5; Eph. 4:25-32

Summary: We are deeply committed to the spiritual & moral equality of male & female and to men as responsible servant-leaders in both home and church.

  • Both men and women are together created in the divine image and are therefore equal before God as persons, possessing the same moral dignity and value, and have equal access to God through faith in Christ. Men and women are together the recipients of spiritual gifts designed to empower them for ministry in the local church and beyond.
  • Therefore, men and women are to be encouraged, equipped, and empowered to utilize their gifting in ministry, in service to the body of Christ, and through teaching in ways that are consistent with the Word of God.
  • While husbands and wives are responsible to God for spiritual nurture and vitality in the home, God has given to the man primary responsibility to lead his wife and family in accordance with the servant leadership and sacrificial love characterized by Jesus Christ.
  • This principle of male headship should not be confused with, nor give any hint of, domineering control. Rather, it is to be the loving, tender, and nurturing care of a godly man who is himself under the kind and gentle authority of Jesus Christ.
  • The elders/pastors (terms used interchangeably) of each local church have been granted authority under the headship of Jesus Christ to provide oversight and to teach/preach the Word of God in the corporate assembly for the building up of the body. The office of elder/pastor is restricted to biblically qualified men.

Scripture: Genesis 1:26-27; 2:18; Acts 14:23, 18:24-26, 20:17-36; 1 Corinthians 11:2-16; Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 5:22-33; Colossians 3:18-19; 1 Timothy 2:11-15; 3:1-7, 4:11-16, 5:17; 2 Timothy 4:1-4; Titus 1:5-9, 2:3-5; 1 Peter 3:1-7; 1 Peter 5:1-4

Summary: God has given two positions of leadership in the local church: elders/pastors and deacons.

  • Elders/pastors are responsible to shepherd and teach the local church. The elders are the final authority in the church. They are accountable to God for the health of the church, especially in matters of doctrine, discipline and direction for the church.
  • They are to be qualified according to the qualifications of 1 Timothy chapter 3 and Titus chapter 1. They are never allowed to lord it over the people. A church without at least one elder is incomplete. The office of elder/pastor is restricted to biblically qualified men.
  • Deacons assist the elders. They are called upon to serve at the decision of the elders and their duties are determined by the elders. Deacons are to meet the qualifications of 1 Timothy chapter three. 1 Timothy 3:8-13, Acts 6:1-6, 1 Timothy 2:11-15
  • Sojourn Church, as a new church plant, is under the full authority and accountability of the Elder team at “Harvest Barrie” (an Acts 29 church) since they are functioning as the sending church.
  • As such, the lead pastor of Sojourn serves with delegated authority until such time as they determine that the church is ready to be independent with a local plurality of elders able to continue without their oversight, guidance and support. A more robust statement on church governance will be developed for Sojourn prior to independence.

Scripture: Titus 1:5-16, 1 Timothy 3:1-13, Ephesians 4:9-16, Philippians 1:1-2, Acts 14:21-25, Hebrews 13:17, Matthew 20:20-28