The Journey’s Core Convictions
God
What fruit have you seen from praying for your Top 5 and trying to build a relationship with them?
What is a (non-overtly theological) belief that you will vehemently defend?
(E.g., The current Astros run is one of the greatest dynasties in MLB history.)
Thoughtful
We want to be a church where our members know what we believe, why we believe it, and how it makes sense of the world around us.
Core Convictions
What is Theology?
Theology = Thoughts about God
Everyone is a theologian.
We all have thoughts about God.
We want to make sure our thoughts about God are true thoughts.
How do we do theology?
Theological Method
The most important place to look to form our theology is the Scriptures.
“The Bible, made up of the 66 canonical books of the Old and New Testaments, is God’s revelation to humanity. The Scriptures reveal the Christian Story, the true, good, and beautiful story of the Creator and His creation, centered on the person and work of Christ in his first and second comings. They are inspired by God, the very words of God mediated through human authors. They are inerrant, without error in their original manuscripts. They are authoritative, to be trusted and obeyed. And they are sufficient, containing all we need to know for salvation and faithful living, in other words, for The Journey. (Psalm 19; 2 Timothy 3:15-17)”
To do theology:
To do theology:
To do theology:
To do theology:
To do theology:
To do theology:
Theological Triage
Triage = to sort
Theological triage refers to giving varying levels of weight to different doctrines.
Preface to The Journey’s Core Convictions
““All Scripture is inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Timothy 3:16). However, the apostle Paul said that there are certain doctrines “of first importance” (1 Corinthians 15:3). We attempt to reflect this in our Statement of Faith below by distinguishing between our Core Convictions and Doctrinal Distinctives. [Our Core Convictions] are the doctrines that St. Vincent of Lerins called what “has been believed everywhere, always, and by all.” These doctrines comprise “the faith that was once for all time handed down to the saints” (Jude 3). To waver from these doctrines is to waver from the true Christian faith. At The Journey Church, members are required to affirm, uphold, and promote these Core Convictions.”
Gavin Ortlund’s Four Questions
How clear is the Bible on this doctrine?
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)
What is this doctrine’s importance to the gospel?
“Now I make known to you, brothers and sisters, the gospel which I preached to you, which you also received, in which you also stand, 2 by which you also are saved, if you hold firmly to the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain.
3 For I handed down to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; 7 then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; 8 and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.” (1 Corinthians 15:1-8)
What is the testimony of the historic church concerning this doctrine?
The things which have been “believed everywhere, always, and by all.” (St. Vincent of Lerins)
Including but not limited to the historic creeds.
What is this doctrine’s effect upon the church today?
E.g. Does it allow and/or promote things that are sinful and ultimately destructive?
What is Our Theology (Proper)?
Theology proper is what we believe about God Himself.
“Christianity is not primarily about lifestyle change; it is about knowing God.”
Michael Reeves, Delighting in the Trinity
The Journey’s Doctrine of God
“The Christian Story is most fundamentally the Story of God. This Story reveals that there is one true God, Creator of all, who eternally exists as one divine essence in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Son was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary in the Lord Jesus Christ, truly divine and truly human. The Holy Spirit convicts of sin, brings people to saving faith in Christ, and indwells, transforms, and equips believers for service in the body of Christ. (Genesis 1:1–3; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 1:23, 28:19; Luke 1:35; John 1:1–3, 14; 16:8; 1 Corinthians 3:16, 12:3–7; Galatians 5:22–23; Philippians 2:5–8)”
God is the Main Character in the Story Introduced in Creation
The Story begins, “In the beginning God” (Genesis 1:1).
God is the Main Character in the Story Introduced in Creation
The Story begins, “In the beginning God” (Genesis 1:1).
“The Christian Story is most fundamentally the Story of God.”
One God
“This Story reveals that there is one true God, Creator of all, who eternally exists as one divine essence.”
One God
“Hear, Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!” (Deuteronomy 6:4)
Three Persons
“in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
Three Persons
“in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”
Trinity
Athanasian Creed
“we worship one God in trinity and the trinity in unity, neither blending their persons nor dividing their essence.”
Three Persons
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” (Matthew 28:19).
Three Persons
“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,” (Matthew 28:19).
“[T]he ‘Father, Son, and Holy Spirit’ language was not a formula to be recited but a summary of the faith to be confessed.” Michael Svigel
The Trinity
“The biblical teaching on the Trinity embodies four essential affirmations:
The Trinity
“[E]very aspect of the gospel—creation, revelation, salvation—is only Christian insofar as it is the creation, revelation and salvation of this God, the triune God. I could believe in the death of a man called Jesus, I could believe in his bodily resurrection, I could even believe in a salvation by grace alone; but if I do not believe in this God, then, quite simply, I am not a Christian. And so, because the Christian God is triune, the Trinity is the governing center of all Christian belief, the truth that shapes and beautifies all others.” (Michael Reeves, Delighting in the Trinity)
“[E]ven the most basic call to believe in the Son of God is an invitation to a Trinitarian faith. Jesus is described as the Son of God. God is his Father. And he is the Christ, the one anointed with the Spirit.”
(Michael Reeves, Delighting in the Trinity)
Father
“I believe in One God,
the Father Almighty,
Maker of Heaven and Earth,
and of all things visible and invisible.”
(Nicene Creed)
Father
To be a Father, is by nature to be a life-giver.
Father
“[S]ince God the Father has eternally loved his Son, it is entirely characteristic of him to turn and create others that he might also love them. … creation is about the extension of that love outward so that it might be enjoyed by others. … So next time you look up at the sun, moon and stars and wonder, remember: they are there because God loves, because the Father’s love for the Son burst out that it might be enjoyed by many. And they remain there only because God does not stop loving.” (Michael Reeves, Delighting in the Trinity)
Son
“The Son was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary in the Lord Jesus Christ, truly divine and truly human.”
Son
“And [I believe] in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Son of God,
the Only-Begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages;
Light of Light;
True God of True God;
begotten, not made;
of one essence with the Father,
Son
by Whom all things were made;
Who for us men and for our salvation
came down from Heaven,
and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary,
and became man. And He was crucified for us under Pontius Pilate,
and suffered, and was buried.
Son
And the third day He arose again,
according to the Scriptures,
and ascended into Heaven,
and sits at the right hand of the Father;
and He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead;
Whose Kingdom shall have no end.”
(Nicene Creed)
Son
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.” (John 1:1-3)
Son
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being.” (John 1:1-3)
“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us; and we saw His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Son
“Four statements must be understood and affirmed in order to attain a complete biblical picture of the person of Jesus Christ:
Holy Spirit
“The Holy Spirit convicts of sin, brings people to saving faith in Christ, and indwells, transforms, and equips believers for service in the body of Christ.”
Holy Spirit
“And [I believe] in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life,
Who proceeds from the Father;
Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified;
Who spoke by the prophets.”
(Nicene Creed)
Holy Spirit
“lie to the Holy Spirit” (Acts 5:3)
“You have not lied to men, but to God.” (Acts 5:5)
The more we know God, the more delighted we will be in Him, and the more we will become like Him.
Delighting in the Trinity by Michael Reeves
Know Him.
Delight in Him.
Become like Him.
Invite others to know Him.