OUR DOCTRINE
OUR DOCTRINE IS ANCIENT
Our doctrine is not new or modern. Rather, we are committed to following the ancient teachings of Jesus Christ and His Apostles, as recorded in Holy Scripture and expressed in the old creeds handed down to us. After the apostolic age, the early Church began to summarize the ancient Christian faith into creeds to clarify and declare essential truths. Diaspora Church wholly affirms and regularly recites the creeds of the early Church and her great ecumenical councils, namely the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Chalcedonian Definition. These have proven invaluable throughout history in guarding doctrines of Christian orthodoxoy such as the Trinity, the deity of Christ, and others.
OUR DOCTRINE IS PROTESTANT
During the Middle Ages, the Church became engulfed in the darkness of superstition, and the truths of the gospel were buried beneath layers of human tradition and false teaching. By the gracious and guiding hand of God, faithful Christians arose who returned to Scripture to recover the gospel taught by Jesus Christ and His Apostles. This movement that took place over 500 years ago is called the Protestant Reformation, and its core principles are known as the Five Solas. The Five Solas distinguish the teachings of the Reformers from the corruption of Roman Catholicism and they help to clarify and guard the gospel. Diaspora Church wholly affirms that sinners are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, as revealed in Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone.
SOLA SCRIPTURA
SCRIPTURE ALONE
The Bible alone is the Word of God and
the only infallible rule of faith and practice
SOLA GRATIA
GRACE ALONE
Our salvation is not earned in any part;
it is the free gift of God from start to finish
SOLA FIDE
FAITH ALONE
We are forgiven our sins and counted righteous
in God’s sight solely by faith in Christ
SOLUS CHRISTUS
CHRIST ALONE
Christ is the only savior of sinners, and
His atoning sacrifice is sufficient to save them
SOLI DEO GLORIA
GLORY TO GOD ALONE
The ultimate end of all God’s works in creation
and redemption is His own glory alone
OUR DOCTRINE IS
EVANGELICAL REFORMED
EVANGELICAL
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We mourn how the term "Evangelical" is perceived by society today because it has been hijacked by political agendas and liberal ideologies. However, evangelicalism was an ecumenical movement across Protestant denominations that was committed to the reaffirmation of the Five Solas and to the global proclamation of the gospel. Diaspora Church is "evangelical" in the sense that we are committed to stand against the current of secular culture and to join other faithful churches in advancing the gospel of Jesus Christ. We recognize that this glorious gospel and the great task of proclaiming it to all the world call for the unity of Christians from different denominations and traditions because the gospel is of first importance.
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REFORMED
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We do not use the term "Reformed" to divide the body, but to express our commitment to always reforming our faith and practice according to the Word of God. We rejoice in the wonderful teachings of Scripture, such as God's sovereignty over creation and salvation (Reformed Theology), God's gracious covenants with His people (Covenant Theology), and God's directives for how we are to worship Him (Regulative Principle of Worship). We confess the faith summarized in the historic Reformed confessions, and we require our elders and deacons, with charity and prudence in matters of distinction, to subscribe to one of the following: the 1646 Westminster Confession of Faith, the 1658 Savoy Declaration, or the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith.
The latter confessions deliberately retained the same order and words, affirming their agreement in fundamentals doctrines and their belonging to English Reformed and confessional Christianity. Where revisions were made, they were thoughtfully introduced to clarify distinctions, while maintaining a spirit of unity.
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View a side-by-side comparison of the three English Reformed confessions here.
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Read Diaspora Church's Unified Resolution on Baptism here.
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