Beliefs
Statement of Faith
Preamble
The teaching of Grace Bible Church is based on the Bible. Our Statement of Faith reflects those doctrines that the elders and membership consider essential to understanding, teaching, and practicing God’s Word and is based on an interpretation of the Scripture that is:
- Normal - understanding the words of Scripture in their common usage unless otherwise indicated by the context.
- Literal - understanding the meaning of Scripture in its ordinary sense unless the context requires a figurative interpretation.
- Grammatical - using the recognized rules of grammar to interpret the text.
- Historical - understanding the words of Scripture in the context of the times in which they were written.
- Dispensational - observing divinely determined stewardships which define man's responsibility in successive ages. ( Sec. 11)
- Systematic - categorizing and comparing the teaching of any portion of the Word of God with the whole of Scripture. God cannot contradict Himself.
As members of Grace Bible Church, we believe and affirm that this Statement of Faith reflects the truth of God’s Word.
(Scripture verses in this Statement of Faith are representative, and not to be considered exhaustive.)
Section 1: The Holy Scripture
We believe in the verbal and plenary inspiration of the Scriptures, consisting of 66 books which constitute the Old and New Testaments, the Word of God, inerrant in the original writings, the complete and unalterable special revelation of God and our final authority. As stated in the preamble, we believe in the normal, literal, grammatical, historical, and systematic interpretation of the Scripture and in a dispensational understanding of God’s progressive revelation. (Matthew 5:18; John 16:12, 13; 2 Timothy 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:20, 21)
Section 2: The Godhead
We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – co-eternal in being, co-identical in essence, co-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. (Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14)
We believe God is spirit, from everlasting to everlasting the same, the direct creator of all things, omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. (John 4:24; Luke 24:39; Psalm 90:2; Malachi 3:6; James 1:17; Isaiah 44:24; Revelation 19:6; 1 John 3:20; Psalm 147:5; Psalm 139:7-10; Jeremiah 23:24; John 1:3; Exodus 20:8-11; Genesis 1:1; Colossians 1:16, 17)
Section 3: The Person And Work Of Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, and that He lived a sinless life. He came in order to reveal God and redeem sinful man. (Luke 1:35; John 1:1, 2, 14, 18)
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice in providing an unlimited atonement for the sins of the whole world, and that our justification is verified by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Romans 3:24, 25; Ephesians 1:7; Hebrews 2:9; 1 Peter 1:3-5; 2:24; 1 John 2:2)
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Acts 1:9, 10; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; 1 John 2:1, 2)
Section 4: The Person And Work Of The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the person of the Godhead Who in this present age convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; Who regenerates and baptizes into the body of Christ those who believe; and Who indwells and seals them unto the day of redemption. (John 16:8-11; Roman: 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 3:6; Ephesians 1:13, 14)
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Divine Teacher Who guides believers into all truth. It is the privilege of believers to be filled with and their duty to walk in the Holy Spirit. (John 16:13; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27)
Section 5: The Total Depravity Of Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God. In Adam's sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature; and became alienated from God. Therefore, man is totally depraved and apart from God is unable to remedy his lost condition. (Genesis 1:26, 27; Romans 3:22, 23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12)
Section 6: Salvation and Security
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice for all people. All who trust Him are saved by His grace through faith solely on the ground of His shed blood and not our works. They are then "accepted in the beloved," kept by God's power and thus secured in Christ forever. (John 1:12; 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38, 39; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8; Ephesians 1:6-7; 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:5, 18, 19)
We believe that every saved person possesses two natures,[1] with provision made for victory of the new nature over the old nature through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit and that all claims to the eradication of the old nature in this life are unscriptural. (Romans 6:13; 8:12, 13; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:22-24; Colossians 3:9-10; 1 Peter 1:14-16; 1 John 3:5-9)
We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh. (Romans 13:13, 14; Galatians 5:13; Titus 2:11-15; 1 Peter 2:13-20)
Section 7: The Church
We believe that the Church, which began with the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, is the Body and Bride of Christ. It is the spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of the present age. (Acts 2:1-13, 47; Ephesians 1:22, 23; 5:25-27; 1 Corinthians 12:13, 14; 2 Corinthians 11:2)
We believe that the establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures. (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11)
We believe that Christ is the Head of the church and that under his authority, oversight of the local church is entrusted to a body of elders to exercise caring guidance of the deacons and church body. While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office of pastor/elder is limited to men who are biblically qualified (Acts 14:23, Colossians 1:18, 1 Timothy 2:12, 1 Timothy 3:1-13, 1 Peter 5:1-4).
Section 8: Ordinances
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ established two ordinances for the Church in this present age. These are believer's water baptism, practiced by immersion, and the Lord's Supper, observed obediently as a memorial of His death. These ordinances are not a means of saving grace.
(1 Corinthians 11:23‑34; Acts 8:12, 35‑39; 10:47, 48; 1 Corinthians 1:14)
Section 9: Missions
We believe that it is the obligation of the saved to witness by life and by word to the truths of the Gospel; making disciples from among all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all things whatsoever Christ has commanded. (Matthew 28:18‑20; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:19, 20)
Section 10: The Ministry And Spiritual Gifts
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ gives the Church evangelists and pastor-teachers. These gifted men are to equip the saints for the work of the ministry. (Ephesians 4:7-14)
We believe that the Holy Spirit bestows spiritual gifts upon believers for Christian service and for the edification of the Church. (Romans 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11; 1 Peter 4:10, 11)
We believe that the Church Age was initiated through the ministry of the apostles and prophets accompanied by sign gifts to confirm their message. These sign gifts gradually ceased by the time of the completion of the New Testament. (1 Corinthians 12:28-31; 13:8-10; 14:1-28; 2 Cor. 12:12; Ephesians 2:19-22; Hebrews 2:3, 4)
We believe that God hears and answers prayer in accord with His own will for healing of the sick and afflicted.
(John 14:13, 14; 15:7; 1 John 5:14, 15)
Section 11: Dispensationalism
We believe that the Scriptures interpreted in their normal, literal sense reveal divinely determined dispensations which define man's responsibility in successive ages. A dispensation is not a way of salvation, but a divinely ordered stewardship by which God directs man according to His purpose. (John 1:17; 1 Corinthians 9:17; 2 Corinthians 3:9‑18; Galatians 3:13‑25; Ephesians 1:10; 3:2‑10; Colossians 1:24, 25; Hebrews 7:19; Revelation 20:2‑6)
We believe that salvation is always by grace through faith regardless of the dispensation in which the believer may have lived. God's purpose of salvation by grace through faith alone has always been based upon the substitutionary atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ upon the Cross. (Ephesians 2:8‑10; Hebrews 11:6; 1 Peter 1:10‑12)
Section 12: The Personality Of Satan
We believe that Satan is a created being, the author of sin, the tempter in the fall, the declared enemy of God and man, and the “god of this world”. He shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire. (Job 1:6, 7; Isaiah 14:12‑17; Matthew 4:2‑11; 25:41; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 20:10)
Section 13: The Second Advent Of Christ
We believe in the “Blessed Hope,” the personal, imminent, pretribulational and premillennial coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for His redeemed ones. We believe that at the end of the seven‑year tribulation He will return to earth with the saints in power and glory to reign for a thousand years in a literal earthly kingdom. (Zechariah 14:4‑11; 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 4:13‑18; 5:9; Titus 2:13; Revelation 3:10; 19:11‑16; 20:1‑6)
Section 14: The Eternal State
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment. (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28, 29; 11:25, 26; Revelation 20:5, 6, 12, 13)
We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death, absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await the first resurrection, when spirit, soul and body are reunited to be glorified forever with the Lord. (Luke 23:43; Revelation 20:4-6; 2 Cor. 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17)
We believe that the souls of unbelievers are, at death, absent from the body and in conscious misery until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited they shall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment and shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting conscious punishment. (Luke 16:19-26; Matthew 25:41-46;
2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6, 7; Mark 9:43-48; Revelation 20:11-15)
Section 15: Creation
We believe that the triune God, by a free act and for His own glory, without the use of existing materials or secondary causes, brought into being – immediately and instantaneously in six literal days by the word of His mouth – the whole universe. (Genesis 1:1-27; Exodus 20:8-11; Nehemiah 9:6; Psalm 104:25,26; Isaiah 40:21-31; John 1:1-5; Colossians 1:16, 17)
We believe that God created all mankind in his image, and affirm the goodness of God’s design for the two sexes, male and female, including the different roles he has given to each. To present one’s self in a manner inconsistent with their sex is a rejection of God’s good design and is shameful before him (Genesis 1:27; Deuteronomy 22:5; Psalm 139:14; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, 11:14-15).
Section 16: Biblical Separation And Unity
We believe that the saved should be separated unto the Lord Jesus Christ, necessitating holy living in all personal and ecclesiastical associations and relationships.
It is the believer's responsibility to endeavor to maintain the unity of the faith while separating from apostasy and from those who have deviated from biblical doctrine and behavior. Every proposed alliance must be considered in the light of our commitment to biblical separation. (Romans 12:1, 2; 14:13; 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20; Titus 2:14; James 4:4, 5; 1 Peter 2:9-11; 1 John 2:15-17; Matthew 18:15-17; Romans 16:17; 1 Corinthians 5:7-11; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Ephesians 4:1-6; 2 Thessalonians 3:11-14;
2 Timothy 3:1-5; Titus 3:10; 2 John 9-11)
Section 17: Marriage and Family
We believe that marriage and family are sacred institutions ordained by the Lord God Himself from the very beginning of human history. Marriage is exclusively between one man and one woman, as genetically defined. Any other definition of marriage is contrary to the clear teachings of the Holy Bible and hence against the expressed will of God. Sexual intimacy is a wonderful gift of God that is only to be expressed between a man and a woman within the love and bonds of marriage.
The husband and wife are of equal worth before God, since both are created in God's image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people.
Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God's pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents. (Genesis 1:26-28; 2:20b-24; Psalms 127; 128; 139:13-16; Proverbs 6:20-22; 13:24; 22:6,15; 29:15,17; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5; 1 Timothy 5:8,14; Hebrews 13:4; 1 Peter 3:1-7)
[1] The term "nature(s)" in this section refers to an inherent disposition of a person which affects the conduct and character of that person.