Affirmation of Faith
The following is a statement of Grace Baptist Church’s doctrinal beliefs.
We believe that...
The Bible, the 66 canonical books of its full verbal inspiration in the original manuscripts and its all-sufficiency as the Christian’s rule of faith and practice, is inerrant in its original form, complete, and is the absolute authority. (II Timothy 3:16,17; II Peter 1:19-21)
God, the only God, is the Creator, Preserver and Ruler of all things, Who is perfect in holiness, and in love, infinite in wisdom and measureless in power, and Who reveals himself to us as a Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (Deuteronomy 4:35, 39. 6:4: Nehemiah 9:6; 1 Chronicles 14:34, 29:11.12; Exodus 15:1 1.13: Isaiah 28:29: Matthew 28:19)
Jesus Christ is the eternal and only begotten Son of God, conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, performed mighty miracles, died for our sins as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice on the cross, was bodily resurrected from the tomb, ascended to the right hand of the Father where His present ministry there is for us as High Priest and Advocate. We believe in the personal, visible, imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ for His church and in His coming in Glory with the believers to set up His kingdom upon the earth. He is the true God and true man and is the only and sufficient mediator between God and man. (Matthew 1:20; Mark 13:26, 27; Luke 1:35.24:6,7; John 1:1,2.14, 10:32,12:45, 14:6.9; Acts 1:9-11, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 1:3, 4:14, 15. 7:27: 1 John 2:1-2)
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity, whose ministry is to convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment and to regenerate the unbelieving, to seal, sanctify, teach, and comfort those who believe in Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit distributes spiritual gifts among the members of Christ’s Body according to His own will, and that every member possesses at least one such gift. We further believe that God can and does perform miracles and physical healing, although the “sign gifts” [those public miraculous acts described in the New Testament (namely those of miracles, healing, tongues, and prophetic utterances), given by God to validate the gospel to the unbelieving Jews] have ceased. (John 16:8-11,3:3,7, 14:26; Ephesians 1:13, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11)
Man was created in the image of God by direct creation and that he sinned and thereby incurred both physical and spiritual death. All men by nature and by choice are sinners and apart from Christ, shall be forever separated from God. (Genesis 1:26, 2:17; Ezekiel 18:20: Romans 3:23)
All who believe in Jesus Christ are justified on the grounds of His shed blood. (I Corinthians 15:3.4: Revelation 1:5)
Salvation is by grace through faith, not of works, and that all who receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are born again of the Holy Spirit, become children of God and have eternal security (saved). (Ephesians 2:8,9; John 1:12, 3:3,7)
The saved and the unsaved will be bodily resurrected. The saved to everlasting conscious blessedness and the unsaved to everlasting conscious punishment. (I Corinthians 15:20-24; Revelation 20:15. 22:3-5)
God’s Word commands every believer to be baptized by immersion in water. Though baptism has no saving merit, it does show forth in a solemn, beautiful symbol the believer’s faith in and union with the crucified. buried, and risen Savoir. (Matthew 28:18-20. Acts 2:38, 41, Romans 6:3-5, Mark 16:16)
The Lord’s Supper is symbolic of Christ’s broken body and shed blood. The Lord’s Supper is partaken of by saved individuals in memory of the suffering and death of their Lord and in anticipation of His soon coming again. Its observance is to be preceded by faithful self-examination. (Luke 22:19,20: 1 Corinthians 11:23-30)