Doctrine

Doctrine

We believe that Jesus Christ is the unique Son of God, who died for our sins as a substitutionary sacrifice and physically rose from the grave three days later. All those who trust Christ as their personal savior are redeemed and are members of the worldwide body of Christ. We welcome all who hold this belief as brothers and sisters in the Lord, and invite them to become part of our fellowship at Grace Church (John 1:1-14, 3:16; Acts 16:31; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 2:8-10; Colossians 1:14-20).

Furthermore, we believe that the Bible unequivocally teaches the following doctrines, although we recognize that in some cases sincere and intelligent Christians hold different views. In order for unity to prevail within Grace Church (Acts 4:32; Philippians 1:27, 2:1-2), we require that all those in positions of leadership and teaching must personally hold to the following basic precepts. However, if you disagree with some aspects of them, you are still welcome to be a part of our fellowship.

The Bible

We believe that the Bible - the sixty-six books of the Older and New Testaments - is the written word of God, our final and infallible authority in faith and life. We believe that the very words of the original texts, and not merely the general concepts or ideas, were inspired by God and thus are free from error - both historically and conceptually true in every detail (Psalm 19:7-11; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21).

The Trinity

We believe in one God who exists eternally in three persons-Father, Son and Holy Spirit; these persons are coequal, each fully possessing the divine nature (Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Acts 5:3-4).

The Creation

We believe that Genesis 1-11 is factually true and not mythical. Consequently, we believe that the cosmos, including man, is the product of God's creation out of nothing (creation ex nihilo), and not the result of naturalistic or theistic evolution (Genesis 1:1-2:3; Job 38:1-7; John 1:1-3; Colossians 1:15-17).

The Fall of Man

We believe that man was created in the image of God, but that he willfully sinned and consequently experienced immediate spiritual death (i.e., separation from God) and eventual physical death. As a result, all people are born with a predisposition to sin, and in fact do personally sin. Apart from Jesus Christ all are eternally lost (Gen 1:26-27, 2:17, 3:6; Rom 3:23, 5:12; Eph 2:1-3).

Jesus Christ - His Person

We believe that God the Son became human in the person of Jesus Christ; was conceived by the Holy Spirit within the womb of Mary, a virgin; and is fully God and fully man (Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:26-38; John 1:14; Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 4:15).

Jesus Christ - His Work

We believe that Jesus Christ died for the world's sin as a substitutionary sacrifice, and that only those who believe in Him are declared righteous and eternally acceptable before God (Isaiah 53:4-5; Mark 10:45; Romans 3:24-26; Colossians 1:19-20; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 1 Peter 2:24, 3:18; 1 John 2:2).

Jesus Christ - His Resurrection

We believe that Jesus Christ physically rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, where as our high priest, He is interceding for us and directing the church (John 20:24-27; Acts 1:9-11; Romans 1:4; Ephesians 1:19-21; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 4:14; Colossians 1:19).

Salvation

We believe that anyone who trusts Jesus Christ as his personal savior is given spiritual life by the Holy Spirit, who immediately and permanently indwells him and baptizes him into the body of Christ as a child of God. This salvation is a gift. It is not based on any human effort or merit, but on the grace of our sovereign God; thus once granted, it can never be lost (John 1:12, 3:1-16; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:28, 8:9, 38-39; John 14:16-17; 1 Corinthians 12:13).

Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility

We believe that God's offer of salvation to all who will believe in Jesus Christ is genuine. The person who rejects God's offer is fully responsible for his choice and justly bears the consequences. Nevertheless we believe that man's sinful condition does not permit him to come to God unless God first draws him to Himself. We further believe that all Christians were sovereignly chosen by God for salvation before the creation of the world. This tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility pervades many other areas of doctrine and life; its apparent contradiction is due only to man's inability to fully comprehend the workings of an infinite God (John 6:37, 44; Acts 16:31; Rom 8:28-30; Eph 1:4-5; 2 Thes 2:13; 2 Pet 3:9).

Sanctification

We believe that each Christian still has a sinful nature, but that God is in the process of changing every believer to be more like Christ by the working of the Holy Spirit. The believer's responsibility is to yield himself to Jesus Christ as the Lord of his life (Romans 6:1-14, 8:11-13, 12:1; Ephesians 2:10; Galations 5:16).

Spiritual Gifts

We believe that the Holy Spirit gives at least one spiritual gift to every believer, to be used for building up other believers. These gifts are to be exercised according to Biblical guidelines and priorities. We believe that certain spiritual gifts given to the early church (among them the gifts of apostleship, prophecy, speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, healing and performing miracles) were temporary in nature and are not present in today's church (Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, 28-31, 13:8-10, 14:20-33; Ephesians 4:11-13; 1 Peter 4:10-11).

The Universal Church

We believe that the church consists of all who have put their faith in Jesus Christ from the day of Pentecost until the present. The church has a threefold purpose: to give God the worship and praise He deserves, to build up believers to spiritual maturity and to evangelize the world-witnessing, by our words and our lives, the truth of God's provision for man through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 4:4-16; 1 Peter 2:9-10; Matthew 5:13-16, 28:18-20; 2 Corinthians 5:20; Acts 1:8).

The Local Church

We believe that each local church is to be nurtured and governed by a group of elders who operate under the headship of Jesus Christ. These are men called by God to a shepherding ministry and are recognized on the basis of Biblical qualifications. We believe that women are to serve the church in other vital roles, such as encouragement, counsel, prayer and ministries of shepherding and teaching other women in the body. Local church elders are to be assisted by deacons, who must also be Biblically qualified and who perform ministries of service (Acts 14:23, 20:17, 28-31; 1 Timothy 2:9-12, 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9, 2:3-5; 1 Corinthians 14:34-35).

Ordinances

We believe that Christ has commissioned each local church to regularly practice the baptism of believers and the Lord's Supper (Matthew 28:19; Acts 8:21-39, 16:30-34; Luke 22:14-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).

The Christian Life

We believe that as Christians, we should order our lives according to Biblical priorities, among the most important of which are these:

Angels, Demons, and Satan

We believe that angels are real beings, created by God, and are sent out by Him to minister especially to believers. We also believe in the existence of fallen angels-demons-who work to thwart God's purposes in the world. Chief among them is Satan, who attempts to defeat believers through deception and temptation to sin. Christians can overcome Satan's schemes by applying Biblical truth through the power of the Holy Spirit (Job 1:6-12, 38:6-7; Isaiah 6:1-3; Ezekiel 28:12-19; John 8:44; Hebrews 1:14; Jude 6; 1 Peter 5:8-9; Ephesians 6:10-18).

Resurrection and Judgements

We believe that all people will be physically resurrected after death. Nonbelievers will be judged by God and will suffer eternal separation from Him. Believers will be examined by Jesus Christ and will be rewarded according to their faithfulness. All believers will enjoy eternal fellowship with God in heaven (John 5:24-29; 1 Corinthians 3:10-15; 2 Corinthians 5:9-10; Revevelation 20:11-15).

The End Times

We believe that the church age will end with the following sequence of events, which could begin at any moment:

  1. The Rapture: When Christ will come and instantaneously gather all Christians to Himself (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:51-58).
  2. The Tribulation: A seven-year period under the domination of the Antichrist and characterized by divine judgments (Daniel 9:24-27; Revelation 4:1-18:24).
  3. The Second Coming: When Christ will personally and visibly return to Earth to defeat the forces of the Antichrist and bind Satan (Revelation 9:11-16; Zechariah 14:1-15).
  4. The Millennium: A one thousand-year period of peace and righteousness over which Christ will personally reign on Earth. At the end of the millennium, Satan will rebel, will again be defeated and be cast into the lake of fire for eternity (Revelation 20:1-10; Isaiah 11:1-16).
  5. The New Heavens, New Earth and New Jerusalem: A new creation in which believers will eternally dwell in fellowship with God (Revelation 21:1-22:5; Hebrews 12:22-24