Get to know Grace

We believe that the Bible is the written Word of God: accepting fully the writing of the Old and New Testaments (66 books) as the very Word of God, verbally inspired in all parts and therefore wholly without error as originally given of God, altogether sufficient in themselves as our only infallible and authoritative rule of faith and practice. By “inspired” we mean that God so supernaturally directed the writers of Scripture that without excluding their human intelligence, their individuality, their literary style, their personal feelings, or any other human factor, His own complete and coherent message to man was recorded in perfect accuracy, the very words of Scripture bearing the authority of divine authorship. (Psalms 19:7-11; Psalms 119:89; Proverbs 30:5-6; Isaiah 8:20; John 5:39; John 12:48; John 17:17; Romans 15:4; II Timothy 3:16-17; I Peter 1:23; II Peter 1:19-21; Revelation 22:19)

We believe that there is one, and only one, living and true God, a sovereign, infinite and intelligent Spirit, the Maker and Supreme Ruler of heaven and earth; inexpressibly glorious in holiness, and worthy of all honor, confidence and love; that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in every divine perfection, and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the outworking of the eternal plan of God. (Deuteronomy 6:4; Exodus 15:11; Exodus 20:2-3; Psalms 83:18; Psalms 90:2; Jeremiah 10:10; Matthew 28:19; Mark 12:29-30; John 4:24; John 10:30; John 15:26; John 17:5; Acts 5:3-4; I Corinthians 8:6; II Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:6; Philippians 2:5-6; I Timothy 1:17; Revelation 4:11)

We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal second person of the Trinity; that in His incarnation He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary; that He took upon Himself a human nature in addition to His divine nature in such a way that those two natures were not mingled nor diminished; that He lived a sinless life and performed miracles, and that He was indeed God in the flesh; that He died for the sins of the world, was buried, rose bodily from the grave, appeared to His disciples, ascended into Heaven and is now seated at the right hand of the Father as Intercessor; and that He is the only Mediator between God and man. We believe that He will return at any moment for us and that we will later rule upon the earth under Him; that He will judge believer’s works at His Judgment Seat and sentence unbelievers to final perdition at His Great White Throne. (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:18-25; Matthew 22:1-14; Luke 1:34-35; John 1:1; John 1:14; John 1:29; John 5:22; John 8:58; John 10:30; 37, 38; John 16:28; Acts 1:9; Acts 2:22-24; Romans 8:34; Romans 14:10; I Corinthians 15:3-8; II Corinthians 5:10; II Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 4:4; I Corinthians 3:11-15; Ephesians 1:20; Philippians 2:5-8: I Thessalonians 4:13-18; I Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 7:25; I John 3:3; I John 3:5; Revelation 19:11-20; Revelation 20:11-15)

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, equal with God the Father and God the Son, and of the same nature; that He was active in creation; that He convicts of sin, of judgment, and of righteousness; that He bears witness to the Truth of the Gospel and thereby glorifies not Himself but Christ; that He is the agent of the New birth; that He baptizes, indwells, seals, fills, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies, and helps the believer; and that He was active in the process of inspiration in that “holy men of god spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (Genesis 1:1-3; Matthew 28:19; John 3:5-6; John 14:16; 17, 26; John 15:26; John 16:8-11; 13, 14, Acts 5:30-32; Romans 8:16; Romans 8:26-27; I Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 5:18; II Thessalonians 2:13; Hebrews 9:14; I Peter 1:2; II Peter 1:21)

We believe in the existence of Satan who originally was created a holy and perfect being, but through pride and wicked ambition rebelled against God. We believe in the personality of Satan, that he is the unholy god of this age, and the ruler of all the powers of darkness, and is destined to the judgment of an eternal justice in the lake of fire. (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:14-17; Matthew 4:1-3; Matthew 13:25; 37-39; Matthew 25:41; Luke 22:3-4; John 14:30; II Corinthians 11:13-15; Ephesians 2:2; I Thessalonians 3:5; II Thessalonians 2:8-11; I Peter 5:8; II Peter 2:4; I John 3:8-9; Jude 6; Revelation 12:9-10; Revelation 20:10)

We believe that God created out of nothing the heavens and the earth, including all life, each “after its own kind” by a direct instantaneous act and not by means of the evolutionary hypothesis. We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary sexes together reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person. We believe that any form of sexual immorality (such as adultery, fornication, cohabitation, homosexual behavior, rejection of one’s biological sex, use of pornography, etc.) is sinful and offensive to God. We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of the ministry. (Genesis 1:1, 11, 24, 26, 27; Genesis 2:7, 21-23; Exodus 20:11; Nehemiah 9:6; Jeremiah 10:12; Matthew 15:18-20; Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31; John 1:3; Acts 3:19-21; 4:24; Romans 1:20; 10:9-10; I Corinthians 6:9-11; 11:7; Ephesians 4:31; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 11:3; I John 3:14-15)

We believe that man was created in innocence under the law of his Maker; but by voluntary transgression Adam fell from his sinless state, and all men sinned in him, in consequence of which all men are totally depraved, are partakers of Adam’s fallen nature, and are sinners by nature and by conduct; and therefore are under just condemnation without defense or excuse. (Genesis 3:1-6; Romans 1:18, 28, 32; Romans 3:10-19, 23; Romans 5:12, 19; Galatians 3:22; Ephesians 2:1)

We believe in salvation by Grace through faith alone: that salvation is the free, irrevocable gift of God, neither merited nor secured in part of whole by any virtue or work of man, but received after the quickening work of the Holy Spirit has brought a man to repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom all true believers have, as a present possession, the gift of eternal life, a perfect righteousness, sonship in the family of God, deliverance and security from all condemnation, every spiritual resource needed for life and godliness and the divine guarantee that they shall never perish; that salvation affects the whole man; that apart from Christ there is no possible salvation. (John 1:12; John 3:16; John 10:28-30; Acts 4:12; Romans 3:25-26; Romans 8:1; II Corinthians 3:5; Ephesians 2:8-9; Ephesians 4:30; I Thessalonians 5:23)

We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace; through the mediatorial offices of the Son of God, who by the appointment of the Father, freely took upon Him our nature, yet without sin, honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and by His death made a full and vicarious atonement for our sins; that His atonement consisted not in setting us an example by His death as a martyr, but was a voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner’s place, the just dying for the unjust ; Christ, the Lord, bearing our sin in His own body on the tree; that having risen from the dead, He is now enthroned in Heaven, and uniting in His wonderful person the tenderest sympathies with divine perfection, He is in every way qualified to be a suitable, a compassionate and an all sufficient Savior. (Ephesians 2:8; Acts 15:11; Romans 3:24; John 3:16; Matthew 18:11; Philippians 2:7; Hebrews 2:14-15; Isaiah 53:4-7; Romans 3:25; I John 4:10; I Corinthians 15:3; II Corinthians 5:21)

We believe that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again; that the new birth is a new creation in Christ Jesus; that it is instantaneous and not a process; that in the new birth the one dead in trespasses and in sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life, the free gift of God; that the new creation is brought about in a manner above our comprehension, solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the gospel; that its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance and faith and newness of life. (John 3:3; II Corinthians 5:17; I John 5:1; John 3:6-7; Acts 16:30-33; II Peter 1:4; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:1; II Corinthians 5:19; Colossians 2:13; John 3:8)

We believe that justification is the judicial act of God whereby He declares us to be righteous through faith in Christ Jesus; that justification includes the pardon of sin and the imputation of God’s righteousness; that it is bestowed, not in consideration of any works of righteousness which we have done, but solely through faith in the Redeemer'’ blood. (Isaiah 53:11; Acts 13:39; Romans 5:1-9; Romans 8:1; II Corinthians 5:18-21)

We believe that faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is the only condition of salvation. (Acts 16:31; John 5:24; Romans 10:13; Ephesians 2:8-9)

We believe that the Church exists in two aspects; that the invisible Church is the body of Christ for service and the Bride of Christ for glory; that the local church is a company of baptized believers, together with their officers, meeting together for worship, fellowship, instruction in the Word, prayer, and the observing of the ordinances, and seeking to fulfill the Great Commission; that the ordinances of a local church are baptism and the Lord’s Supper; that the local church has the absolute right of self-government, free from the interference of any hierarchy of individuals or organizations; that the holy head of the Church (visible and invisible) is Christ; that it is scriptural for local churches of like faith and practice to cooperate with each other in contending for the faith and for the furtherance of the Gospel, but that every local church is the sole and only judge of the extent and method of its own cooperation within the framework of Biblical revelation; that on all matters of membership, polity, government, discipline, and benevolence, the will of the local church is final; that its officers are pastors and deacons, whose qualifications are clearly outlined in the Scriptures (I Timothy 3:1-13); that the true mission of the local church is the fulfillment of the Great Commission without any change in the order thereof. (Matthew 26:27-29; Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 22:19-20; Acts 2:41-42; Acts 6:5-6; Acts 8:4; Acts 18:8; Acts 14:23; Acts 15:22; Acts 20:28; Romans 6:3-13; Romans 12:5; I Corinthians 5:11-13; I Corinthians 11; I Corinthians 16:1; II Corinthians 8:23; Ephesians 5:23-29; Philippians 1:1; Philippians 3:3;; Colossians 1:18; Colossians 2:12; I Timothy 3:1-13; I Timothy 4:16; II Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 10:25; I Peter 5:1-4)