About the Bible:
We believe the Bible to be the revealed Word of God, fully and verbally inspired of God. We believe the Scriptures to be the inerrant, infallible Word of God, as found within the 66 books from Genesis to Revelation. We believe that God not only inspired every word, but that He has preserved them through the ages. We believe that Grace Baptist Church’s authorized Bible must be the Authorized King James Version. (Psalm 12:6-7, II Timothy 3:15-17; I Peter 1:23-25)
About God:
We believe in one God with three eternal distinctions: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. They are of the same essence (John 4:24), but separate in personalities. (Matthew 3:16, 17; 28:19,20; II Corinthians 13:14)
About Jesus Christ:
We believe that Jesus Christ is God (John 10:30; 20:31) and that He is eternal (John 1:1,2). We believe that when Jesus Christ came to take on the form of man (Philippians 2:6-8) that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:20-23). We believe that He lived a sinless life (II Corinthians 5:21) and that He provided the necessary atonement, vicariously, for our sins by the “sacrifice of Himself” (Isaiah 53:4-6; Hebrews 9:26; I Corinthians 15:3). And most importantly, we believe that after He died and was buried that “He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (I Corinthians 15:4)
About the Holy Spirit:
We believe that the Holy Spirit is God and indwells every believer (I Corinthians 6:19; Romans 8:9). We believe that the Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment (John 16:8); that He is active in the new birth (John 3:5,6); that He testifies of Christ (John 15:26); that He seals the believer unto the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30)and that He makes intercession for believers (Romans 8:26).
We believe that man hinders the Holy Spirit in having all of himself, due to sin. Therefore, it is essential for man to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) or controlled by the Spirit by keeping sin confessed and walking in the light (I John 1:6,7). Being filled with the Spirit is not the same as speaking in tongues, which we believe ceased, along with the other sign gifts, at the completion of the Word of God (I Corinthians 13:8; 13:10)
About Satan:
We believe that Satan is a real and personal being who is void of truth (John 8:44). We believe also that he is the god of this world (II Corinthians 4:4) who has blinded the eyes of them which believe not (Acts 26:18) and that he is in constant warfare with Christians. (Ephesians 6:11,12)
About Creation:
We believe in and accept by faith (Hebrews 11:3) the Genesis account of creation (Genesis 1:1,2). We believe that God created all things including man (Colossians 1:16). Our belief in creation discounts all hypotheses of evolution.
About Hell:
We believe in a literal hell of everlasting fire (Matthew 25:41)
Human Sexuality:
- We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sex. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance.
(Genesis 2:24, 19:5, 13, 26:8,9: Leviticus 18:1-30, Romans 1:26-29; I Corinthians 5:1;6:9; I Thessalonians 4:1; Hebrews 13:4)
- We believe that the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman. (Genesis 2:24; Romans 7:2; I Corinthians 7:10; Ephesians 5:22-23)
Family Relationships:
- We believe that men and women are spiritually equal in position before God but that God has ordained distinct and separate spiritual functions for men and women in the home and in the church. The husband is to be the leader of the home, and men are to be the leaders (pastors and deacons) of the church. Accordingly, only men are eligible for licensure and ordination by the church. (Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:18; I Timothy 2:8-15; 3:4,5; 12)
- We believe that God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. The husband is to love his wife as Christ loves the church. The wife is to submit herself to the Scriptural leadership of her husband as the church submits to the headship of Christ. Children are an heritage from the Lord. Parents are responsible for teaching their children spiritual and moral values and leading them, through consistent lifestyle example and appropriate discipline, including Scriptural corporal correction. (Genesis 1:26-28; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalm 127:3-5; Proverbs 19:18;22:15; 23:13-14; Mark 10:6-12; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Colossians 3:18-21; Hebrews 13:4; I Peter 3:1-7)
Divorce and Remarriage:
We believe that God disapproves and forbids divorce and intends marriage to last until one of the spouses dies. Although divorced and remarried persons or divorced persons may hold positions of service in the church and be greatly used of God for Christian service, they many not be considered for the offices of pastor or deacon or those administrative positions within the church that would consist of pastoral duties. (Malachi 2:14-17; Matthew 19:3-12; Romans 7:1-3; I Timothy 3:2, 12; Titus 1:6)
Abortion:
We believe that human life begins at conception and that the unborn child is a living being. Abortion constitutes the unjustified, unexcused taking of unborn human life. Abortion is murder. We reject any teaching that abortions of pregnancies due to rape, incest, birth defects, gender selection, birth or population control, or the physical or mental well being of the mother are acceptable. (Job 3:16; Psalm 51:5; 139:14-16; Isaiah 44:24; 49:1-5; Jeremiah 1:5, 20:15-18; Luke 1:44)
