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The Scriptures |
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We
believe that the Holy Bible was written by men supernaturally inspired,
that it has truth without any mixture of error for its matter, and
therefore is, and shall remain to the end of the age, the only complete
and final revelation of the will of God to man.
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God |
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We believe
that God exists in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit; that He
is eternal, infinite, omniscient, omnipotent, and holy; that He is the
Creator, Sustainer and Judge of the universe.
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Jesus
Christ |
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We believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal, divine Son of God, who was born of a virgin, lived a
sinless life, died as our substitute in judgment, rose the third day
with a glorified body, ascended to heaven where he is seated at God's
right hand, and will one day come again. He is God, very God, and that
he must be confessed as God in order to gain salvation.
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Holy
Spirit |
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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 the creation;
that in His relation to the unbelieving world He restrains the Evil One
until God's purpose is fulfilled; that He convicts of sin, of judgment
and of righteous-ness; that He bears witness to the truth of the gospel
in preaching and testimony; that He is the agent in the new birth; that
He seals, endues, guides, teaches, witnesses, sanctifies and helps the
believer.
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The Devil |
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We believe that Satan was once holy, and enjoyed heavenly honor, but
through pride and ambition to be as the Almighty, fell and drew after
him a host of angels; that he is now the malignant prince of the power
of the air, and the unholy god of this world. He is the author of all
evil.
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Creation |
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We believe in the Genesis account of creation, and that it is to be
accepted literally, and not allegorically or figuratively; that man's
creation was not a matter of evolution or evolutionary change of
species, or development through interminable periods of time from lower
to higher forms; that all animal and vegetable life was made directly.
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Man |
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We believe that man was created in innocence under the law of his Maker,
but by voluntary transgression fell from his sinless and happy state, in
consequence of which all mankind are now sinners, not by constraint, but
by choice, and therefore under just condemnation without defense or
excuse.
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Salvation |
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We believe that the salvation of sinners is wholly by 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 and by His
death made a full and vicarious atonement for our sins.
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The New
Birth |
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Since man is born in sin and is depraved, he must be born again in order
to enter heaven. The New Birth is an operation of the Spirit in which
man is regenerated by God's power and is indwelt with the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit. Upon this birth, man is a new creature and old things
pass away and all things become new. This new birth or salvation is
gained by repentance toward God and faith in the finished work of
Christ.
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The Church |
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The church is a body of baptized believers, in whom Christ dwells, under
the discipline of the Word of God, organized for the purposes of
worship, evangelism, education and fellowship, observing the ordinances
and reflecting the spiritual gifts. The church is manifested in local
bodies and the local church is God's chosen program to accomplish His
purpose in this age.
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Spiritual
Gifts |
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We believe the sign gifts were for the time of the apostles and Paul
indicated these to be distinct (II Cor 12:12) and that the speaking and
serving gifts con-tinued through the church age. This does not mean that
miracles have ceased. We hold that there are present-day miracles, but
the performance is by God's power in what ever way He chooses. The
power of miracles does not reside in any person as it did the apostles,
even though God may use an individual in answer to
prayer. Such miracles would not be be for sensational promotion of a
ministry.
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Ordinances |
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We believe there are two ordinances, baptism and the Lord's Supper.
These public observances are symbolic but do not impart grace.
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Prophecy |
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Grace Bible Church holds the premillennial view of Scripture.
We believe that
there is to be a pre-Tribulation rapture of the church followed by a
seven-year Tribulation period. At the end of the Tribulation, Christ
will return with the saints and set up His thousand-year (millennial)
reign on the earth. After the thousand years, He will usher in eternity
future.
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Heaven and
Hell |
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We believe in the conscious, eternal blessedness of the saved and the
conscious, eternal punishment of the wicked in the lake of fire.
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CHURCH COVENANT
Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God to receive the
Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, and, on the profession of our faith,
having been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of
the Holy Ghost, we do now, in the presence of God, angels, and this
assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into
this covenant with one another as one body in Christ.
We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk together
in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this church, in
knowledge, holiness, and comfort; to promote its prosperity and
spirituality; to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and
doctrines; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the
support of the ministry, the expenses of the church, the relief of the
poor, and the spread of the gospel through all nations.
We also engage to maintain family and personal devotions; to
religiously educate our children, to seek the salvation of our kindred
and acquaintances; to walk circumspectly in the world; to be just in our
dealings, faithful in our engagements, and exemplary in our deportment;
to avoid all tattling, backbiting, and excessive anger; to abstain from
the sale and use of intoxicating drinks as a beverage, and to be zealous
in our efforts to advance the kingdom of our Savior.
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PHILOSOPHY
OF MINISTRY
Grace Bible Church is committed to a God-centered philosophy of
ministry. The first priority is worship of the true and living God. We
believe the mission mandate of Matthew 28 which sets forth the
imper-ative to make disciples, baptize, and teach biblical obedience. The
work of implementing the Great Commission is done through disciples who
are brought to maturity through the Ephesians 4:11-13 model. This divine
work should be done with the spirit of the Great Commandment "that we
love one another." As the local church then becomes a unit of beauty and
holiness it is ready to reach out to the community with a warm
evangelistic effort, leading others to a saving knowledge of Jesus
Christ. The church may then expand its ministry through benevolence,
missions and impacting our world with the preserving quality of godly
living (the "salt of the earth" ) and with the gospel (the "light of the
world").
The primary focus of world missions should be planting indigenous
churches; however, there is a place for ancillary mission works such as
educational, medical and social endeavors. We uphold the same standards
in the Lord's work abroad as we do at home which requires periodic
evaluation of the work of missionaries supported by Grace Bible Church.
We uphold the view of personal separation from the world as taught in
I Corinthians 6, Ephesians 4 and other passages. Christians should
abstain from the world-spirit and worldly living. We believe in a strong
spiritual pursuit for each individual believer as taught in Colossians
3. The church should strongly uphold the unity concept of Ephesians 4
and commit to ecclesiastical separation, not cooperating with liberal
churches in ecclesiastical matters and separating from all known
apostasy. Thus, we cannot cooperate with the National or World Council
of Churches. Grace Bible Church also upholds a conservative music
philosophy, rejecting entertainment-oriented and worldly music.
In our gift-discovery program we seek to use the gifts of the
believers within the framework of ministry God has given us. We believe
the speaking and serving gifts of the Spirit remain but that the sign
gifts have ceased (i.e. raising the dead, languages, the resident gift
of healing, and the writing of Scripture). We are thus non-charismatic
in the spectrum of contemporary theology. We do believe in the miracle
power of God for healing and other direct interventions of God. Such
manifestations would be termed "miracles" rather than the exercise of
sign gifts. In the doctrines of eschatology (final things) we are
premillennial and believe in a pre-tribulation rapture. We also believe
that there is already a series of divine judgments being imposed on the
world and that we should avoid an escapist mentality while
simultaneously holding steadfastly to the "blessed hope" of our Lord's
return.
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♦