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Grace Bible Fellowship
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Statement of Faith
We
believe that "all Scripture is given by
inspiration of God," written by a process in
which the Holy Spirit so superintended the human
authors that, through their individual
personalities and different styles of writing,
they composed and recorded the Word of God to man
without error in the whole or in the part. It is
the only standard of faith and practice for the
believer and the assembly. (Jn. 20:30-31; I Cor.
2:13; I Thess. 2:13; 2 Tim 3:16-17; Heb. 4:12; 2
Pet. 1:20-21)
We
believe the Godhead eternally exists in three
persons - the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit - and that these three are one God, each
having precisely the same nature, attributes, and
perfections, and each worthy of precisely the
same reverence. (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; Jn.
4:24; 2 Cor. 13:14; Eph. 4:4-6)
We
believe that God the Father orders and disposes
all things according to His one purpose and
grace. As the absolute and highest Ruler in the
universe He is sovereign in creation, providence,
and redemption. He created the universe apart
form pre-existing materials and without means. He
has decreed for His own glory all things that
comes to pass, and continually upholds, directs
and governs all creatures and events. From all
eternity He has graciously chosen those whom He
would have as His own; He saves from sin all who
come to Him through Jesus Christ; and He related
Himself to His own as their Father. (Ps. 103:19;
145:8-9; I Chron. 29:11; Jn. 1:18; Rom. 11:33; I
Cor. 8:6; Eph. 1:3-6; Heb. 4:13; I Pet. 1:17)
We
believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of
God and the virgin-born Son of Man, who was
incarnated as the God-Man to reveal God, redeem
men, and rule over God's kingdom. He became and
remained a perfect man yet retained His absolute
deity, being at the same time very God and very
man. Therefore, He was without sin as to nature,
unable to sin in principle, and did not sin in
fact. He accomplished our redemption through His
death on the cross as a propitiatory and
substitutionary sacrifice and our redemption is
made sure by His resurrection from the dead.
Throughout this age, Christ is seated at the
Father's side performing the intercessory aspect
of His High priestly work for believers. We
believe in the pre-millennial return of our Lord
Jesus Christ and in His kingdom reign on the
earth. (Zech. 14:4-11; Lk. 1:35; Jn. 1:1-2; Rom.
3:24-25; 8:34; Phil. 2:5-11; I Thess. 4:13-18;
Heb. 4:15; 7:25; I Pet. 1:3-5; 2:21-24; I Jn.
2:1-2; Rev. 20:6)
We
believe it is the work of the holy Spirit to
execute the divine will with relation to the
world of men. This work in believers involves
that of regeneration, baptism in the body of
Christ, indwelling, sanctifying, instructing,
empowering for service, administering spiritual
gifts, and preserving to the day of Christ. (Jn.
14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-9; Rom. 8:9; I Cor.
12:4-14; Eph. 1:13-14; 2:22)
We
believe that man was created in the image of God,
free from sin, but through Adam became alienated
from God by a voluntary act of personal
disobedience to the revealed will of God,
acquired a sin nature and came under the judicial
sentence of death. (Gen. 1:25-27; 3:1-19; Rom.
3:22-23; 6:23; Eph. 2:1-3)
We
believe that salvation consists in the
satisfaction of divine justice, the forgiveness
of sins, and reconciliation with God, the
imputation of the righteousness of Jesus Christ,
the gift of eternal life, every spiritual
resource needed for life and godliness, and the
guarantee that those thus saved shall never
perish. This salvation is a gift of God by grace
and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ and is manifested in works pleasing to
God. (Jn 3:16-18; Rom. 3:24; 5:8-10; Eph. 1:7;
2:8-10; Tit. 2:11-14)
We
believe that all who have placed their faith in
Christ are united together immediately by the
Holy Spirit in one spiritual body, the church, of
which Christ is the Head. The local assembly is
composed of believers in a locality who gather in
Christ's name for worship, prayer, and
edification. Government and discipline are
divinely outlined as being the responsibility of
the local church elders. To fulfill its
God-ordained mission of exalting God, edifying
believers and evangelizing the world, the
assembly has been given spiritual gifts. It is
essential that each member develops and exercises
his spiritual gift(s) for the assembly to
accomplish its task. We recognize that the
purpose for the sign gifts has been fulfilled,
therefore they have been terminated. (Rom.
12:3-8; I Cor. 12:4-31; 13:8-10; 14:1-40; Eph.
1:22-23; 2:19-22; 4:8-13; Col. 1:18; I Tim.
3:1-13; 4:14; 2 Tim. 1:6; 4:20 with Acts
19:11-12; Tit. 1:5-9; Heb. 2:3-4; 10:25; I Pet.
4:1-10)
We
believe that two ordinances have been committed
to the local assembly - baptism and the Lord's
Supper. Baptism by immersion symbolizes the
identification of the believer with the death,
burial, and resurrection of Christ and the
commitment to walk in newness of life. The Lord's
Supper is a memorial feast instituted by the Lord
Himself exclusively for His own people, in which
the believers remember Him, showing forth His
death until He comes. (Matt. 28:16-20; Acts.
2:42; Rom. 6:4; I Cor. 11:23-29)
We
believe that the condition and retribution of the
lost and the salvation and blessedness of the
saved are conscious and everlasting. (Mk.
9:43-48; Rev. 20:15; 22:3-5, 11)
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