The Scriptures.

We believe that the Holy Bible as originally written was verbally inspired and the product of Spirit controlled men, and therefore is truth without admixture of error for its matter. We believe that it is the true center of Christian union and the only infallible rule for all human conduct, creeds, and opinions.

II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:19-21

The True God.

We believe that there is only one living and true God, infinite in every excellence, that in the unity of the Godhead there are three personal distinctions, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, one in essence and equal in every divine perfection.

Exodus 20:2-32; I Corinthians 8:6

The Devil, or Satan.

We believe that Satan is a distinct being, that he is the god of this age, author of all the powers of darkness and sin, and is destined to the judgment of an eternal justice in the lake of fire.

Matthew 4:1; II Corinthians 4:4; Revelation 20:10

The Creation.

We believe that God created the heavens and the earth in six literal days, including all life, "each after its own kind," by direct act and not by the process of evolution.

Genesis 1:1-2:25; Colossians 1:16-17; John 1:3

The Fall of Man.

We believe that man was created, in innocence and true holiness, under the law of his maker and in the image of God, but by voluntary transgression fell from his sinless and happy state in Adam's sin, in consequence of which all men are found in a most helpless estate, totally depraved, wholly disposed toward evil, possessing neither the ability nor the inclination to seek God apart from the regenerating grace of the Holy Spirit; that all are sinners by nature and by conduct, and therefore are under just condemnation without defense or excuse.

Genesis 3:1-6; Ephesians 4:23; Ecclesiastes 7:29; Genesis 1:26; Romans 5:12; Romans 3:10-19; Genesis 6:5; Ephesians 2:1; Romans 1:8; Ezekiel 18:19-20; Romans 1:32; Romans 1:20; Galatians 3:22

The Atonement of Sin.

We believe that the only escape from the condemnation of sin is through redemption wrought by Jesus Christ, when He voluntarily took upon Himself a human body and nature, yet without sin, and by His vicarious suffering, death and resurrection made full satisfaction to the justice of God and that "in him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins;" that the blessings of salvation are given on the grounds of grace to all who believe and confess; and that it is the immediate duty of all to accept these offers of mercy.

John 1:1-3; John 1:14; John 3:16-17; Romans 10:9-10; Ephesians 1:7

The Grace of the New Birth.

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 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 by our Sovereign God, not by culture or the will of man, but solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with the Word of God, so as to irresistibly draw men to Himself and secure their voluntary obedience to the gospel; that the proper evidence of the new birth appears in the holy fruits wrought by it: repentance, saving faith, and newness of life.

John 3:3; II Corinthians 5:17; I John 5:1; John 3:6-7; Acts 16:20-33; II Peter 1:4 ;
Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:1; Galatians 5:22; II Corinthians 5:19; Colossians 2:13; John 3:8; John 1:12-13; Ephesians 5:9

We believe that justification is a legal declaration in which God judicially declares the believing sinner forgiven of his sins and righteous in His sight. In justification, God imputes our sins to Christ, and imputes Christ's righteousness to all those who through faith believe in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22). God therefore can "be just and justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Romans 3:26). This act of justification is apart from any virtue or work on the part of man, but is freely given "by His grace as a gift" [Romans 3:24] solely through His own redemption and righteousness; it is by grace alone, received through faith alone, in Christ alone.

Romans 3:20-28; Romans 4:6; Romans 5:1; Romans 8:33; Galatians 2:16; Colossians 2:14; I Peter 2:24; I Corinthians 1:30; II Corinthians 5:21 

The Church.

We believe that the Church, the Body of Christ, is a New Testament institution, established by Jesus Christ, Who is its sole Head; revealed through the holy Apostles; empowered and perpetuated by the Holy Spirit; composed of believers in Jesus Christ as Savior, both Jew and Gentile, called out from the world and indwelt by the Holy Spirit; His "body" for service and His "bride" for glory. It began with the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and will be consummated at the coming of Christ at the time of the Rapture.

Matthew 16:18; Acts 1:4-8; Acts 2:1-13; Acts 2:42-47; I Corinthians 12:12-28; Ephesians 1:22;
Ephesians 3:21; Ephesians 5:23-33; I Thessalonians 4:13-18

The Ordinances.

We believe that there are two church ordinances; Baptism and the Lord's Supper. Baptism is the immersion of the believer in water and is properly called "Believer's Baptism." It sets forth in a beautiful and solemn way our faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, with its effect in our lives of death to sin and resurrection to a new life. Baptism is a prerequisite to the privileges of church relation. The Lord's Supper is the commemoration of our Lord's death until He comes, and our continual fellowship with Him; should be preceded by baptism and always conducted with careful self-examination.

Acts 8:36-39; Romans 6:3-5; I Corinthians 11:23-32

The Righteous and the Wicked.

We believe that there is a radical and essential difference between the righteous and the wicked; that such only as through faith are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and sanctified by the Spirit of God, are truly righteous in God's esteem; while all such who continue in impenitence and unbelief are in His sight wicked, and under the curse; and that this distinction holds among men both in and after death, in the everlasting felicity of the saved and the everlasting conscious suffering of the lost.

Malachi 3:18; Romans 6:17-23; Matthew 25:34-41; Luke 6:23; Revelation 20:15

Return of Christ.

We believe in the bodily, personal, pre-millennial, return of Jesus Christ; that He will come before the seven years tribulation period to catch away His church, coming only into the air, and that He will come with His church at the close of the tribulation to judge the living nations and to set up His kingdom.

I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 24:31-46; Revelation 19:11-21

The Resurrection.

We believe in the resurrection of the bodies of the dead; that believers who sleep in Jesus will be resurrected at the coming of Christ for His church and caught up with transformed living saints to meet the Lord in the air, and that the unbelieving dead will be raised at the close of the Millennial Kingdom and stand in their bodies at the Great White Throne judgment to receive their final doom.

John 5:21-30; I Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 20:11-15

Separation of Church and State.

We believe that church and state must be completely independent of each other. Christ is the Head of the Church, which is a spiritual Body, without temporal power to rule in the world in a political sense. We believe the statement of our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 22:21 put the church and state in two separate categories. The individual Christian has responsibility to each.

Priesthood of all Believers.

In the New Testament order every born-again Christian is a priest unto God.. This position of being a believer-priest under our one great High Priest, the Lord Jesus Christ, puts every Christian on the same level of priesthood. The believer-priest in the pew has just as ready access into the presence of God the Father and to the truth of God as does the believer-priest in the pulpit.

I Peter 2:5-9; Revelation 1:5-6

Fellowship and Associations.

In as much as a New Testament Baptist Church cannot “Join" anything outside of itself, but only affiliate therewith on grounds of fellowship, this church may fellowship with such organizations or bodies of believers as are true to the Word of God and not contaminated by liberalism or apostasy. We believe that the Scripture teaches that New Testament churches associated with churches of like faith in the work of the ministry. Such fellowship shall never be construed as a surrender of freedom or autonomy. Any attempt to dictate or coerce on the part of any fellowshipping body or its representatives shall immediately be sufficient cause for the severance of relationships. This church shall be answerable to no person, group, or organization for its decision to break or make fellowship.

Grace to the Church.

We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowment of all His gifts; and, that the gifts of evangelists, pastors and teachers are sufficient for the perfecting of the saints today; and, that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles (such as healings, restoration of hearing, sight, etc., and raising from the dead) gradually ceased as the New Testament Scriptures were completed and their authority became established. We believe in the complete cessation of all miraculous "sign" gifts at the end of the Apostolic period of the church.

I Corinthians 13:8-12; II Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-12

The Home.

We believe that Jehovah God instituted the family unit and vested it with inviolate authority concerning the education, discipline, and welfare of its members. We further maintain that God created man and woman distinct in gender, purpose, and role within the home and that the relationship between man and wife is a most solemn picture of Christ and His church.

We stand opposed to practices which violate the Biblical doctrine of the home, including: divorce, by which man puts asunder what God has joined together and corrupts a type of Christ; promiscuity and homosexuality, which substitute depraved and unnatural acts of lust for the holy and undefiled expression of marital love; the ordination of women, which denies the fulfillment of the woman within her divinely endowed role of helpmeet and supporter, and usurps the headship and authority of the man; abortion, which is the destruction of the fruit of the womb and indeed the taking of unborn life; and delinquency within the home, by which parents fail to exercise godly authority and discipline over the children with whom God has entrusted them.

Marriage is an institution ordained by God for the mutual benefit of a husband (male) and a wife (female), for the procreation of children. (Genesis 1:26-28; Genesis 2:18-25). Furthermore, we believe that the marriage bond between a husband and a wife is to reflect the love and relationship that Christ, the Divine bridegroom, has for His bride, the Church (Ephesians 5:22-23).

Corporate Worship.

We believe that the Word of Christ should dwell richly in the corporate worship services of Grace Baptist Church. The Word should be prayed, sung, read, and preached. The Word became flesh and tabernacle among us. So we desire that the Word should also dwell in fullness among His people. When God's Word fills His people, true religious affections filled with grace and truth will rise to the praise of His glorious grace.

Colossians 3:16; I Timothy 2:1; I Timothy 4:13; Romans 10:17; Ephesians 5:19; John 1:14; Ephesians 3:19; Ephesians 1:6

We believe that the people of God will learn to love the glory of God as the ministers of God teach them to see and savor the Word of God. God's self-revelation is found in His Word. The self-love and relativism of our "ungodly" and "unrighteous" culture have negatively affected the church's corporate worship. A change of audience has occurred. Worship is often shaped more by what people desire than by the nature of God's self-disclosure found in the Bible. We will be changed only as we discover in the Word what God must be like for our joy in the face of Jesus Christ.

Exodus 32:7-10; II Timothy 3:1-5; II Corinthians 3:17-18; I Corinthians 14:26-33.

We believe that the singing of theologically based and historically informed hymns and songs will free us to rejoice in our God. Unison singing unites us with one voice as we sing with “one accord.” Part singing expresses musically the unity of substance and tri-unity of persons within the Godhead. Part singing reflects the unity of purpose and difference of roles within the congregation. All the music used in our worship services will be measured against the standard of sound doctrine.

James 5:13; Psalm 149:1; Titus 2:1.