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We believe in:
1.1 The full and verbal inspiration of all the Old Testament and New Testament Scriptures as originally given, and these alone, being in themselves the complete Word of God, without error, and wholly reliable in both fact and doctrine. Their final authority and perpetual sufficiency in all matters of faith, church order and personal and social conduct.
1.2 The one true and living God, inexpressibly glorious and infinite in all his attributes and worthy of all honour, love and obedience. The unity of the Godhead and divine co-equality of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit eternally. The Sovereignty of God in creation, providence and redemption.
1.3 The true and proper deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His real and perfect manhood, the authority of His teaching and the infallibility of all His utterances. His substitutionary death on the cross as being the full, sufficient and only atonement for sins. His bodily resurrection, His ascension into Heaven and His present priestly intercession for His people. His personal return in glory.
1.4 The work of the Holy Spirit as essential for a true understanding of the Scriptures and for regeneration and conversion of the sinner, by leading an individual to repentance towards God and saving faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Also, the work of the Holy Spirit for the sanctification of those regenerated and converted (the redeemed).
1.5 The total depravity of human nature in consequence of the fall of man from the original state of perfection in which he was created. By this fall all mankind is in a state of condemnation and separation from God. Deliverance is only by the divine work of regeneration and conversion.
1.6 The sovereign grace of God, by which we mean His free and unmerited favour. That by His sole choice, certain sinners (the elect) have been predestinated to salvation.
1.7 The salvation of the elect not by their own free will and power but as a result of the irresistible grace of God, through the work of the Holy Spirit.
1.8 The justification of the sinner solely by faith, through the atoning merits and of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1.9 The final perseverance of all those who are chosen by the Father, redeemed by the Son and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, so that not one of them shall ever perish but shall have everlasting life.
1.10 The resurrection of the body. The judgement of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ. The eternal blessedness of the redeemed. The conscious eternal punishment of the impenitent.
1.11 The sole authority and prerogative of Christ, through the Holy Spirit speaking in His inspired Scriptures, in all matters pertaining to the government of the local church.
1.12 The observance of the ordinance of baptism of believers by immersion, as being instituted by Christ, in loving obedience and as an act of witness, but not as conveying any regenerating grace.
1.13 The observance of the Lord's Supper as a commemoration of our Lord's death but not as being a sacrifice for sin nor involving any change in the substance of the bread and wine.
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We believe in:
1.1 The full and verbal inspiration of all the Old Testament and New Testament Scriptures as originally given, and these alone, being in themselves the complete Word of God, without error, and wholly reliable in both fact and doctrine. Their final authority and perpetual sufficiency in all matters of faith, church order and personal and social conduct.
1.2 The one true and living God, inexpressibly glorious and infinite in all his attributes and worthy of all honour, love and obedience. The unity of the Godhead and divine co-equality of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit eternally. The Sovereignty of God in creation, providence and redemption.
1.3 The true and proper deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, His real and perfect manhood, the authority of His teaching and the infallibility of all His utterances. His substitutionary death on the cross as being the full, sufficient and only atonement for sins. His bodily resurrection, His ascension into Heaven and His present priestly intercession for His people. His personal return in glory.
1.4 The work of the Holy Spirit as essential for a true understanding of the Scriptures and for regeneration and conversion of the sinner, by leading an individual to repentance towards God and saving faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Also, the work of the Holy Spirit for the sanctification of those regenerated and converted (the redeemed).
1.5 The total depravity of human nature in consequence of the fall of man from the original state of perfection in which he was created. By this fall all mankind is in a state of condemnation and separation from God. Deliverance is only by the divine work of regeneration and conversion.
1.6 The sovereign grace of God, by which we mean His free and unmerited favour. That by His sole choice, certain sinners (the elect) have been predestinated to salvation.
1.7 The salvation of the elect not by their own free will and power but as a result of the irresistible grace of God, through the work of the Holy Spirit.
1.8 The justification of the sinner solely by faith, through the atoning merits and of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1.9 The final perseverance of all those who are chosen by the Father, redeemed by the Son and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, so that not one of them shall ever perish but shall have everlasting life.
1.10 The resurrection of the body. The judgement of the world by our Lord Jesus Christ. The eternal blessedness of the redeemed. The conscious eternal punishment of the impenitent.
1.11 The sole authority and prerogative of Christ, through the Holy Spirit speaking in His inspired Scriptures, in all matters pertaining to the government of the local church.
1.12 The observance of the ordinance of baptism of believers by immersion, as being instituted by Christ, in loving obedience and as an act of witness, but not as conveying any regenerating grace.
1.13 The observance of the Lord's Supper as a commemoration of our Lord's death but not as being a sacrifice for sin nor involving any change in the substance of the bread and wine.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
Scripture Alone - Christ Alone - Faith Alone - Grace Alone - to the Glory of God Alone
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Grace Family Church exists to glorify God by being faithful to the Holy Scriptures,
building up the body of believers as disciples of Jesus Christ, and being a witness to our world.
Holy Scripture
The Bible, consisting of the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments, is the verbally inspired word of God, completely inerrant and infallible in the original writings. The Bible is therefore the only sufficient and authoritative standard for faith and life.
Isaiah 55:11; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; Romans 15:4
God
There is one God who is one in essence and eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son, and Spirit. Each person of God fully possesses the divine essence, yet remain three distinct, co-equal persons.
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Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 28:19; John 10:30; John 17; 1 Cor. 8:4-6; 2 Corinthians 13:14
Father
God the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit, created the world. In His infinite power and wisdom, He upholds, directs, arranges and governs all creatures and things. He governs according to His infallible foreknowledge and the free and unchangeable counsel of His own will.
Hebrews 1:2; Job 38-39; Isaiah 46:9-11; Matthew 10:29; Ephesians 1:11
Jesus
Jesus, the eternal Son of God, became a man while not ceasing to be God. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. We believe in His perfect obedience to the Father while on earth, His miracles, His atoning death, His physical resurrection, His ascension to the Father’s right hand, and His future return to judge the world.
Luke 1:26-35; John 1:1,14; Acts 2:22-24; Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 1:1-4; Acts 17:30-31
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity is coequal with the Father and the Son, possessing all the divine attributes. The Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit sovereignly carries out the will of God for the Glory of God in Christ through creation, the inspiration of the Scriptures, regeneration, salvation, sanctification, and glorification of believers.
Genesis 1:2; Matthew 28:18-20; John 15:26, 16:7-14; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Romans 8:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Titus 3:4-7; Hebrews 9:14; 2 Corinthians 3:18
Mankind
God created mankind, both male and female, in his image. Our original parents, Adam and Eve, were created upright and perfect. We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male and female. These two distinct, complementary genders 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.
Genesis 1:26-28; Psalm 8: 4-8; Ecclesiastes 7:29
Marriage
We believe the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture.
Genesis 2:18-25; Hebrews 13:4
Sin
Adam rebelled against God in disobedience and fell from the state of innocence becoming both legally guilty and actually corrupt. This guilt and corruption is passed on to every human being as Adam was the representative (Federal Head) of all mankind. Thus all mankind is born with a sin nature and under the just condemnation of God. Left in this sin nature, mankind is neither willing nor able to achieve reconciliation with God.
Genesis 3:6-12; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:10-18, 23; Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:22; Ephesians 2:1-5; Colossians 1:21; 1 John 1:8-10
Salvation
Salvation is deliverance from the justly deserved wrath of God. God in His grace and mercy has chosen and predestined, before the foundation of the world, those who will be saved from His just condemnation unto eternal life. Those who repent of their sin and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Spirit of God applies the substitutionary work of Jesus therefore crediting the sinner with the righteousness of Jesus and granting forgiveness of sin and peace with God.
Romans 5:9, 8:29; Ephesians 1:3-5; Acts 2:21; Titus 3:4-5; Romans 5:1
Justification
Those God calls he also freely justifies. God justifies through forgiveness of sins and imputing the active and passive obedience of Christ’s righteousness. Justification is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
Romans 3:24, 4:5-8, 8:30; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-9
Sanctification
All who are justified have a new heart and new spirit created within them and will experience spiritual growth. Through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, believers will be strengthened to work out their salvation and grow in holiness.
Acts 20:32; Romans 6:5-13; Galatians 5:22-25; Ephesians 3:16-19; Philippians 2:12-13; 2 Corinthians 7:1
Security and Assurance
Everyone who is saved will be kept by God unto glorification and, therefore, all who are born again can be assured of salvation and will persevere until the end.
John 5:24, 10:27-29; Romans 8:1, 16-17, 37-39; 1 Peter 1:3-5
Baptism
Baptism is an outward sign of the inward reality of being united to Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection, of remission of sins, and of submitting to God through Jesus Christ to walk in newness of life.
Romans 6:3-5; Galatians 3:27; Colossians 2:12; Ephesians 2:8-9
The Lord’s Supper
The Lord’s Supper is to be observed for the perpetual remembrance of the sacrifice of Christ in His death; the sealing of all benefits of it to true believers, their spiritual nourishment and growth in Him, their further engagement in and to all duties that they owe to Him; and, to be a bond and pledge of their communion with Him and with each other as members of His body.
Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:14-20; 1 Corinthians 11:17-32
The Church
The Church is the spiritual body of Christ comprised of those who have been redeemed and united with Christ by the baptism of the Spirit, was inaugurated at Pentecost, is manifested in local churches, is equipped by Christ with gifts of the Holy Spirit, is led by biblically qualified leadership, and is commissioned with proclaiming the gospel for the glory of Christ through preaching, evangelism, discipleship, prayer, fellowship, and the sacraments.
Matthew 16:18, 28:19-20; Acts 1:8, 2:1-23; 1 Corinthians 12:3-13; Ephesians 1:15-23, 3:1-12, 4:1-16, 5:23-32; 1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9
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Second Coming of Christ
Jesus will return to earth bodily in order to rescue His people, to execute judgment upon all who have not obeyed the gospel, to consummate His kingdom as promised to Abraham, Israel, and the church, and to reconcile all things in heaven and earth, having made peace by the blood of His cross.
Genesis 12:1-3, 17:1-8; 2 Samuel 7:1-8; Luke 1:68-79; John 14:3; Acts 1:11, 3:13-26; Colossians 1:20; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10; Titus 2:13; Revelation 1:7
Eternal State
By the power of Christ, the souls of those who die having believed the gospel of Christ pass immediately into everlasting life in heaven until His return, when body and soul will be reunited and be glorified forever in the presence of our Lord; while the souls of those who die apart from Christ are immediately condemned to conscious punishment in hell until His return, when body and soul will be reunited, cast into the lake of fire and endure everlasting punishment from God.
Daniel 12:2; Matthew 10:28, 25:41-46; John 5:25-29; Philippians 1:21-23; 1 Thessalonians 4:17; Hebrews 9:27; 2 Peter 2:4; Revelation 20:10-15, 21:4, 22:5
As a church, we recognize and value the work of God throughout history. Grace Family Church is in essential agreement with the faithful summaries of Scripture that are common to earlier Christian creeds and confessions such as, but not limited to, the London Baptist Confession of 1689, Westminster Confession of Faith, The Canons of Dort,
and the Heidelberg Catechism.
