Our Doctrinal Statement:
1),We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the plenary and verbally inspired Word of God and inerrant in the original writings, and that they are the supreme and final authority in faith, life and practice. We believe that the Holy Scriptures have been recorded and preserved by the Holy Spirit (II Timothy 3:16; Matthew 5:18; Matthew 24:35; II Peter 1:21; Psalm 12:6-7); that it has God for its author, salvation for its end (II Timothy 3:15),
and truth without any mixture of error for its matter (Proverbs 30:5-6). We believe that the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts which underlie the King James Version (the Masoretic text of the Old Testament and the Textus Receptus of the New Testament) are the providentially preserved words of God. Furthermore, we believe that the King James Version of the Bible is God's preserved word in the English language, and therefore, it shall be without apology,
the official and only translation of the Holy Scriptures used by the Church and all of its ministries. (Psalm 119:89-90; Ecclesiastes 3:14; Matthew 5:17-18; John 10:35; I Peter 1:23-25)
By "the Holy Bible" we mean that collection of sixty-six books from Genesis to Revelation which does not only contain and convey the Word of God, but is the very Word of God.
By "inspiration" we mean that the books of the Bible were written by holy men of old, as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (II Peter 1:19-21) in such a definite way that their writings were supernaturally and verbally inspired and free from error, as no other writings have ever been or ever will be inspired. We do not believe that the translators of the "Authorized Version" were inspired (Dual Inspiration),
but were merely used as God's instruments to preserve His words for the English-speaking people.
By "providentially preserved" we mean that God has providentially preserved His inspired words through believers and through Local New Testament Churches through the ages; therefore the Hebrew Old Testament text, as found in the Traditional Masoretic Text, and the Greek New Testament text, as found in the Textus Receptus, are indeed the products of God's providential preservation
2),We believe in one God, eternally existing in three person: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19). We believe that they are equal in every divine perfection, and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption (Deuteronomy 6:4-5; I Corinthians 8:6; Ephesians 4:6; I Timothy 1:17; Matthew 28:19; John 15:16-17,26). These divine Persons are coequal, coeternal, and consubstantial; each Person is as much God as either of the other Two (I John 5:7).
God the Father is the Creator of all things (Genesis 1:1); is all powerful [Omnipotent], (Nahum 1:2-5); all present [Omnipresent], (Psalm 139:7-12); and all knowing [Omniscient] (Psalm 141:4-5). He is without beginning or end, (Revelation 1:8); He is perfectly Holy, (I Peter 1:16), is great in grace and mercy, (Titus 2:11); loves man supremely, (Romans 5:8); and securely keeps all who come to Him in faith, (John 10:29).
God the Son, Jesus Christ, was with the Father from the beginning, (John 1:1-2); and is equal with God, (Philippians 2:6). He willingly humbled Himself, (Philippians 2:7-8), to be born of a virgin (Luke 1:27), conceived of the Holy Spirit, (Luke 1:35). He was completely sinless in His life, (II Corinthians 5:21), and ever obedient to the Father, (John 8:29). He made a vicarious atonement for our sins, (Isaiah 53:5), and rose again bodily the third day, (Matthew 28:6), and ascended into Heaven on the fortieth day, (Acts 1:3).
He serves us as our High Priest making intercession for the saints, (Hebrews 4:14-16, 1:25). His promised return to earth for His saints shall be glorious, pre-millenial, and pre-tribulational and is imminent, (I Thessalonians 4:13-16).
God the Holy Spirit is co-equal with both the Father and Son. He was sent by Jesus Christ from God, (John 15:26, 16:7). His ministry is to reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, (John 16:7-11), and He regenerates all who put their faith in Christ, (Titus 3:5). He indwells believers, (I Corinthians 3:16), guides and teaches them in the truth of God, (John 16:13), empowers them to be victorious over sin, self, and Satan, (Romans 8:13), and intercedes on behalf of the saints, (Romans 8:26-27).
3),We accept it as literal, not allegorical or figurative. We accept that man was created directly in God's own image and after His own likeness; that man's creation was not a matter of evolution, or evolutionary changes of species, or development through interminable periods of time from lower to higher forms (Genesis 1:1; Exodus 20:11; Acts 4:24; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 11:3; John 1:3; Revelation 10:6; Romans 1:20; Acts 17:23-26; Jeremiah 10:12; Nehemiah 9:6; Genesis 1:11; Genesis 1:24). Based on the clear truth presented in Exodus 20:11, we reject the Gap Theory.
4),We believe that Jesus Christ ever existed with the Father and the Holy Spirit and that in His incarnation was begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary and is the true God and true man (Romans1:3-4; John 1:1-9; I Timothy 3:16). We believe that this was the promise of the O.T. Scripture (Isaiah 7:14) and is the record of the N.T. Scripture (Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38).
5),We believe that man was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27) and that he did not evolve. We believe that man sinned and thereby incurred not only physical death, but also spiritual death which is separation from God. We believe that all human beings born with a sinful nature (Psalm 51:5), are totally depraved, and for those who reach an age of responsibility, which is also called the "age of accountability" (Romans 7:9) they must be born again, they must be saved (John 1:12; Romans 10:13) to be accepted of God (Romans 5:12; Romans 3:10,23; John 3:5-17).
We receive the Bible teaching that the consequence of the Fall is that all men are now sinners by nature and by choice. Therefore, unbelieving sinners are under the just condemnation of God, without defense or excuse (Genesis 3:1-6,24; Romans 5:12,19; Ephesians 2:1,3; Galatians 3:22).
6),We believe that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures as a substitutionary sacrifice, and that all who believe in Him are justified on the grounds of His shed blood. We believe that He literally arose from the dead on the third day in the same body in which He suffered and died. We also believe that our Lord ascended into Heaven; that He is now seated at the right hand of the Father and is our High Priest and Divine Advocate with the Father. We believe that by His finished work on the cross and His unceasing ministry of intercession in Glory,
that Jesus Christ has procured for every believer eternal redemption, eternal salvation, and everlasting life (I Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 5:9; John 3:16, 20:27; Mark 16:19; Hebrews 5:9, 7:25; 8:1; 9:12; I John 2:1).
7),We believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person, that He convicts the world of sin, of righteousness and judgment, that He regenerates the sinner by the Word of God, that He permanently indwells the body of each believer, that He seals, enlightens, instructs, and guides every born again person, and that He is the efficient power for godly living, Christian service, and spiritual worship. We believe that all who by faith receive the Lord Jesus Christ are born again by the Holy Spirit, and thereby become the children of God (John 3:5-17, 14:16-17, 26, 16:7-15; I Peter 1:23, Ephesians 4:30).
8),We believe that the local church has two ordinances and that these ordinances picture the saving works of Jesus Christ. These are, namely, water baptism by immersion only (Ephesians 4:5), and the Lord's Supper. While recognizing that water baptism has no saving merit, it is our conviction that after one is saved, baptism is the next step in order to portray to the world that believer's union with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection and with the Lord's local church. We also believe that upon baptism,
the believer becomes a member of the local church which is His Body. We believe that Jesus Christ instituted the Lord's Supper to commemorate His death until He comes and that the elements (unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine) symbolically portray the body and blood of Christ. As such, we deny the doctrine of transubstantiation. (Acts 2:41-47; Romans 6:4; I Corinthians 11:23-29, 12:12-27).
9),We believe that those who have been born again have everlasting life and shall not come into judgment, but have passed from death unto life (John 3:18, 5:24). The conditions to salvation are repentance and faith. We believe in salvation by grace alone through faith alone. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only Savior from sin and Hell (John 14:6; Acts 4:12; I Timothy 2:5). We believe that He died for the sins of all mankind as the sinless, suffering,
sacrificial Lamb of God (I John 2:2; I Timothy 2:4; I Peter 2:21-24). We reject and despise any other "gospel," such as the "gospel of health," "gospel of wealth," "gospel of prosperity," "gospel of social and personal emancipation," et all (Galatians 1:6-7) that includes works or man's ideas. We also reject Calvinism and Arminiansism as distortions of the simple gospel that is presented in the Bible.
10),We believe in the "blessed hope," which is the personal, pre-millennial, pre-tribulational, and imminent return of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, which is known as the rapture of the New Testament saints. We also believe in the personal, visible, premillennial and glorious return of Christ to the earth with His saints at the end of the Great Tribulation. This phase of His coming is known as the revelation of Jesus Christ.
When He returns to earth with His saints, we believe that the Lord Jesus will establish His Millennial Kingdom and will reign for one thousand years. This is a literal reign upon the earth in fulfillment of the Old Testament Messianic promises (Titus 2:13; I Thessalonians 4:13-17; John 14:3; Revelation 19:11-21, 2:1-6).
11),We believe in the bodily resurrection of all New Testament saints, of those in Christ at the rapture (I Thessalonians 4:16; I Corinthians 15:51-57) and of the resurrection of the unjust at the end of time (Revelation 10:11-15; John 5:28-29). The resurrection of the New Testament saints is unto a glorified body, like unto His (Philippians 3:20-21); while the resurrection of the unsaved is unto a body fitted for the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15).
12),We believe in a literal Heaven and a literal hell; heaven is the place of eternal conscious joy for all who receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior, and hell is the place of eternal conscious punishment in the lake of fire for all who reject Jesus Christ and those dying in their sin (John 8:24, 14:1-6; Psalm 9:17, 16:11; Philippians 1:21,23; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:10-15). After the Great White Throne Judgment, all the unsaved will be turned into the Lake of Fire; the saints of all the ages will enjoy the New Jerusalem and the New Earth (Revelation 21-22).
13),We believe that Satan is a personal being, who was created perfect by an act of the omnipotent God and remained so until iniquity was found in him, (Ezekiel 28:18). He was willfully rebellious because of pride, (Isaiah 14:12-14), and thus was cast out of heaven, (Revelation 12:7-8). As the father of all lies, he is the author of modernism, the ecumenical movement, the cults,
and other fabrications of the truth of the Word of God (John 8:44). He is a fallen angel, prince of demons, the god of this age, the great enticer and deceiver, the adversary of Christ and His people, the accuser of the brethren, whose end is the lake of fire (Isaiah 14:12-15; Ezekiel 28:12-19; Revelation 20:1-10).
14),We believe that the church is a local, visible body of believers called out from the world for the purpose of obeying the Great Commission, and they are separated unto Christ. We believe that a local Church is a body of "blood-bought," "immersed" believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, and is His espoused bride. We believe that the supreme mission of the church in this age is to preach the Gospel to every creature and, in the context of the local church, to disciple those who believe on His name (I Corinthians 12:12-27; Mark 16:15; Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 24:47).
We believe that every local, New Testament Church is the "Pillar and Ground of the Truth," (I Timothy 3:15). The "Great Commission" (which is to plant local, New Testament, Bible Believing, immersionist, Baptist Churches) and the "Ordinances," are given only to the local Church. Therefore, we also believe that a Church has two offices: Pastors (bishops-episkopos elders-presbueteros), who are the under-shepherds to the flock, and Deacons,(ITimothy 3:1-13),
who are servants of the church, (Acts 6:1-7). The church is to be self-governing with Christ as its head, (Ephesians 5:23). The church is to handle its own discipline in accordance with God's direction, (Matthew 18:15-17), and is financed through the tithes and offerings of that local assembly, (I Corinthians 16:1-2; Malachi 3:10). Furthermore, we believe in the perpetuity of the Lord's churches, i.e. that there have been local churches from the days of Christ until the present, and that such churches will continue until the Lord returns.
15),We believe that God commands Christians to be a separated people (II Corinthians 6:14-18, 7:1). The Grace Biblical Baptist Church and her Local Church based ministries will separate itself from all forms of religious apostasy and neo-evangelical inclusivism. We reject the ecumenical movement which seeks to join all churches into one body regardless of doctrine or practice. We also reject the Charismatic and Pentecostal renewal movement with its unscriptural emphasis on emotionalism,
tongues, signs, wonders and healing (I Corinthians 13:8-11). Therefore, we will not participate in any ecumenical program which promotes or allows diverse faiths to come together for the purpose of worship or evangelism. We believe in total, biblical separation from unbelievers and all forms of heresy and apostasy. We are to: try them (I John 4:1), mark them (Romans 16:17), rebuke them (Titus 1:13), have no fellowship with them (Ephesians 5:11), withdraw from them (II Thessalonians 3:6), receive them not (II John 10,11),
have no company with them (II Thessalonians 3:14), reject them (Titus 3:10), and separate from them (II Corinthians 6:17). This church will enjoy fellowship with churches of like-minded faith, convictions, practice and order, but will have no part in any council of churches that is ecumenical in nature or thrust (I Thessalonians 5:21; Philippians 1:9; Hebrews 5:12-14; Jude 3; Romans 16:17; I Timothy 1:19-20; II Timothy 2:14-18; 4:14-15).
We believe Christians are to be personally separated from all worldly practices that hinder spiritual growth and stability. We believe that God's people should not love the world or the things that are in the world (I John 2:15-16). In addition, we believe that a Christian should live a holy life and maintain a testimony consistent with the New Testament. This affects such areas as dress and appearance, associations, amusements, language, and all other such areas as would be considered worldly (John 17:15-19; Ephesians 5:6-12; James 4:1-10).
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