Core Beliefs

The following are the core beliefs of Grace Baptist Church based on the foundational truths taught in the Bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these Biblical doctrines.

God

We believe God eternally exists in three distinct persons each equal in attributes and power – God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. We believe Jesus is God’s only Son who is without sin and who came to earth for the express purpose of giving His life to be a ransom for the sins of all people. We believe Jesus is God. We believe the Holy Spirit is God. We believe the Holy Spirit indwells each believer. We believe the Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus Christ. We do not believe in the modern tongues movement. We believe the triune God created all things and holds all things together. We believe God is sovereign over all things in heaven, in earth, and under the earth and His will is being and will be accomplished in these same three realms.

The Bible

We believe the Bible consists of only sixty-six books (Genesis through Revelation). We believe God breathed the very words of Scripture (all of them) and superintended the men (whom He chose) in the process each had in writing the Scripture. We believe God has preserved His Word in New Testament form in the manuscript text known as the Textus Receptus. We further believe God has preserved His Word in Old Testament form in the manuscript text known as the Masoretic Text. Finally, we believe we have His preserved Word in the English language in the Bible known as the King James Version or Authorized Version. The King James Version is our sole authority for all purposes of reading and studying in English. The Bible is our sole rule of faith and practice.

The Church

We believe the church is a local, visible assembly of saved persons who have been baptized by immersion after their salvation experience. We believe the church has only two offices – pastor and deacon. We believe the church has only 2 ordinances – baptism and the Lord’s Supper (the former being prerequisite to the latter). We believe the church’s primary and all-important business is to tell every person in the world about the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ, baptize those who have accepted Jesus as their Saviour, and teach them to observe His Word.

Salvation

We believe salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour. We believe a person must repent of his sin in order to be saved. We believe all persons are dead in sin from their birth and must be born-again by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary. We believe salvation is the gift of God and unable to be earned by any means.

The Second Coming

We believe the Second Coming of Jesus Christ will be in two parts. First, we believe in a pre-tribulation return by Christ in the sky to take His church up into heaven; and second, we believe in a physical return of Christ to the earth bringing saints with Him at the end of the tribulation wherein He will defeat all enemies and set-up His earthly, millennial kingdom.

The Resurrections

We believe in a bodily resurrection of all persons. We believe the body, soul, and spirit of each person will be resurrected and the body changed to accommodate his or her respective destiny of eternal abode. Those who have trusted Jesus as their Saviour will receive glorified bodies capable of heavenly transport. Those who die in their sins will have their bodies resurrected and equipped only to stand before Jesus to be judged and condemned to an eternal existence of pain, agony, and suffering in hell – a place of literal fire and torment.

Missions

We believe in missions. We believe God is a missionary God. We believe the Bible is a missionary book. We believe the Church’s primary efforts must be missionary, church planting, and evangelistic efforts.