Grace Independent Baptist Church

STATEMENT OF FAITH

The Holy Scriptures

We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testatement to be the verbally and plenary inspired Word of God.  The Scriptures are inerrant, infallible and God-breathed, and therefore are the final authority for faith and life.  The sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament are the complete and divine revelation of God to man and have been divinely preserved in the King James (Authorized) Version of the Holy Bible for English speaking people.  The Scriptures shall be interpreted according to their normal grammatical-historical meaning.  The King James Version of the Bible shall be the official and ly translation used by the church (2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21). 

The Godhead

We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons--Father, Son, and Holy Spirit--each coeternal in being, coidentical in nature, coequal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14; John 14:10,26). 

The Person and Work of Christ

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men (Isa. 7:14; 9:6; Luke 1:35; John 1:1-2, 14; 2 Cor. 5:19-21; Gal. 4:4-5; Phil. 2:5-8).

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to Heaven, and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Acts 1:9-10; Heb. 9:24; 7:25; Rom. 8:34; 1 John 2:1-2). 

The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is the person who convicts the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgement; and, that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them unto the day of redemption (John 16:8-11; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor 12:12-14; 2 Cor. 3:6; Eph. 1:13-14). 

We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who assits believers to understand and appropriate the Scriptures and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit (Eph. 1:17-18; 5:18; 1 John 2:20, 27)

We believe that God is sovereign in the bestowal of spiritual gifts to every believer.  God uniquely uses evangelists, pastors, and teachers to equip believers in the assembly in order that they can do the work of the ministry (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11, 28; Eph. 4:7-12).

We believe that the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary.  We believe that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of the baptism or filling of the Holy Spirit and that ultimate deliverance of the body from sickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, though God frequently chooses to answer the prayers of believers for physical healing (1 Cor. 1:22; 13:8; 14:21-22).

The Total Depravity of Man

We believe that man was creazted in the image of likeness of God, but that in Adam's sin the human race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and, that man is totally depraved, and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lost condition (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 3:22-23; 5:12; 6:23; Eph. 2:1-3; 4:17-19)

Salvation

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins (John 1:12; Eph. 1:7; 2:8-10; 1 Pet. 1:18-19)

The Eternal Security and Assurance of Believers

We believe that all the redeemed, once saved, are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Rom. 8:1, 38-39; 1 Cor. 1:4-8; 1 Pet. 1:4-5).

We believe that it is the privilege of believers to rejoice in the assurance of their salvation through the testimony of God's Word, which, however, clearly forbids the use of Christian liberty as an occasion to the flesh (Rom. 13:13-14; Gal. 5:13; Titus 2:11-15).