What We BelieveGrace is affiliated with the Bible Fellowship Church Denomination, a community of those who share common faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Individually, we believe He died on the cross to take the punishment we deserve for our sins, and we trust Christ alone for forgiveness. We realize both faith and forgiveness are gifts given freely by God to His people.The Bible - We believe the Bible is the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God. It is without error as originally given by God, fully reliable in fact and doctrine. God - There is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is the Almighty Creator, Savior, and Judge who sustains and governs all things according to His sovereign will for His own glory. Jesus Christ - We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, that He was indeed fully God and fully human in His life on earth. We believe in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His substitutionary death upon the cross as payment for our sin, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory. Holy Spirit - The Holy Spirit is fully God, sent from heaven to glorify Christ. He convicts sinners, imparts spiritual life, and gives a true understanding of the Word of God. He indwells, sanctifies, and empowers all believers for worship, service, and ministry. Though we fully believe in the power of God to perform miracles, we also recognize that some of the miraculous gifts of the Spirit were given for a specific purpose (as a sign) in the early days of the establishment of the Church, and are no longer normally operative today (gift of tongues, prophecy, healing as in a "Faith Healer"). We do believe God can and still does heal at times when it is specifically His will to do so. Salvation - We believe that man was originally created sinless. Tempted by Satan, Adam fell and thereby brought the whole human race under the condemnation of God. All are sinners and need to be saved from the penalty of sin (eternal damnation). God, in His sovereign purpose, has graciously chosen from among fallen mankind a people unto salvation. The gift of salvation is offered to all men and is received by grace through faith apart from human works or merit. Individuals are saved only through repentance of sin and faith in the complete work of Christ dying on the cross and being raised again. Our right standing before God is through grace alone, not on our works or merit. Future - We believe in the personal and bodily return of Jesus Christ to consummate our salvation and to establish His glorious kingdom. He will raise the dead and judge the world in perfect righteousness--with eternal blessings of heaven for those who have been saved and judgment of eternal punishment in hell for those who remain condemned. The Church - The true church is made up of those who have been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. The church exists to display God's glory in the true worship of God, the equipping of the saints, and the evangelization of the world. Baptism and the Lord's Supper - The Word of God commands the Church to observe these two "ordinances". We practice believer's baptism by "immersion". Baptism is not a means of our salvation. It is a visible demonstration of an inner reality, our identification with Christ. The Lord's Supper (the bread and the cup) is a memorial to remember Christ's death for us. |