Doctrinal Statement Grace Bible Chapel

“Things Most Surely Believed Among Us” …Luke 1:1

1. That God is ONE (Dt. 6:4; Eph. 4:6), Sovereign (Dt. 32:39; Ps. 103:19; Ps. 135:6), and Eternal (I Tim. 1:17; Rev. 1:8) revealing Himself in three persons (Mt. 28:19) Father (I Cor. 8:6a) Son (Mt. 1:23) and Holy Spirit (Acts 5:3-4).

2. That Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God (Jn. 3:16); that He is the first begotten Son of God (Col. 1:15); that He was conceived of the Holy Spirit (Mt. 1:20); born of a virgin (Lu. 1:34-35); lived a sinless life (Heb. 4:15); died a substitutionary death (II Cor. 5:21); that He rose bodily from the grave on the third day (I Cor. 15:3-4, Lu. 24:39); and ascended to the right hand of God(Acts 2:32-33).

3. That the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4); and personality is attributed to Him (Jn. 16:13-14;Eph. 4:30, I Thes. 5:19).

4. That the Holy Bible is the inspired Word of God (II Tim. 3:16); and is the only infallible, sufficient, and authoritative rule of faith and practice (II Tim. 3:15-17). That this Assembly has as its authority exclusively the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament (I Cor. 10:11; II Pet. 1:21). 

5. That man was created in the image and likeness of God (Gen. 1:26); that the first man Adam disobeyed God, and through that one man’s sin, all men are made sinners (Rom. 5:12-21) and are totally depraved (Rom. 3:10-12; 7:18).

6. That justification before God is by grace through faith (Rom. 3:24; Rom. 5:1; Eph. 2:8). That the New Birth is that event whereby we are begotten again by God unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead (I Pet. 1:3, 23).

7. That the believer is kept by the power of God (Jn. 10:28; I Pet. 1:3-5).

8. That the believer is empowered to be a witness unto Jesus Christ by the Holy Spirit coming upon him (Acts 1:8; 2:4; 4:31).

9. That the Church is the Body of Christ of which He is the Head (Col. 1:18); that it is comprised of every born-again believer from Pentecost to the Translation (Acts 1:5; I Cor. 12:13); that every individual believer is himself a priest unto God (I Pet. 2:5, 9; Rev. 1:6).

10. That the gifts of the Holy Spirit are present in and available to the Church today, and are distributed to that Body according as its Head wills (Rom. 11:29; 12:6-8; I Cor. 12:3-11; Eph. 4:7-16). 

11. That there will be two literal and bodily resurrections (Jn. 5:29); the first of the saved unto eternal happiness, the second of the lost unto eternal punishment in the lake of fire (Rev. 20:4-6; Rev 20:11-15).

12. That there will be a second coming of Jesus Christ (Jn. 14:1-3); that it will be visible and bodily (Acts 1:11); and premillennial (Dan. 2:44; Rev. 19:11-14; 20:1-4).

13. That all believers are one in Christ and there exists no division in that Body in the mind of God and there should therefore be none in ours (Jn. 17:22; I Cor. 12:12-17; Eph. 4:4).

14. That the shedding of blood has been, from the fall, and will be to the end of time, God’s only provision for the cleansing from sin (Lev. 17:11; Heb. 9:22; I Jn. 1:7); and that all the Old Testament sacrifices of animals could not remove sin (Heb. 10:4); but prefigured the blood of Jesus Christ shed on the cross (Col. 1:20; 2:17).

15. That water baptism (Mt. 28:19); and the Lord’s Supper (I Cor. 10: 16-17; I Cor. 11:23-26); are to be observed as ordinances.

16. That Satan is a person, the author of sin and the cause of the Fall of Man; that he is the open and declared enemy of God and man; and that he shall be eternally punished in the Lake of Fire; that he has no power or authority over the child of God except as it is given him by God Himself (Job 1:6; 2:6; Isa. 14:12-17; Matt. 4:2-11; 25:41; Rev. 20:10).

17. That God ordained and created all authority consisting of three basic institutions; 1) the home; 2) the church; and 3) the state. Every person is subject to these authorities, but all (including the authorities themselves) are answerable to God and governed by His Word. God has given each institution specific, Biblical responsibilities and balanced those responsibilities with the understanding that no institution has the right to infringe upon the other. The home, the church, and the state are equal and sovereign in their respective Biblically assigned spheres of responsibility under God (Rom. 13:1-7; Eph. 5:22-24; Heb. 13:17; I Pet. 2:13-14).

18. That God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. (Gen 1:26-27.) Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person. We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive covenant union, as delineated in Scripture. (Gen 2:18-25.) We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. (1 Cor. 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb. 13:4.) We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual

activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God. (Matt 15:18-20; 1 Cor. 6:9-10.) We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of Grace Bible Chapel as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the members of Grace Bible Chapel and the

community, it is imperative that all persons employed by Grace Bible Chapel in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality. (Matt. 5:16; Phil. 2:14-16; 1 Thess. 5:22) We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:19-21; Rom. 10:9-10; 1 Cor. 6:9-11.) We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. (Mark12:28-31; Luke 6:31.) Hateful and harassing

behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of Grace Bible Chapel. ( Gen. 19:5, 13; Gen. 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom. 1:26-29; I Cor. 5:1;  I Thes. 4:1-8).

19. That Christians are discouraged from bringing civil lawsuits against other Christians or the church to resolve personal disputes. We believe the church possesses all the resources necessary to resolve personal disputes between members (I Cor. 6:1-8; Eph. 4:31-32).

20. That every Christian, as a steward of that portion of God’s wealth entrusted to him, is obligated to support his local church financially. We believe that God has established the tithe as a basis for giving but that every Christian should also give other offerings sacrificially and cheerfully to the support of the church, the relief of those in need, and the spread of the Gospel. We believe that a Christian relinquishes all personal rights to the gift and relinquishes all personal rights to direct the

gift, offering or tithe once it has been given (II Cor. 8:5; 9:6-7; Lk. 16:10-13; Acts 6:1-3).

21. That a congregation functions as a body under the Headship of the Lord Jesus Christ and the direction of the Elders as the under shepherds. Membership in this church does not afford those individuals with any property, contract, or civil rights based on principles of democratic government. Determination of the internal affairs of this church are ecclesiastical matters and shall be determined exclusively by the Church’s own rules and procedures. The Elders shall oversee and/or conduct all aspects of this Church. The Board of Deacons shall give counsel and assistance

to the Board of Elders as requested by the Elders. The membership of the Church has certain limited areas of exercising a vote. The final selection of the Deacon Board, with counsel from the Elders, shall be by vote of the congregation (Num. 11:16-17; Phil. 1:1; Titus 1:5).

22. That a Christian should live a holy separated life (II Cor. 6:17-18; II Cor. 7:1; Eph. 5:1-6, 9). We engage to maintain family and private devotions; to educate our children; to seek the salvation of our kindred, acquaintances, and all others; to walk circumspectly in the world.

23. We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life. (Ps 139.)

24. We believe that the promise God gave to Abraham and to his seed to be an everlasting promise from a God, Who cannot lie; that if His promise to his earthly seed, and the twelve sons of Jacob, could fail, then His promise that in Him that all the families of the earth will be blessed could fail as well. God has not replaced Israel. Therefore, we believe that the nation of Israel will be fully restored and will be the head of the nations and not the tail. (Gen. 22:17,18; Ezk. 28:25,26; Isa. 54:5; Mal.3:6; Ezk 36:26-28; Rom. 11:25; Ezekiel 37 is a complete summary of Israel’s restoration)

AUTHORITY OF STATEMENT OF FAITH:

The Doctrinal Statement does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is the sole and final source of all that we believe. We do believe, however, that the foregoing Doctrinal Statement accurately represents the teaching of the Bible, and therefore, should be embraced by all members.

June 16, 2015

July 12, 2022