Beliefs
Grace exists to glorify God by guiding people to become like Christ in all of life. We are transformed by Grace and biblical Truth, committed to relational discipleship and engaged in ministry.
What We Believe
One True God
We believe the LORD God is God alone. God is eternal and the creator of all things in heaven and on earth. He reigns sovereignly and supremely as the King of the universe. God calls humanity into a relationship with Him to love, worship, and serve Him alone. We believe He is one Triune God, existing in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each eternal in being, identical in essence, equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfection.
(Genesis 1, 2; Exodus 20:2-6; Deuteronomy 6:4-5; Matthew 22:36-40, 28:19; John 14:26;
2 Corinthians 13:14; Colossians 1:15-17, 1 Peter 1:2)
The Holy Scriptures
We believe the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God. We believe the Scriptures are complete and God speaks primarily through them. Inspiration is God’s superintending of human authors so that, using their own individual personalities, they composed and recorded without error His revelation in the original manuscripts. All of the Scriptures are authoritative, without error, and the supreme and final authority on all matters about which they speak. We believe the Scriptures are to be understood using their literary genre, history, grammar, context, and harmony with other Scriptures as guidelines for interpretation. We believe the Holy Spirit guides believers to understand the Scriptures.
(Matthew 5:18; John 10:35; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Revelation 22:18-19)
The Person & Work of Christ
We believe the Lord Jesus, the eternal Son of God, became a man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, so that He might reveal God and redeem sinful humanity. We believe He accomplished our salvation and redemption through His death on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice and His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Luke 1:35; John 1:1-5, 14, 18; Romans 3:24-26, 4:25, 5:8; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 17; Philippians 2:6-11)
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ is now in heaven, exalted to the right hand of God the Father, where, as His people’s High Priest, He fulfills the ministries of intercession and advocacy.
(Hebrews 1:3, 3:1, 7:23-25, 9:24, 12:2; 1 John 2:1-2)
We believe in the personal, bodily, and glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ, at a time determined by God the Father, to gather His Church and establish His Kingdom.
(Zechariah 14:4-11; Acts 1:6-7; 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10, 4:13-18; Revelation 20:6)
The Person & Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity who convicts people of sin, their need for righteousness, and impending judgment. He also regenerates believers in Christ, baptizes them into the Church, indwells them permanently, bestows spiritual gifts upon each one, empowers those yielded to Him, and seals them until the day of redemption.
(John 3:8, 14:16-17, 15:26, 16:7-15; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 13; Ephesians 4:30, 5:18-21)
The Nature of Humanity
We believe each person is created in the image and likeness of God regardless of sex, race, ethnicity, or nationality; therefore, human life is sacred, including that of the unborn. We believe God purposefully created people male and female, and our sex is a good and unchangeable gift from Him. Therefore, every person is uniquely designed and gifted by God to fulfill his or her role in God’s plan.
(Genesis 1:26-27, 5:2; Exodus 21:22-25; Psalm 22:10, 139:13-16; Jeremiah 1:5; Mark 10:6;
Luke 1:39-45, 18:15-17; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
While humanity was created without sin, in Adam’s sin humanity became alienated from God, inherited a sinful nature, and is totally unable without God’s grace to regain a relationship with God. Despite humanity turning away from God, God continues to reveal Himself through creation, the Scriptures, and the person of Jesus Christ, so everyone is without excuse.
(Genesis 3:1-24; Romans 1:18-32, 3:23, 5:12; Ephesians 2:12)
Salvation by Grace
We believe salvation is a gift of God by grace, not earned by good deeds, and is received through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who put their trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are forgiven of their sin, credited with Christ’s righteousness, and declared children of God.
(Ephesians 1:7, 2:8-9; Titus 3:3-7; 2 Corinthians 5:21; John 1:12-13)
The Resurrection
We believe in the bodily resurrection of every person. (John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15; 1 Corinthians 15:52)
a) Those who have put their trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior will be resurrected to enjoy eternal life with God in His glorious kingdom. They are assured of their eternal life and redemption by the power of the Holy Spirit and the intercession of Jesus Christ.
(John 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 29-30, 38-39; Ephesians 4:30; Hebrews 7:25; 1 Peter 1:5;
1 Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 20:4-6, 21:1-8)
b) Those who have not put their trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and thus have rejected God’s revelation of Himself in creation, the Scriptures, and Jesus Christ, will experience judgment and then eternal suffering separated from God.
(Romans 1:18-32, 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 21:27)
The Church
b) We believe the local Church is an assembly of professing believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and is the primary means God uses for building the Kingdom of God. Believers have the privilege and responsibility to join voluntarily in supportive community to encourage one another to grow spiritually, care for each other’s needs, and multiply the Church’s influence in the wider community.
(Matthew 16:18-19, 28:18-20; Acts 2:37-47; Ephesians 4:11-16; Hebrews 10:24-25)
c)We believe the model for local Church governance in the New Testament is appointing male leaders to serve as Elders. As a group, our Elders are vested with delegated authority from the Lord for oversight of our congregation and the spiritual health of our Church. (Acts 14:23; 1 Timothy 3:1-7, 5:17-20; Titus 1:5-9; Hebrews 13:17; 1 Peter 5:1-4)
As part of this delegated authority, the Elders may occasionally choose to author position papers, thoughtfully and prayerfully seeking to articulate a biblical view on specific cultural or theological topics that are not in the scope of this statement.
d) We believe the Lord Jesus Christ instituted the ordinances of baptism and communion to be observed by all believers in the local Church until His return.
(Matthew 28:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
Our Position
Throughout church history, church leaders have been asked what the Church or their local church believes about particular cultural, current or theological topics. After studying Scripture, praying and discussing these issues, church leaders put forth papers on these things. Historically speaking, this is how creeds and doctrinal statements were developed in traditional churches.
Throughout Grace’s history, the church leaders have written papers to address various biblical and cultural issues not covered in our doctrinal statement. These position papers reflect the views of the Elders and Pastors.
We believe that the Bible defines what is true and as believers in Christ, we are to obey what God says even if it puts us into conflict with our culture or society. People that disagree with our positions need to see us express love, grace, kindness and compassion as Jesus demonstrated to those who encountered him. We are God’s ambassadors in this world. His call is to bring people into a right relationship with the Father. We do this by aligning ourselves with the Truths taught in Scripture.
Church Authority and Pastoral Service
Learn about our position on the role of the elders and pastors for the governance of the church.
Restoration Process
Learn about our position on the process of restoring the individual in their walk with the Lord and fellowship in the church.
Sacredness of Marriage and Sexual Relationships
The subject of sacredness of marriage and sexual relationships is one of the major subjects for debate in the evangelical church today. Learn about our position on the sacredness of marriage and sexual relationships.
Dignity of Humanity and The Unborn
We believe that all human beings are created in the image of God, giving all human lives dignity. Further, we believe that life begins at conception and support the right to life of an unborn child. We also recognize our calling as followers of Christ to show compassion and love in Christ’s name to those who might differ with our views, or who might have experiences with abortion in their past.
Learn about our position on abortion and the church by reading the position paper titled linked below. We also recommend that you listen to Dr. Cassidy’s sermon entitled “Every Human Life is Sacred”, which was recorded on Sunday, July 11, 2021, linked below.
Worship
Learn about our position on individual and corporate worship.
Giving
Learn about our position on tithing and giving in the church.