What We Believe

The Bible is a HIM book!

From cover to cover, the Bible is about Jesus Christ, Himself!

An awesome account of what God has done!

The Bible is truth; the infallible Word of God, completely free from error.  It is a divine revelation, verbally inspired by the Holy Spirit, and the supreme and final authority in doctrine and practice.  It's message, from start to finish, points to Jesus Christ; it's all about Him!

God has no more to say than He has said in the Bible.  We don't add to it nor take away from it.  It alone is sufficient; our only rule of faith and practice, providing all that is necessary to sustain a Christian life.

So, what does it say?

The following are the core beliefs of Grace Gospel Fellowship 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

There is one eternally existing God who has three distinct persons; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.  In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth.  He said, "let us make man in His image".  The "us" is who we call, the Trinity!

He is the creator of all that exists, both visible and invisible, and is therefore worthy of all glory, praise, and honor.  God is perfect in love, power, holiness, goodness, knowledge, wisdom, justice, and mercy.  He is unchangeable, thus He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

God has revealed Himself to us through His Son, Jesus Christ, who is the visible image of the invisible God, the Holy Scriptures, and through all of Creation itself.  He dwells in us through the Holy Spirit, restraining evil and filling us with conviction.

Mankind

Humans, both male and female, are the creation of God above that of the animals; beings created in God's image and likeness, with a soul and spirit; a consciousness, with an eternal purpose and destiny.  The first humans, Adam and Eve, were perfect and innocent in all points, and they were appointed as caretakers of the rest of God's Creation.  There was a dignity about them until they decided they wanted to be God.

The Fall

When Adam and Eve sinned in rebellion against God in the Garden of Eden, they ceased to be what they were designed to be and became distorted images of God.  They fell from that high and holy state; they fell out of fellowship with God, bringing both spiritual and physical death to themselves and their posterity.  Their sin fractured all of creation ever since that time.

The Present State

In our present state, we are totally depraved; born a sinner with an unrelenting sin nature.  We are helpless, in desperate need of a mighty God to rescue us from ourselves.  Our rebellion toward God and His good design for life and worship causes confusion about good and evil, bringing further harm to mankind.  We can do nothing to merit God's favor; nothing good dwells within the flesh.  Our total depravity is lived out in every human being born, and will ultimately end in judgement and death.

But the story doesn't end there!

Despite our rebellion, despite our sin nature, God still loves and pursues us, offering forgiveness, healing, and abundant life to anyone who turns to Him in humility.

...how?

The LORD Jesus Christ!

Emmanuel;

Wonderful, Mighty God;

Eternal Son of God;

Second Person of the Godhead;

Firstborn of all Creation;

Creator and Sustainer of Heaven and Earth;

Head of the Church;

Prince of Peace;

Bread of Life;

Lily of the Valley;

Bright and Morning Star;

Everlasting Father;

God in the flesh;

the visible image of the invisible God!

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

He was in the beginning with God.

All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.

In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

John 1:1-5

He is GOD!

He is the God-Man and the Man-God; one-hundred percent God, one-hundred percent man!  He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary.  He is God in the flesh and He's been there from the beginning!  He sits at the right hand of the Father where He is our advocate, interceding on our behalf.  All authority on Earth and in Heaven have been given to Him. 

He is Grace!

Mankind turned against God.  They gave way to their flesh, fulfilling their own sinful desires.  A single sin, no matter how small, is worthy of eternal damnation; the smallest sin is an eternal sin against an eternal God!  Nothing good dwells within the flesh and mankind's ability to redeem himself simply doesn't exist!  Yet God, in His infinite grace and mercy, loved us so much that He sent His only Son down to Earth to do what only God could do; to save us from our sins!  We don't deserve it; God owes us nothing.  But through Christ, He saved us anyway!

He is Our Redeemer!

You see,  sin comes with a hefty price, impossible for us to pay; the wages of sin is eternal death.  But Christ came down to Earth to pay that debt; to reconcile us with God.  He lived a perfect, sinless life, and His substitutionary sacrifice on the cross, death, burial, and resurrection atoned for our transgressions! He willingly laid down His life to pay the hefty penalty for our injustice.  And through His accomplishment, we are forgiven; we are redeemed!

He is Our Salvation!

Before the foundation of the world, before He ever said, "let there be light", God elected a people unto salvation, not by their own works of righteousness nor any foreseen action of faith or good works, but the awesome work of God; a sovereign, totally undeserved gift whereby He alone rescues, saves, and delivers the sinner from their sins, from condemnation, and from judgement.  From first to last, salvation is His work and His alone!  Every man that God saves, He saves in such a way as to make it known who did it.

God raised Christ from the dead and now, by grace, offers as a free gift eternal life to all who follow Christ, by faith, as their Lord and Savior.  This is why we say that man is justified by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.  And once he is saved, salvation is guaranteed in Him; man is forever secure in Christ!

He is Our Sanctification!

It's important to understand this truth: every Christian battles with sin.  We're often afraid to admit it because many Churches have taught us to lie; they've misinterpreted the meaning of 'sanctification': "you can't do this, you can't do that", it becomes their assurance of salvation.  Sin is a lifelong battle; we will struggle, we will fall.  But in the end, we will be righteous before God through Jesus Christ.

Sanctification is not a complete eradication of man's sinful disposition, rather it is the progressive work of God whereby He works in His people, both to will and to do of His good pleasure, growing them in grace by the power of the Holy Spirit.

It all starts with Christ.  Those who truly believe and trust in Christ are set apart from sin because of the work He has accomplished on the cross.  Not only was their sin imputed onto Him, His righteousness was imputed onto them.  But because man's flesh is totally corrupt, wicked, and outrageously sinful, he faces a lifelong battle with his flesh.  He is at constant odds with his sinful desires and the righteous desires of his new spiritual nature.  Over the course of his lifetime, man will grow spiritually, but it won't be until the end of his life on Earth, when he leaves his body to be with the Lord, that sinless perfection is obtained.

He is Our Security!

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand."  -John 10:27-28

Jesus knows His sheep; He knows their name, they’ve been written in the Lamb’s book of life before the foundation of the world. Jesus’ sheep follow Him.  Eternal security is in the fact that salvation is of the Lord.  There is no eternal security outside of Him.  It's not about good works, it's not about anything we as Christians can do for God; it's all about the work God has done for us!  When Christ died, He died to redeem a people; a number of people that no man can number; He paid their sin debt.  And if their debt has been paid, it's paid; we owe nothing!  There is no condemnation to those that are in Christ Jesus; once saved, you are always and forever secure in Him. He did not die for you, to end up losing you in the end.

...and He's coming back!

Jesus Christ is returning one day to judge both the living and the dead, to usher in the fullness of God's kingdom on Earth, to complete His promise and complete the work which He has started!  This may happen at any time, and there is nothing that could hold that up.

How do we come to know Him?

God works in us through the Holy Spirit!

God the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Godhead.  He is the 'Hound of Heaven' whom seeks out the lost sinner, catches up to them, brings them to the end of themselves, and changes their 'willer'.   They begin to understand their total depravity and their need for salvation; their need for God.

In His act of regeneration, God gives the sinner a new birth; a new spiritual nature.  He makes the sinner a new creature and dwells within them, bringing them to Christ, changing their hearts, opening their eyes to the Gospel, restraining evil, and filling them with conviction.  The Holy Spirit is the miracle worker, and it's imperative to have Him present in the local Church!

The Local Church

The Church is the visible body and bride of Christ, not a physical place; an 'ecclesia' or an assembly of born-again sinners who've been saved by the grace of God; believers and followers of Jesus Christ who've joined together in a wonderful way, for the purpose of worship and fellowship in and around the Gospel.  The Church is a gathering of people, strong in the message of God's grace, with a desire to hear the good news; to hear Christ, to study His word, to glorify Him, and take His message out into their communities; into the world!

The Church began at Pentecost, and a believer is placed into the Church by the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit.  There are no super-powers within the Church itself; there is nothing high and holy about a group of sinners, struggling with their flesh; but when the Holy Spirit is present during local Church gatherings, miracles happen.

Baptism

Water baptism is not a Church ordinance, rather a Gospel ordinance; a public declaration made by a believer who can articulate their faith, who recognizes and understands it's purpose.  Baptism paints a picture; it's a public expression of the work Christ has done on the tree of the cross, that "He died for me", "He was buried for me", and "He rose again for me!"  Baptism is saying, "the old me has died; I hate what I once loved and I love what I once hated; I am a new creature, not one of perfection, but one that believes and trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ."

The Lord's Supper

Jesus said, "as often as you do this, do this in remembrance of me."  The Lord's Supper is a Gospel ordinance; a memorial of Christ's sacrifice, that He gave His own body and blood for us so that we could be forgiven.  It is a time of reflection and self-examination; an expression of our faith and a recognition of the promise He made to return.

Angels

Angels are sinless, spiritual beings; messengers of God who do His bidding.  There are thousands upon thousands of angels occupying different orders and ranks: guardian angels, one standing over each of God's people; angels who come to Church to hear the truth, who are amazed at the Gospel; angels who surround the throne of God, giving Him praise; to name a few.  Angels are here, they are active, and they're totally committed to carrying out God's will.

Demons

Angels also exist in fallen states.  Demons are former angelic beings that were put out of Heaven in the Great Rebellion.  They fell along with Lucifer when he tried to dethrone God.  Lucifer is, by his own choice, the enemy of God and His people; he is the originator of sin.  Demons exist in many forms, most notably today in the opioid epidemic.  Demons will one day be held accountable and cast into Hell.

The End Times

There is a sense that we could be living in a time when the return of our Lord is at hand. There is a genuine war going on between good and evil.  But people are no more evil today than they were in ancient Rome; people are not progressively getting worse.  There’s life in the struggle. Our God has not dropped the reigns to this universe; He is still very much in charge. He is a sovereign God and He has a people. No matter how bad things may look, everything will work out to our good and His glory. “Absent with the body, present with the Lord”, we’ve got it made regardless of what happens.  The centrality of Jesus Christ, Him getting glory, praise, and honor, that's what matters.

The Eternal State

God chose a people, Christ died for that people, the Spirit of God regenerated that people, and that people will surely be glorified.  Upon death, the souls of those who are in Jesus Christ immediately pass into His presence. They will remain with Him until the resurrection of our earthly bodies at His second coming, when our souls and bodies will be with Him forever in glory.  However, the souls of unbelievers remain in constant misery until the final judgement, when soul and body will be reunited and punished with everlasting separation from the presence of the Lord.

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