What We Believe

Grace Fellowship Church

Our Confession Of Faith And Statement Of Faith

At Grace Fellowship Church, we joyfully confess the truths of Scripture through both our Statement of Faith and our Confession of Faith. These documents together express what we believe, teach, and hold in common as a local body of Christ.

Our Statement of Faith — A Brief Summary of Christian Doctrine — serves as a concise and accessible summary of the essential truths of the Christian faith. It unites us around the core doctrines of God, salvation, the church, and the Christian life. Full affirmation and agreement with this statement are required for church membership, as we believe shared conviction in these foundational truths is vital to our unity and witness.

While we do not regard the statement as infallible or inspired, we hold it to be a faithful expression of “the pattern of sound words” found in Scripture. Particular attention is given to our understanding of the two ordinances of the church—the Lord’s Supper and Baptism—which we observe in a manner consistent with our biblical convictions and distinct from many other traditions. In affirming this statement, every member confesses these doctrines as their own and commits to walking in them together with the church.

Of the Holy Scriptures

A. We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the verbally inspired word of God, the final authority for faith and life, absolutely inerrant in the original writings, infallible, and God-breathed. Although He has made some things known to us through His good and perfect Word, we, being fallible, are still subject to many different interpretations, but though we are fallible, the Scripture is infallible, and there is but one perfect interpretation.

B. We believe Scripture is sufficient for life and godliness, so it must be consulted for all things. We will use it for teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness.

Psalm 19:7,8; Isaiah 55:10-12; Psalm 119:105; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Romans 10:17; John 17:17; Ephesians 5:25,26

C. We believe the canon of Scripture is complete and consists of 66 books separated into two different sections: 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament.

Of God & the Trinity

We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons; that these are equal in every divine perfection, and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence, and redemption.

Genesis 1:1,26; John 1:1-3; Matthew 28:19; John 4:24; Romans 1:19,20; Ephesians 4:5,6

1) God the Father
We believe that God the Father, the first person of the Trinity, orders and disposes all things according to His own purpose and grace. He is the Creator of all things. As the only absolute and omnipotent Ruler in the universe, He is sovereign in creation, providence, and redemption. His fatherhood involves both His designation within the Trinity and His relationship with mankind. As Creator, He is Father to all men, but He is spiritual Father only to believers. He has decreed for His own glory all things that come to pass. He continually upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and events. In His sovereignty, He is neither the author nor approver of sin, nor does He abridge the accountability of moral, intelligent creatures. He has graciously chosen from eternity past those whom He would have as His own; He saves from sin all who come to Him through Jesus Christ; He adopts as His own all those who come to Him; and He becomes, upon adoption, Father to His own.

Psalm 145:8-9; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Genesis 1:1-31; Ephesians 3:9; Job 40:9-12; Psalm 103:19; Romans 11:36; Ephesians 4:6; Romans 8:14; 2 Corinthians 6:18;Ephesians 1:11;1 Chronicles 29:11;Habakkuk 1:13; John 8:38-47;1 Peter 1:17; Ephesians 1:4-6; John 1:12; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:5; Hebrews 12:5-9

2) God the Son
We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, and teachings. We believe in His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, and personal visible return to earth. We believe that Jesus Christ is humanity and deity in indivisible oneness.

Matthew 1:18-25; Luke 1:26-38; John 1:1-3; 20:28; Romans 9:5; 8:46; II Corinthians 5:21; I Peter 2:21-23; John 20:30, 31; Matthew 20:28; Ephesians 1:4; Acts 1:11; Romans 5:6-8; 6:9,10; Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 9:28; I Timothy 3:16; Colossians 2:9; Micah 5:2; John 5:23; John 14:9-10

3) God, the Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ and that He is an abiding helper, teacher, and guide who equips us with spiritual gifts for the building up of the body.

John 14:16,17,26; 15:26,27; John 16:9-14; Romans 8:9; I Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; Galatians 5:22-26; 1 Corinthians 12:7

Of Creation & the Fall of Man

A. Creation
We believe the first eleven chapters of Genesis are the literal history of the Earth. We believe that this material universe is the result of a sequence of unique creative acts of God the Son, accomplished with the aid of God the Holy Spirit and directed by God the Father. We believe these creative acts were ex nihilo (out of nothing), completed by the mere spoken commands of God. We further believe that these creative acts were accomplished in six, literal, twenty-four-hour days.

Matthew 19:4, 24:37; Genesis 1:1, 2; Job 38:1-11; Colossians 1:16; 2 Peter 3:5; Exodus 20:11; John 1:1-5, 9,10 The Fall of Man

B. The Fall of Man
We believe that, through Adam’s sin of disobedience to the revealed will and Word of God, all men lost their innocence, incurred the penalty of spiritual and physical death, became subject to the wrath of God, and became inherently corrupt and utterly incapable of choosing or doing that which is acceptable to God apart from divine grace. With no recuperative powers to enable him to recover himself, man is hopelessly lost. Man’s salvation is wholly of God’s grace through the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Genesis 2:16-17; 3:1-19; John 3:36; Romans 3:23; 6:23; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 2:1-3; 1 Timothy 2:13-14; 1 John 1:8

Salvation

A. Regeneration
We believe we are regenerated as a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit by which divine nature and divine life are given. Regeneration is instantaneous and is accomplished solely by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Word of God when the repentant sinner, as enabled by the Holy Spirit, responds in faith. We believe those who repent and forsake sin and profess Jesus Christ as Sovereign Lord and Savior have become new creatures, delivered from condemnation and recipients of eternal life.

John 3:3-7; Titus 3:5; John 5:24

B. Justification
We believe that justification before God is an act of God by which He declares righteous those who, through faith in Christ, repent of their sins and confess Him as sovereign Lord. This righteousness is apart from any virtue or work of man and involves the imputation of our sins to Christ and the imputation of Christ’s righteousness to us.

Romans 8:33; Luke 13:3; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 11:18; Romans 2:4; 2 Corinthians 7:10; Isaiah 55:6-7; Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 12:3; 2 Corinthians 4:5; Philippians 2:11; Romans 3:20; 4:6; Colossians 2:14; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 Corinthians 1:30; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 3:26

Sanctification

Every believer is sanctified (set apart) unto God by justification, immediately declared holy, and identified as a saint. Having been enabled by the Holy Spirit to understand and obey God’s word, the believer lives a life of increasing holiness in conformity to the will of God, becoming increasingly more like our Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts 20:32; 1 Corinthians 1:2, 30; 6:11; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; Hebrews 2:11; 3:1; 10:10, 14; 13:12; 1 Peter 1:2; John 17:17, 19; Romans 6:1-22; 2 Corinthians 3:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4; 5:23

Ordinances

We believe the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church: baptism and the Lord’s supper. We believe Christian baptism to be the immersion of the believer in water into the name of the triune God. We believe the Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ for commemoration of His death. We believe these two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 6:3-5; I Corinthians 11:23-26

Last Things

We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ and the establishment of His earthly kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgement, the eternal joy of the righteous, and the endless suffering of the wicked.

Matthew 16:27; Mark 14:62; John 14:3; Acts 1:11; Phil. 3:20; I Thessalonians 4:15; II Timothy 4:1; Titus 2:13; I Corinthians 4:5; I Corinthians 15; II Thessalonians 1:7-10; Revelation 20:4-6,11-15

Our Confession of Faith — the London Baptist Confession of Faith of 1689 — serves as a fuller and more detailed articulation of the doctrines we teach. We hold this historic confession in high esteem as:

An aid in controversy, offering clarity and unity when doctrinal questions arise.
A confirmation in faith, strengthening our confidence in the truth of God’s Word.
A means of edification, promoting holiness and sound teaching among believers.
A foundation for unity, providing theological coherence within the life and ministry of the church.

While we treasure the wisdom and faithfulness of this historic confession, we affirm that the Holy Scriptures alone are the supreme and inerrant authority in all matters of faith, morals, and order. Members of Grace Fellowship Church are expected to joyfully submit to this confession, while our elders must be in substantial agreement with it—meaning a sincere and comprehensive commitment to its overall system of doctrine, without requiring absolute agreement in every detail.

Together, these two documents—our Statement of Faith and the 1689 London Baptist Confession—serve as guides for our teaching, unity, and discipleship, grounding our church firmly in the historic, biblical, and gospel-centered faith once delivered to the saints.