Grace Fellowship Interim Statement of Faith

1. God – There is one God, who exists eternally in three distinct persons: the Father, the Son & the Holy Spirit. God is unchangeable in His holiness, justice, wisdom & love. He is the almighty Creator, Saviour & Judge who sustains & governs all things according to His sovereign will & for His own glory.
(Psalm 90:2, Daniel 4:35)

2. The Bible – God has revealed Himself in the Bible, which consists of the entire Old & New Testaments alone. Every word is inspired by God through human authors, so that the Bible as originally given is, in its entirety, the Word of God, without error & fully reliable in fact & doctrine. The Bible alone speaks with final authority & is always sufficient for all matters of belief & practise.
(John 17:17, 2 Tim 3:14-17, 2 Pet 1:20-21)

3. The Human Race – All men & women, being created in the image of God, have inherent & equal dignity & worth. Their greatest purpose is to obey, worship & love God. As a result of the Fall of our first parents from the original state of perfection in which they were created, every aspect of human nature has been corrupted & all men & women are without spiritual life, guilty sinners & hostile to God. Notwithstanding, those who remain impenitent are fully responsible for their wilful continuance in sin & unbelief. Every person is therefore under just condemnation of God & needs to be born again, forgiven & reconciled to God in order to know & please Him.
(Gen 1:27, Psalm 51:5, Rom 5:18-19)

4. The Lord Jesus Christ – The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God & fully man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, & lived a sinless life in obedience to the Father. He taught with authority & all His words are true. On the cross He died in the place of elect sinners, bearing God’s punishment for their sin & redeeming them by His blood. His death is the full, sufficient and only atonement for sins. He rose from the dead & in His resurrection body ascended into Heaven where He is exalted as Lord of all & intercedes for His people in the presence of His Father.
(Luke 1:31-33, Acts 4:12, Hebrews 9:28, Rev 1:17-18)

5. Salvation – Salvation is, in its entirety, a work of God’s free & sovereign grace & cannot be earned or deserved. Salvation has been accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ & is freely & sincerely offered to all in the Gospel. God in His love forgives those sinners whom He effectually calls. All who believe in Christ alone are justified by faith alone, adopted into the family of God & receive eternal life. Those whom God has justified in the Lord Jesus Christ & sanctified by the Holy Spirit will never totally nor finally fall away, but will certainly persevere to the end.
(Jonah 2:9, Matt 11:28, John 3:16, Romans 3:21-26, Ephesians 2:8-9)

6. The Holy Spirit – The Holy Spirit has been sent from Heaven to glorify Christ & to apply His work of Salvation to the elect. He convicts sinners, imparts spiritual life, grants them repentance & faith, & gives a true understanding of the Scriptures. He indwells all believers, brings assurance of Salvation & produces increasing likeness to Christ. He builds up the Church & empowers its members for worship, service & mission.
(John 4:24, 16:8 & 13, Rom 8:14, 1 Cor 12:13)

7. The Church – The universal Church is the body of which Christ is the head & to which all the saved belong. It is made visible in local congregations of believers who are committed to each other for the worship of God, the preaching of the Word, the administrating of Baptism & the Lord’s Supper; for pastoral care & discipline & for evangelism. The unity of the body of Christ is expressed within & between churches by mutual love, care & encouragement. True fellowship between churches exists only where they are faithful to the Gospel.
(Matt 18:15-18, Acts 2:41-47, Ephesians 5:22-33, Heb 12:22-24, 1 Pet 2:9-10)

8. Baptism & The Lord’s Supper – Baptism & the Lord’s Supper have been given to the churches by Christ as visible signs of the Gospel. Baptism is a symbol of union with Christ, the washing away of sin, belonging to His people, but does not impart spiritual life. The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of Christ’s sacrifice offered once & for all & involves no change in the bread & wine. All its blessings are received by faith.
(Matt 28:19, Acts 2:39 & 41, 1 Cor 11:21-34)

9. The Future – The Lord Jesus Christ will return in glory. He will raise the dead & judge the world in righteousness. The wicked will be sent to eternal punishment & the righteous will be welcomed into a life of eternal joy in fellowship with God. God will make all things new & will be glorified forever.
(Psalm 9:17, Matt 24:42-44, Acts 1:9-11, 1 Thess 4:13-18)