Our beliefs

Statement of Faith and Cambridge Declaration

Below are the beliefs, and an explanation of the beliefs, we hold to be true.

Our Statement of Faith

We declare our Statement of Faith so you will know what is taught in all areas of ministry. Your disagreement in a particular area does not necessarily jeopardize your being a member of Grace or your involvement here.

1. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES

We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament to be the verbally inspired Word of God, the final authority for faith and life, inerrant in the original writings, infallible and God breathed. (II Timothy 3:16, 17; II Peter 1:20, 21; Matthew 5:18; John 16:12, 13)

2. THE GODHEAD

We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – CO-eternal in being, CO-identical in nature, CO-equal in power and glory, and having the same attributes and perfections. (Deuteronomy 6:4; II Corinthians 13:14)

3. THE PERSON AND WORK OF CHRIST

a. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men. (John 1:1, 2, 14; Luke 1:35)

b. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a representative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead. (Romans 3:24, 25; I Peter 2:24; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5)

c. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, as our High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate. (Acts 1:9, 10; Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; Romans 8:34; I John 2:1, 2)

4. THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

a. We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person possessing all the attributes of God. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and of judgment; and, He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling and sealing them into the day of redemption. (John 16:8-11; II Corinthians 3:6; I Corinthians 12:12-14; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13, 14)

b. We believe that He is the Divine Teacher who guides believers into all truth; and that it is the privilege and duty of all the saved to be filled with the Spirit. (John 16:13; Ephesians 5:18)

5. THE TOTAL DEPRAVITY OF MAN

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; and that man is totally depraved and of himself utterly unable to remedy his lost condition. (Genesis 1:26, 27; Romans 3:22, 23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:1-3, 12)

6. SALVATION

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ whose precious blood was shed on Calvary for the forgiveness of our sins. (Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12; Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:18, 19)

THE CAMBRIDGE DECLARATION of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals April 20, 1996

Evangelical churches today are increasingly dominated by the spirit of this age rather than by the Spirit of Christ. As evangelicals, we call ourselves to repent of this sin and to recover the historic Christian faith.

In the course of history words change. In our day this has happened to the word “evangelical.” In the past it served as a bond of unity between Christians from a wide diversity of church traditions. Historic evangelicalism was confessional. It embraced the essential truths of Christianity as those were defined by the great ecumenical councils of the church. In addition, evangelicals also shared a common heritage in the “solas” of the sixteenth century Protestant Reformation.

Today the light of the Reformation has been significantly dimmed. The consequence is that the word “evangelical” has become so inclusive as to have lost its meaning. We face the peril of losing the unity it has taken centuries to achieve. Because of this crisis and because of our love of Christ, his gospel and his church, we endeavor to assert anew our commitment to the central truths of the Reformation and of historic evangelicalism. These truths we affirm not because of their role in our traditions, but because we believe that they are central to the Bible.

Sola Scriptura: The Erosion Of Authority

Scripture alone is the inerrant rule of the church’s life, but the evangelical church today has separated Scripture from its authoritative function. In practice, the church is guided, far too often, by the culture. Therapeutic technique, marketing strategies, and the beat of the entertainment world often have far more to say about what the church wants, how it functions and what it offers, than does the Word of God. Pastors have neglected their rightful oversight of worship, including the doctrinal content of the music. As biblical authority has been abandoned in practice, as its truths have faded from Christian consciousness, and as its doctrines have lost their saliency, the church has been increasingly emptied of its integrity, moral authority and direction.

Rather than adapting Christian faith to satisfy the felt needs of consumers, we must proclaim the law as the only measure of true righteousness and the gospel as the only announcement of saving truth. Biblical truth is indispensable to the church’s understanding, nurture and discipline.

Scripture must take us beyond our perceived needs to our real needs and liberate us from seeing ourselves through the seductive images, cliche’s, promises. and priorities of mass culture. It is only in the light of God’s truth that we understand ourselves aright and see God’s provision for our need. The Bible, therefore, must be taught and preached in the church. Sermons must be expositions of the Bible and its teachings, not expressions of the preachers opinions or the ideas of the age. We must settle for nothing less than what God has given.

The work of the Holy Spirit in personal experience cannot be disengaged from Scripture. The Spirit does not speak in ways that are independent of Scripture. Apart from Scripture we would never have known of God’s grace in Christ. The biblical Word, rather than spiritual experience, is the test of truth.

Thesis One: Sola Scriptura

We reaffirm the inerrant Scripture to be the sole source of written divine revelation, which alone can bind the conscience. The Bible alone teaches all that is necessary for our salvation from sin and is the standard by which all Christian behavior must be measured. We deny that any creed, council or individual may bind a Christian’s conscience, that the Holy Spirit speaks independently of or contrary to what is set forth in the Bible, or that personal spiritual experience can ever be a vehicle of revelation.

Solus Christus: The Erosion Of Christ-Centered Faith

As evangelical faith becomes secularized, its interests have been blurred with those of the culture. The result is a loss of absolute values, permissive individualism, and a substitution of wholeness for holiness, recovery for repentance, intuition for truth, feeling for belief, chance for providence, and immediate gratification for enduring hope. Christ and his cross have moved from the center of our vision.

Thesis Two: Solus Christus

We reaffirm that our salvation is accomplished by the mediatorial work of the historical Christ alone. His sinless life and substitutionary atonement alone are sufficient for our justification and reconciliation to the Father.

We deny that the gospel is preached if Christ’s substitutionary work is not declared and faith in Christ and his work is not solicited.

Sola Gratia: The Erosion of The Gospel

Unwarranted confidence in human ability is a product of fallen human nature. This false confidence now fills the evangelical world; from the self-esteem gospel, to the health and wealth gospel, from those who have transformed the gospel into a product to be sold and sinners into consumers who want to buy, to others who treat Christian faith as being true simply because it works. This silences the doctrine of justification regardless of the official commitments of our churches.

God’s grace in Christ is not merely necessary but is the sole efficient cause of salvation. We confess that human beings are born spiritually dead and are incapable even of cooperating with regenerating grace.

Thesis Three: Sola Gratia

We reaffirm that in salvation we are rescued from God’s wrath by his grace alone. It is the supernatural work of the Holy Spirit that brings us to Christ by releasing us from our bondage to sin and raising us from spiritual death to spiritual life.

We deny that salvation is in any sense a human work. Human methods, techniques or strategies by themselves cannot accomplish this transformation. Faith is not produced by our unregenerated human nature.

Sola Fide: The Erosion Of The Chief Article

Justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. This is the article by which the church stands or falls. Today this article is often ignored, distorted or sometimes even denied by leaders, scholars and pastors who claim to be evangelical. Although fallen human nature has always recoiled from recognizing its need for Christ’s imputed righteousness, modernity greatly fuels the fires of this discontent with the biblical Gospel. We have allowed this discontent to dictate the nature of our ministry and what it is we are preaching.

Many in the church growth movement believe that sociological understanding of those in the pew is as important to the success of the gospel as is the biblical truth which is proclaimed. As a result, theological convictions are frequently divorced from the work of the ministry. The marketing orientation in many churches takes this even further, erasing the distinction between the biblical Word and the world, robbing Christ’s cross of its offense, and reducing Christian faith to the principles and methods which bring success to secular corporations.

While the theology of the cross may be believed, these movements are actually emptying it of its meaning. There is no gospel except that of Christ’s substitution in our place whereby God imputed to him our sin and imputed to us his righteousness. Because he bore our judgment, we now walk in his grace as those who are forever pardoned, accepted and adopted as God’s children. There is no basis for our acceptance before God except in Christ’s saving work, not in our patriotism, churchly devotion or moral decency. The gospel declares what God has done for us in Christ. It is not about what we can do to reach him.

Thesis Four: Sola Fide

We reaffirm that justification is by grace alone through faith alone because of Christ alone. In justification Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us as the only possible satisfaction of God’s perfect justice.

We deny that justification rests on any merit to be found in us, or upon the grounds of an infusion of Christ’s righteousness in us, or that an institution claiming to be a church that denies or condemns sola fide can be recognized as a legitimate church.

Soli Deo Gloria: The Erosion Of God-Centered Worship

Wherever in the church biblical authority has been lost, Christ has been displaced, the gospel has been distorted, or faith has been perverted, it has always been for one reason: our interests have displaced God’s and we are doing his work in our way. The loss of God’s centrality in the life of today’s church is common and lamentable. It is this loss that allows us to transform worship into entertainment, gospel preaching into marketing, believing into technique, being good into feeling good about ourselves, and faithfulness into being successful. As a result, God, Christ and the Bible have come to mean too little to us and rest too inconsequentially upon us.

God does not exist to satisfy human ambitions, cravings, the appetite for consumption, or our own private spiritual interests. We must focus on God in our worship, rather than the satisfaction of our personal needs. God is sovereign in worship; we are not. Our concern must be for God’s kingdom, not our own empires, popularity or success.

Thesis Five: Soli Deo Gloria

We reaffirm that because salvation is of God and has been accomplished by God, it is for God’s glory and that we must glorify him always. We must live our entire lives before the face of God, under the authority of God and for his glory alone. We deny that we can properly glorify God if our worship is confused with entertainment, if we neglect either Law or Gospel in our preaching, or if self-improvement, self-esteem or self- fulfillment are allowed to become alternatives to the gospel.

Call To Repentance And Reformation

The faithfulness of the evangelical church in the past contrasts sharply with its unfaithfulness in the present. Earlier in this [20th] century, evangelical churches sustained a remarkable missionary endeavor, and built many religious institutions to serve the cause of biblical truth and Christ’s kingdom. That was a time when Christian behavior and expectations were markedly different from those in the culture. Today they often are not. The evangelical world today is losing its biblical fidelity, moral compass and missionary zeal.

We repent of our worldliness. We have been influenced by the “gospels” of our secular culture, which are no gospels. We have weakened the church by our own lack of serious repentance, our blindness to the sins in ourselves which we see so clearly in others, and our inexcusable failure adequately to tell others about God’s saving work in Jesus Christ.

We also earnestly call back erring professing evangelicals who have deviated from God’s Word in the matters discussed in this Declaration. This includes those who declare that there is hope of eternal life apart from explicit faith in Jesus Christ, who claim that those who reject Christ in this life will be annihilated rather than endure the just judgment of God through eternal suffering, or who claim that evangelicals and Roman Catholics are one in Jesus Christ even where the biblical doctrine of justification is not believed.

The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals asks all Christians to give consideration to implementing this Declaration in the church’s worship, ministry, policies, life and evangelism. For Christ’s sake. Amen.

Baptism

What We Believe about Baptism

What is baptism according to the Bible? Find out below.

What is the Meaning and Significance?

Baptism is first and foremost identification with Jesus Christ. The act of baptism is intended to symbolize what has happened to us spiritually as a result of faith in Christ’s death and resurrection.

Water baptism is not a requirement for salvation, but rather reminds us of what our salvation required of Jesus. It is also intended to be a public testimony of one’s trust and new life in Christ. It is an act of obedience in response to faith in Christ.

Being lowered into the water symbolizes our death to sin’s power over us as a result of Jesus’ physical death and burial. Being raised back up out of the water symbolizes our new spiritual birth as a result of Jesus coming back to life.

Baptism gives a true picture of the meaning of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Bible passages like Romans 6:3-5 and Colossians 2:12 (although not referring to water baptism in the immediate context) do picture for us the reality of Christ’s work and the truth that baptism portrays, when the text says believers have “been buried with Him in baptism and raised with Him through (their) faith in the power of God, who raised Him from the dead.” In baptism the Christian testifies that he belongs to Christ. In baptism, the process of being submerged identifies him/her as a willing participant in this completed work of salvation, through faith in Jesus Christ. The inner reality of salvation having already occurred in the life of the one being baptized, is clearly (and publicly) declared in the practice of water baptism.

Believers Baptism in the New Testament In the New Testament we find that water baptism for the Christian is intimately connected with the following:

A public identification with the person of Jesus Christ. Baptism provides an opportunity for believers to make a public profession of their faith.

An act obedience to the command of Christ (Matthew 28:19) fulfilled by Christians who have subjected themselves to His sovereignty.

A public commitment to live obediently according to God’s standards of righteousness. (Matthew 3:15)

A willingness to follow Christ’s example of water baptism. (Matthew 3:13-17)

A desire to identify with the body of Christ as evidenced by the local church that is witnessing the baptism event. (Matthew 28:19)

Who should be Baptized?

The congregation of Grace Community understands the Scripture to teach that only persons who have trusted Jesus Christ for their personal salvation are qualified for baptism. Furthermore, we understand Scripture to call every believer to be baptized according to Christ’s command in Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Since becoming a disciple of Christ involves faith, baptism as an accompanying act is for believers.

Regarding infants: While we acknowledge that some churches hold to a theology of infant baptism, at Grace Community we provide Christian parents the opportunity to present their child for a ceremony of dedication. At this ceremony, God’s blessing is asked on the life of the child and the parents publicly commit themselves to raise their child in accordance with the teachings of Scripture.

How is baptism done?

In the New Testament, the Greek word for baptism (baptizo) means “to dip” or “to submerge”. The Greek words for “to pour” or “to sprinkle” are never used when a baptism is described in the New Testament. In addition, every baptism that is clearly described in the New Testament demonstrates that immersion was the method of baptizing a believer. Therefore, we practice baptism by immersion at Grace Community Church.

If you would like to be baptized….

We would be delighted to help you see the importance of following Jesus’ example in baptism. If you have made the decision and wish to arrange a time for baptism, please contact the church office ((559) 674-1172) and speak to the secretary, make notice on the welcome card and place in the offering bag on Sunday morning, or sign up at the link below.

Signup Today

Communion

What is communion according to the Bible? Find out below.

Do you remember the disciples at the end of Luke’s gospel, who were on their way home from Jerusalem after the crucifixion? I’m certain they had little interest in eating a meal. Yet when a stranger who asked them about their sad faces joined them, they seemed dumb-founded. “Are you the only one living in Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that have happened there in these days?” Opening the Scriptures, He explained to them the meaning of the weekend’s events. Their confused, cold hearts began to warm. They could not help but invite the man to stay at their house for the evening. He accepted the invitation.

At the table He took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to them. That’s when they realized that this stranger was the risen Christ. He revealed Himself to them in the breaking of the bread even as He had at the Last Supper with others before the cross.

As with Baptism, the Lord’s Supper was instituted directly by a command of Christ and, in this case, by His example as well. On the night before His death, Christ gathered with His disciples to eat the Passover meal. Each person in the room where they were eating this meal, would have understood the significance of celebrating Passover. For this was a feast held in remembrance of God’s deliverance and redemption of His people from the slavery of Egypt (Exodus 12:14; 13:3 & 10; Deuteronomy 16:3).

However, on this particular Passover, Jesus turned to the future and talked of His imminent redemptive death, which was to fulfill not only the Passover but also all previous sacrificial offerings. No longer would the disciples look back to redemptive symbols and animal sacrifices. From now on, they were to remember Jesus and His perfect final sacrificial own life, which was given for them. The account of this Last Supper is given in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, and is reviewed again in I Corinthians 11:23-36.

The meaning of the Lord’s Supper is primarily summed up in the command of Christ, “this do in remembrance of me” Luke 22:19; I Corinthians 11:24,25). 1. It is a meal of remembrance memorial of Christ and His sacrificial death on the cross. This involves reflection and acknowledgement. 2. Based upon a common participation in Christ and His salvation, there is also in the Lord’s Supper a communion of believers in the unity of His body (I Corinthians 10:16). This is the aspect of fellowship with other members of His church–the body of Christ.

The two elements that are used in observing the Lord’s Supper are bread (wafer cracker) and grape juice. Jesus, when He ate that Passover meal said (taking the bread), “This is my body, given for you.” In the same way after supper He took the cup saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.” What do these two sentences mean?

Both of the elements (bread and wine) signify the very real fact of sacrificial death. Christ was well aware that his own body must be sacrificed. In Ancient Hebrew culture the “body and blood” referred to the two component parts of a living thing. Jesus was explaining that His death would be a sacrifice, which would open up the way for sinners to be reunited with God. His death would become the basis of the new covenant (Hebrews 8:13; 9:15 and 10:19-22) that would enable all who believe and accept God’s gift of salvation, to be accepted by God. (Hebrews 10:10) This would not happen without His body being beaten, bruised and broken, and His blood being shed.

Some people have struggled over the interpretation of the words of Christ, “This is my body” and “This cup is the new covenant in my blood”. Should they be interpreted literally or figuratively?

The reformers of Martin Luther’s era debated the precise meaning of ‘the body’ and ‘the blood’. A man called Zwingli and others with him argued that Jesus’ words meant really, “This body represents My body”. The actual bread was not the physical flesh of Jesus, but was to be understood as a figurative expression. Jesus frequently used figurative language to make a point. He said, “I am the door,” “I am the true vine,” “Whoever believes in me… streams of living water will flow from him.” Symbolism or figurative language as used by Christ is a part of normal speech. The reformers who understood this argued that Christ’s body is not present in actual substance at the Lord’s Supper, but that the elements are to be handled with reverence because of their profound symbolism. The Lord Jesus is present at the communion service in that same manner that He is present in each of our lives. There is no unique mystical meeting of Christ in a way that is different from faith in Him and meeting Him at the cross for salvation.

The participants at communion are believers in Christ, i.e.: Christians. However, before taking communion the Bible does urge that each Christian examine his/her life to see if each is able to partake in a worthy manner. This means checking our heart. Are we in right relationship with God? Are we in right relationship with each of the fellow members of the body of Christ? Is there any un-confessed sin? To come to the Lord’s Table with a heart of sin that’s hardened toward God and fellow man, is to “participate in an unworthy manner.” (I Corinthians 11:30,31)

One last thought, the supper, which expresses the communion of believers in the body of Christ, is for the church as it gathers together. The disciples came together with the early church to break bread (Acts 20:7). This time of remembering Jesus’ death is meant to be observed by the church, and not neglected. The privilege of participation should never be taken for granted.

Marriage

What is marriage according to the Bible? Find out below.

Marriage

We believe that the institution of marriage was intended by God to be a permanent, lifelong relationship between a man and a woman in covenant commitment, regardless of trials, sickness, financial reverses or emotional stresses that may ensue and is therefore the only legitimate marriage. Matthew 19:5, 6

We believe marriage is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race.

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 homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery and pornography are sinful perversions of God’s gift of sexual intimacy. They are not unforgivable sins. We believe that God disapproves of and forbids any attempt to alter one’s gender by surgery or appearance. (Gen. 1:26,27; 2:24; 19:5,13; 26:8-9; Lev. 18:1-30; Rom 1: 26-29; I Cor. 5:1; 6:9; 1 Thess. 4:1-8; Heb. 13:4).

We believe that other alternative relationships such as “common law”, “domestic partner”, “significant other” …etc are not sanctioned marriage relationships under God and as such do not qualify for the recognition of a marriage.

We believe that weddings at Grace Community Church are Christian worship services!

Divorce & Remarriage

We believe that divorce in the Scriptures is permitted only because of man’s sin. Christ clearly teaches this in Matthew 19:3-9. Divorce according to God’s law was allowed only because of “hardness of heart”.

We believe that although Jesus permitted divorce in some situations, God hates divorce and with His help a marriage can survive the worst sins. (Hosea 1-3; Malachi 2:14-16)

We believe that there are 2 grounds for divorce. The only New Testament grounds for divorce are sexual sin or desertion by an unbeliever (Matt. 5:32; 19:9; 1 Cor. 7:12-15).

We believe that those who divorce on any other grounds have sinned against God and their partner, and if they remarry it is adultery (1 Thess. 4:1-8; Mark 10:11-12; 1 Cor. 7:10-11; Matthew 5:23-24).

We believe that remarriage is permitted for the faithful partner when the divorce was on biblical grounds (Matt. 5:32; 19:9; 1 Cor. 7:12-15).

We believe and practice that those who pursue a divorce on unbiblical grounds are subject to church discipline (Matt. 18:15-17).

We believe that if the divorce was unbiblical and the guilty party repents (2 Cor. 7:9, 10), God’s grace is active at that point and a sign of their repentance will be the implementation of 1 Corinthians 7:10-11 which would involve reconciliation with the former spouse if possible (Deut. 24:1-4). If a remarriage is unbiblical, leading to a state of adultery, God’s grace is activated through repentance before Him and restoration to the local church body (2 Corinthians 2:1-11).