Grace Community Church - Jacksonville, Fl
 

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WHO WE ARE
We teach that the sixty-six books of the Bible are the written revelation of God. We teach that the Bible is verbally inspired in every word by the Holy Spirit, inerrant in the original documents, and is the infallible and authoritative Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:20, 21; 1 Thessalonians 2:13). We teach the literal, grammatical-historical, interpretation of Scripture, which affirms the belief that the opening chapters of Genesis present creation in six literal days (Genesis 1:31; Exodus 31:17).

We teach that there is but one living and true God (Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 45:5-7; 1 Corinthians 8:4), perfect in all His attributes, one in essence, existing eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14), coequal, consubstantial, equally deserving of worship and obedience.

We teach that Jesus Christ is God, who added humanity to His deity, becoming the God-man, without divesting Himself of any of His divine attributes (Philippians 2:5-8). Jesus Christ was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23; John 1:1, 2, 14). We teach that Jesus Christ accomplished redemption for believing sinners through the shedding of His blood and His sacrificial death on the cross and that His death was voluntary, vicarious, substitutionary, propitiatory, and redemptive (John 10:15; Romans 3:24, 25; 5:8; 1 Peter 2:24). Jesus Christ rose bodily from the dead on the third day and ascended to the Father's right hand, where He presently mediates as our Advocate and High Priest (Matthew 28:6; Luke 24:38-39; Acts 2:30-31; Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25; 1 John 2:1).

We teach that Adam was created by God in His image, free of sin. Adam was tempted and committed the sin of disobedience to the revealed will and Word of God. Because of Adam's sin, man lost his 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 and the ministry of the Holy Spirit (Genesis 2:16, 17; 3:1-19; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:9-12, 23; 6:23; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 2:1-3).

We teach that salvation consists of the remission of sins and the imputation of Christ's righteousness, and is the gracious gift of God, based upon the finished redemptive work of Jesus Christ on the cross, and is received by faith alone, apart from works (Acts 4:12; Ephesians 2:8-10; 1 Peter 1:18, 19; Titus 3:5).

We teach that the Holy Spirit is the supernatural agent of regeneration who gives spiritual life to the repentant sinner as he is enabled by the Holy Spirit to respond in faith to the divine provision of salvation. The Holy Spirit baptizes all believers into the body of Christ, indwelling, sanctifying, instructing, empowering them for service, and sealing them unto the day of redemption (Romans 8:9; 2 Corinthians 3:6; Ephesians 1:13, 14; Titus 3:5).

We teach that the Holy Spirit sovereignly administers spiritual gifts to believers at the moment of regeneration and that these gifts are for the edification of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 1 Peter 4:10, 11).

We teach that speaking in tongues, the working of sign miracles, and healing in the first century church were temporary sign gifts and are not for the church today (1 Corinthians 13:8-13). They were for the purpose of pointing to and authenticating Jesus Christ and the apostles as revealers of divine truth and were never intended to be characteristic of the lives of other believers (1 Corinthians 12:4-11; 13:8-10; 2 Corinthians 12:12; Ephesians 4:7-12; Hebrews 2:1-4).

We teach that the church, the body of Christ, distinct from Israel, consists of all those who are born again and have been baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit at the moment of conversion. These believers are eternally secure and are kept by the power of God (1 Corinthians 10:32; 12:12, 13; John 10:27-30; Philippians 1:6).

We teach that the two ordinances of the church are baptism and the Lord's table (communion). Baptism is by immersion, and is the believer's step of obedience, as well as a sign of identification with Christ and His church. The Lord's Table is the celebration of the Lord's death until He comes, and is preceded by careful self-examination (Acts 2:41-42; Romans 6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32).

We teach that the return of Jesus Christ at the Rapture is imminent, personal and pretribulational. He will meet His church in the air, and "so shall we ever be with the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). We teach that after the seven-year period of tribulation, Christ will visibly return with His church to occupy the throne of David (Luke 1:31-33) and establish His 1,000 year kingdom reign upon the earth (Zechariah 14:4-11; Revelation 19:11-16; 20:1-6).

We teach that believers will be raised to eternal life and blessedness in heaven, and that non-believers will be physically raised to eternal and conscious punishment in the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41, 46; Revelation 20:11-15; John 5:28, 29; 11:25, 26).

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