What We Believe

We are committed to:

• The Word of God as our only authority
• Salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone
• Giving God glory in all that we do

On the practical side we focus on:

• True Worship when we are gathered
• Evangelism & missions when we are scattered
• Strengthening the family
• Fellowship within the body of Christ

The Doctrinal Statement for Grace Baptist Church is the Baptist Faith and Message of the Southern Baptist Convention.  A summary of this statement is as follows:

1. We believe in one, and only one true God, and that there is a trinity of persons in the God-head – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit; yet there are not three Gods, but one God.
2. We believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, the only rule of faith and practice. They are without error in all they teach and affirm.
3. We believe in the fall of Adam and the imputation of his sin to his posterity. Furthermore, we believe in the corruption of human nature and the impotency of man to recover himself by his own ability.
4. We believe that salvation is by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, and in Christ alone. Salvation is a work of God, by His Holy Spirit, in which He calls, regenerates, converts, sanctifies and protects believers, so that they are eternally secure in that salvation.
5. We believe that sinners are justified in the sight of God only by the righteousness of Christ imputed to them.
6. We believe that good works are the fruit of faith and follow after justification. They are evidence that we are in a gracious state.
7. We believe that Jesus Christ is coming to this earth again, in God’s own timing and that no man knows the hour or the date. We should simply be prepared for when He does return. Too much speculation on this subject can lead to error in doctrine.
8. We believe that there will be a resurrection of the dead and a day of judgment. Those in Christ will live forever in His presence in glory, and the lost will suffer eternal punishment in hell

• Having, as we believe, been brought by Divine Grace to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and to give up ourselves to Him, and having been baptized upon our profession of faith, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we do now, relying on His gracious aid, solemnly and joyfully make our covenant with each other.

• We will work and pray for the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

• We will not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, nor neglect to pray for ourselves and others.

• We will endeavor to bring to maturity all who may at any time be under our care, in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and by a pure and loving example to seek the salvation of our family and friends.

• We will walk together in brotherly love, as becomes the members of a Christian Church; exercise an affectionate care and watchfulness over each other and faithfully admonish and entreat one another as occasion may require.

• We will rejoice at each other’s happiness and endeavor with tenderness and sympathy to bear each other’s burdens and sorrows.

• We will seek, by Divine aid, to live carefully in the world, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, and remembering that, as we have been voluntarily buried by baptism and raised again from the symbolic grave, so there is on us a special obligation now to lead a new and holy life.

• We will work together for the continuance of a faithful evangelical ministry in this church, as we sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines. We will contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the Gospel through all nations.

• If God should move us from Somerset, we will as soon as possible unite with another church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God’s Word.

• May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us all. Amen.

A PDF copy of the covenant with its scriptural foundations is available HERE