Grace
At Grace Gospel Bible Church, we believe in the Grace of God as the only means of salvation and the only means to live the Christian life. The American Heritage Dictionary defines grace as an “unmerited gift from God.” A simple acronym for grace is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense.
Salvation
Anyone that has placed their faith in the only true source of Salvation, Jesus Christ (who He is and what He has done), has experienced the grace of God. When the believer places their faith in Jesus Christ (believes that He is the Son of God and that He died in your place), then that believer is declared right before God (Romans 3:23-25 & 28).
Grace is unmerited because you do not deserve it. You do not deserve to be saved by God. But since God is a God of Love, God the Father sent His only begotten Son to be crucified on the cross (John 3:16). Jesus Christ, through His death and resurrection, offers a gift to all men: salvation (1 Timothy 2:4). A gift has already been paid for; you do not offer the giver of the gift money nor do you have to work for it (Ephesians 2:8-9). When receiving a gift, you either receive it or deny it. The same is true for salvation. You can either believe in who Jesus Christ is and what He has done for you and be saved or not believe and not be saved. The decision is entirely up to each individual (John 3:18).
If you understand grace as an undeserved favor or unmerited gift, then you can better understand salvation. 2 Corinthians 8:9 says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He [Jesus Christ] was rich, yet for your sakes He [Jesus Christ] became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.”
The Christian Life
Just like grace is crucial in salvation, grace is just as important in the Christian life. As a believer, someone who has placed their faith in Jesus Christ, to live the Christian life you need the grace of God. At the moment a believer places their faith in Jesus Christ, they are sealed with the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13-14). The Holy Spirit within the believer now wants to teach the believer how to live the Christian life. The believer should desire to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). To do this, the believer must rely on the Holy Spirit as a power source in their life. The believer has two natures: the New Divine Nature (received at salvation) and a Sin Nature (the nature all people are born with). The New Divine Nature wants to glorify Jesus Christ and the Sin Nature wants to put the interests of the individual first. This speaks to the power struggle within all believers (Romans 7:14-25). But God, in His love and kindness, offers grace to all believers and victory from the misery of sin. To obtain this grace and victory, the believers must yield control from themselves (the Sin Nature) to the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:3-4). In fact, God commands all believers to be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18) and walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16). To live the Christian life, one needs to understand that it is all by the grace of God. God just desires a dependent attitude trusting in Him (Galatians 2:20, Hebrews 11:6, Jeremiah 17:5-8)
Gospel
At Grace Gospel Bible Church, we focus on the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The gospel is a message of good news for sinners. This means it is good news for everyone because all have sinned. Everyone has failed to meet the standards of a perfect God, therefore all people are sinners. A problem exists with this fact, as no sinner, being imperfect and impure, deserves to go to a perfect and pure heaven and live with God forever. Rather, each sinner deserves eternal, spiritual death—separation from God—as a just reward for sinning (Romans 6:23). And because God is perfectly fair, He must serve justice. However, the gospel message tells us how God has provided a solution to our problem.
God’s solution is based on His love for all people. Thousands of years ago, His prophets told of one who would save people from sin. This savior that God promised would be a substitute who was sinless; therefore, He would have no sin penalty of his own to pay. Our perfect God came to earth as a man—Jesus Christ, the Son of God—and died in our place to pay the price for our sin (1 Timothy 2:5-6). Not only that, but He offered a never ending life in place of eternal death. Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)
Though we deserve death and Jesus did not, He chose to die for us so we wouldn’t have to spend eternity in hell. This is the gospel: Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again (1 Corinthians 15:1-5). When Jesus died, justice was served.
How do you get in on this? How can you be saved from hell and go to heaven? God’s answer is to believe that Jesus Christ paid the price for your sin. Your part in your salvation is simply to place your faith in the work of the savior (Acts 16:31, John 3:18). The Word of God is clear that you cannot be saved by any work of your own (Ephesians 2:8). Eternal life is a gift from God that can either be accepted by believing the gospel or rejected by not believing the gospel.
Once someone believes the gospel (that Jesus paid for their sins), they have a spot reserved for them in heaven. This salvation can never be taken away; it can never be lost because it depends on God’s work alone. You can know that you have eternal life (1 John 5:13). God has promised it (1 John 2:25).
This simple gospel is the central message of Christianity. Anyone who becomes a child of God by believing it has their destiny forever changed. For more information on what the gospel is and what it is not, please check out the Good News!
Bible
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God in the sense that “holy men of God were moved by the Holy Spirit” to write the very words of Scripture, the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21). All the Scriptures center around the Lord Jesus Christ: His person and work in His First and Second Coming. Hence, no portion, even of the Old Testament, is properly read or understood until it leads to Him. The Scriptures were designed for our practical instruction and are sufficient (unmixed with human wisdom in its various forms) to equip and mature believers. Scripture is the fresh and present voice of Christ by which He communicates through the Holy Spirit to His people. Therefore, no current revelatory, prophetic word is necessary in this age.
At Grace Gospel Bible Church, we teach the scriptures in an expository manner, verse by verse, being careful to understand the grammatical, historical, and contextual meaning of the text. An archive of past messages is found on our Sermons Online page. Beyond Sunday and Wednesday teachings and personal study, many in the GGBC family have taken courses through the Grace Institute of Biblical Studies (GIBS).
Church
All who place their faith in Jesus Christ are immediately baptized by the Holy Spirit into one united spiritual body, the Church (1 Corinthians 12:12-13), the body and bride of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:23-32; Revelation 19:7-8), of which Christ is the head (Ephesians 1:22, 4:15; Colossians 1:18). The Church is thus a unique spiritual organism designed by Christ, made up of all believers during this present age (Ephesians 2:11-3:6), yet it is distinct from Israel (1 Corinthians 10:32). The establishment and continuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; Ephesians 4:11-16; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11). Believers in Christ are directed to associate themselves together and actively participate in such local assemblies (1 Corinthians 11:18-20; Hebrews 10:24-25).
How do we, at Grace Gospel Bible Church, practice What We Believe?
We assemble together to worship and glorify God (Ephesians 3:21; Revelation 5:11-14, 19:10, 22:9)
We receive scriptural teaching and encouragement in Christian living (Ephesians 4:13-16; 2 Timothy 2:2,15; 3:16-17; 2 Corinthians 4:16; Romans 7:4; Colossians 1:27; James 4:8; 1 John 1:3)
We fellowship with one another, pray, participate in monthly potlucks, and attend fellowship events
We proclaim the gospel at county fairs, in foreign countries, at our Christmas program, and through our web site (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21)
We baptize believers in water and partake in the Lord’s Supper as scriptural means of testimony (Matthew 28:19,20; Luke 22:19; Acts 2:38-42, 18:8, 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26)
If you have questions about our ministry, please Contact Us. If you would like to visit us on Sunday morning or Wednesday evening, then check Our Location for more information. We’d love to meet you!