Free Grace Statement of Faith
1. Theology Proper
We believe that there is one true God, eternally existing in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each of whom possesses equally all of the attributes of deity and elements of personality (Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Revelation 1:4-6).
2. Jesus Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and perfect man, deity incarnate, born of a virgin, and neither sinned nor could have sinned. By His death as a substitute for sinners He infinitely satisfied divine justice and salvation for all who believe in Him.
He arose from the dead in the same body, though glorified, in which He had lived and died. His resurrection body is the pattern of that body which will ultimately be given to all believers (John 20:20; Philippians 3:20-21).
The Lord Jesus Christ, in His glorified body, is now in heaven, exalted at the right hand of God the Father, where He presently fulfills the ministries of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate for the saved (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1-2).
3. The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity. He is, always has been, and always will be fully God, with intellect (1 Corinthians 2:11b), emotion (Ephesians 4:30), and will (1 Corinthians 12:11). He has been intimately involved in all that God does, including creation (Genesis 1:2), justification (Titus 3:5), and sanctification (2 Corinthians 3:18).
The Holy Spirit gives each believer one or more spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:11; 1 Peter 4:10). He gives these gifts "for the common good" (Ephesians 4:11-18), in order that believers might serve one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Some spiritual gifts, such as apostleship, miracles, tongues, interpretation of tongues, healings, and prophecy, were given for the foundational period of the church (Ephesians 2:20), and are not normative for today (Hebrews 2:3-4).
4. The Scriptures
We believe that the Scriptures (not the men) are God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16-17). God moved holy men to write (2 Peter 1:20-21) and He made certain that what they wrote was without error in the original documents. He has revealed Himself and His eternal plan to mankind in the Bible. Divine inspiration extends equally and fully to all parts of the Bible. The Bible is a necessary source of spiritual sustenance for the believer and is able to equip us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
6. Satan
We believe that one of the greatest angels, Lucifer, also called Satan or the devil, sinned through pride and rebelled against God (Ezekiel 28:12-19; Isaiah 14:12-15). Satan now rules as the "god of this world." He was judged at the cross (Genesis 3:15), though the execution of that judgment will not take place until Christ's Second Coming." After his final defeat he will be cast into the lake of fire where he will experience conscious eternal torment.
7. Anthropology
We believe that the first human, Adam, was created in the image of God. Through disobedience he sinned and thus was alienated from God, died spiritually, and suffered the corruption of his nature (though still retaining the image of God), rendering him unable to please God (Genesis 3:1-19).
This fall took place at the beginning of human history, and all individuals born since then suffer these same consequences—are fallen, sinful, and lost and are thus in need of the saving grace of God (Romans 3:10-20). This saving grace cannot be experienced by any person in the world apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ (John 1:12; Ephesians 2:8-9). All children are held in the grace of God and covered by the blood of Christ until they reach the age of accountability (Deuteronomy 1:39; 2 Samuel 12:23; Jonah 4:11; Matthew 18:2-5).
8. Eternal Salvation
The sole condition for receiving eternal salvation is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who died a substitutionary death on the cross for man's sin and rose from the dead (John 3:16-18; 6:47; Acts 16:31). No act of obedience, preceding or following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, such as commitment to obey, sorrow for sin, turning from one's sin, baptism, or submission to the Lordship of Christ, may be added to, or considered as a part of, faith as a condition for receiving eternal salvation (Romans 4:5; Galatians 2:16; Titus 3:5). This saving transaction between God and the sinner is simply the giving and receiving of a free gift (John 4:10; Ephesians 2:8-9; Revelation 22:17).
9. Eternal Security
We believe that any person who believes in Jesus Christ for eternal life receives that gift which, as the words eternal life suggest, can never be lost. Every child of God possesses this eternal (or everlasting) life and, being regenerated, justified, and sealed by the Holy Spirit, is safe and secure for all eternity. The believer is eternally secure since Jesus Christ irrevocably guarantees it (John 6:35-40; 11:25-27, Romans 11:29). Therefore, it is inconsistent with the gospel and with Scripture to seek to gain or keep eternal salvation by godly living.
10. Assurance of Salvation
We believe that assurance of eternal salvation is sufficiently grounded on the promise God makes in His Word that everyone who believes in Jesus Christ possesses eternal life (John 5:24; 1 John 5:9-13). Since a person can know whether or not he believes the gospel, no other basis for assurance is needed. Good works, which can and should follow regeneration, are not an indispensable verification of saving faith, even though they may have a secondary, confirmatory value (Ephesians 2:10; Titus 3:8).
12. Sanctification
We believe that sanctification is past, present and future. At the moment one believes in Christ, he is positionally sanctified, or set apart to God (1 Corinthians 1:2, Hebrews 10:10), which is a past event for all believers. Presently God is working to conform believers more and more to Christ (Hebrews 10:14). However, believers may thwart this work and even in the godliest of saints this work will not be perfectly or fully accomplished prior to death or the rapture when all believers will become sinless (1 John 3:1-3).
13. The Christian Walk
We believe that the ultimate goal of the Holy Spirit's work in the believer's life is to produce spiritual maturity reflected in consistent Christlike behavior and attitudes (Galatians 5:22-25; Colossians 1:24-29). Therefore, obedience to the Word of God, while not necessary for obtaining eternal salvation, is the essential responsibility of each Christian (Romans 6:12-23; 1 Corinthians 2:14-3:4; Hebrews 5:13,14). However, the Bible does not teach that this obedience will be manifested uniformly in all believers. If a believer does not yield to the ministry of the Holy Spirit in his experience, failure will result, evidenced by sinful acts or even prolonged disobedience (1 Corinthians 10:1-13; Galatians 5:16-21).
Confession of sins is an essential aspect of ongoing fellowship with God (1 John 1:9). Whenever a believer is made aware of some sin in his life, he should be open and honest with God and confess it. As long as a believer remains open and honest with God, he continues to walk in fellowship. If a believer chooses not to do this, he will incur the loving discipline of God (Hebrews 12:6), and loss of rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ (1 Corinthians 3).
Our motivation to walk in fellowship with the Lord is partially out of our gratitude for what He has done for us at the cross, and partially out of our anticipation of the rewards we will receive at the Judgment Seat of Christ, In order to bring glory to Him for all eternity.
14. The Church
We believe that the Church, that is, the body and future bride of Christ, is a spiritual entity made up of all believers of this present age. The Church was born on the day of Pentecost. It does not replace Israel, and the promises to Abraham and David are not fulfilled in the Church age. Since Pentecost all who believe in Christ are members of the Universal Church.
The Universal Church is visibly functional through groups called local churches which meet regularly in identifiable locations. These should be governed by their own leadership (1 Corinthians 1:1-2; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 5:17; Hebrews 13:17), and the congregation is responsible to submit to its leadership (Hebrews 13:17).
The Word of God commands believers to gather together in local congregations, to devote themselves to worship, prayer, the teaching of the Bible, observance of the ordinances of water baptism and the Lord's Supper, the edification of the body, and an active witness to the unsaved world. A local expression of the church is found wherever Christians meet regularly in obedience to these commands (Acts 2:42).
The Lord gave the church two ordinances to be practiced until He returned. The Lord's Supper is to be conducted regularly by believers in remembrance of Christ's death on our behalf. The other was Believer's baptism. We are to urge those whom we lead to faith in Christ to publicly profess their faith in Christ by being baptized (Matthew 28:19, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
Church discipline should be a vital part of church life. Steps of church discipline may include confrontation by one person, by several of the church leaders, by all of the church leaders, and, finally, if the person refuses all efforts to bring him to repentance, exclusion of the individual from the Lord's Table until he does repent (Matthew 18:15-17, Galatians 6:1).
15. Evangelism and Discipleship
We believe that the Lord Jesus sent His apostles out to make disciples of all the nations (commonly called the Great Commission). This was to include evangelizing the unsaved with the message of the Gospel of God's free grace, and then baptizing and teaching those who came to faith in Christ. The Lord wishes all believers to become disciples and carry on this work until He returns (Matthew 28:18-20).
16. Future Events
We believe that the next great event in the fulfillment of prophecy is the coming of the Lord Jesus in the air to receive to Himself both the dead in Christ and believers who remain alive (1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:11). The rapture will take place before the seven-year period called the Tribulation (Daniel 9:27; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 5:9). * NOTE: I personally believe the return of Jesus will be at the end of the Tribulation period at the Last Trump, and just moments before His physical return on the Mount of Olives, in Jerusalem.
1. Theology Proper
We believe that there is one true God, eternally existing in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each of whom possesses equally all of the attributes of deity and elements of personality (Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Revelation 1:4-6).
2. Jesus Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and perfect man, deity incarnate, born of a virgin, and neither sinned nor could have sinned. By His death as a substitute for sinners He infinitely satisfied divine justice and salvation for all who believe in Him.
He arose from the dead in the same body, though glorified, in which He had lived and died. His resurrection body is the pattern of that body which will ultimately be given to all believers (John 20:20; Philippians 3:20-21).
The Lord Jesus Christ, in His glorified body, is now in heaven, exalted at the right hand of God the Father, where He presently fulfills the ministries of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate for the saved (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1-2).
3. The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity. He is, always has been, and always will be fully God, with intellect (1 Corinthians 2:11b), emotion (Ephesians 4:30), and will (1 Corinthians 12:11). He has been intimately involved in all that God does, including creation (Genesis 1:2), justification (Titus 3:5), and sanctification (2 Corinthians 3:18).
The Holy Spirit gives each believer one or more spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:11; 1 Peter 4:10). He gives these gifts "for the common good" (Ephesians 4:11-18), in order that believers might serve one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. Some spiritual gifts, such as apostleship, miracles, tongues, interpretation of tongues, healings, and prophecy, were given for the foundational period of the church (Ephesians 2:20), and are not normative for today (Hebrews 2:3-4).
4. The Scriptures
We believe that the Scriptures (not the men) are God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16-17). God moved holy men to write (2 Peter 1:20-21) and He made certain that what they wrote was without error in the original documents. He has revealed Himself and His eternal plan to mankind in the Bible. Divine inspiration extends equally and fully to all parts of the Bible. The Bible is a necessary source of spiritual sustenance for the believer and is able to equip us for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
6. Satan
We believe that one of the greatest angels, Lucifer, also called Satan or the devil, sinned through pride and rebelled against God (Ezekiel 28:12-19; Isaiah 14:12-15). Satan now rules as the "god of this world." He was judged at the cross (Genesis 3:15), though the execution of that judgment will not take place until Christ's Second Coming." After his final defeat he will be cast into the lake of fire where he will experience conscious eternal torment.
7. Anthropology
We believe that the first human, Adam, was created in the image of God. Through disobedience he sinned and thus was alienated from God, died spiritually, and suffered the corruption of his nature (though still retaining the image of God), rendering him unable to please God (Genesis 3:1-19).
This fall took place at the beginning of human history, and all individuals born since then suffer these same consequences—are fallen, sinful, and lost and are thus in need of the saving grace of God (Romans 3:10-20). This saving grace cannot be experienced by any person in the world apart from personal faith in Jesus Christ (John 1:12; Ephesians 2:8-9). All children are held in the grace of God and covered by the blood of Christ until they reach the age of accountability (Deuteronomy 1:39; 2 Samuel 12:23; Jonah 4:11; Matthew 18:2-5).
8. Eternal Salvation
The sole condition for receiving eternal salvation is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ who died a substitutionary death on the cross for man's sin and rose from the dead (John 3:16-18; 6:47; Acts 16:31). No act of obedience, preceding or following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, such as commitment to obey, sorrow for sin, turning from one's sin, baptism, or submission to the Lordship of Christ, may be added to, or considered as a part of, faith as a condition for receiving eternal salvation (Romans 4:5; Galatians 2:16; Titus 3:5). This saving transaction between God and the sinner is simply the giving and receiving of a free gift (John 4:10; Ephesians 2:8-9; Revelation 22:17).
9. Eternal Security
We believe that any person who believes in Jesus Christ for eternal life receives that gift which, as the words eternal life suggest, can never be lost. Every child of God possesses this eternal (or everlasting) life and, being regenerated, justified, and sealed by the Holy Spirit, is safe and secure for all eternity. The believer is eternally secure since Jesus Christ irrevocably guarantees it (John 6:35-40; 11:25-27, Romans 11:29). Therefore, it is inconsistent with the gospel and with Scripture to seek to gain or keep eternal salvation by godly living.
10. Assurance of Salvation
We believe that assurance of eternal salvation is sufficiently grounded on the promise God makes in His Word that everyone who believes in Jesus Christ possesses eternal life (John 5:24; 1 John 5:9-13). Since a person can know whether or not he believes the gospel, no other basis for assurance is needed. Good works, which can and should follow regeneration, are not an indispensable verification of saving faith, even though they may have a secondary, confirmatory value (Ephesians 2:10; Titus 3:8).
12. Sanctification
We believe that sanctification is past, present and future. At the moment one believes in Christ, he is positionally sanctified, or set apart to God (1 Corinthians 1:2, Hebrews 10:10), which is a past event for all believers. Presently God is working to conform believers more and more to Christ (Hebrews 10:14). However, believers may thwart this work and even in the godliest of saints this work will not be perfectly or fully accomplished prior to death or the rapture when all believers will become sinless (1 John 3:1-3).
13. The Christian Walk
We believe that the ultimate goal of the Holy Spirit's work in the believer's life is to produce spiritual maturity reflected in consistent Christlike behavior and attitudes (Galatians 5:22-25; Colossians 1:24-29). Therefore, obedience to the Word of God, while not necessary for obtaining eternal salvation, is the essential responsibility of each Christian (Romans 6:12-23; 1 Corinthians 2:14-3:4; Hebrews 5:13,14). However, the Bible does not teach that this obedience will be manifested uniformly in all believers. If a believer does not yield to the ministry of the Holy Spirit in his experience, failure will result, evidenced by sinful acts or even prolonged disobedience (1 Corinthians 10:1-13; Galatians 5:16-21).
Confession of sins is an essential aspect of ongoing fellowship with God (1 John 1:9). Whenever a believer is made aware of some sin in his life, he should be open and honest with God and confess it. As long as a believer remains open and honest with God, he continues to walk in fellowship. If a believer chooses not to do this, he will incur the loving discipline of God (Hebrews 12:6), and loss of rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ (1 Corinthians 3).
Our motivation to walk in fellowship with the Lord is partially out of our gratitude for what He has done for us at the cross, and partially out of our anticipation of the rewards we will receive at the Judgment Seat of Christ, In order to bring glory to Him for all eternity.
14. The Church
We believe that the Church, that is, the body and future bride of Christ, is a spiritual entity made up of all believers of this present age. The Church was born on the day of Pentecost. It does not replace Israel, and the promises to Abraham and David are not fulfilled in the Church age. Since Pentecost all who believe in Christ are members of the Universal Church.
The Universal Church is visibly functional through groups called local churches which meet regularly in identifiable locations. These should be governed by their own leadership (1 Corinthians 1:1-2; Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 5:17; Hebrews 13:17), and the congregation is responsible to submit to its leadership (Hebrews 13:17).
The Word of God commands believers to gather together in local congregations, to devote themselves to worship, prayer, the teaching of the Bible, observance of the ordinances of water baptism and the Lord's Supper, the edification of the body, and an active witness to the unsaved world. A local expression of the church is found wherever Christians meet regularly in obedience to these commands (Acts 2:42).
The Lord gave the church two ordinances to be practiced until He returned. The Lord's Supper is to be conducted regularly by believers in remembrance of Christ's death on our behalf. The other was Believer's baptism. We are to urge those whom we lead to faith in Christ to publicly profess their faith in Christ by being baptized (Matthew 28:19, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
Church discipline should be a vital part of church life. Steps of church discipline may include confrontation by one person, by several of the church leaders, by all of the church leaders, and, finally, if the person refuses all efforts to bring him to repentance, exclusion of the individual from the Lord's Table until he does repent (Matthew 18:15-17, Galatians 6:1).
15. Evangelism and Discipleship
We believe that the Lord Jesus sent His apostles out to make disciples of all the nations (commonly called the Great Commission). This was to include evangelizing the unsaved with the message of the Gospel of God's free grace, and then baptizing and teaching those who came to faith in Christ. The Lord wishes all believers to become disciples and carry on this work until He returns (Matthew 28:18-20).
16. Future Events
We believe that the next great event in the fulfillment of prophecy is the coming of the Lord Jesus in the air to receive to Himself both the dead in Christ and believers who remain alive (1 Thessalonians 4:13–5:11). The rapture will take place before the seven-year period called the Tribulation (Daniel 9:27; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 5:9). * NOTE: I personally believe the return of Jesus will be at the end of the Tribulation period at the Last Trump, and just moments before His physical return on the Mount of Olives, in Jerusalem.
The Tribulation will be climaxed by the second coming of Christ. After His return He will set up a kingdom headquartered in Jerusalem from where He will reign for one thousand years (Psalm 2; Revelation 20).
Believers will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ before the Millennium begins in order to be rewarded according to what they done during their lives to bring glory to Christ (1 Corinthians 3; 2 Corinthians 5; Romans 14). Unbelievers will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment after the Millennium has ended to determine the severity of their punishment in the lake of fire (Revelation 20).
17. The Eternal State
We believe that at physical death the believer enters immediately into eternal, conscious fellowship with the Lord and the unbeliever into eternal separation from Him. The bodies of all the dead shall be raised: those of believers to a resurrection of glory; those of unbelievers to a resurrection of eternal condemnation. All of the lost will experience conscious punishment in the lake of fire, forever (Luke 16:19-31; Philippians 1:23; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10; 2 Peter 3:8-13; Revelation 20:1-15; 21:1-22).
Believers will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ before the Millennium begins in order to be rewarded according to what they done during their lives to bring glory to Christ (1 Corinthians 3; 2 Corinthians 5; Romans 14). Unbelievers will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment after the Millennium has ended to determine the severity of their punishment in the lake of fire (Revelation 20).
17. The Eternal State
We believe that at physical death the believer enters immediately into eternal, conscious fellowship with the Lord and the unbeliever into eternal separation from Him. The bodies of all the dead shall be raised: those of believers to a resurrection of glory; those of unbelievers to a resurrection of eternal condemnation. All of the lost will experience conscious punishment in the lake of fire, forever (Luke 16:19-31; Philippians 1:23; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10; 2 Peter 3:8-13; Revelation 20:1-15; 21:1-22).
Reference = www.freegracealliance.com/covenant.htm
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