Grace Harbor Church
Statement of Faith & Doctrinal Disctinctives

The Scriptures

The Scriptures are God’s inerrant revelation of Himself to us. They are complete in the Old and New Testaments, written by divinely inspired men as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. Those men wrote not in words of human wisdom, but in word taught by the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures provides the standard for the believer’s faith and practice, reveal the principles by which God will judge all, and express the true basis for Christian fellowship.

(2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21; 1 Corinthians 2:13; Hebrews 4:12; John 12:48; Galatians 1:8- 9; 2 John 1:9-11).

God

We believe that the one true God exists eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and that these, being one God, are equal in deity, power, and glory. We believe that God not only created the world but also now upholds, sustains, governs, and providentially directs all that exists and that he will bring all things to their proper consummation in Christ Jesus to the glory of his name. We believe that God has exhaustive foreknowledge of all future events, including the free choices of all moral agents, both angelic and human, that he hears and answers prayer, and that he saves from sin and death all who come to him through Jesus Christ.

(Isaiah 40:1-48:22; Psalm 104:1-35; Psalm 139:1-24; Matthew 10:29-31; Matthew 28:19; Acts 17:24-28; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 1:9-12; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 1:1-3; Revelation 1:4-6)

Jesus Christ

We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, that he was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, lived a sinless life, and offered himself as a substitutionary sacrifice for sinners. By the blood of his cross he satisfied the wrath of God, obtained for us eternal redemption, the forgiveness of sins, spiritual adoption as sons and daughters, life everlasting, and defeated the powers of darkness. He was raised bodily on the third day and ascended to the right hand of the Father, there to make intercession for the saints.

(Isaiah 53:1-12; Matthew 1:18-25; John 1:1-18; Romans 8:34; 1 Corinthians 15:1- 28; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:10-14; Ephesians 1:7; Philippians 2:6)

Holy Spirit

We believe that the Holy Spirit is fully God, equal with the Father and Son. The primary ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit also convicts unbelievers of their need for Christ and imparts spiritual life through regeneration (the new birth). The Spirit indwells, sanctifies, leads, illumines, and graciously empowers for godly living and service all who come to faith in Christ. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ baptizes believers in the Holy Spirit, in whom also we are sealed for the day of redemption. Subsequent to conversion the Spirit desires to fill, empower, and anoint believers for ministry and witness.

(Matthew 3:11; John 1:12-13; John3:1-15; John15:26-27; John16:7-15; Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13; 2 Corinthians 1:21-22; Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 5:18)

The Gospel

We believe that the gospel is the good news of what God has accomplished for sinners through the life, death, and resurrection of his Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. The gospel is centered in Christ and is not proclaimed if his death and resurrection are not the focus of our message. The church is responsible for the declaration of this good news and the defense of it against all who would seek to distort or re-define its core truths. The gospel is the foundation for the life of the Church and our only hope for eternal life. The Gospel is not only the means by which people are saved, but also the means by which people are sanctified. The truth of the Gospel enables us to genuinely and joyfully do that which is pleasing to God and to grow in progressive conformity to the image of Christ.

(Mark 1:1; Luke 24:46-47; John 3:16-18; Romans 1:16-17; 1 Corinthians 1:18-25; 2:2; 15:1-4; 2 Corinthians 4:1-6; 9:13; Galatians 1:6-9; 2 Timothy 1:8-14; Jude 3-4).

Creation

God created the whole world from nothing. God’s creative work is the overflow of the love present within the Trinitarian fellowship. Creation, according to the design of God, was good and for His pleasure. God doesn’t let the world exist, He makes the world exist. He upholds the universe by the word of His power, and He holds the world together in himself.

(Genesis 1:1-2; Psalm 24:1; Genesis 1:3-31; Revelation 4:11; Col. 1:17).

Humanity

God made humanity—male and female—in His own image. Set apart as His image bearers, every human being is sacred. All men and all women, bearing the image of God, are meant to represent God in His creation. God declares the created order to be very good, distinguishing men and women as His agents to care for, manage and govern over it. They enjoy equal access to God by faith in Christ Jesus and are both called to move beyond passive self-indulgence to significant private and public engagement in family, church and civic life. Adam and Eve were made to complement each other in a one-flesh union in the covenant of marriage that establishes the only God-ordained pattern of sexual relations for men and women. In God’s wise purposes, men and women are not simply interchangeable, but rather they complement each other in mutually enriching ways.

(Gen. 1:27-30; 1 Cor. 10:31)

Satan

We believe that Satan, originally an angel of God, rebelled against God, taking a multitude of angels with him. He was cast out of God’s presence and is at work with his demonic hosts to establish his counter-kingdom of darkness and evil on the earth. Satan was judged and defeated at the cross of Christ and will, at the end of the age, be cast forever into the lake of fire which has been prepared for him and his angels.

(Matthew 12:25-29; 25:41; John 12:31; John 16:11; Ephesians 6:10-20; Colossians 2:15; 2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6; Revelation 12:7-9; Revelation 20:10)

Sin

Although man was created in the image of God, he fell through sin and that image was marred. In his unregenerate state, he is void of spiritual life and lacks any power to save himself. Sin places us under condemnation and affects every aspect of one’s life: mind, will, body, and affection. The sin nature has been transmitted to every member of the human race, the man Jesus Christ alone being the exception. Because of the sin nature, man possesses no divine life and is essentially and unchangeably depraved apart from divine grace.

(Genesis 1:26;Genesis 2:17;Romans 5:12;James 3:9;Ephesians 2:1-3;John 1:13;Romans 3:23; 1 Peter 2:22; Romans 3:10-19; Jeremiah 17:9)

Salvation

Salvation is the gracious work of God through which He delivers undeserving sinners from sin and its results. In justification He declares righteous all who put faith in Christ as Savior, giving them: freedom from condemnation, peace with God, and full assurance of future glorification.

We believe the Scriptures teach that regeneration, or the new birth, is that act of God by which the Holy Spirit imparts a new nature and a new spiritual life, not before possessed, and the person becomes a new creation in Christ Jesus . The mind is given a holy disposition and a new desire to serve God, the dominion of sin is broken, and the heart is transformed from a love of sin and self to a love of holiness and God. Upon salvation, believers are forever secure in Jesus Christ and can do nothing to remove themselves from the love and mercy of Christ.

We believe that anyone who responds to the Gospel in faith will be saved.

We believe that the sovereignty of God extends into salvation. God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world and will, through the work of the Holy Spirit, draw sinners to Himself. We are therefore justified by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Apart from His grace, we can do nothing to revive the dead heart within us. Every aspect of salvation from conviction to repentance to faith, is a gift from God. No ordinance, ritual, work, or any other activity on the part of man is required in order to be saved. This saving grace of God, through the power of the Holy Spirit, also sanctifies us by enabling us to do what is pleasing in God’s sight in order that we might be progressively conformed to the image of Christ.

(Matthew 1:21; John 1:12-13; John 6:37-44; John 10:25-30; Acts 13:48; 16:30-31; Romans 3:1- 4:25; Romans 8:1-17, 31-39; Romans 9:1-23; Romans 10:8-10; Romans 10:13; Galatians 2:20; Ephesians 1:4-5; Ephesians 2:8-10)

The Church

God, by His Word and Spirit, creates the Church, calling sinful humanity into the fellowship of Christ’s body. By the same Word and Spirit, He guides and preserves that newly redeemed humanity. The Church is made up of those who have become genuine followers of Jesus Christ and have personally appropriated the gospel. The Church exists to worship and glorify God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The ministry of the Church is an extension of the ministry of Jesus in the power of the Spirit.

The ultimate mission of the Church is to bring glory to God by making disciples. The Church is called to make disciples through worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, observance of the ordinances, fellowship, the exercise of our gifts and talents, and the proclamation of the gospel both in our community and throughout the world.

(1 Corinthians 12:12-31; Matt. 28:18-20)

Baptism and Lord’s Supper

We believe there are two ordinances of the Church: baptism and Lord’s Supper. They are not a means of salvation but are sacramental channels of God’s sanctifying grace and blessing to the faithful in Christ Jesus. Water baptism by immersion is done in obedience to Christ’s command and as a testimony to God, the Church, oneself and the world. Believers are baptized by water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Water baptism is a visual and symbolic demonstration of a person’s union with Christ in the likeness of His death and resurrection. It signifies that a former way of life has been put to death and vividly depicts the release from the mastery of Satan, sin and death.

The Lord’s Supper symbolizes the breaking of Christ’s body and the shedding of His blood on our behalf and is to be observed repeatedly throughout the Christian life as a sign of continued participation in the atoning benefits of Christ’s death. As we come to the table with an attitude of faith and self-examination, we remember and proclaim the death of Christ, receive spiritual nourishment for our souls and signify our unity with other members of Christ’s body.

(Matthew 26:26-29; Matthew 28:19; Romans 6:3-11; 1 Corinthians 11:23-34; 1 Peter 3:21)

Man and Woman

We believe that both men and women are together created in the divine image and are therefore equal before God as persons, possessing the same moral dignity and value, and have equal access to God through faith in Christ. We also believe that men and women are together the recipients of spiritual gifts designed to equip and empower them for ministry in the local church and beyond. We also believe that God has ordained the principle of male headship in both the home and in the local church and that certain governing and teaching roles are restricted to men(primarily the office of Elder/Pastor).

(Genesis 1:26-27; Genesis2:18; 1 Corinthians 11:2-16;Galatians 3:28; Ephesians 5:22-33; Colossians 3:18-19; 1 Timothy 2:11-15; 1 Timothy 3:1-7; 1 Peter 3:1-7).

Marriage

We believe that God’s original creative design, as set forth in Scripture, is for complete fidelity (physically, emotionally, and spiritually) within heterosexual and monogamous marriage. Regardless of one’s marital status, we believe the Christian should pursue purity and abstain from sexually immoral practices such as adultery, premarital sex, and pornography.

(Matthew 19:4-6; Romans 1:18-32, Romans 13:13-14; 1 Corinthians 6:9-20, 10:8; Ephesians 5:3- 14; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; 1 Timothy 1:8-10; Hebrews 13:4).

Life and Humanity

We believe that God has created all of humanity in his image as male and female, and that they are, therefore, of equal moral and spiritual value and must be treated with the utmost dignity and respect. We believe that life begins at the moment of conception in the womb and that the willful termination of a pregnancy for any reason other than an unavoidable threat to the life of the mother is prohibited by Scripture. We should remember that the sin of abortion is not unique, but, as is the case with all sin, can be forgiven because of Christ’s saving work on the cross.

We also believe that all ethnicities/races of mankind equally bear the image of God and should be treated with the same dignity and love, regardless of national identity, language, skin pigmentation, or gender. Any expression of systemic racism, racial supremacy, or hatred of a person of a different ethnicity is forbidden by Scripture. Abortion and racism, therefore, are denials of the creative design of God and must be regarded as heretical deviations from the truth of Scripture regarding the nature and value of all human life.

(Genesis 1:27-28; Psalm 139; Acts 17:22-31; Galatians 3:25-29; Ephesians 2:11-22; James 2:1; Revelation 5)

Death

We believe that when Christians die they pass immediately into the presence of Christ, there to enjoy conscious fellowship with the Savior until the day of the resurrection and glorious transformation of the body. The saved will then forever dwell in perfect fellowship with their great Triune God. We also believe that when unbelievers die they are consigned to hell, there to await the day of judgment when they shall be punished with eternal separation from the presence of God.

(Matthew 25:46; Luke 16:19-31; John 5:25-29; 1 Corinthians 15:35-58; 2 Corinthians 5:1-10; Philippians 1:19-26; Philippians3:20-21; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10; Revelation 20:11-15; Revelation 21:1-22:15).

Resurrection and Last Things

The consummation of all things includes the future, physical, visible, personal and glorious return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the dead and the glorification of those alive in Christ, the judgment of the just and the unjust, and the fulfillment of Christ’s kingdom in the new heavens and the new earth. In the consummation, Satan, with his hosts and all those outside Christ, is finally separated from the benevolent presence of God, enduring eternal punishment, but the righteous, in glorious bodies, will live and reign with Him forever, serving Him and giving Him unending praise and glory. Then the eager expectation of creation will be fulfilled, and the whole earth shall proclaim the glory of God, who makes all things new.

(Rev. 20:7-15; Rev. 21:1-5)