Grace Reformed Church

• The Bible, consisting of the sixty-six books the Old and New Testaments, is the infallible, inerrant, inspired word of God. It is our ultimate authority in all matters of faith and life, not the traditions of the church or the opinions of men.

• There is one God, eternal and self-existing, distinguished in three persons Coessential, Coeternal – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – who are to be equally loved, honored, and worshiped.

•  God created the heavens and the earth in six normal days which were chronological periods of light and darkness as recorded in the book of Genesis.

• All mankind participated in Adam's fall from his original sinless state in the Covenant of Works, and is thus lost in sin and totally depraved.

• The Sovereign God, for no other reason than His own unfathomable love and mercy in the Covenant of Grace, has chosen in Christ particular sinners from every nation to be redeemed by the atoning death and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.

• Those sinners whom the Spirit quickens are born again, come to believe in Christ as Savior by the word of God, become sons of God, and will persevere in true faith to the end.

• Justification is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, apart from any works of man. Through faith alone we receive Christ and His perfect righteousness imputed to us, and are thereby granted an eternal pardon and eternal life.

• Sanctification is distinct from, yet necessarily follows and arises out of justification.  It is manifested in the fruit of good works, which proceed, by God’s grace, from true faith, and are done according to God’s law and for His glory.

• God relates to His people in the Covenant of Grace, in which He promises that He will be our God, and we, as well as our children, are His special people. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the sole Mediator of the Covenant of Grace.

• God in Christ has appointed only two sacraments as visible, holy signs and seals of the promise of the gospel, Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

• Water Baptism is a sign and seal of God's Covenant of Grace, signifying cleansing from sin by the blood and Spirit of Christ, and is properly administered to children of believers in their infancy as well as to those who come as adults to trust in Christ.

• The Lord’s Supper commemorates Christ’s once-for-all atoning sacrifice, and is a sign and seal of our union and communion with Him in all His saving benefits. It is to be received only by those who personally confess faith in Christ, having come to an age of maturity after being instructed in biblical doctrine, and who are able to properly examine themselves according to the admonition of Scripture. (1 Cor. 10:27-32)   

• At death the Christian's soul passes immediately into the presence of God and the unbeliever's soul is eternally separated from God unto condemnation, awaiting the bodily resurrection on the last day, wherein body and soul will enter into eternal salvation in heaven for Christians, or eternal damnation in hell for unbelievers.

• Jesus Christ will return to earth, visibly and bodily, at a time when He is not expected, and the number of Elect is complete as to consummate history and the eternal plan of God.

• The gospel of God's salvation in Jesus Christ must be published to all the world as a witness before Jesus Christ returns.

Distinctives

There are many distinctives about Grace Reformed Church that arise from a careful application of the Word of God in the life of our church. We therefore:

Worship

• Seek to worship God in Spirit and in truth according to the Scriptures. We are called to worship God in an orderly manner, "with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire." (Heb. 12:28-29) Worship is to be carried out according to God's commandments and not according to the commandments of men. (Mark 7:7) We then worship weekly every Lord's Day, in accordance with the New Testament practice, and in which the reading and preaching of God's word are the central elements. The prayers, confession of sin and of faith, offerings, and songs of the congregation are necessary responses to God's word. We seek to sing psalms and hymns that are theologically rich and doctrinally sound, thoughtfully with our minds, and thankfully from our hearts.

Marks Of True Church

• Seek to uphold, by the grace of God, the marks of a true Church: the preaching of the pure teaching of the Gospel, the proper distribution of the sacraments, and the faithful exercise of Christian discipline.

Membership

• Believe all Christians are called upon to join in the membership and fellowship of a true Church. The local church consists of Christian believers and their children. The members of Grace Reformed Church hold to the classic formulations of Reformed theology which came out of the reformation period: the Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession of Faith, and Canons of Dort.

Polity

• Understand that the biblical model of church government requires that the church is to be nurtured and governed by the New Testament offices of Pastors, Elders and Deacons, consisting of men only, according to the biblical qualifications (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9).

Covenant Nurture

• Strive to pass down to our children "the faith once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). Through covenantal training by parents, as well as Sunday School and Catechism classes, our youth are prepared for public profession of faith, and equipped for a life of service to God.

Evangelism

• Endeavor to grow in our own understanding of the faith, as well as spread the gospel  and call the lost to Christ, as the Scriptures exhort. This we do in prayerful and confident expectation that God will be pleased to call many to faith in His dear Son through the ministry of Grace Reformed Church.

Counsel

• Labor to counsel, comfort, and edify believers by God's Word and Spirit so that our lives are conformed to the will of God, and out of thankfulness for our redemption serve Him in His kingdom until Christ returns.

Covenant Home

• Discuss marriage, family, children and other personal relationships within the church from the solid theological basis of the Biblical truth of covenant theology, as interpreted by the historic Reformed tradition