Grace Bible Church Exists...
To
magnify the glory of God through Jesus Christ in
all things
by
responding to His grace in worship
by
applying His grace in discipleship
and
by extending His grace in outreach
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To
Magnify the Glory of God through Jesus Christ in All Things
The Westminster Confession of Faith begins with the
question, “What is the chief end Of man?” to which it
responds, “Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God(1)
and to enjoy Him(2) forever.” These two
objectives encompass our purpose at Grace Bible Church both
individually and corporately. Everything we do as individual
Christians and as church should magnify the supremacy of God and
promote our continual enjoyment of
fellowship with Him. This is our overarching and
ultimate purpose statement(3).
The question we must answer as a local church is “How do we
glorify and enjoy God?” It is our conviction
that each local church must, by the grace of God, strive to
achieve and maintain both of these goals of glorifying and
enjoying God. How? By remaining committed to fulfilling specific
duties and privileges He has given to the Church in His word.
These duties and privileges have been expressed in different
ways in different churches. We at GBC have chosen to arrange
these biblical truths into three priorities.
Scriptural references (NKJV)
(1) “...whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor.
1O:31b)
(2) “You will guide me with Your
counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but You? And
there is none upon earth that I desire besides You.
My flesh and my heart fail, but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever... But it is good for me to draw near to
God;...” (Ps. 73:24-28a)
“...that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that
you also may have fellowship with us. And truly our fellowship
is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. And these
thing we write to you that your joy may be full.” (1
in. 1:3-4)
(3) “... to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to
all generations. Forever and ever, Amen.”
(Eph. 3:21)
“If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God, If
anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God
supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus
Christ, to whom belongs the glory and the dominion forever and
ever, Amen.” (1 Pet. 4:11)
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by
Responding
to His Grace in Worship
We glorify God and enjoy Him by acknowledging His glorious
worth through worship and praise(1). Worship involves both
adoration(2) and action(3). We consider worship a holy
privilege, which should embrace our whole person, being fueled
by a true and growing knowledge
of our living God(4).
GBC is a community of born again believers grateful to God
for His grace towards us in Jesus Christ. This grace of God and
all that His salvation encompasses(5) consumes us with a sense
of awe and overflowing gratitude. This means that we actively
praise Him and live in accountability before Him(6). In song
and instruction(7), through baptism(8) and the Lord’s Supper(9) we regularly assemble to acknowledge Him and receive and
respond to His grace.
Sundays (The Lord’s Day) is the corporate expression of our
passion and worship and delight in God. In all our activity as
individuals and as a church, we seek to represent Him for His
honor and praise and glory(10).
Scripture References (NKJV)
(1) “You are worthy, 0 Lord, to receive glory and
honor and power1 for you created
all things, and by Your will they
exist and were created.” (Rev. 4:11)
“Let them praise the name of the LORD, for His name alone is
exalted, His glory
is above the earth and heaven.” (Ps. 148:13)
(2) “Oh come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before
the LORD our Maker.” (Ps. 95:6)
(3) “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy,
acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service
(of worship).” (Rom. 12:1)
(4) “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true
worshipers will worship of the Father in spirit and truth, for
the Father is seeking such to worship Him, God is Spirit, and
those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.” (in.
4:23-24)
(5) “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the
forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which
He made to abound toward us in all wisdom...” (Eph. 1:7-8)
(6) “If you love Me, keep My
commandments.” (in. 14:15)
(7) “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom,
teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and
spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the
LORD.” (Col. 3:16)
(8) “Then those who gladly received his word were baptized,
and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.”
(Acts 2:41)
(9) “...and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said,
‘Take, eat, this is My body which
is broken for you, do this in remembrance of Me.’ In the same
manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup is
the new covenant in My blood. This do,
as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me’.” (1 Cor.
11:24-25)
(10) “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name
of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through
Him.” (Col.3:17)
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by
Applying
His Grace in Discipleship
We glorify God and enjoy Him by regularly meeting with
the purpose of building up the Saints(1). This discipleship
involves loving one another with a fervent love(2) that is
actively expressed(3) in a fellowship,
which promotes growth in Christian character, wisdom and holiness(4).
The tenor of a truly New Testament
fellowship is one of loving and gentle interactive accountability(5). In order to facilitate this interaction, we seek to create
an ongoing -changing variety of opportunities for smaller groups
to assemble. Often the most effective ministry occurs in these smaller and more intimate settings
where relationships develop among
people who know and care for each other. It is our express
design and purpose that these smaller cell groups flourish at
GBC providing a place where everyone belongs.
Discipleship also involves the building up of all the members at
GBC through the ministry of the Word of God(6). We are
committed to the authority and sufficiency of Scripture(7),
which establishes our worldview and frames the way we live our
lives. So we preach and teach the Bible in a variety of settings
with a humble dependence upon the power of the Spirit of God to
empower the Word of God to transform the lives of the people of
God(8). These individual believers are then in turn to do the
work of the ministry. We encourage every member to be directly
involved in the ministry of the local church. The role of our
elders/pastors (both staff and self supported) is to equip the
members for this privilege(9).
Scripture References (NK.JV)
(1) “Therefore comfort each other and edify one another,
just as you also are
doing.” (1 Thes. 5:11)
“Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and
the things by
which one may edify another.” (Rom. 14:19)
(2) “Since you have purified your souls
in obeying
the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren,
love one another fervently with a
pure heart.” (1 Pet. 1:22)
(3) “What does it profit, my brethren if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can
faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily
food, and one of you say to them,
‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give
them the things which are needed for the body, what does it
profit?” (James 2:14.16)
(4) “And let us consider
one another in order to stir up love and good works, not
forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner
of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you
see the Day approaching.” (Heb. 10:24-25)
(5) “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who
are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness,
considering yourself lest you also be tempted.” (Gal. 6:1)
(6) “So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of
His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an
inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32)
(7) “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be
complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim.
2:15-16) J
(8) “And my speech and my
preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonian
&the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in
the wisdom & men bit In the power
of God.” (1 Cor. 2:4-5)
(9) “And He Himself gave me to
be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors
and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of
the ministry, for the deifying of the body of Christ;” (Eph.
4:11-12)
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and
by Extending
His Grace in Outreach
We glorify God and enjoy Him by understanding that His
desire is to magnify His name throughout the earth by means of
the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are called to share God’s good
news with others, to take the gospel into all
the world(1). We desire to bring people of all nations
and tongues into the all satisfying relationship with the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This begins with the consistent
proclamation of the gospel in the power of the Holy Spirit. But
it is also a commitment to a whole process of “Making
disciples”(2). This process involves teaching them the full
counsel of God with a view towards the spiritual reproduction of
the next generation(3) and present impact in our
community and world(4).
We believe the church gathers together primarily, though not
exclusively, as an equipping center and hub for worship and
discipleship rather than an evangelistic center(5). We believe
the evangelization of the lost needs to be undertaken not as an
occasional “event” but a lifestyle(6). The gospel of Christ
should extend to our family, friends, neighbors, communities and
ultimately all peoples(7). This also includes engaging in ministries
to the physical, emotional and social
needs of people with a view to winning them to Christ
(8).
Scripture References (NKJV)
(1) “...and you shall be witnesses to
Me in Jerusalem, and in all
Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (Acts
1:8b)
“After these things I looked and
behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations,
tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and
before the Lamb, clothed with white
robes, with palm branches in their hands,” (Rev 7:9)
(2) “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have
commanded you, and 10, I am with you always, even to the end of
the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
(3) “And the things that you have heard from me among many
witnesses, commit these to faithful men who will be able to
teach others also.” (2 Tim 2:2)
(4) “Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all,
especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal.
6:10)
(5) “...that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world
to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has
committed to us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are
ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us.
We implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.” (2
Cor. 5:19-20)
(6) “...and from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures,
which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith
which is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Tim. 5:15)
(7) “Walk in wisdom toward the who
are outside, redeeming the time, Let your speech always be with grace,
seasoned with salt, that you may know how
you ought to answer each one. (Col. 4:5)
(8) “Therefore, as we have opportunity,
let us do good to all, especially to
those who are of the household of faith.” (Gal. 6:10)
03/16/03
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