Statement of Faith

We believe the original documents of scripture are without error in all matters upon which they touch. This includes the fields of history and science as well as spiritual, religious, and redemptive themes. (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21; Matthew 5:18; John 10:35)

We believe that there is but one living and true God, Who is infinite in being and perfection, a pure spirit, invisible, immutable, immense, eternal, incomprehensible, almighty, wise, holy, free, absolute, working all things according to the counsel of His own immutable and righteous will, for His own glory. (John 4:24; Malachi 3:6; Psalm 90:2; Jeremiah 32:17; Ephesians 1:11)

We believe that God is loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, forgiving iniquity, transgression and sin.  We believe that God is the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him, just and terrible in His judgments, hating all sin, and Who will, by no means, clear the guilty. (Psalm 145:9, 16-17; Deuteronomy 4:31; 7:7-10; John 13:16; Ephesians 1:6-9; 7; Psalm 145:9, 16-17; Deuteronomy 4:31; 7:7-10; John 13:16; Ephesians 1:6-7; Exodus 34:6-7; 1 Samuel 2:2)

We believe in one God eternally existing in three equal persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (John 6:27; Hebrews 1:8; Acts 5:3-4; Deuteronomy 6:4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Matthew 28:19; 

Isaiah 48:16)

We believe that God became flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary and Who is true God and true man. (John 1:14; 11:33; 8:40; Matthew 1:18-25; 26:38; Hebrews 1:8; 2:14)

We believe in the bodily resurrection of Christ, in His Ascension into heaven, and in His present life there for us. Jesus now serves as high priest, intercessor, and advocate with the Father on our behalf. (Romans 1:4; John 20:25-27; 1 John 2:1; Hebrews 7:25; Acts 1:9-11). We believe in His personal, imminent return for His church, and His visible, premillennial second advent to this earth according to His promise. (Acts 1:11; Matthew 24-25; Revelations 19-20; Isaiah 9:6-7)

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person, possessing all the distinctively divine attributes and therefore He is God. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. He regenerates, seals, permanently indwells, and baptizes the believer into the body of Christ. He also fills those yielded to God. (1 Corinthians 2:10-11; Isaiah 40:13-14; Psalm 139:7; Titus 3:5; John 3:5-7; 7:37-39; 14:16-17; 16:8; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 1:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:13; 1 Corinthians 12:13; Romans 8:9; 26-27)

We believe the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a work of the Holy Spirit unique for the church age, by which He places each believer into the body of Christ at the moment of salvation. While the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a unique, one-time occurrence, the filling of the Holy Spirit is a repeated experience involving a believer's yieldedness to God. (1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 1:13; 4:4; 5:18-21; Colossians 2:9-10)

We believe that man was created in the image of God, and that he sinned and consequently experienced not only physical death but also spiritual death (which is separation from God). The consequences of this sin affect the entire human race. All human beings are born with a sinful nature, and apart from Jesus Christ are eternally lost. (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:17; Romans 5:12-19; Ephesians 2:1-3; 4:18; Mark 7:20-23; John 2:24-25)

We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning -- marriage sanctioned by God that joins one man and one woman in a single, exclusive, permanent union (with divorce and remarriage permitted, not commanded, in rare exceptions), as delineated in Scripture (Gen. 2:24; Eph. 5:21-33; Matt. 19:1-9; 1 Cor. 7:10-16). We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only in the context of a biblical marriage as defined above (Gen. 2:24-25; Heb. 13:4).

We believe that any form of sexual immorality, such as lust, fornication, adultery, homosexuality, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, pedophilia, rape, pornography, or any attempt to change one’s sex, or disagreement with one’s biological sex, is sinful and offensive to God, even if legalized by a government (Acts 5:29; Exo. 20:14; Lev. 18:22; 20:10-21; Deut. 5:18; 22:5, 13-30; Prov. 6:32; 

Matt. 5:27-28; 15:19-20; 19:16-18; Rom. 1:26-32;1 Cor. 6:9-10; Heb. 13:4). Temptation in these areas, as with any temptation, is not sin, but neither is temptation a legitimate basis for accepting sinful behavior as normative or for yielding one’s heart, mind, and behavior to sin (Matt. 4:1-11; 

Heb. 2:18; 4:15-16; 1 Cor. 10:13; Jam. 1:12-16; 4:7; 2 Pet. 2:4-10; Gal. 5:16-25).

We believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins as a substitutionary sacrifice and that all who believe in Him are declared righteous on the basis of His death and resurrection. 

(2 Corinthians 5:14; Mark 10:45; Romans 3:21-26; 5:8-9; 4:25; 1 Peter 3:18; Galatians 3)

We believe that whoever by faith receives Jesus Christ as his Saviour, by believing in Christ's death for his sins and His bodily resurrection, with the purpose of being saved by his belief, immediately becomes a child of God and is saved from the penalty of his sins. 

(John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47)

We believe that when a person is saved, all three persons of the Godhead do works in that person which are irreversible. Therefore, the believer can never be lost. This is not dependent on the believer's conduct, just as initial salvation was not dependent on the person's works. (Ephesians 2:8-9; 1 John 5:11-13; John 10:27-30)

We believe that all believers still possess a sin nature in this life, but that God has made full provision for believers to overcome this sinful nature and to live in obedience to God through identification with Christ (Romans 6:1-14), a knowledge of the Scriptures, the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the supportive relationships of the Body of Christ. We recognize that this is a process which will not be completed until we meet Jesus face to face. 

(Romans 5:12; 6:1-14; 8:11-17; Ephesians 2:1-10)

We believe that Christ should have control of every area of a believer's life. Every activity, thought and decision is of concern to God and His will, as revealed in Scripture, should be sought accordingly. (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 10:31; Romans 14:23; Philippians 1:21)

We believe that having personal fellowship with God on a regular and consistent basis is essential for Christian growth. Confession of personal sins and obedience to God's Word produces fellowship with God. (Psalm 1; 5:3; 119; 145:2; Colossians 3:16; 4:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; 

I John 1:5-2:2)

We believe that all who place their faith in Jesus Christ are immediately placed by the Holy Spirit into one united spiritual body, the church (1 Corinthians 12:12-13), the 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).

We believe that the formation of the church, the body of Christ, began on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-21; 38-47) and will be completed at the coming of Christ for His own at the rapture 

(1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).

We believe that the church is thus a unique spiritual organism designed by Christ, made up of all born-again believers in this present age (Ephesians 2:11-3:6). The church is distinct from Israel 

(1 Corinthians 10:32), a mystery not revealed until this age (Ephesians 3:1-6; 5:32).

We believe that the establishment and continuity of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures (Acts 14:23, 27; 20:17, 28; Galatians 1:2; Philippians 1:1; 

1 Thessalonians 1:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:1) and that the members of one scriptural body are directed to associate themselves together in local assemblies (1 Corinthians 11:18-20; 

Hebrews 10:25).

We believe that the one supreme authority for the church is Christ (1 Corinthians 11:3; 

Ephesians 1:22; Colossians 1:18) and that church leadership, gifts, order, discipline, and worship are all appointed through His sovereignty as found in the Scriptures. The biblically designated officers serving under Christ and over the assembly are elders and deacons, both of whom must meet biblical qualifications (1 Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9; 1 Peter 5:1-5).

We believe that Christians are to celebrate the Lord's Supper until He returns. This celebration reminds Christians of His body, the new covenant in His blood, and proclaims the Lord's death until He comes. (2 Corinthians 11:17-30; Luke 22:14-23)

We believe that corporate and individual worship are essential parts of every believer's relationship to God. Individual obedience to God in our everyday lives is worship, as well as our verbally describing God's worth in a public worship service. (Psalm 29:1-2; Exodus 34:14; 

John 4:23-24; Romans 12:1)

We believe that every believer is a priest to God (1 Peter 2:4-10; Rev. 1:6) and is responsible to offer up spiritual sacrifices (1 Peter 2:5). These include the sacrifice of the body (Romans 12:1), the sacrifice of praise (Hebrews 13:15), the sacrifice of good works (Hebrews 13:16; Ephesians 2:10; Galatians 6:10), and the sacrifice of sharing of material goods (Hebrews 13:16).

We believe that God fixes no specific amount on a believer's giving in the present age, but that giving should be sacrificial (2 Corinthians 8:2-3), generous (2 Corinthians 9:5-6), cheerful 

(2 Corinthians 9:7), proportional (1 Corinthians 16:1-2), and systematic 

(1 Corinthians 16:1-2). Believers should give to those who teach them (Galatians 6:6), and to those who have need (Ephesians 4:28), including those who cannot work (1 Timothy 5:13-16), and those who are asked not to work for the sake of the gospel (Acts 13:1-3; 1 Timothy 5:17-18). They are not to give to those who refuse to work (2 Thessalonians. 3:10).

We believe that at conversion, the Holy Spirit gives each new believer a spiritual gift which he did not possess prior to salvation. Each Christian should endeavor to discover, develop, and use his spiritual gift to serve and build up the Body. The Body functions most effectively when each member is properly exercising his gift. However, the fruit of the Spirit, not spiritual gifts, is the evidence of being filled by the Holy Spirit.

We believe in Christ's personal, imminent return for His church, and in His personal, bodily, visible, premillennial return in the glory of His Father to set up on earth a kingdom over which He shall reign in righteousness and peace. (John 14:1-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Acts. 1:11; Matthew 24:30; Rev. 20:4-6; Isaiah 9:6-7; 11:2-5).

We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men. Believers are resurrected to enjoy eternal life with God. Unbelievers are resurrected to experience judgement and then eternal suffering apart from God. (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; Revelation 20:4-6; 12-15; 21:1-8; 

John 5:28-29; Daniel 12:2)

 While all the members of Grace Church Aurora agree with this Statement of Faith, many passages exist in God's Word about which believers have differing interpretations. Often men and women, who are in Christ, sincerely, conscientiously, and sometimes passionately believe differently on various doctrinal subjects. Christians may hold different views and still be members of the same church and even members of the same leadership group. We, as individual believers at Grace, may state the case for our understanding of certain doctrines or Scriptural positions. We simply agree to disagree while granting grace and Christ-like love in the dialogue as to its meaning.However, we also believe and teach that whereas there may be several applications of any given passage of Scripture, only one true interpretation exists. This meaning is to be found as one diligently applies the normative, literal, grammatical, historical method of interpretation under the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. It is for this reason that every Christian is responsible and is encouraged to study the Bible as objectively and as thoroughly as possible, seeking to ascertain carefully its true authorially-intended meaning, recognizing that proper applications are to be obeyed by believers in every Age. Yet the truth of Scripture stands in judgment of men; never do men stand in judgment of it.This position and practice will assist in protecting the community of Grace Church Aurora from doctrinal error, from division, and from the error of relativism that is attacking and eroding the confidence of the unchurched and sometimes even of believers in the objective and absolute truth, God's revelation to man, and of one's ability to accurately understand it. (John 7:17; 16:12-15; I Cor. 2:7-15; I John 2:20)