What we believe  

River of Grace Church is affiliated with the Baptist Missionary Association of America.  We subscribed to their doctrinal statement:

I. God 

There is one living and true God, the creator of the universe (Exodus 15:11; Isaiah 45:11; Jeremiah 27:5). He is revealed in the unity of the Godhead as God the Father, God The Son, and God the Holy Spirit, who are equal in every divine perfection (Exodus 15:11; Matthew 28:29; II Corinthians 13:14).

A. God the Father is the supreme ruler of the universe. He providentially directs the affairs of history according to the purposes of His grace (Genesis 1; Psalms 19:1; 104; Hebrews 1:1-3).

B. God the Son is the Savior of the world. Born of the virgin Mary (Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:26-35), He declared His deity among men (John 1:14, 18; Matthew 9:6), died on the cross as the only sacrifice for sin (Philippians 2:6-11), arose bodily from the grave (Luke 24:6, 7, 24-26; I Corinthians 15:3-6), and ascended back to the Father (Acts 1:9-11; Mark 16:19). He is at the right hand of the Father, interceding for believers (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 7:25) until He returns to rapture them from the world (Acts 1:11; Thessalonians 4:16-18).

C. God the Holy Spirit is the manifest presence of deity. He convicts of sin (John 16:8-11), teaches spiritual truths according the written Word (John 16:12-15), permanently indwells believers (Acts 5:32; John 14:16, 17, 20, 23), and confers on every believer at conversion the ability to render effective spiritual service (I Peter 4:10, 11).

II. The Scriptures  

A. The Scriptures are God’s inerrant revelation, complete in the Old and New Testaments, written by divinely inspired men as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (II Timothy 3:16; II Peter 1:21). Those men wrote not in the words of human wisdom bit in the words taught by the Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 2:13).

B. The Scriptures provide the standard for believer’s faith and practice (II Timothy 3:16, 17), reveal the principles by which God will judge all (Hebrews 4:12; John 12:48), and express the true basis of Christian fellowship (Galatians 1:8, 9; II John 9-11).

III. Creation  

A. The World - God created all things for His own pleasure and glory, as revealed in the biblical account of creation (Genesis 1; Revelation 4:11; John 1:2, 3 Colossians 1:16).

B. The Angels – God created an innumerable host of spirit beings called angels. Holy angels worship God and execute His will; while fallen angels server Satan, seeking to hinder God’s purposes (Colossians 1:16; Luke 20:35, 36; Matthew 22:29, 30; Psalms 103:20; Jude 6).

C. Man – God created man in His own image. As the crowning work of creation, every person is of dignity and worth and merits the respect of all other persons (Psalms 8; Genesis 1:27; 2-7; Matthew 10:28-31).

IV. Satan  

Satan is a person rather than a personification of evil (John 8:44), and he, with his demons oppose all that is true and godly by blinding the world to the gospel (II Corinthians 4:3, 4), tempting saints to do evil (Ephesians 6:11; I Peter 5:8), and warring against the Son of God (Genesis 3:15; Revelation 20:1-10).

V. Depravity  

Although man was created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26; 2:17), he fell through sin and that image was marred (Romans 5:12; James 3:9). In his unregenerate state, he is void of spiritual life, is under the influence of the devil (Satan), and lacks any power to save himself (Ephesians 2:1-3; John 1:13). The sin nature has been transmitted to every member of the human race, the man Jesus Christ alone being excepted (Romans 3:23; I Peter 2:22). Because of the sin nature, man possesses no divine life and is essentially and unchangeably depraved apart from divine grace (Romans 3:10-19; Jeremiah 17:9).

VI. Salvation  

A. The Meaning of Salvation – Salvation is the gracious work of God whereby He delivers undeserving sinners from sin and its results (Matthew 1:21; Ephesians 2:8, 9). In justification He declares righteous all who have put faith in Christ as Savior (Romans 3:20-22), giving them freedom from condemnation, peace with God, and full assurance of future glorification (Romans 3:24-26).

B. The Way of Salvation – Salvation is based wholly on the grace of God apart from works (Titus3:5; Ephesians 2:9). Anyone who will exercise repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ will be saved (Acts 16:30-32; Luke 24:47; Romans 10:17).

C. The Provision of Salvation – Christ died for the sins of the whole world (John 1:29; 3:16; I John 2:1, 2). Through His blood, atonement is made without respect of persons (I Timothy 2:4-6). All sinners can be saved by this gracious provision (Hebrews 2:9; John 3:18).

VII. Divine Sovereignty and Human Freedom  

God’s sovereignty and man’s freedom are two inseparable factors in the salvation experience (Ephesians 2:4-6). The two Bible truths are in no way contradictory, bat are amazingly complementary in the great salvation so freely provided. God, in His sovereignty purposed, planned, and executed salvation in eternity while man’s freedom enables him to make a personal choice in time, either to receive this salvation and be save, or reject it it and be damned (Ephesians 1:9-14; John 1:12, 13).

VIII. Sanctification  

All believers are set apart unto God (Hebrews 10:12-14) at the time of their regeneration (I Corinthians 6:11). They should grow in grace (II Peter 1:5-8) by allowing the Holy Spirit to apply God’s Word to their lives (I Peter 2:2), conforming them to the principles of divine righteousness (Romans 12:1, 2; I Thessalonians 4:3-7) and making them partakers of the holiness of God (II Corinthians 7:1; I Peter 1:15, 16).

IX. Security  

All believers are eternally secure in Jesus Christ (John 10:24-30; Romans 8:35-39). They are born again (John 3:3-5; I John 5:1; I Peter 1:23), made new creatures in Christ (II Corinthians 5:17; II Peter 1:4), and indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:28; I Corinthians 10:13), and they are kept by the power of God (Philippians 1:6; 2:12, 13; I Peter 1:3-5; Hebrews 13:5).

X. Church  

A. The Nature of the Church – A New Testament Church is a local congregation (Acts 16:5; I Corinthians 4:17) of baptized believers in Jesus Christ (Acts 2:41) who are united by covenant in belief of what God has revealed and in obedience to what He has commanded (Acts 2:41, 42).

B. The Autonomy of the Church – She acknowledges Jesus as her only Head (Ephesians 5:23; Colossians1:18) and the Holy Bible as her only rule of faith and practice (Isaiah 8:20; II Timothy 3:16, 17), governing herself by democratic principles (Acts 6:1-6; I Corinthians 5:1-5) under the oversight of her pastor(s) (Acts 20:28; Hebrews 13:7, 17, 24).

C. The Perpetuity of the Church - Instituted by Jesus during His personal ministry on earth (Matthew 1618; Mark 3:13-19; John 1:35-51), true churches have continued to the present and will continue until Jesus Christ returns (Matthew 16:18; 28:20).

D. The Ordinances of the Church – Her two main ordinances are baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is the immersion in water of a believer as a confession of his faith in Jesus Christ (Matthew 28:19; Romans 6:4) and prerequisite to church membership and participation in the Lord’s Supper (Acts 2:41, 42). The Lord’s Supper is the sacred sharing of the bread of communion and the cup of blessing by the assembled church (Acts 20:7) as a memorial to the crucified body of Jesus Christ (Luke 22:19,20; Corinthians 11:23-26). Both ordinances must be administered by the authority of a New Testament church. (Matthew 28:18-20; I Corinthians 11:23-26).

E. The Officers of the Church – Pastors and deacons are the permanent officers divinely ordained in a New Testament church (Philippians 1:1). The church may select men of her choice to fill those offices under the leading of the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:1-6;20:17,18) according to the divinely given qualifications (I Timothy3:1-13). Pastors (elders bishops) are authorized to oversee and teach the churches under the lordship of Jesus Christ (Acts 20:28; Hebrews 13:7, 17, 24; I Peter 5:1-4). Each church is responsible to follow them as they follow Christ (I Corinthians 11:1; I Thessalonians 1:6; Hebrews 13:17) and to provide a livelihood for them that they might fulfill their ministries (I Timothy 5:17, 18; Philippians 4:15-18). Pastors are equal in the service of God (Matthew 23:8-12). Deacons (ministers, servants) are servants to the churches and assistants to the pastors, particularly in benevolent ministries. Each church may select her own deacons according to her needs, and no church is bound by the act of another church in that selection (Acts 6:1-6).

F. The Ministry of the Church – Her mission is evangelizing sinners by preaching the gospel (Matthew 28:19; Luke 24:45-47), baptizing those who believe (Acts 2:41; 8:12, 35-38), and by maturing them by instruction (Matthew 28:20; Acts 2:42) and discipline (Matthew 18:17, 18; I Corinthians 5:1-5).

G. The Fellowship of the Church – She is free to associate with true churches in furthering the faith (II Corinthians 11:8; Philippians 4:10, 15, 16) but is responsible to keep herself from those who hold doctrines or practices contrary to the Holy Scripture (Galatians 1:8, 9; I John 2:19). In association with other churches, each church is equal and the sole judge of the measure and method of her cooperation (Matthew 20:25-28). In all matters of polity and practice, the will of each church is final (Matthew 18:18).

XI. Civil Authority  

Human government was instituted by God to protect the innocent and punish the guilty. It is separate from the church, though both church and state exercise complementary ministries for the benefit of society (Matthew 22:21).

Christians should submit to the authority of the government under which they live, obeying all laws which do not contradict the laws of God, respecting officers of government, paying taxes, rendering military service, and praying for the welfare of the nation and its leaders (Romans 13:1-7; I Peter 2:13, 17; I Timothy 2:1, 2). They should vote, hold office, and exercise influence to direct the nation after the principles of Holy Scripture.

Civil authority is not to interfere in matters of conscience or disturb the institutions of religion (Acts 4:18-20), but it should preserve for every citizen the free exercise of his religious convictions.

Churches should receive no subsidy from the government, but they should be exempt from taxation on property and money used for the common good through worship, education, or benevolence.

XII. Last Things  

A. Return – Our risen Lord will return personally in bodily form to receive His redeemed unto Himself. His return is imminent (I Thessalonians 4:13-17; Revelation 22:20).

B. Resurrections – After Jesus returns, all of the dead will be raised bodily, each in his own order: the righteous dead in “the resurrection of life” and the wicked dead in “the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:24-29; I Corinthians 15:20-28).

C. Judgments - Prior to the eternal state, God will judge everyone to confer rewards or to consign punishment (Matthew 25:31-46; II Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 20:11-15).

D. Eternal States – Heaven is the eternal home of the redeemed (John 14:1-3) who, in their glorified bodies (I Corinthians 15:51-58), will live in the presence of God forever (I Thessalonians 4:17) in ultimate blessing (Revelation 21,22). Hell is the place of eternal punishment and suffering (Luke 16:19-31) for the devil (Satan) his angels (Matthew 25:41), and the unredeemed (Revelation 20:10-15).

ADDEMDUM  

Note: The following statements are not to be binding upon the churches already affiliated with this association, Baptist Missionary Association of America

(BMAA), or to require adoption by churches petitioning this body (BMAA) for privilege of cooperation, or to be a teat of fellowship between brethren or churches. However, they do express the preponderance of opinion among the churches affiliated with the Baptist Missionary Association of America.

1. We believe in the premillennial return of Christ to the earth, after which He shall reign in peace upon the earth for a thousand years (Revelation 20:4-6).

2. We believe the Scriptures to teach two resurrections: the first of the righteous at Christ’s coming; the second of the wicked at the close of the thousand-year reign (I Thessalonians 4:13-17; Revelation 20:6, 12-15).

We endorse the New Hampshire Confession of Faith as a representative compendium of what Baptists have historically believed through the centuries. This confession was consulted and provided a pattern and guide for the formulation of these doctrinal statements. As there are several versions and editions, we refer particularly to the edition in J. E. Cobb’s Baptist Church Manual, third edition, published by the Baptist Publishing House of Texarkana, Arkansas.