Grace Bible Church: How important Is a Name (cont.)?

Continued:
In the previous post, I wrote about the importance of our name: Grace Bible Church. In that, I covered "What we believe about Grace." The next two words, Bible and Church, are discussed below.
What We Believe About the Bible:
Princeton theologian B.B. Warfield famously said, “When the Bible speaks, God speaks.” Scripture is God’s revelation of Himself to the world. We believe all Scripture is God-breathed, and therefore, infallible (not misleading, but sure, safe, and reliable), inerrant (free from falsehood or mistakes in all its parts), and authoritative (all other things are subordinate). As such, it is the only rule of faith by which the church and man’s conscience must be bound. Scripture has supremacy over all councils and traditions, and all other truth claims must be weighed against it. Scriptures are to be believed, as God’s divine council; obeyed, as God’s commands; embraced, as God’s guarantee in all that it promises. The central theme of Scripture is Jesus Christ, the Lord, Redeemer, Creator, and Judge. And if we have seen Jesus Christ, then we have seen the Father.  
What We Believe About the Church:
Jesus promised to build His church and that not even the gates of Hades could stand against it (Matt. 16.18). The church is not on the defensive but on the offensive, and its greatest foe stands no chance against its advancement.
The Scriptures refer to the church not just as a people but also to their activity of gathering as the people of God. Additionally, the term is rarely, if ever, used to denote an ecumenical church. Instead, it typically refers to specific local churches with Christ as their head (Col 1.18), carrying heavenly and spiritual significance (Eph. 1.22, 3.10, 21; Col. 1:18).  The term church occurs 114 times in the NT and predominantly refers to individual local assemblies around a confession of faith in allegiance to Christ. Nevertheless, there is only one universal church of Jesus Christ that extends throughout all time and place. Under the lordship of Christ, the universal church is a theological reality that is manifested in each local assembly.
The true church, by necessity, consists of regenerate individuals who make up local church membership (Heb 10.19-25). Many might profess faith in Jesus, but that does not mean they possess it (Matt. 7.21-23). The church practices two ordinances as physical expressions of its faith: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism identifies a person’s faith in Jesus Christ and serves as an initiation into the church (Acts 10.47-48; Rom. 6.3-4). The Lord’s Supper is a physical testimony believers participate in to remember Christ’s death for them, their current union with Him, His presence among them, and His future return (1 Cor. 11.23-29).  
The church has two offices: Pastors (called “overseers,” “bishops,” or “elders”) and Deacons (1 Tim. 3:1–13). God gifts these men to lead the congregation by teaching the Word, setting a godly example, and shepherding the flock (Heb. 13:7). However, the ultimate decision-making authority of the church is entrusted to the congregation under the lordship of Christ.  
The church is the result of our Triune God’s desire to have a people of His own, reconciled to Himself through His Son, by the power of the Spirit. It is what Jesus purchased with His blood, promised to build, and will one day return for. If it is what Jesus invested in, then so should we.  

No Comments