Doctrinal Statement

"The purpose of Grace Bible Church is to worship and serve the true and living God"

...to proclaim the Word of God, to care for the saints, to administer the ordinances of the New Testament (i.e., Baptism and the Lord’s Supper), and to be active in the propagation of Christianity throughout the world (Matthew 28:18-20).

The following Doctrinal Statement communicates the guiding principles of our faith and governance.

The Word of God

We believe the Bible is the fully inspired Word of God, both the Old and New Testaments, without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and that it has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. John 17:17; Romans 15:4; II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:19-21

The Trinity

We believe there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. We believe they are equal in every divine perfection and they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence and redemption. Matthew 28:19; John 1:1-4; II Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 9:14; Genesis 1:26

God the Father

We believe in God the Father, an infinite personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; He hears and answers prayer; and He saves from sin and spiritual death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. John 3:16-17, 4:24, 17:5

Jesus Christ

We believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles and teachings. We believe in His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, the future return for His Church, and His personal visible return to earth as King of kings and Lord of lords. Isaiah 7:14; John 1:14; Philippians 2:5-11; Hebrews 1:2-3; I John 1:7; I Thessalonians 4:16-17; Revelation 19:11-16

The Holy Spirit

We believe in the Holy Spirit who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment; to regenerate, sanctify and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ and that He is an abiding helper, teacher and guide. John 14:25, 16:7-5; Romans 8:14-17; Ephesians 1:13-14

Salvation

We believe all men are sinners by nature and by choice and are therefore under condemnation. We believe those who repent of their sins and trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord are saved from the penalty of sin, born again unto eternal life by the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, and are brought into personal fellowship with God. We believe this salvation is a free gift from God, effected upon the ground of the shed blood of Jesus Christ alone, that it is given by grace and received by faith, and that apart from Jesus Christ salvation is impossible. We believe all true believers are eternally secure in their salvation and will therefore persevere in the faith. John 1:12-13; 3:3, 16-17; Acts 4:12, 20:21; Ephesians 2:1-9; Titus 3:5; Romans 8:31-39; John 6:39-40; Revelation 3:5

The Church

We believe in the universal church, a living spiritual body of which Christ is the Head and all regenerated persons are members. We believe in the local church, consisting of a company of believers in Jesus Christ who have been baptized by immersion subsequent to profession of their faith in Christ and who are associated for worship, work and fellowship. We believe God has laid upon the members of the local church the primary task of giving the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world. Matthew 16:16-19; Acts 2:38-41; Ephesians 2:19-22, 5:25-27; Matthew 28:18-20

Christian Conduct

We believe a Christian should live for the glory of God and the well-being of his fellow man; his conduct should be blameless before the world; he should be a faithful steward of his possessions; he should seek to realize for himself and others the full stature of maturity in Christ. Matthew 5:16; II Corinthians 9:6-8; Ephesians 4:11-16; Philippians 2:14-16; Colossians 3:17-23; I Thessalonians 5:17-18

The Ordinances

We believe the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church: baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit as a public profession of faith and identification with Christ. We believe the Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ for commemoration of His death. We believe these two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:41, 8:38-39; Romans 6:35-5; I Corinthians 11:23-32

Religious Liberty

We believe every human being has direct relations with God and is responsible to God alone in all matters of faith. We believe each church is independent and must be free from interference by an ecclesiastical or political authority; that, therefore, Church and State must be kept separate as having different functions, each fulfilling its duties free from dictation or patronage of the other. Matthew 22:21; Acts 4:19,29; Romans 13:7; I Peter 2:9

The Last Things

We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, the eternal blessedness of the saved, and the endless suffering of the lost. Matthew 25:31-46; John 5:28-29; II Corinthians 5:10; Revelation 20:1-15

Theological Perspective

The teaching and practice of Grace Bible Church of Hollister shall be consistent with our belief in: 1) the premillenial return of Christ, 2) the pretribulation rapture of the church and, 3) the “noncharismatic” understanding of the existence and practice of spiritual gifts.* Zechariah 14:1-21; Revelation 20:1-6; I Thessalonians 4:16-18; Revelation 3:10; I Corinthians 13:8-12; I Peter 4:10,11.

*We welcome believers into membership who do not agree with us on these three issues; however we ask them to respect the unity of the church by not teaching or advancing opposing views.