Our distinctives

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We are Committed to the Bible 

We believe and confess the inerrancy, authority, and sufficiency of the Word of God contained in the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. The Bible does not merely contain the word of God, or become the word of God, it is the Word of God. 

But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word. Isaiah 66:2b

We are Evangelical

The evangel(the gospel) is the good news that the Eternal Son of God came to live among us, lived a righteousness life, died as a substitute for sinners, and rose triumphant over death bodily on the third day. From there, he ascended to the right hand of the Father in glory. This historical work of the Son of God is the very hinge of history. This good news that the Saviour has come is at the very heart of our identity. 

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…Romans 1:16

We are Reformational

Tracing our roots to the recovery of biblical truth during the Protestant Reformation, we identify with its chief principles expressed in the five Solas of the Reformation: Sola Fide (Faith Alone); Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone); Sola Gratia (Grace Alone); Solus Christus (Christ Alone); and Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone). 

We are Rooted in History

The church did not begin in the 16th Century. We confess the ancient faith, standing in a long line of Bible believing churches over the centuries. We value the ancient creeds, such as the Apostles’ Creed and the Creed of Nicaea. We recognize that God has preserved his church throughout history and rejoice that we will one day worship with people from every tribe, people, nation, and language from every era of Christian history, and with the Old Covenant saints who put their trust in God’s Promised Deliverer.  

We are a Baptist Church 

The key Baptist distinctive is that local churches are to be made up of born-again believers. Living out this conviction means that we baptize only disciples of Christ, practice church discipline, and recognize the separation of church and state. Our form of government is elder-led congregationalism. 

We are Complementarian

In the beginning, God created man in his own image…male and female he created them (Genesis 1:27). We celebrate biblical manhood and womanhood, secure in the truth that God made man and woman to be equal in value and worth, yet also for distinct and complementary roles in the home and the church.

 In line with these distinctives, Gospel Grace Church upholds the following convictions in its congregational life and practice:

Expository Preaching

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ (Romans 10:17). The public proclamation of God’s Word is central to Christian worship. As such, we are strongly committed to preaching which unpacks, unfolds, explains, and applies the meaning of the text of Scripture.

Prayer

Both corporate prayers in our meetings and our individual prayers as members express an utter dependence upon God. In prayer we confess God’s greatness and marvel at his grace; we confess our sins; we thank him for his many blessings and his providential care; we ask for his help and mercy, and we expect that he will give us all that we need for our good and for his glory. 

Biblical Accountability

We are one body in Christ. And just as the eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” (1 Corinthians 12:21), so too the “parts” of our body, our members, are connected to and dependent upon one another. We have the privilege and responsibility from God to watch over one another, to guard each other from stumbling, and to encourage, exhort, admonish, and correct one another. 

God-Centered Worship

We are created to make much of God, not to exalt ourselves. Nowhere is this more true than in the worship of the church. Our worship is centered around the expository preaching of the Word of God. Our music is designed to support and lift up congregational singing, rather than being a performance or to call attention to itself. Our songs are chosen to obey the command of the Apostle, so that we are “teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing songs and hymns and spiritual songs with thankfulness in our hearts to God.” (Colossians 3:16). 

Living In the World, But Being Not of It

Christ has entrusted the only hope that this desperate world has – the Gospel – to the Church. He has commanded his disciples to go and share it with others, making disciples of all nations. This requires that Christians be engaged with the unbelieving world and those in it. This mission is to be carried out in a manner that glorifies Christ, and so the Christian is commanded to remain unstained by sin while dealing with a sinful world. Our very worldview must be different and distinct from that of the world, but must be explained and shared with it.