The focus of our faith is the Lord Jesus Christ. We rejoice in the common bond we share with “all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours” (1 Corinthians 1:2). As a local church, GRBC is united together by fundamental doctrinal convictions that might best be described and summarized as Orthodox, Protestant, Reformed, Evangelical, and Baptist.
Orthodox
As dynamic spiritual communities of believers, local churches should always be growing and bearing the fruit of faith in Christ in contemporary life and practice. At the same time, Christ has commissioned His church to “hold fast the pattern of sound words” (2 Timothy 1:13) delivered to us by the Apostles and preserved in the Scriptures. It is not the task of the church to discover some new thing in doctrine, but to maintain a firm grip on “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3).
GRBC consciously identifies with Christian doctrine that is both scripturally rooted and historically informed. We embrace the historic, orthodox understanding of Christian doctrine affirmed in the Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Chalcedon Confession and the Athanasian Creed.
Protestant
We embrace the core teachings associated with the Protestant wing of the Christian Church, as distinct from the dogma of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy. We believe the Bible is the sole trustworthy authority regarding matters of faith and practice. We hold that justification (the forgiveness of sin and a righteousness before God) is by faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone, through God’s grace alone, to the glory of God alone.
Reformed
In addition to the core Protestant convictions mentioned above, we also embrace the Reformed view of the sovereignty of God in salvation, known as the Doctrines of Grace.
Evangelical
Evangelicalism is a movement of believers all over the world who seek continuity with the essential theological principles of Orthodox Christianity and the Protestant Reformation. We believe in the sufficiency of Christ’s atonement, the necessity of the new birth, the necessity of personal holiness, and the need to evangelize the lost.
Baptist
We recognize that true churches of Christ differ with respect to the practice of Christian baptism and the structure of church government.
As Baptists, we believe that Christian Baptism is a believer’s immersion in water into the name of the Father, and Son, and Holy Spirit. Baptism is the solemn symbol of the believer’s union with Jesus Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. Baptism is a prerequisite to the privileges of Church membership.
As Baptists, we also believe in the biblical pattern of elder-led, autonomous local churches. While we affirm local church independence, we desire fellowship and cooperation in fulfilling the Great Commission with like-minded churches. As an expression of that desire, we are in friendly cooperation with the Great Commission Baptists and affirm the truths contained in The Baptist Faith and Message.
For a more complete expression of what we believe, please see our official statement of doctrine contained in The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith.
We also affirm the biblical convictions expressed more recently in The Chicago Statement on Biblical Inerrancy and The Danvers Statement on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood