Statement of Faith

The Bible
The Word of God; the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, verbally inspired in all parts, and therefore wholly without error as originally given of God.
(2 Tim. 3:16, 2 Peter 1:21)

The One True God
Existing eternally as three persons – the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
(Luke 3:22, Matt. 28:19, 2 Cor. 13:14)

The Lord Jesus Christ
His pre-existence and deity1, incarnation by virgin birth, sinless life, substitutional death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven and present ministry, and coming again.
(1John 1:1-3, John 1:14, Matt. 1:18-23, Heb 4:15, 2 Cor. 5:21, Luke 24:36-43, Heb 4:14-16, Acts 1:11)

The Holy Spirit
His personality and deity, and his work in each believer: baptism and indwelling at the moment of regeneration, and filling, to empower for Christian life and service.
(John 16:7-15, Acts 5:3-4, 1 Cor. 12:13, Rom. 8:9, Eph. 5:18, Eph. 3:16, Acts 1:8, Gal. 5:22-23)

Man
His direct creation in the image of God, his subsequent fall into sin resulting in spiritual death, and the necessity of the new birth for his salvation.
(Gen. 1:26-28, Gen. 3:1-24, Rom. 5:12, John 3:3-5)

Salvation
A complete and eternal salvation by God’s grace alone, received as the gift of God though personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work.
(Eph. 2:8-9, Titus 3:5-7, 1 Peter 1:18-19)

The Church
One true church, the body and bride of Christ, composed of all true believers of the present age; and the organization of its members in local churches for worship, for edification of believers, and for world-wide gospel witness, each local church being autonomous but cooperating in the fellowship and work.
(Eph. 1:22-23; 5:25-32, 1 Cor. 12:12-13, Eph. 4:11-16)

Christian Life
A life of righteousness, good works, and separation unto God from the evil ways of the world, manifested by speaking the truth, maintaining the sanctity of the home, settling differences between Christians in accordance with the work of God, not engaging in carnal strife but showing a Christ-like attitude toward all men, exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit, and maintaining a life of prayer, including the privilege, when sick, of calling for the elders of the church to pray and to anoint with oil in the name of the Lord.
(Rom. 12:1-2, James 5:12, Eph. 5:22-6:4, 1 Cor. 6:1-8, Rom. 12:17-21, Gal. 5:22-23, Eph. 6:18, Phil. 4:6, James 5:13-18)

Ordinances
The Christian should observe the ordinances of our Lord Jesus Christ which are the baptism of believers, and the communion service.
(Matt. 28:19, Acts 2:38, Romans 6:3-4, Matt. 26:26-28, John 13:1-17, 1 Cor. 11:20-34, Jude 12)

Satan
His existence and personality as the great adversary of God and His people,
his judgment, and final doom.
(Rev. 12:1-10, John 12:31, Rev. 20:10)

Second Coming
The personal, visible, and imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ to remove His church from the earth before the final tribulation, and afterward to descend with the church to establish His millennial kingdom on the earth.
(1 Thes. 4:16-17, 1 Thes. 1:10; Matt. 24:4-22; Rev. 3:10; 7:13-17, Rev. 19:11-20:6)

Future Life
The conscious existence of the dead, the resurrection of the body, the judgment and reward of believers, the judgment and condemnation of unbelievers, the eternal life of the saved, and the eternal punishment of the lost.
(Phil. 1:21-23; Luke 16:19-31, John 5:28-29, Rom. 14:10-12, 2 Cor. 5:10, Rev. 20:11-15, John 3:16, Matt. 25:46; Rev. 20:15)

Gender
God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. Rejection of one’s biological sex as assigned by God at conception is a rejection of the image of God
within that person.
(Gen. 1:26-27, Ps. 139:13, Romans 1:24-27)

Marriage
The term “marriage” has only one Biblical meaning: the uniting of one biological man and one biological woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. Because God has ordained marriage and defined it as the covenant relationship between a biological man, a biological woman, and Almighty God, ER Grace will only acknowledge marriages between a biological man and a biological woman.
(Gen. 2:18-25, Matt. 19:4-6)

Sexuality
God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a biological man and a biological woman who are married to each other.  All other sexual activity (including, but not limited to, adultery, fornication, homosexual or bisexual behavior, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is immoral, sinful, and offensive to God. At the same time, every person must be afforded biblical: compassion; love; kindness; respect; and dignity.
(1 Cor. 6:18; 7:2-5, Heb. 13:4, Matt. 15:18-20, 1 Cor. 6:9-10, Mark 12:28-31, Luke 6:31)

Biblical Authority
The primary authority by which this church exists as an ecclesiastical body is received from God through the Holy Scriptures which speak with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind.  For purposes of ER Grace’s faith, doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline, the ER Grace Elder Board is the final interpretive authority on the
Bible’s meaning and application.