Sovereign Grace Bible Church is comprised of followers of Jesus Christ who have united under His Lordship in covenant commitment to one another and to our God. Recognizing that the Lord Jesus Christ gave His life for the Church and that He is its Head, giving direction to it through His infallible Word, we willingly, joyfully, and wholeheartedly submit ourselves to His authority as it is revealed in His holy, inerrant, and infallible written Word. We thus believe that it is our responsibility to do everything possible to encourage and participate in ministry so that people in our community and throughout the world might be saved and so that those who are saved can be effectively built up in the knowledge of Christ and equipped for service. Having carefully examined the Scriptures regarding the nature and purpose of the church and the principles whereby it is to be governed, we, the members of Sovereign Grace Bible Church, set forth the following Articles, to which we voluntarily submit ourselves.

The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God. Therefore, all scripture is authoritative, infallible, and inerrant. The Scriptures are the only sufficient rule for faith and practice. (Ps. 19:7; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Pet. 1:20-21)

There is but one God, the Maker, Preserver, and Ruler of all things, having in and of Himself all perfections, and being infinite in them all; and to Him all creatures owe the highest love, reverence, and obedience that springs from faith. (Deut. 6:4; Ps. 145:3; John 1:3; 1 Cor. 8:4-6; 1 Tim. 1:17)

The Scriptures reveal that the one God eternally exists in three persons: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each person has distinct personal attributes, but without division of nature, essence, or being. (Matt. 3:16-17; 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14)

God from eternity past decrees all things that come to pass, and perpetually upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and all events; yet so as not in any manner to be the author or approver of sin nor to destroy the responsibility of intelligent creatures. (Isa. 46:9-11; Prov. 16:33; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3; Jas. 1:13-15)

Election is God’s eternal choice of some persons unto everlasting life—not because of foreseen merit or foreseen faith in them, but of His mere mercy in Christ—in consequence of which choice they are called, justified, sanctified, and one day glorified. (Rom. 8:28-30; 1 Cor. 1:27-29; Eph. 1:4, 11)

God originally created man in His own image, and free from sin; but, through the temptation of Satan, Adam transgressed the command of God and fell from his original holiness and righteousness; whereby his posterity inherit a nature corrupt and wholly opposed to God and His law. (Gen. 1:26-27; 3:1-7; Rom. 5:12-19; Eph. 2:1-3)

Since Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, is fully God and fully man, He is the sole divinely appointed mediator between God and man. Having taken upon Himself human nature, yet without sin, He perfectly fulfilled the law, suffered, and died upon the cross for the salvation of sinners. He was buried and rose again the third day and ascended to His Father at whose right hand He ever lives to make intercession for His people. He will return again visibly and bodily. He is the only Mediator, the Prophet, Priest, and King of the Church, and Sovereign of the universe. (Isa. 53:10-12; John 1:1, 14; Acts 1:9-11; Rom. 3:21-26; 8:34; 1 Cor. 15:3-4; Gal. 3:13; 1 Tim. 2:5; Heb. 1:1-3)

We believe that God the Holy Spirit brings glory to the Father and the Son. He applies the work of Christ to believers and distributes spiritual gifts to every believer according to His sovereign good pleasure for the purpose of building up the body of Christ. He is the Comforter, the Spirit of adoption, the Seal of our salvation, and the Guarantor of our inheritance in Christ. (John 14:16-17; 16:14; Acts 5:3; Rom. 8:14-17; Eph. 1:13-14)

Regeneration is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit who gives life to those dead in trespasses and sins, enlightening their minds spiritually and savingly to understand the Word of God, and renewing their whole nature so that they love and practice holiness. It is a work of God’s free and special grace alone so that the cause of regeneration is God’s grace, not man’s free will. (Eph. 2:1-6; Tit. 3:5; 1 John 5:1)

Repentance is an evangelical grace wherein a person, by the Holy Spirit, being made sensible of the manifold evil of his sin, humbles himself with godly sorrow for it, detestation of it, and self-abhorrence, with a purpose and endeavor to walk before God so as to please Him in all things. (Acts 2:37-38; 11:18; 2 Cor. 7:10-11)

Saving faith is the belief, on God’s authority, of whatever is revealed in His Word concerning Christ, accepting and resting upon Him alone for justification and eternal life. It is wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit and is accompanied by all other saving graces and inevitably leads to a life of holiness. (Rom. 3:27-28; 4:1-5; 4:17-25; 10:14, 17; Phil. 1:29; Eph. 2:8; Jas. 2:14-26)

Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal from all sin for those who believe in Christ through the satisfaction that Christ has made, who are receiving and resting on Him and His righteousness by faith, not for anything wrought in them or done by them, but on account of the obedience and satisfaction of Christ. (Acts 13:38-39; Rom. 3:21-26; 8:34; 10:3-4; 2 Cor. 5:21; Phil. 3:9)

Those who have been regenerated are also sanctified by God’s Word and the Holy Spirit dwelling in them. This sanctification is progressive through the supply of Divine strength, which all saints seek to obtain, pressing after a heavenly life in cordial obedience to all Christ’s commands. (Jer. 31:31-34; Ezek. 36:25-27; Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:13-24; 2 Pet. 1:3-11)

All those whom God has regenerated will never totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace, but shall certainly persevere to the end; and though they may fall through neglect and temptation into sin whereby they grieve the Spirit, impair their graces and comforts, bring reproach on the Church and temporal judgments on themselves, yet they shall be renewed again unto repentance and be kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. (John 6:37-40; 10:28-29; Rom. 8:28-39; 1 Cor. 1:8-9; Phil. 1:6)

The universal Church is the organism of professing believers making up the body of Christ through baptism by the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus is the Head of the Church, which is composed of all His true disciples, and in Him is invested supremely all power. According to His commandment, Christians are to associate themselves into local churches, and to each of these churches He has given needful authority for administering that order, discipline, and worship which He has appointed. The regular officers of a church are Elders (Pastors) and Deacons. Within the local assembly, members are to utilize their divinely appointed spiritual gifts to edify one another for the building up of the body; however, while we believe that God can and still does perform miracles today, we believe that the Holy Spirit no longer uses individuals to perform miraculous signs and that the gifts of apostleship, prophecy, tongues, healing, and miracles have ceased. (John 10:16; Acts 20:17, 28; 1 Cor. 13:8; Eph. 1:22; 5:23; 1 Tim. 3:1-13; 5:17-18; Tit. 1:5-9; Heb. 10:25)

Baptism is one of two ordinances of the Lord Jesus, obligatory upon every believer, wherein he is immersed in water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, as a sign of his fellowship with the death and resurrection of Christ, of remission of sins, and of giving himself up to God, to live and walk in newness of life. It is prerequisite to church membership and to participation in the Lord’s Supper. (Matt. 28:19; Acts 2:38; Rom. 6:3-5; 1 Cor.12:13)

The Lord’s Supper is one of two ordinances of Jesus Christ, to be administered with the elements of bread and the fruit of the vine, and to be observed by His churches until the end of the world. It is in no sense a sacrifice, but is designed to commemorate His death, to confirm the faith and other graces of Christians, and to be a bond, pledge, and renewal of their communion with Him and of their church membership. While the Bible nowhere specifically instructs how often the Lord’s Supper is to be administered, we believe that there is biblical support for partaking in the Lord’s Supper during the weekly Sunday service whenever possible. Church officers and/or their designees have the responsibility for the administration of this ordinance (Matt. 26:26-29; Acts 2:42; 20:7; 1 Cor. 10:16-17; 11:20, 23-26)

The Lord’s Day is a Christian institution for regular observance and should be employed in exercises of worship and spiritual devotion, both public and private. (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:1-2; Rev. 1:10)

We believe that civil government is of divine appointment for the interests and good order of human society and that magistrates are to be prayed for and conscientiously honored and obeyed, with the exception of those things opposed to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only Lord of the conscience and the coming Prince of the kings of the earth. (Rom. 13:7; 2 Sam. 23:3; Ex. 18:21 -22; Acts 23:5; Matt. 22:21; Tit. 3:1; 1 Peter 2:1-14, 17; Acts 4:19-20; Dan. 3:17-18; Matt. 10:28; 23:10; Phil. 2:10-11; Ps.72:11)

All Christians are under obligation to seek to make the will of Christ supreme in their own lives and in human society. Means and methods used for the improvement of society and the establishment of righteousness among men can be truly and permanently helpful only when they are rooted in the regeneration of the individual by the saving grace of God in Jesus Christ. In the spirit of Christ, Christians should oppose racism, every form of greed, selfishness, and vice, and all forms of sexual immorality, including but not limited to adultery, homosexuality, and pornography. We should work to provide for the orphaned, the needy, the abused, the aged, the helpless, and the sick. We should speak on behalf of the unborn and contend for the sanctity of all human life from conception to natural death. (Ex. 20:3-17; Lev. 6:2-5; Deut. 10:12; 27:17; Ps. 101:5; Mic. 6:8; Zech. 8:16; Matt. 5:13-16, 43-48; 22:36-40; 25:35; Mark 1:29-34; 2:3; 10:21; Luke 4:18-21; 10:27-37; 20:25; John 15:12; 17:15; Rom. 12-14; 1 Cor. 5:9-10; 6:1-7; 7:20-24; 10:23-11:1; Gal. 3:26-28; Eph. 6:5-9; Col. 3:12-17; 1 Thess. 3:12; Philemon; Jas. 1:27; 2:8)

God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood, or adoption.

Marriage is the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. It is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards, and the means for procreation of the human race. The Elders of this church will marry a couple only if both the man and the woman are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, i.e., “in the Lord,” and whose lifestyle is in accordance with God’s design for single men and women.

The husband and wife are of equal worth before God since both are created in God’s image. The marriage relationship models the way God relates to His people. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church. A wife is to submit herself graciously to the servant leadership of her husband even as the church willingly submits to the headship of Christ.

Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage. Parents are to teach their children spiritual and moral values and to lead them, through consistent lifestyle example and loving discipline, to make choices based on biblical truth. Children are to honor and obey their parents.

(Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15-25; 3:1-20; Ex. 20:12; Deut. 6:4-9; Jos. 24:15; 1 Sam. 1:26-28; Ps. 51:5; 78:1-8; 127; 128; 139:13-16; Prov. 1:8; 5:15-20; 6:20-22; 12:4; 13:24; 14:1; 17:6; 18:22; 22:6, 15; 23:13-14; 24:3; 29:15, 17; 31:10-31; Eccl. 4:9-12; 9:9; Mal. 2:14-16; Matt. 5:31-32; 18:2-5; 19:3-9; Mark 10:6-12; Rom. 1:18-32; 1 Cor. 7:1-16; Eph. 5:21-33; 6:1-4; Col. 3:18-21; 1 Tim. 5:8, 14; 2 Tim. 1:3-5; Tit. 2:3-5; Heb. 13:4; 1 Pet. 3:1-7)

The bodies of men after death return to dust, but their spirits return immediately to God—the righteous to rest with Him; the wicked to be reserved under darkness to the judgment. The bodies of all the dead, both just and unjust, will one day be raised. (John 5:28-29; 1 Cor. 7:39; 15:12-28; 2 Cor. 5:1-10; 6:14-18; Phil. 1:23)

God has appointed a day wherein He will judge the world by Jesus Christ, when everyone shall receive according to his deeds: the wicked shall go into everlasting and conscious punishment; the righteous, into everlasting life. (Matt. 25:46; John 5:22, 27-29; Acts 17:31; Rom. 2:6-11; 2 Cor. 5:10; 2 Thess. 1:7-10; 2 Tim. 4:8; Rev. 7:13-17; 14:9-11)

We believe in the personal, bodily, and glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service, and energetic mission. We believe that there will be a redemption of this world, a new creation, where God’s kingdom will be perfectly manifested on earth as it is in heaven, and where God will dwell with His people for eternity. (Matt. 24:27-31, 35, 36, 42; 28:19,20; John 14:1-3; Acts 1:11; Rom. 12:9-21; 1 Cor. 15:24; 1 Thess. 4:14-17; Titus 2:1-14; Heb. 9:27, 28; 2 Pet. 3:7, 10-13; Rev. 21:1- 5)