Lanham Grace Church believes the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible to be the infallible rule of faith and of practice and feeling the responsibility to make known the divine message of the Bible, presents the following articles as a statement of those basic truths taught in the Bible which are common to our Christian faith and practice.
1. The Bibleis the Word of God. The sixty six (66) books of the Old and New Testaments are verbally inspired in all parts, and are wholly without error as originally given of God (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21).
2. The One True God exists eternally as three persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Luke 3:22; Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
3. The Lord Jesus Christ preexisted as God the Son (John 1:1-3), became man by virgin birth (John 1:14; Matthew 1:18-23), lived a sinless life (Hebrews 4:15), died as our substitute for our sins (2 Corinthians 5:21), was bodily resurrected (Luke 24:36-43), ascended into heaven where He ministers as our high priest (Hebrews 4:14-16), and is coming again (Acts 1:11).
4. The Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4). He is a person (John 16:7-15) at work in each believer: baptizing and indwelling at the moment of regeneration (1 Cor. 12:13; Rom. 8:9), filling (Ephesians 5:18), and empowering for Christian life and service (Acts 1:8; Gal. 5:22-23; Ephesians 3:16;).
5. Man is a direct creation in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-28). He subsequently fell into sin resulting in spiritual death (Genesis 3:1-24; Romans 5:12), and needs new birth for his salvation (John 3:3-5).
6. Salvation is complete and eternal, provided by God's grace alone, received as the gift of God through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and His finished work (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-7; 1 Peter 1:18-19).
7. The One True Church is the body and the bride of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23; 5:25-32), composed of all true believers of the present age (1 Corinthians 12:12-13). Its members are organized into local churches for worship of God, edification of believers, and world wide gospel witness, being autonomous but cooperating in fellowship and work (Ephesians 4:11-16).
8. The Christian Lifeis a life of righteousness, good works and separation unto God from the evil ways of the world (Romans 12:1-2). It is manifested by speaking the truth (James 5:12), maintaining the sanctity of the home (Ephesians 5:22-6:4), settling differences between Christians according to the Word of God (1 Corinthians 6:1-8), and showing a Christ-like attitude toward all men (Romans 12:17-21), exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), and maintaining a life of prayer (Ephesians 6:18; Philippians 4:6), 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 (James 5:13-18).
9. The Ordinances of our Lord Jesus Christ which Christians should observe are: (1) baptism of believers by immersion in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19) and (2) the communion service, consisting of the washing of the believer's feet (John 13:1 17), the Lord's Supper (1 Corinthians 11:20-22, 33-34; Jude 12), and the communion of the bread and the cup (1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
10.Marriage the definition of marriage is a deeply and ultimately a religious issue. Marriage is intended to be a life-long covenant between a man and a woman (Mark 10:5-9). Additionally, the Bible makes is clear that homosexual activity is a sin ( Romans 1:23-27, Jude 7-8). No church official, clergy (Whether compensated or serving in a voluntary role as clergy), elder or other individuals fulfilling their gainful employment (whether in the service of the church or in secular vocations) who oppose same-sex marriage should be coerced or punished or treated in any intolerant way whatsoever for expressing their convictions or exercising their freedom of religion on this issue. Furthermore, only marriages between one man and one woman are permitted to be performed at Grace Brethren Church of Lanham and under no circumstances are same-sex marriaages permitted in the church or by officials of the church.
11. Satan exists as the great adversary of God and His people (Revelation 12:1-10). He has been judged (John 12:31), and is finally doomed (Revelation 20:10).
12. The Second Comingis the personal, visible, and imminent return of Jesus Christ to remove His church from the earth (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17), before the tribulation (1 Thessalonians 1:10; Rev. 3:10), and afterward to descend with the Church to establish His millennial kingdom upon the earth (Revelation 19:11-20:6).
13. The Future Life includes the conscious existence of the dead (Philippians 1:21-23; Luke 16:19-31), the resurrection of the body (John 5:28-29), the judgment and rewards of believers (Romans 14:10 12; 2 Corinthians 5:10), the judgment and condemnation of unbelievers (Revelation 20:11-15), the eternal life of the saved (John 3:16), and the eternal punishment of the lost (Matthew 25:46; Revelation 20:15).
