Grace Bible Church at Urbana
Grace Bible Church
Faithfully Preaching and Teaching the Changeless Word of God

We are an independent church. While we hold much in common with many conservative evangelical ministries, we feel that denominationalism can be marked by party division, an emphasis on man-centered traditions, and human views of the Word of God rather than truly objective exegesis. The Lord’s warning against such an approach to ministry in Luke 9:49-50 provokes us to represent ourselves to the world simply as “born again Christians,” and members of the universal “one body” (Eph. 4:4) of Christ, which is the true church (Eph. 1:22-23).

We are conservative in both worship and practice. Our services would be defined as “traditional” according to today’s standards. Our music emphasizes the beauty and truths of the classical hymns for the most part (though both our choir and individual specials include reverent contemporary works), and our preaching is expository in nature, firmly anchored and centered on the Word of God. While we believe there are several excellent literal translations of holy Scripture available to believers, we use the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Version as our primary text.

We are fundamental in doctrine. Because this term has been maligned by both the secular world and liberal religionists, and has been disgraced by many with whom it is associated, the following is what we believe is true Biblical Fundamentalism:

Of the Scriptures, that the Holy Bible was penned by men supernaturally inspired by the Holy Spirit; that it is truth without any admixture of error; that, as originally written, it is both historically and scientifically true and correct; and therefore is, and shall remain to the end of the age, the only complete and final revelation of the will of God to man, the true center of Christian union, and the Divine standard by which all human conduct, creeds and opinions should and will be tried.

Of the true God, that there is one and only one living and true God, an infinite, intelligent Spirit, the maker and ruler of heaven and earth who is inexpressibly glorious in holiness and worthy of all possible honor, faith and love; that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, equal in every divine perfection and executing distinct but harmonious offices in the great work of redemption.

Of the creation, that the Genesis account of creation is to be accepted literally, not allegorically or figuratively; that man was created by God in His own image and after His own likeness; that man’s creation was not a matter of evolution or evolutionary change of species, or development through interminable periods of time from lower to higher forms; that all animal and vegetable life was created directly by God and ordered by His established law that they, should bring forth only “after their kind.”

Of the fall of man, that man sinned in rebellion against God and thereby incurred not only physical death but also that spiritual death which is separation from God; that all human beings are born with a sinful nature, and in the case of those who reach the age of moral responsibility, become sinners in thought, word and deed, witnessing their enslavement to sin and their need of salvation from its penalty: eternal death.

Of the atonement for sin, that the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone, who is the Son of God and only mediator between God and man, who by the appointment of the Father and His virgin birth freely took upon Him our nature, yet was without sin, who honored the divine law by His personal obedience, and who by His death made a full and vicarious atonement for our sins; that His atonement consisted not in setting us an example by His death as a martyr, but was the voluntary substitution of Himself in the sinner’s place, the Just dying for the unjust, Christ the Lord and Lamb of God bearing our sins in His own body on the cross of Calvary; that, having risen from the dead, He is now enthroned in heaven, and, uniting in His wonderful person the tenderest sympathies with divine perfection, He is in every way qualified to be a suitable, and a compassionate and all-sufficient Savior.

Of the new creation, that in order to be saved, sinners must be born again; that the new birth is the operation of God provided by grace alone through the work of His Spirit wherein the believer by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone is made a new creation; that it is instantaneous and not a process; that in the new birth the one dead in trespasses and in sins is made a partaker of the divine nature and receives eternal life which is eternally secured by the Savior’s faithfulness and the Father’s love; that the new creation is brought about in a manner above our comprehension, not by culture, not by character, nor by the will of man, but wholly and solely by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with divine truth, so as to secure our voluntary obedience to the Gospel; that its proper evidence appears in newness of life as witnessed by the manifestation of the fruit of the Spirit.

Of the resurrection and return of Christ, that the crucified body of our Lord was raised from the grave; that He ascended into Heaven where He is presently our High Priest and Advocate, the only and all-sufficient mediator between God and man; that the Scriptures teach (1) the imminent bodily, personal return of Christ for His saints, the church, prior to the terrible seven year period of tribulation described in the Revelation which shall try the world as prelude to the establishment of Christ’s millennial kingdom, and (2) the bodily, visible, personal return of Christ with His saints at the end of the tribulation period to establish His reign on the earth, and to judge the living and the dead.

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