The Importance of Sound Doctrine
At Grace we share a fundamental conviction that it is important for us as Christians to know WHAT we believe and WHY we believe it! Right belief is essential to a growing faith and we encourage our congregation to follow Paul's advice to Timothy.
"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)
The Word of God is the basis of all that we do and teach here at Grace. Our goal is to teach the whole Word of God so that the whole family can grow. This does not mean that only Bible scholars or seminary students need attend Grace...not at all, we simply encourage our church family to be like the Berean Christians who...
"...welcomed the message very eagerly and examined
the scriptures every day to see whether these things were so." (Acts 17: 11)
At Grace we avoid fanciful, sensational or merely speculative interpretations of the Bible, believing that sound doctrine is important if we are to experience true spiritual growth.
Do We All Need to Believe Alike?
The answer to this is obviously yes...and no! The correct answer depends on the issue at hand. A great saint of a bygone age once wisely suggested the following:
In ESSENTIAL beliefs - there should be unity
"There is one Body and one Spirit.there is one Lord, one faith,
one baptism, and one God and Father of us all." (Ephesians 4:4-6)
In NON-ESSENTIAL beliefs - there should be liberty
"Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on
disputable matters.Who are you to judge someone else's servant?
To his own master he stands or falls.So then each of us will give an account
of himself to God.So whatever you believe about these things keep
between yourself and God." (Romans 14:1, 4, 12, 22)
In ALL our beliefs - there should be love
"If I hold in my mind not only all human knowledge but also the
very secrets of God, and if I have the faith that can move mountains.
but have no love, I amount to nothing at all." (1 Corinthians 13:2; J.B. Phillips)
Here are a few examples of doctrinal issues where liberty should be exercised:
- The sequence of end-time events (Second coming of Christ)
- The nature of the initial evidence of the infilling of the Holy Spirit
- New Testament worship patterns
- Forms of church government
These issues, while important, are not core issues of our faith and therefore need not be areas of contention that result in division and conflict.
Here are a few examples of core issues or "essentials" where unity is important:
- The doctrine of the Trinity
- The finality of Christ's atoning work on Calvary
- Salvation by grace through faith alone
- Christ's bodily resurrection
- His second coming
These truths, and others, are central to the Christian faith, and therefore, to our local congregation.
PLEASE NOTE: In a church like Grace Christian Center (which is not part of one of the mainline denominations) the people will generally assume the theological belief system of its pastor and leaders. We do maintain however that the possibility exists for people who have differing views in non-essential areas to be a vital part of this congregation. Members should hold such views in humility, under submission to the leadership, and with an openness to change should they be persuaded by clearer teaching. This openness to change in non-essential areas exists also at the pastoral level and leadership levels at Grace.
We approach non-essential areas of doctrine with an attitude of teachability, without unnecessary dogmatism.
