REDEEMING GRACE CHURCH

Our supreme ambition is to be a church that is captivated by, motivated by, and ever-increasingly transformed by the glory of God revealed in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. We exalt Christ and His work of salvation as the central theme of our preaching, ministry, fellowship, and of our witness to the world.

We believe, cherish, and preach what the book of Acts calls  “the apostle’s doctrine” (Acts 2:42). As we have prayerfully studied the Bible, we’ve come to see that the core of this doctrine is beautifully summarized in what is commonly referred to as the 5 Solas of the Reformation. The word “sola” is Latin for “alone” or “only”. These cardinal truths express the core of the Gospel message.

The 5 Solas are:
   Sola Gratia (Grace Alone)
   Sola Fide (Faith Alone)
   Solus Christus (Christ Alone)
   Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone)
   Soli Deo Gloria (Glory to God Alone)

These biblical truths are the very heart and life-blood of true Christianity.

Grace Alone
Due to the fact that we are all by nature spiritually dead and under the wrath of God (Eph. 2:1-3), we believe that salvation is and must be, from beginning to end, planned, accomplished, and applied by the grace of God. Human free will has been taken captive to sin (Jn. 8:34) and does nothing, of itself, but fight God and His will (Rom. 8:7-8).
 
We are helpless and hopeless left to ourselves. But God, who is rich in mercy, raises the spiritual dead to life, opens our blind eyes, draws us to Himself, transforms our nature, fills us with His Spirit, forgives our sins, makes us His sons and daughters, empowers our on-going obedience, protects us from evil, and preserves us all the way to final glory (1 Thes. 5:23-24)!

Faith Alone
By the grace of God we’re saved through trusting in Jesus and His work, and not by anything that we have done, could do, or will do (Rom. 3:24-26). Faith is the instrument through which we are united to Christ. Faith itself doesn’t save us, but rather it is the looking away from our self and entrusting of our self entirely to the mercy and power of Christ. Even faith is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8).
 
The on-going component of salvation, which is progressive sanctification, is achieved by grace through faith just as the initial point of conversion is.

Christ Alone
In the eternal plan of God, it was decreed that the eternal Son of God be born a man to live among us, die as our covenant representative, and to rise from the dead victorious over Satan, sin, death, and hell, as our Savior (Acts 2:23-24; 4:27-28). And that is exactly what He did (1 Cor. 15:1-5)! Salvation isn’t ultimately a joint effort between God and man. Salvation is the gracious, powerful, and effectual accomplishment and work of Christ (Matt. 1:21).
 
God’s elect are saved by Jesus Christ and by Him alone. No one can improve upon His perfect redemption. No one can build upon the righteousness that He offers as a gift. No one can empty His work of it’s power! Jesus not only delivers His people from the penalty of sin, but also from the power of sin (Rom. 6:3-7).

Scripture Alone
The church’s supreme authority for all matters of faith and practice is the Bible. The sole infallible rule for doctrine and practice is the Bible. Only the Bible is “God breathed” (2 Tim. 3:16). Christ Himself stood upon the Scripture as the supreme, final, inerrant, perfect word of God (Matt. 4:1-11). Pastors and churches that abandon the absolute authority of the Scriptures for church growth fads, psychological pop science, trendy ideas, new innovations, secular or religious philosophy, etc., are dishonoring God, devaluing the power of God, and leading souls astray.

Glory to God Alone
The chief purpose for all things, including our salvation, is the glory of God (Rom. 11:36). God is the Creator, Sustainer, Governor, and Redeemer of the universe. He works all things according to the counsel of His will (Eph. 1:11). His eternal plan is unstoppable (Dan. 4:34-35). God is perfect in every way and is therefore worthy of all glory, honor, and praise. In His astonishing love, God has chosen an innumerable multitude of people, freely lavishing His grace upon us, all “to the praise of His glory” (Eph. 1:14).
 
God has designed everything to magnify His glorious grace in such a way that His people would forever delight in Him. Hence, all true Christians recognize that we can boast in God and in Him alone (1 Cor. 1:31). To grow in our understanding of this Gospel truth liberates our hearts from the love of sin and enables us to live in glad submission to the reign of Jesus Christ.

As a result of our faith in these truths, we rejoice in the power of the Gospel and we reject any and all beliefs or practices that in effect eclipse the glory of the Gospel. We have a holy fear of our Almighty God and we strive by His grace to submit ourselves to the Lordship of Christ. And we cling to the absolute sovereignty of God over all things as our hope and security in life.

To learn more about what we believe the Bible teaches, our church doctrinal statement is the Baptist Faith and Message 2000. To be a member of Redeeming Grace church a person must be in general agreement with the the BF&M (https://bfm.sbc.net/bfm2000/).

Additionally, our pastors/elders are required to hold to the Abstract of Principles (https://founders.org/study-center/abstract/).