About
On this page you will find our purpose, vision, and doctrinal statement.
Purpose
We exist to plant Free Grace Churches worldwide and help existing churches teach and promote Free Grace theology.
Vision
Since Christ said He would build His church, one of the best ways to spread Free Grace Theology is by means of the church. Therefore, the more Free Grace Churches that exist, the more Free Grace theology can permeate our society. Ultimately, we want to see Free Grace theology become more than just theology.
With this in mind, we dream of a day when:
- Every major city has several Free Grace Churches, which are focused on planting more Free Grace churches in their surrounding communities.
- Financing and leadership is available to send to any community who desires a church in their area.
- Pastors and church leaders have a growing network of people and resources upon which to depend for support, training, and encouragement.
Doctrinal Statement
Note: Since we desire to remain distinctly Free Grace, and have little desire to become embroiled in theological debate, we have made the following doctrinal statement to clarify our position. Though there are differences, credit goes to the Grace Evangelical Society for much of this doctrinal statement.
Theology Proper
We believe that there is one true God, eternally existing in three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—each of whom possesses equally all of the attributes of deity and elements of personality (Deut 6:4; Ps 90:2; Matt 28:19; Acts 5:3-4; 2 Cor 13:14; Rev 1:4-6).
Jesus Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and perfect man, deity incarnate, born of a virgin, and neither sinned nor could have sinned. By His death as a substitute for sinners He infinitely satisfied divine justice and made everlasting life possible for all who believe in Him.
He arose from the dead in the same body, though glorified, in which He had lived and died. His resurrection body is the pattern of that body which will ultimately be given to all believers (John 20:20; Phil 3:20-21).
The Lord Jesus Christ, in His glorified body, is now in heaven, exalted at the right hand of God the Father, where He presently fulfills the ministries of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate for believers (Rom 8:34; Heb 7:25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1-2).
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity. He is, always has been, and always will be fully God, with intellect, emotion, and will. He has been intimately involved in all that God does, including creation, justification, and sanctification.
The Holy Spirit gives each believer one or more spiritual gifts. He gives these gifts so that believers might serve one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
The Scriptures
We believe that the Scriptures are God-breathed (2 Tim 3:16-17). God moved holy men to write (2 Pet 1:20-21) and He made certain that what they wrote was without error in the original documents. He has revealed Himself and His eternal plan to mankind in the Bible. Divine inspiration extends equally and fully to all parts of the Bible.
Salvation
A. Everlasting Life
The sole condition for receiving everlasting life is faith alone in Jesus Christ (John 3:16-18; 6:47; Acts 16:31).
Faith is the conviction that something is true. To believe in Jesus (“he who believes in Me has everlasting life”) is to be convinced that you have everlasting life becuase you have believed in Him (John 4:14; 5:24; 6:47; 11:26; 1 Tim 1:16).
Everlasting life, by definition, is life that cannot be lost. Once a person believes in Jesus, he or she is eternally secure forever.
No act of obedience, preceding or following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, such as commitment to obey, sorrow for sin, turning from one’s sin, baptism or submission to the Lordship of Christ, may be added to, or considered part of, faith as a condition for receiving everlasting life (Rom 4:5; Gal 2:16; Titus 3:5). This transaction between God and the sinner is simply the giving and receiving of a free gift (Eph 2:8-9; John 4:10; Rev 22:17). Similarly, just as good works are not required to receive everlasting life, so also good works are not required to keep everlasting life.
B. Assurance
Assurance is the certainty that one has everlasting life becuase they have believed in Jesus. Assurance of everlasting life is based only on the promise God makes in His Word that everyone who believes in Jesus Christ alone possesses everlasting life (John 5:24; 6:35, 47; 1 John 5:9-13). When a person believes in Jesus, they know for sure that they have everlasting life since this is what He promises. If a person has never known for sure that they have everlasting life, they have not yet believed what Jesus has said.
Good works, which can and should follow regeneration, are not necessary for a person to have assurance of everlasting life (Eph 2:10; Titus 3:8).
C. Discipleship (Growing in Christ)
The ultimate goal of the Holy Spirit’s work in the believer’s life is to produce spiritual maturity reflected in consistent Christlike behavior and attitudes (Gal 5:22-25; Luke 14:25-33; Col 1:23-29). Therefore, obedience to the Word of God, while not necessary for obtaining everlasting life, is the essential responsibility of each Christian (Rom 6:12-23; Heb 5:13-14; 1 Cor 2:14–3:4).
However, the Bible does not teach that this obedience will be manifested in all believers. If a believer does not yield to the ministry of the Holy Spirit in his experience, failure will result, evidenced by sinful acts or even prolonged disobedience (1 Cor 10:1-13; Gal 5:16-21).
D. Motivation
The believer is assured of everlasting life and is thus eternally secure, since that life is guaranteed by the Lord Jesus Christ to all who believe in Him, and is based upon His substitutionary death, burial, and resurrection (John 10:28-29; Rom 8:38-39). Therefore, it is inconsistent with the gospel and with Scripture to seek to gain or keep everlasting life by godly living. Having eternal life, and knowing that we have it, is the basis and the means by which we experience eternal life (John 10:10; 17:3).
Aside from the desire to experience the life God has for us, the Scriptures present several motivations for obedience in the Christian life:
- A powerful motivation for living the Christian life is gratitude to God for saving us by His grace (Rom 12:1-2; 2 Cor 5:14 -15; Gal 2:20).
- Believers should also be motivated by the knowledge that their heavenly Father both blesses obedience and disciplines disobedience in His children (Heb 12:3-11; Lev 26:1-45). God is not mocked. Whatever a person sows, that he also reaps (Gal 6:7).
- Finally, every Christian must stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, not to determine his eternal destiny, for that is already set, but to assess the quality of his Christian life on earth (2 Cor 5:10; Rev 22:12). Anticipating either reward or loss of reward at the Judgment Seat should also motivate believers to perseverance and to faithfulness to God’s revealed will (1 Cor 3:10 -17, 9:24 -27; Jas 5:8-9; 1 John 2:28). One’s capacity to glorify Jesus will forever be based on how faithful he was in his stewardship in this life (Luke 19:17, 19, 22-26).