Our Philosophy

You are welcome at the Grace Brethren Church!

It is our hope and prayer that you will join us as we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (II Peter 3:18). God is doing great things in the lives of those here among us that are turning their lives over to His grace and goodness.

The philosophy of the Grace Brethren Church of Clinton is based solely upon the Scriptures.

1. We believe that salvation is only possible by the grace of God, through faith in Jesus Christ. In
Ephesians 2:8-9 it states: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves: it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast."

2. Our philosophy and ministries center in and develop from Christ's mandate to the church in the
     Upper room: "A new commandment I give you, that you love one another, as I have loved you,
     ... by this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have this kind of love for one another
     (paraphrased from John 13:34-35).

3. When we contemplate Christ's love for us, we are impacted by His unselfish caring and giving of
Himself in order to redeem us unto Himself. His grace and mercy are a manifestation of His love.
This great salvation that is offered to all who will believe is because He loves us.

4. Therefore, we respond to His love in simple faith, believing and accepting His love, grace and
     forgiveness. We willingly commit ourselves to Him ... loving Him, worshipping Him, and seeking to
     glorify Him in submission to His will and in obedience to His Word. The essence of submission and
     obedience is summed up in His mandate that we love with His kind of love.

5. This kind of love must be learned, consciously, at the feet of Jesus. This love must be practical,
cognitive, and volitional. We do not love this way by nature. God does not make us love
everybody. Our faith in Christ motivates us to learn how to love and to practice this kind of love.

6. The apostle Paul is very clear in saying that our faith and our ministries are nothing without this
     kind of love, as we see in I Corinthians 13. All of our ministries (as described in Ephesians 4:11-13)
     are to be implemented in love. Our preaching, teaching, witnessing, praying, and serving all must
     be motivated by God's kind of love. Also, true evangelism, church planting and any missionary
     endeavors must be motivated by love.

7. True holiness is the fruit of our love. We do God's will and obey His Word because we love Him,
     not because we are afraid of Him. We go with God willingly. His love was freely given, even
     though it was undeserved and unappreciated. It is very sobering to realize that this kind of love
     must characterize our relationships, or our claim to Christ is not valid. As it says in I Corinthians
     13:13 -- "And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love."

8. We believe that every Christian is a minister for the Lord Jesus Christ. We recognize that the
     world will never be reached with the Gospel, nor the church truly edified until believers are
     actively participating in this process. This concept of the Church plays a vital role in the body-life
     ministry, ministering to one another as God has gifted us (as we see in Ephesians 4:11-13 and in
    II Timothy 4:5).

9. Our goal is to "... love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith" (I Timothy
     1:5). All of what we do here at Grace is focused upon ministering the love and grace of our Lord to
     the world that is around us. We desire to see Christ's love put into action in the things that we do,
     for those people whom He has placed in our midst. We would love to have the opportunity to
     share God's love and His Word with you at the Grace Brethren Church of Clinton. Please accept
     our invitation to come and join with us in the ministry we have here at Grace.

This information is provided to give you a general idea of the doctrinal and theological perspectives of our church and of our denomination. If you would like more information about the beliefs of our church and how we came to accept them, please feel free to call our pastoral staff at 301-868-1600.

Our Motto: "The Bible, the whole Bible and nothing but the Bible." We at GBC are
committed to teaching, preaching and standing on the Word of God.

Our Goal: "But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience
and a sincere faith." I Timothy 1:5

Our Mission:   To learn more about God's Word
                                  To enjoy being in God's family
                                To reach out to God's world