Why Reformed Baptist Church?

Grace Bible Church doctrine and practices are governed primarily by the Bible, as clearly explained in the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. We are a Reformed Baptist church. Being Reformed Baptist is not a new church movement; rather, we trace our church roots to the Protestant age, the Reformers, who themselves traced their roots back to the New Testament churches. It is derived from two terms that we embrace: Reformed theology and Baptist heritage.

Reformation Baptist Heritage:

1. Before the Reformation

During the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church became marked by superstition, spiritual corruption, and moral decay. When the Bible was translated from Latin into common European languages in the 1400s and 1500s, ordinary people could finally read Scripture for themselves and saw how far the Church had drifted from biblical teaching. The leading Reformation-era theologians of this movement were the Reformers Martin Bucer, Heinrich Bullinger, John Calvin, Peter Martyr Vermigli, and Ulrich Zwingli.

This led to efforts to reform the Church according to Scripture, a movement known as the Protestant Reformation.

2. Birth of Protestant Churches

When attempts to reform the Catholic Church failed, new churches emerged in the 1500s and 1600s, including Anglican, Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Baptist churches. These groups shared a God-centered theology, emphasizing God’s sovereignty, salvation by grace, and humanity’s inability to save itself. These beliefs were summarized in the Five Solas:

Scripture Alone
Christ Alone
Grace Alone
Faith Alone
Glory to God Alone

Baptist churches that returned to New Testament doctrine and practice were the first to be called Reformed Baptists.

3. Shift to Man-Centered Religion

In the mid-1800s, many Protestant churches began shifting away from biblical, God-centered theology toward a man-centered focus. Some drifted into theological liberalism, while others, such as Southern Baptists, prioritized attracting people over glorifying God. Emphasis moved from Scripture and discipleship to pragmatism, decisions, and numbers. The Gospel was simplified to make it easier to “accept Christ,” leading to churches with many members but few true disciples, and with entertainment and personalities replacing the Word of God.

4. Return to Reformed Faith

In the mid-1900s, some Baptist churches and groups from other denominations recognized the harm caused by this modern, shallow gospel. They began returning to the biblical doctrines and practices of the Reformation. To show this commitment, they adopted the term “Reformed”, signaling a return to God-centered theology and the Five Solas. Grace Bible church proudly stands within this movement of reformed baptist churches.

Flowing from the Five Solas are the Five Doctrines of Grace, affirmed at the Synod of Dort (1618–1619). These doctrines describe the condition of humanity and God’s initiating and preserving grace in salvation, and have been used by Reformed churches to summarize God’s work in securing His people. Formerly summarized by the acrostic TULIP, we believe a clearer and more faithful summary is:

Total Depravity
(Sin has totally corrupted us; we are dead in need of a Savior. On our own, we rebel against and hate God, and even our good acts are covered with sin.)
Unconditional Election

(God graciously chooses us to be saved, not because of any merit He sees in us.)

Limited Atonement

(Even though Christ’s blood is powerful cover all sinners in the world, it is effective only for those who, by grace through faith, are enabled to believe.)

Irresistible Grace

(God has not only granted us grace but also quickens us to accept it. He opens our eyes to see our sinfulness and the forgiveness and life found in Jesus our Savior.)

Perseverance of the Saints

(All true Christians will finish the race because God enables them to persevere as they work out their salvation with fear and trembling. Though some may tarry because of deceitfulness to sin for a time , their gentle Shepherd graciously calls them back through the message of the gospel.)

Theological Distinctions

1. Salvation is a gift and can't be lost

As we uphold the five solas and the doctrines of grace. We believe that God’s sovereignty extends not only to creation and His rule over the world, but also to salvation itself. God does not save us because we first chose Him; rather, Scripture teaches that “who has believed” (Isaiah 53:1; Romans 10:16), that “no one seeks for God” (Romans 3:11), that “no one is righteous, not even one” (Romans 3:10).

Yet God, being “rich in love and mercy” (Ephesians 2:4), chose us before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) to be saved in Christ through the gospel (2 Thessalonians 2:13–14). He did this not because of any outward profession, spiritual belief, or religious practice, but purely by His gracious will rescuing us from the path to Hell that we would otherwise follow.

These teachings do not lead us to despair, as do doctrines that suggest salvation can be lost. Instead, they lift us to worship and rest in grace given to us by our great God and Saviour, who assures us that “those whom He predestined He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified” (Romans 8:30). The outward evidence that a person is truly saved following repentance, faith, and water baptism is a persevering faith that walks in obedience to the Lord according to the Scriptures.

2. The Centrality of Scripture

We hold to both the inerrancy of Scripture and the sufficiency Scripture. That means not only do we hold that the Scripture is God's Word, but that it is sufficient to accomplish all that God wants to do in His Church without any other human means. The careful exegetical, historical expositional proclamation of Scripture, therefore, is the center of our worship.

We believe that since the canonicity of scripture, God still speaks to us clearly and reliably through the Bible. Therefore, we do not see the need for so modern-day prophets and apostles, charismatic speaking in tongues, or other supernatural experiences.

Scripture itself is sufficient: "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17) . For more about spiritual gifts check our teachings on 1 Corinthians 14

3. We are Confessional

We hold to a confession of faith. Our church's confession is the historical capstone of all Baptist confessions; The London Baptist Confession of 1689. While we affirm Sola Scriptura, we recognize our confession to be a trustworthy summary of the Scripture's teaching.

4. We are Covenantal

Reformed churches view the Bible as an unified whole, telling the story of the providence of God in bringing to Himself one People, from every tribe, language, people, and nation through the Covenant of Grace. We, however, consider this to be a secondary issue. God alone is omniscient, so we do not restrict fellowship, membership, or ministry with other biblical believers who hold a different view.

5. We are Biblically Organised

We follow the New Testament pattern of having both a plurality of elders and deacons. Our elders shepherd, oversee, and protect the congregation and ministries of the church, while the deacons serve the church in various ministries. To see our leadership, go here

6. We practice Biblical Worship

Our church follows the biblical mandate that God has prescribed how He desires to be worshiped. We follow, therefore, what is known as the Regulative Principle of Worship; we only practice in corporate worship what Scripture specifically commands us to do. Our worship is God-centered, recognizing that He is alone the consumer, object, and focus of worship. Our worship is also simple, stressing the Ordinary Means of Grace: the reading and preaching of the Word, prayer, singing and observing the ordinances.

For more about our worship services, go here

7. We stress Biblical Membership

Reformed churches follow the New Testament's stress on the importance of church membership. We are held accountable to one another. Our church is not one where you can join and then hide. Although we place great importance upon what a church member should do and be, we place no expectation on members that is not explicitly stated in the New Testament. Our elders are charged "to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ"(Ephesians 4:12)

8. We have One Great Emphasis

"For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen." (Romans 11:36)

Reformed churches understand the chief aim of life lived coram Deo (in the presence of God) to be the glory of God. Therefore, in all our doctrine and practice, we seek to do all things for the glory of God alone.

9. Believers Baptism

We as Reformed Baptists do not recognize infant baptism, but only believer’s baptism, based on a personal confession of faith and carried out by full immersion in water. We require believer’s baptism for participation in the Lord’s Supper and for membership in our local church.

What if I'm not Reformed?

Yes, you are more than welcome to join us; we would love to have you. We are Christians first; therefore, what ultimately binds us together is our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as our only Savior and hope, not an expression of particular secondary doctrines.

The Reformers used a Latin phrase, Semper Reformanda (always reforming), which speaks to the lifelong process of understanding God's Word and applying it to our lives and church. We are all in the process of reforming, growing in the understanding of and obedience to God's Word ("...but be transformed by the renewal of your mind..." Romans 12:2).

It is a place where everyone is welcome to attend, follow Christ, develop authentic Christian relationships, and grow through learning, discussing, and applying Reformed doctrine. While our elders are required to fully affirm the London Baptist Confession of 1689, our members are not held to the same level of affirmation; rather, they are expected to lovingly uphold the teaching of the church, even if they have not yet come to the same conviction on every doctrinal point.

You are more than welcome to join us this Sunday