What We Believe
Grace Biltmore exists to genuinely know the God of truth and grace so that love overflows to God, one another, our community and the world.There are two kinds of churches. One says to its community, "You can come to us, learn our language, learn our interests, meet our needs." The other says to its community, "We will come to you, learn your language, learn your interests, meet your needs." We seek to love the city of Asheville. Our ministry to the city is not limited to prophetic (teaching) and priestly (mercy and service), but to love the city and respect and learn from it.
If we really believe the gospel, then ... "We are a church not here to denounce the city, but to serve, challenge and love it. We are a church not just for ourselves, but also for our friends who don't go to church." -Tim Keller
The Gospel
Forgiven and accepted by God through the work of Jesus Christ, we believe the Gospel penetrates our lives with real and applicable change.
The timeless hope is the Gospel’s power to transform “big” sinners like each one of us. It’s not about being nicer or trying harder; but a new life, new worship and a new community.
The Gospel changes everything. The Gospel is not just for unbelievers. Finding our worth through performance will only lead us to become proud/judgmental or self-loathing and discouraged. Gospel hope gives us a new self-image. The gospel leads us away from legalism and calls us to repentance and gospel transformation is the key to obedient living.
We believe the Gospel is the greatest need of believers. The gospel is our source of hope and spiritual growth. By our union with Jesus and what he has done for us (not what we do for him), we are empowered to live the Christian life.
Most discipleship approaches emphasize that obedience leads to deeper relationship with Christ. Our focus is that deeper relationship with Christ leads us to respond with obedience. The center is Christ, not the person. This perspective drives our ministry.
The Bible describes Jesus as one who was "full of grace (undeserved kindness) and truth" (John 1:14,17). The two go together. God's grace is always truthful, and His truth is always graceful. Truth without grace is oppressive; grace without truth is permissive. To divorce them creates something that is not real Christianity. Our goal in following Jesus is to likewise be full of grace and truth. Uniting grace and truth means, among other things that we are a church striving to be:
Hopeful
We don’t despair in what we see because we know that the battle for our souls has been won. We now trust Christ, our savior, to continue to change us and use us for his loving purposes.Relational
Growing to love one another by developing relationships that are graceful and truthful.Biblical
Truthfully uphold the loving values and principles God gives in the Bible without doing so self-righteously.Honest
Safely face the darkest truths about ourselves confident in His grace that we might change.Outward
Resisting the temptation to serve only ourselves by maintaining a purposely outward focus as we seek to apply and communicate God’s grace and truth in an honest and practical manner.
We like to laugh. You got a problem with that?
Seriously, who killed the joy in church? Our ultimate security is in Christ, so we don't take ourselves too seriously. "Fun" is not a dirty word ... lighten up and act like a Christian.
The Bible
We believe the Bible is the inspired Word of God (inspiration). We believe it is without error in the original writings (inerrant), that it is the complete revelation of God's will for our salvation, and that it is our supreme and final authority in all matters of our faith and life (infallible and authoritative). 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21.
God
We believe there is only one true God; and that it is Him alone who we must serve and worship, and that He alone is worthy of our lives and trust. We believe God is eternal, infinitely perfect, all-powerful, all-knowing, and holy (separate from humanity and morally perfect). We believe this one God exists and works in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (trinity). We believe He owns and controls all things according to His will. Eph. 1:11; 3:11; Acts 4:24-27.
Creation
We believe that God alone has existed from eternity past and, in His wisdom, decided to create the universe using nothing which had pre-existed. Genesis 1:1; Hebrews 11:3; Isaiah 44:24.
Humanity
We believe that human beings were created by God in His own likeness (image) in order to have an intimate relationship with Him (fellowship) and to bring Him glory. Therefore, we believe humanity has tremendous dignity and value (Gen. 1:26; Col. 3:17). We also believe, however, that humanity broke that relationship through rebellion and disobedience (sin), and thereby became spiritually dead, separated from God, under His condemnation, totally unable to please Him or earn a restored relationship (salvation). Rom. 3:9-19; 8:7,8. We believe that we all are sinners and totally unable to save ourselves from God's displeasure, except by His mercy.
Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is truly God (Rom. 9:5), and that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of a virgin, becoming also truly human (Luke 2:1-40). We believe He did this in order to represent both God and humanity (as a mediator) and to become the bridge that restores our relationship to God. Because of His humanity, and His suffering and being tempted in every way like we are (yet without sinning), He is also able to be compassionate and sympathetic toward us (Heb. 4:14-16). We believe that Jesus is the only savior and way back to God (1 Tim. 2:5); that He suffered, died on the cross and took the full punishment of our sins as our substitute and sacrifice (Rom. 3:25a), and thereby redeemed us (bought us back) and reconciled our broken relationship with God (Rom. 5:10). We believe Jesus physically and truly came back to life after three days (resurrection; Matthew 28), demonstrating His deity and power, and the effectiveness of His sacrifice. We believe that He then ascended into heaven in the sight of His disciples and now reigns with God the Father (Luke 24:50-53). We believe He is now our advocate (continually "standing up" for us; Rom. 8:34).
God's Plan of Salvation
We believe in the Gospel, the Good News: that, through Jesus and His sacrifice, sinners (like we all are), can have an intimate, loving relationship with God again, and one day live with Him forever. We believe God's plan and provision to send Jesus to redeem us was purely out of love for us and by grace alone (doing good for those who deserve the opposite). We believe that only faith, trusting in who Jesus is and what He did, is the means to receiving the gift of salvation; and that nothing we do by the way of good deeds or religious exercise can earn it. We believe faith is the gift of God and the work of the Holy Spirit; and that it is accompanied by our admitting we are great sinners in need of a great savior (repentance). We believe the results of salvation by grace through faith alone include: the total forgiveness of our sins (past, present and future), the complete removal of guilt in God's sight, acceptance and approval by God, the crediting of Jesus' obedience to our record, our adoption into God's family as His sons and daughters (with all its rights and privileges), the power to become more and more like Jesus throughout our lifetime, and the guarantee of being united with Him at our death in order to live with Him forever. John 3:16; Rom. 3:22-24; Eph. 2:1,4,5,8-10. We believe that salvation is by God alone as He sovereignly chooses those He will save. His salvation is based on His grace, not on any human individual merit, or foreseen faith.
End Times
We believe Jesus promises to personally and visibly return again one day and bring all things to their completion and culmination. We believe there will be a final judgment by God, where He will take His own to be with Him forever and will deliver all others to be separated from Him forever. 1 Cor. 15:24-28; Rev. 20:11-15.
The Church
We believe in the invisible church: that we are one with all God's people, everywhere, throughout history. We also believe in the visible church: where God's people in particular places and at particular times in history express their unity by visibly committing themselves to mutual encouragement and accountability. We believe these local churches are the ordinary means through which God spreads the gospel and helps His people grow in love and faith. We believe the church uses the Bible, the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper (visible signs of invisible grace), and prayer to accomplish this. We believe that God is gracious and faithful to His people not simply as individuals, but as families in successive generations according to His Covenant promises.
Life in the Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells God's people and gives us the strength and wisdom to trust Christ and follow Him and that all aspects of our lives are to be lived to the glory of God under the Lordship of Jesus Christ (not by legalistic effort, but by living under grace in response to the Gospel).
Our Purpose
