Distinctives of SGBC

The Sufficiency of Scripture
We believe that God has provided us in the Scripture with everything necessary to nurture and sustain
spiritual life. That means we are committed to teaching and to counseling directly and exclusively
from the completely inspired and inerrant Word of God. We do not believe that secular psychology has
any legitimate role in the sanctification of the believer.

A Changed Life
We believe that all those whom God has genuinely saved by grace through faith alone are new
creatures in Christ and will demonstrate that new life by submission to Christ and obedience to God’s
Word. All Christians still sin, sometimes horribly, and sometimes for extended periods without
repentance. But a decreasing pattern of sin and an increasing pattern of holiness will characterize
every Christian’s life.

The Gift of Tongues
We believe that the gift of tongues was the miraculous, God-given capacity to communicate the truth
of God’s Word in human languages the speaker had never learned or studied. It was a manifestation of
God's power and blessing to validate the gospel message the Apostles taught and to establish the early
Church. We believe that ecstatic outbursts and private prayer languages share nothing in common
with the New Testament gift of tongues, and that they are patently unbiblical.

The Role of Men and Women
We believe that both men and women bear the image of God and that those in Christ enjoy equal
spiritual standing before God. But Scripture teaches that God has assigned different roles and
responsibilities to men and women. In the home, the husband is to be the gracious, loving head and the
wife is to submit to her husband’s leadership. God has provided equally clear roles in the church.
While there are many ways women can serve, we believe that Scripture forbids women from teaching
and leading men, or in any way exercising authority over men in the context of the church.

Creation
We believe Genesis is a straightforward, literal presentation of the historical events it describes. We
teach, therefore, that God created everything in six literal days. We reject every form of theistic
evolution.

Elder Leadership
We believe that clear teaching of Scripture demonstrates that the biblical norm for church leadership is a
 plurality of God-ordained and appointed elders and only by following this biblical pattern will the church
maximize its fruitfulness to the glory of God.