Statement of Faith
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The ǸԹ Code
The students of ǸԹ, along with board members, administrators,faculty, and staff, agree to uphold the following Bible-based values that guide thechoices we make and the manner in which we live:
We live in submission to the Word of God.
Recognizing that God’s Word has all authority, we are committed to believe and obeythe Scriptures. (II Timothy 3:16-17; I Thessalonians 2:13)
Our goal is Christ.
Believing that the Lord Jesus Christ is to have preeminence in all things, we worshipHim alone. Pleasing Him is our highest motive. Our desire is to be true followers ofChrist. (Philippians 3:7-11; Colossians 1:18)
We are separated to God.
Being separated to the Lord sets us apart from the spirit and culture of the world. Weseek to honor the Lord by living a life that is consecrated unto Him. (I Peter 1:15-16; ICorinthians 6:19-20)
We serve the Lord as members of a local church.
Knowing that the Scriptures provide the doctrine and pattern for local churches to follow,we belong to a church that adheres to the New Testament pattern in faith and practice,and we advance the gospel through the ministry of our church. (Acts 2:41-42; Acts 5:42)
We are faithful witnesses unto Christ.
Believing that Jesus Christ is the only way of salvation, we give the gospel message tothe lost, seeking to win them to Christ and to help them become true disciples of theLord Jesus. (Acts 1:8; Proverbs 11:30; Matthew 28:18-20)
We recognize the stewardship of life.
Understanding that our lives belong to the Lord, we strive to be faithful stewards of allthat He has given us. This includes using our time, talents, and possessions for theglory of God. (I Corinthians 4:2; Romans 14:11-12; Luke 12:15; Malachi 3:8-11)
We deal with others in honesty and sincerity.
Realizing the importance of our testimony, we exercise integrity in our relationships anddealings with others. We seek to have Christ’s heart of love and compassion for allpeople. (Colossians 3:1-17; Titus 2:1-15; Romans 13:12-14)
Philosophy of Education
Our philosophy grows out of our theology.
The philosophy of education held by ǸԹ grows out of ourtheology. Believing in the one true and living God as revealed in the Scriptures, andbelieving that redemption for fallen man has been provided through the death, burial,and resurrection of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, we therefore hold a philosophy ofeducation which recognizes God as the Author of all truth, and which centers on thePerson of Jesus Christ. We reject any philosophy that does not recognize the existenceand nature of God as taught in the Bible, and that does not recognize that the chief endof man is to know God through His Son and to glorify Him.
The goal is to develop the mind of Christ.
We believe the goal of Christian education is to develop the mind of Jesus Christ.Knowing that Christ Himself is the Creator, and that all things were created by Him andfor Him, we hold that all truth finds its origin in the Person of Jesus Christ. In Him are allthe treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Colossians 2:3).
God’s Word Is the Cornerstone.
We believe that God’s Word, the Bible, must be central in all learning. As the divinelyinspired, written revelation of God, the Bible is the cornerstone of Christian education.All knowledge and truth discovered in the processes of learning find bedrock in God’sWord. The Bible is the unchanging, absolute truth by which we interpret and understandall truth.
Christ-centered education provides the foundation for life.
We believe that a Christ-centered education provides the foundation for all of life.Christian education is not confined to a classroom, but is committed to the developmentof the whole person—spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, socially, and physically.Therefore, all requirements and opportunities placed before students are viewed as apart of their education. Training both inside and outside the classroom helps them togrow in favor with God and in favor with man, and thus be prepared for life.
The supernatural work of God is necessary.
We believe that the supernatural work of the Spirit of God is necessary to Christianeducation. It is only by the Spirit of God that we are born into the family of God, and thisregeneration is required if one is to develop the mind of Christ. It is also the work of theSpirit of God to illumine the minds of those who have been regenerated. The Spirit ofGod teaches us all truth and guides us into the understanding of truth. He also grantswisdom to apply truth to life, because truth is given to us not simply to be known, but tobe lived (Joshua 1:8). Without the work of the Spirit of God, Christian education cannottake place; we will be ever learning, and never able to come unto the knowledge of thetruth. Teachers and students alike must be ever aware of their need for the Lord andmust pray for His enabling.
Statement of Faith
The Scriptures
We believe the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be the Bible, “as it isin truth, the Word of God…” (I Thessalonians 2:13). We believe in verbal, plenaryinspiration in the original writings, and God’s preservation of His pure words to everygeneration (II Timothy 3:16, Psalms 12:6-8). We believe that the Scriptures are inerrant,infallible, and God-breathed.The Masoretic Text of the Old Testament and the ReceivedText of the New Testament (Textus Receptus) are those texts of the original languageswe use; the Authorized King James Version of the Bible is the English version we use inthe English-speaking world. The Bible is our sole and final authority for faith andpractice.
The Godhead
We believe in one Triune God, eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son, andHoly Spirit, co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory, andhaving the same attributes and perfections (Deuteronomy 6:4; II Corinthians 13:14). Webelieve that God created the entire universe in six literal, twenty-four-hour days(Genesis 1:1-27).
The Person and Work of Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, withoutceasing to be God, having been conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virginMary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful men (John 1:1-2, 14; Luke1:35; Isaiah 9:6; 7:14; Philippians 2:5-8; Galatians 4:4-5).We believe that the Lord JesusChrist accomplished our redemption through His finished work on the cross as arepresentative, vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice; and that our justification is made sureby His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (Romans 3:24-25; I Peter 2:24;Ephesians 1:7; I Peter 1:3-5).We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ was raised bodilyand that He ascended to Heaven and is now exalted at the right hand of God, where, asour High Priest, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate(Acts 1:9-10; Hebrews 9:24, 7:25; Romans 8:34; I John 2:1-2)
The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Person who reproves the world of sin, ofrighteousness, and of judgment; and that He is the Supernatural Agent in regeneration,indwelling all believers and sealing them unto the day of redemption (John 16:8-11; IICorinthians 3:6; Romans 8:9; Ephesians 1:13-14). We believe that the sign gifts of theHoly Spirit, such as speaking in tongues and the gift of healing, were temporary. Webelieve that speaking in tongues was never the common or necessary sign of thebaptism or filling of the Holy Spirit and that ultimate deliverance of the body fromsickness or death awaits the consummation of our salvation in the resurrection, thoughGod frequently chooses to answer the prayer of believers for physical healing.
(IICorinthians 12:12; I Corinthians 13:8; Hebrews 2:3-4; Mark 16:17-20; I Corinthians 1:22,14:21-22).
Satan
We believe in the reality of the person of Satan and that he and the fallen angels wagea spiritual warfare against the plan and purposes of God (John 13:2; Acts 5:3;Ephesians 6:11-12). We believe that Satan is a created angelic being who rebelled andwho tempted man to join him in rebellion against God (Isaiah 14:12-17; Ezekiel 28:11-19; Genesis 3:1-5). We believe his power is supernatural, yet limited; and that hecannot act without the permission of God (Job 1:6-12; I John 4:4). Satan’s eternal end iseverlasting torment in the Lake of Fire (Revelation 20:10).
Man
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that in Adam’ssin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, and became alienated from God; andtherefore man is totally depraved, and, of himself, utterly unable to remedy his lostcondition (Genesis 1:26- 27; Romans 3:22-23; Ephesians 2:1-3,12). The sacredness ofhuman personality is evident in that God created man in His own image and is mindfulof him, and in that Christ died for man; therefore every individual possesses dignity andis worthy of respect and Christian love. (Psalm 8:4-9; Colossians 3:9-11).
We believe that the only marriage recognized by Scripture is the joining of one man andone woman. (Genesis 2:24; Romans 7:2; 1 Corinthians 7:10; Ephesians 5:22-23)Webelieve that God expressly forbids intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of amarriage between one man and one woman. We believe that any form ofhomosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, andpornography are perversions of God’s intended purposes and therefore, sin. We believethat God forbids any attempt to alter one’s God-given sex by any means, includingsurgery or appearance. (Genesis 2:24; Genesis 19:5, 13; Genesis 26:8-9; Leviticus18:1-30; Romans 1:26-29; 1 Corinthians 5:1, 6:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8; Hebrews 13:4)
The Way of Salvation
We believe that the clear message of salvation is “repentance toward God and faithtoward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). We believe that salvation is “by grace” plusnothing minus nothing. We believe that Jesus Christ died for every man, and that eachindividual chooses to accept or reject the grace of God (Hebrews 2:9; I John 2:2). Webelieve that men are justified by faith alone and are accounted righteous before Godonly through the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 2:8-10; John1:12; I Peter 1:18-19)We believe that all the redeemed, once saved are kept by God’spower and are thus secure in Christ forever. We believe that eternal life is the presentpossession of every believer (John 6:37-40, 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 38-39; I Corinthians1:4-8; I Peter 1:4-5; Jude 1, 2).
The Church
We believe that the New Testament church is a local assembly of baptized believerswho have voluntarily joined themselves together to carry out the Great Commission.The Lord is doing His work in this world through local churches. The establishment andcontinuance of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New TestamentScriptures (Acts 14:27; 20:17, 28-32; I Timothy 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-11). We believe in theautonomy of the local church free of any external authority or control. Christ is the onlyhead of the church (Acts 13:1-4, 15:19-31, 20:28; Romans 16:1, 4; I Corinthians 3:9,16;5:4-7,13; I Peter 5:1-4).We recognize the ordinances of baptism by immersion in waterand the Lord’s Supper as a Scriptural means of testimony for local churches in this age(Matthew. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41-42, 18:18; I Corinthians 11:23-26).
Biblical Separation
We believe that all the saved should live in such a manner as not to bring reproachupon their Savior and Lord; and, that separation from all religious apostasy, all worldlyand sinful pleasures, practices and associations is commanded of God (II Timothy 3:1-5; Romans 12:1, 2, 14:13; I John 2:15-17; II John 9-11; II Corinthians 6:14-7:1).
The Return of Christ
We believe the “Blessed Hope” of our Lord’s return is literal, personal, visible, imminent,premillennial, and pretribulational. Believers will be caught up to be with the Lord prior tothe seven years of tribulation, and at the end of the tribulation Christ will return with Hissaints to establish His thousand-year reign on the earth (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus2:13; I Thessalonians 1:10; Revelation 3:10; Zechariah 14:4-11; Revelation 19:11-16,
20:1-6; Psalm 89:3-4).
Our Eternal State
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and theunsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment (Matthew 25:46; John 5:28, 29, 11:25-26; Revelation 20:5-6, 12-13).We believe that the souls of the redeemed are, at death,absent from the body and present with the Lord, where in conscious bliss they await thefirst resurrection, when spirit, soul, and body are reunited to be glorified forever with theLord (Luke 23:43; Revelation 20:4-6; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23, 3:21; IThessalonians 4:16-17).We believe that the souls of unbelievers remain, after death, inconscious misery until the second resurrection, when with soul and body reunited theyshall appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, and shall be cast into the Lake ofFire, not to be annihilated, but to suffer everlasting, conscious punishment (Luke 16:19-26; Matthew 25:41-46; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6-7; Mark 9:43-48; Revelation20:11-15).
The Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our faith. The Bible itself is thesole and final source of all we believe. We do believe, however, that the precedingStatement of Faith accurately represents the teachings of the Scriptures.