Our Doctrinal Statement is at the very heart of all subjects taught at the Seminary, in both Resident Study and by Independent Study.
We are reminded of the Apostle Paul's words as he instructed Timothy and Titus regarding the responsibilities of a minister: "If you put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in words of faith and of good doctrine..." (I Timothy 4:6) "You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine" (Titus 2:1)
We believe that our Doctrinal Statement maintains “good” and “sound doctrine” that presents basic and essential Biblical tenets that our faculty and graduates should share in common, as follows:
We believe in the plenary and verbal inspiration and authority of all the sixty-six (66) canonical books of the Old and New Testaments as the divinely inspired and inerrant Word of God and submit to them as the only infallible authority in all matters of faith and practice. We believe the original documents were inerrant as to fact and infallible as to truth.
We believe in one God, revealed to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, eternal in being, identical in nature, equal in power and glory, and having precisely the same attributes and perfection.
We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but through Adam's sin, became alienated from God, acquired a sin nature, and came under the law and penalty of death.
A. We believe in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Word and Son of God. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary in order that He might reveal God to us in human form and redeem us from all our sins. The Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His substitutionary death on the cross for our sins, as a propitiatory sacrifice, and our redemption is made available to us by His resurrection from the dead as the only sinless man who ever lived. Our eternal salvation is assured only by faith in Him and reserved in heaven for all eternity.
B. We believe in the Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and that He is now reigning in Heaven and in the lives of all believers in Him; He is exalted at the right hand of God the Father, where He fulfills the ministry of intercession for all believers.
C. We believe in the Second Coming of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Who will, at His Second Coming, bring about: the Resurrection from the dead of all who ever lived; the Final Judgment; the End of this present world; the Eternal Damnation of all who reject Him; the Eternal Salvation of all true believers in Him who will continue to reign with Him for all eternity, in His New Heaven, His New Earth and His Holy City, the New Jerusalem, “and there shall be no more curse” (Rev. 22:3).
We believe that eternal salvation is a free gift from God offered to man by His grace and received only by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, wherein a believer's sins are forgiven eternally and the Holy Spirit of God takes up residence in the believer's heart, manifesting good works pleasing to God for time and eternity.
A. We believe that the Holy Spirit dwells in all believers and offers guidance into the fuller experience of truth which He is ever granting to those who diligently seek after Him in accordance with the Holy Scriptures.
B. We believe that all believers are to seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit, daily, and evidence within their lives of the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which is: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control" (Galatians 5:22-23).
C. We believe that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are distributed according to His will
(Hebrews 2:4), which are as follows:
prophecy/preaching, serving, teaching, encouraging, contributing (giving money), leadership,
mercy, wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miraculous powers, distinguishing between spirits,
speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues, helpers, administrators, apostles/messengers,
evangelists, pastors, hospitality. "Each should use whatever gift or
gifts he has received from the Holy Spirit to serve others" (I Peter 4:8-10)
remembering that the Holy Spirit has not given the same gift or gifts to all believers.
All gifts must be administered in accordance with the Holy Scriptures.
D. We believe that the mission of the Holy Spirit is to testify of Jesus Christ and to bring glory and honor to Him. The Holy Spirit helps, teaches, and empowers believers who seek to live for Christ in accordance with the clear teaching of Scripture.
We believe the Church is entrusted with the Great Commission to go and make disciples of all people, to baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and teach them to love and obey the Lord and His Holy Word, the Bible. The Church is to be faithful in the proclamation of the Gospel by the preaching of the Holy Scriptures and in the observance of Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. The Church is to manifest the fruit and the gifts of the Holy Spirit in worship and service of the Lord, Jesus Christ.
We believe that Heaven is a real place where believers will forever be with the Lord; it is the final blessed eternal home for all who have their faith in Jesus Christ (see Article 4 C).
We believe that hell is a real place and after the Final Judgment of Christ Jesus, death and hell will be cast into the lake of fire where there is no annihilation, but conscious eternal punishment of the wicked. This is the second death and the final state of damnation for all who have rejected God’s eternal love and forgiveness, through His Son, Jesus Christ.
We believe that the ministry is devinely called and ordained of God for the evangelization of the world and the edifying of the body of Christ. We believe we should follow the clear teachings in the Bible regarding role relationships of men and women in Ministry. God has made a man and a woman to be complimentary to each other, with different Scriptural role relationships that must be observed for unity as laborers together with Christ our Lord, who is the Head of the Church.
We believe that we are to love one another and do all we can to keep unity among all believers in Jesus Christ.
We believe that Satan is the Devil who sinned from the beginning. He is known by many names in the Bible and is the prince of this cursed earth and the fallen angels who are demonic spirits. Satan desires to deceive all people in any way he can so they will not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as their personal God and Savior. Satan was defeated by Jesus Christ through His sinless life, death, and resurrection from the dead. Satan's ultimate end is eternal damnation in the “lake of fire”, with all who have rejected God's love and forgiveness through Jesus Christ our Lord.
We believe that God created supernatural heavenly beings called angels who serve the Lord and worship Him in Heaven. They also assist, protect, and deliver believers from Satan's attacks.
We believe that demonic spirits are fallen angels who serve Satan against God and all mankind. Their purpose is to separate believers from God. They assist Satan who wants to destroy all people and spread false doctrine. They will have their part in the lake of fire with Satan and all who reject the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior. If believers submit themselves to God and resist the devil, he will flee from them.
We believe that Baptism, when administered according to the command of Jesus Christ and when received with believing faith in Him for the forgiveness of our sins, is an act of obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ as an outward testimony that we have died to self, in Christ, and have been washed by His atoning blood for newness of eternal life.
We believe that Communion, when administered according to the command of Jesus Christ and when received with believing faith in Him is an act of obedience to Christ our Lord as we remember His death until He comes again. It is also a time for spiritual self-examination in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ as we take Communion with Him and our fellow believers.
We believe that marriage between a man and a woman is a Divine Order established by God in creation. God made man and woman in His image. Each is made, by God, for the other with their essential natures being complementary so that they may be brought into oneness in marriage. However, any sexual relationships outside of marriage, by a man and a woman, or any sexual relationships between members of the same sex are absolutely forbidden by God.
We believe that it is the will of God to have us pray to Him for healing of body, mind, and spirit. We realize that God works to heal us for all eternity and sometimes He permits physical illness in our life to accomplish His divine purpose.
We believe that the Atonement is holy, vicarious and unlimited. It is the central doctrine of faith regarding all that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished by His sufferings and sacrificial death on the Cross for the sins of all people; redeeming mankind and bringing about the reconciliation of God to man through Jesus Christ, for those who do not resist the Holy Spirit and do receive Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. John 3:15-16; 12:32, 47; Acts 2:21; 17:30-31; Romans 5:8-11; 1 Timothy 2:1-6; 2 Peter 3:9; Revelation 22:17.
A. The Millennium (1000 years):
We believe that the Millennium, the “thousand years”, as defined spiritually by the Bible in Psalms 90:4 and 2 Peter
3:8; and as specifically used in Rev. 20:2-6, represents God’s Covenant of Grace, thru Christ Jesus in His Church (Acts
2:47; 7:38; Eph. 2:1-10; 3:2, 5-10; Titus 2:11-15) as evidenced by Christ Jesus’ First Coming (John 3:16-17; Eph. 2:8-9)
and His Ascension to heaven (Acts 1:9-11), where He lives and reigns with the souls of believers in heaven (Rev. 20:4,6),
as well as within the souls of believers who are now on earth (Rom. 5:17, 21; 8:34; I John 4:13-17); until the “thousand
years are expired” (Rev. 20:7) and “the Son of Man cometh at an hour when ye think not” (Luke 12:40); in His Second
Coming for the Final Judgment (2 Peter 3:7-13; Rev. 20:11-15). He will then “make all things new” (Rev. 21:1-5)
and all believers will reign with Him in His New Heaven and New Earth, forever (Rev. 22:3-5). Amen.
We believe that Christ Jesus had His angel bind Satan and cast him into the bottomless pit for the symbolic “thousand years”
(Rev. 20:1-3). This binding of Satan took place when Christ Jesus “was manifested that He might destroy the
works of the devil” (1 John 3:8); and “the prince of this world be cast out” (John 12:31). “The prince of this
world is judged” (John 16:11). Satan is “the strong man bound” in Mt. 12:28-29. All believers in Christ Jesus
may now “resist the Devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Satan has now been bound for over 2,000 years
and he can not stop the Gospel Ministry (Mt. 28:18-20; Acts1:8-11). Our Lord, Christ Jesus, may come at anytime,
for His Second Coming and the Last Things.
B. The Last Things (Eschatology):
We believe that the Last Things, as presented in the Bible, are as follows:
There are a number of Christian denominations, colleges and theological seminaries that reject much of what the Bible clearly
teaches to be true. For example, a survey of over 7,000 ministers was taken regarding what they believed concerning
the doctrines of the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ and the Holy Scriptures. Two questions were asked these ministers
in America’s largest denominations: (1) Do you believe in the Virgin Birth of Jesus Christ?; (2) Do you
believe that the Bible is true and the final authority regarding what we should believe and how we should live our lives?
The majority of these ministers said “no” to these two questions, and accordingly they rejected Article 1 of our Doctrinal
Statement concerning the inerrancy of Scripture.
We believe in doing something about what we believe. As a part of our Mission Statement, it is the desire of the
Seminary to teach and train our students in the truths of the Holy Bible, so they may be better enabled to serve in Christian
ministry vocations in our community and throughout the world, as a part of Jesus’ Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20).
Please study our Doctrinal Statement, so you will understand what we uphold and teach from God's Holy Scriptures.