DOCTRINAL STATEMENT OF FAITH
The following doctrinal statement of faith governs the teaching at Calvary Bible Institute.
1. We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, equal in power and glory; that this triune God created all, upholds all, and governs all things. (Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 6:4; Isaiah 44:8 and 48:16; Matthew 28:19-20; John 10:30; Hebrews 1:3)
2. We believe that the scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the Word of God, fully inspired without error and the infallible rule of faith and practice. The Word of God is the foundation upon which this Institute operates and is the basis for which this Institute is governed. We believe that the Word of God supersedes any earthly law that is contrary to the Holy Scriptures. We believe that the King James Version of the Bible is the most accurate translation from the original ancient text. It is from this translation that we establish our doctrine and Statement of Faith. (Isaiah 28:13; Nehemiah 8:8; John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Peter 1:23-25; 2 Peter 1:3-4 and 1:21)
3. We believe in the person of God the Father, an infinite, eternal and personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love; that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men; that He hears and answers prayer; and that He saves from sin and death all those who come to Him through Jesus Christ. (Deuteronomy 33:27; Psalms 90:2 and 102:27; John 3:16 and 4:24; 1 Timothy 1:17; Titus 1:3)
4. We believe in the person of Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles and teachings, His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people; and personal, visible return to earth. (Isaiah 7:14; Micah 5:2; Matthew 1:23; Mark 16:19; Luke 1:34-35; John 1:1-2, 8:58 and 11:25; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 Timothy 3:16; Hebrews 1:8, 1 John 1:2; Revelation 1:8)
5. We believe in the person of the Holy Spirit, who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgement; and to regenerate, sanctify and empower for ministry all who believe in Christ. (Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 3:18; John 16:8-11; Romans 8:26, 15:13 and 16; Hebrews 9:14)
6. We believe the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Jesus Christ and that He is an abiding helper, teacher and guide. (John 6:13, 14:16-17 and 16:8-11; Romans 8:26)
7. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit and in the exercise of all Biblical gifts of the Spirit according to the instructions given to us in 1 Corinthians 12-14. (1 Corinthians 14)
8. We believe that all people are sinners by nature and therefore are under condemnation; that God saves and regenerates based upon faith by the Holy Spirit, those who repent of their sins and confess Jesus Christ as Lord. (Acts 8:15-17; Ephesians 2:1-3 and 8-9; Romans 3:23 and 5:8; Titus 3:5)
9. We believe in the universal church, the living spiritual body, of which Christ is the head and all who are born again are a part of the Body of Christ. (1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Ephesians 4:15-16)
10. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted two ordinances for the church: (a) full immersion water baptism of believers and (b) the Lord’s Supper. (Matthew 28:19; Luke 22:19-20; Acts 2:38; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26) We also believe that the Lord Jesus Christ validated the ordinance of marriage. (Matthew 19:4-5 and John 2:1-11)
11. We believe in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ which is His personal, visible return to earth and the establishment of His millennial kingdom, in the resurrection of the body, the final judgement and eternal blessing of the righteous and endless separation of the wicked. (Matthew 16:27; Acts 1:11; Revelation 19:11-16 and 20:11-15)
12. We believe in a literal Heaven and a literal Hell and that all those who place their faith, hope and trust in Jesus Christ will spend eternity in Heaven with the Lord, while those who reject Jesus’ free gift of salvation will spend eternity separated from the Lord. (Psalm 9:17; Matthew 5:3, 5:22, 18:9 and 25:31-34; Mark 9:42-49; Luke 12:5; John 3:18; Hebrews 12:23; 1 Peter 1:4; Revelation 14:10-11 and 20:11-15)
13. We believe in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture of the Church where all believers will meet the Lord in the air and be taken out of this world prior to the Great Tribulation that will come upon the earth. (Isaiah 26:20; Matthew 24:29-31; Luke 21:36; Romans 1:18 and 5:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-16 and 5:9; 2 Peter 2:7-9; Revelation 3:10, 5:7-10 and 7:13-14)
14. We believe in the creation of the world and God as the creator. We believe that God created man and that He created them male and female. As such He created them different so as to complement and complete each other. God instituted monogamous marriage between male and female as the foundation of the family and the basic structure of human society. For this reason, homosexuality, and all other “sexual preferences” or “orientations” are unnatural, sinful and unacceptable to God. Accordingly, this ministry will not perform any marriage ceremonies between two individuals of the same sex. It will not condone or recognize such same-sex marriages, civil unions or domestic partnerships, even if the state passes laws that provide for recognition of such unions.
15. We believe that marriage is exclusively the legal union of one genetic male and one genetic female sanctioned by the state and evidenced by a marriage ceremony. We also believe that legitimate biblical sexual relations are exercised solely within marriage. Hence, sexual activities such as, but not limited to, adultery, fornication, pre-material sex, incest, polygamy, homosexuality, transgenderism, bisexuality, cross-dressing, pedophilia and bestiality are inconsistent with the teachings of the Bible and the Church. Further, lascivious behavior, such as, the creation, viewing and/or distribution of pornography and efforts to alter one’s physical gender or gender related appearance are incompatible with a true biblical witness. (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4-6; John 4:16-18; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 5:11, 6:9-11, 6:18-20, 7:1-3 and 7:8-9; Galatians 5:19-21; Ephesians 5:3-7; 1 Timothy 1:9-11)
16. We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Genesis 1:26-27). Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person. We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Genesis 2:18-25). We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other (1 Corinthians 6:18, 7:2-5; Hebrews 13:4). We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God (Matthew 15:18-20; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10). We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of the Institution as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the Institution members and the community, it is imperative that all students and persons employed by the Institution in any capacity, or who serves as volunteers, agrees to and abide by this Statement on marriage, gender and sexuality (Matthew 5:16; Philippians 2:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 5:22). We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ (Acts 3:19-21; Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11). We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect and dignity (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31). Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture not the doctrines of Calvary Bible Institute.
17. We reject (1) the belief that true Christians can be demon-possessed and are helpless against the craft and wiles of the Devil; (2) any philosophy or theology which denies that human freewill can be exercised in the receiving of Christ’s free gift of salvation; specifically, we reject the belief that Jesus’ atonement was limited in its extent. Instead, we believe that He died for all unrighteous people and that any perceived limitation rests in one’s free rejection of Christ’s finished work of atonement and we reject the assertion that God’s wooing grace cannot be resisted or that He has elected some people to go to hell; instead we believe that anyone who wills to come to Christ may do so freely as a result of the Holy Spirit’s conviction and wooing persuasion of the heart; (3) “positive confession” (e.g., the Faith Movement, that views faith as a force that can create one’s own reality or that God can be commanded to heal or work miracles according to man’s will and faith); (4) human prophecy that supersedes or is contrary to Scripture; (5) any introduction of psychology or philosophy which is contrary to Scripture and is in substance “according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ” into biblical teaching; (6) “Open Theism” or “ Freewill Theism” which reduces God’s timeless, unchanging, dynamic nature and exhaustive foreknowledge of future free decisions, to creaturely modes of being and operation; (7) the “Emergent Church” movement insofar as it departs from the historic orthodox Christian doctrines in favor of postmodernism, and the overemphasis of spiritual gifts, experiential signs and wonders to the exclusion of biblical teaching.
STUDENT ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Departure from the doctrinal statement of faith may, in evaluation of the Institute, constitute grounds for denying admission to CBI, subsequent dismissal, or prohibition from graduating. By signing below, you are acknowledging that you have read and understood the current doctrinal statement, and that you agree to submit to the policies of the college regarding the doctrinal statement.
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