Statement of Faith

Final Authority for Matters of Belief and Conduct

The statement of faith does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning truth, morality, and the proper conduct of mankind, is the sole and final source of all that we believe. For purposes of Big House Christian Academy’s faith, doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline, our board of directors is Big House Christian Academy’s final interpretive authority on the Bible’s meaning and application.

The Scriptures

We believe in the verbal inspiration and inerrancy of the Scripture as originally written in the 66 books of the Old and New Testament. The Scripture is the sole and final source of all that we believe (2 Timothy 3:16-17). In order to accurately understand the Scripture, we study from a normative/literal, grammatical, historical, contextual, and dispensational perspective.

The One True God

We believe that there is one, and only one, living and true God (Isaiah 45:5-6) who has revealed Himself in the Scriptures as the Trinity of the Godhead, three co-equal Persons as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God has always been and always will be God (Psalm 90:2 and Isaiah 57:25).

The Father

We believe in the full deity of the Father-that is, He is completely and wholly God-who, although a Spirit, is not a force, but a divine person, fully and equally sharing the attributes of God.

The Son

We believe in the full deity of the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who did not become God, but is, and always has been, fully God, and not a created being (John 1). He is the one who spoke creation into existence (Colossians 1:16-17), yet He became the redeemer-the one who in love paid the penalty of our sins. We believe Jesus was born of the virgin, Mary (Isaiah 7:14 and Matthew 1:23). We believe in His sinless life and His voluntary substitutionary death. We believe in His bodily resurrection and ascension into heaven where He intercedes on our behalf as our faithful High Priest ruling over His creation as Lord and God (1 Cor. 15:3-4, Hebrews 7:25).

The Holy Spirit

We believe in the full deity of the Holy Spirit who, although a Spirit, is not a force, but a divine person fully and equally sharing the attributes of God. Through His present ministry, unsaved people are drawn to salvation and every believer is regenerated, indwelt, sealed, gifted at conversion, and empowered for service in the building up of the body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:4,7,11; Ephesians 2:20-22).

Angels and the Devil, or Satan

We believe in the creation, personal existence and activity of angelic beings, created by God to worship Him and to accomplish His will (Hebrews 1:14). They have interacted with people, and on occasion they have even taken on the appearance of men (Hebrews 13:2).

We believe in the reality and personality of Satan, the Devil; that he was created by God as an angelic being, but that through pride and rebellion, he became the enemy of his Creator and now actively opposes those who follow Christ (1 Peter 5:8). We further believe that he and the other fallen angels ultimately will be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10).

The Creation

We believe in the Biblical revelation of creation recorded in Genesis; that God created a fully mature universe, including mankind, in six consecutive 24-hour solar days, without any process of evolution or change of species (Exodus 20:11, Genesis 1 & 2, Acts 17:22-26).

The Fall of Man

We believe that mankind was originally created in a state of innocence and fellowship with God, but Adam rebelled by violating the will and purpose of His Creator. Each person is a sinner by nature and also by choice through personal decisions and actions, and is condemned as a sinner without defense or excuse (Romans 5:12, 3:23).

Salvation and Grace

We believe that the Triune God saves sinners by grace alone through faith alone in the Person and work of Christ alone (John 1:12). We believe that salvation is freely offered to mankind as a gift wrought through the Person and work of Christ and presented through the Holy Spirit; it is received solely by grace and not through religious works of any kind (Romans 5:1 & 9, 10:13). We believe that genuine salvation includes repentance which should lead to a transformed life (Ephesians 2:1-10).

The Church

We believe that the local church provides mutual encouragement and mutual accountability to strengthen believers and build up the body (Hebrews 10:23-25). We believe that the true mission of the church is to fulfill the Great Commission: first, to make individual disciples who love and serve Jesus Christ; second, to baptize new believers as a testimony of their new life in Christ and of their commitment to follow Him; and third, to model and teach what He has commanded (Matthew 28:18-20).

We believe that the local church is ecclesiastically independent and autonomous, not under the authority of any governing or ecclesiastical body (Revelation 2-3), and that each local church is to be congregationally ruled under the leadership of the pastor and the service of the deacons (Hebrews 13:7 & 17, 1 Timothy 3).

The Ordinances of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper

We believe that the church is given two ordinances to be observed by believers as a testimony of their love for, faith in, and connection with the Lord Jesus Christ. Baptism is always after salvation, showing the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the believers' commitment to walk in newness of life, purposefully following Christ. (Acts 2:41-42, Romans 6:4, 1 Peter 3:21).

The Lord's Supper is solely a commemorative memorial of Christ's death and should be celebrated by all believers after a solemn self-examination of their relationship to the Lord and to one another (1 Corinthians 11:26-28).

Eternal Destinies and End Time Events

We believe that those who have trusted Christ as Savior, will be included with the righteous in heaven when they die (1 Peter 1:18-19, John 14:1-6). Those who do not believe and trust Christ during their life on earth will be included with the wicked in hell and eventually the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15). We believe in the imminent return of Christ in the clouds to call believers up to be with Him forever (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52); this is referred to as the rapture. Unbelievers living on the earth will endure the tribulation of God's wrath for rejecting Christ and rebelling against Him (Matthew 24:15,21-22; Revelation 6-19). Believers will be rewarded for their faithfulness during their life on earth (2 Corinthians 5:9-10), and the church will be presented to Christ as His bride (Rev. 19:6-9).

At the end of the tribulation, Satan will be defeated at Armageddon (Revelation 19:11-21), and Christ will rule for 1,000 years (Revelation 20:1-6). There will be one final battle before unbelievers will face the Great White Throne Judgment, followed by irrevocable, conscious punishment in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11-15). Believers will be welcomed into the eternal kingdom with the new heaven and the new earth, where they will forever worship, serve and enjoy the presence of their Lord (Revelation 21-22).

Temporary Spiritual Gifts

We believe that the certain sign gifts of the Spirit (such as apostolic miracles or being a divine healer) were given only for the apostolic era, to provide divine revelation and to authenticate the New Covenant ministry of the Apostles. Thus, they have fulfilled their purpose and are not applicable to the work of the Holy Spirit today. John 14:26, Titus 3:5, 1 Corinthians 12:4, 7 & 11, Ephesians 4:30, Ephesians 2:20-22

Speaking in Tongues

We believe the Bible clearly teaches that tongues refer to known human languages regularly used by groups of people. Therefore, the gift of speaking in tongues was the miraculous ability to speak or understand a language already being used on earth, even though it was never previously learned or studied by the individual who received that spiritual gift. Acts 2:4, 6, & 9-11

Qualifications of Pastors

We believe only men should be pastors. 1 Timothy 3 describes the qualifications for the men (biological males) who meet the spiritual and practical qualifications for leading the ministry and serving in the office of a bishop (or senior pastor; also called pastor and elder), and the office of a deacon.

Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality

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. (Gen 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. (Gen 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 Cor 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb 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. (Matt 15:18-20; 1 Cor 6:9-10.) We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of Big House Christian Academy, and to provide a biblical role model to the Big House Christian Academy students and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by Big House Christian Academy in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality. (Matt 5:16; Phil 2:14-16; 1 Thess 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; Rom 10:9-10; 1 Cor 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 nor the doctrines of Big House Christian Academy.

Sanctity of Human Life

We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life. (Ps 139.)

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