The God We Have Come to Know Through His Word

We believe in one true and living God, eternally existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three distinct Persons, equal in glory, majesty, and power, yet one in essence.

The Father, in His great love, purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and sent His only begotten Son into the world to accomplish their salvation. The Son willingly took upon Himself our humanity, lived a sinless life, bore our sins in His own body on the cross, satisfied the righteous judgment of God, rose bodily from the dead on the third day, ascended into heaven, and now reigns at the Father's right hand as Lord of all.

The Holy Spirit glorifies the Son by opening blind eyes to the truth of the gospel. He convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment, grants repentance and faith, unites believers to Christ, indwells them, and faithfully conforms them to His image. Everything the Spirit does directs our attention to the person and finished work of Jesus Christ.

Because salvation is the gracious work of the Father, accomplished by the Son, and applied by the Holy Spirit, we gladly worship the one true God, to whom alone belongs all glory forever.

We believe the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired, infallible, and wholly trustworthy Word of God. They are God's complete and sufficient revelation, without error in all that they affirm, and are the final authority for all matters of faith and life.

From Genesis to Revelation, the Scriptures bear witness to Jesus Christ. The promises, sacrifices, priesthood, kings, prophets, feasts, and shadows of the Old Testament all find their fulfillment in Him. The New Testament proclaims His incarnation, His sinless life, His atoning death, His bodily resurrection, His ascension, His present reign, and His promised return. The central message of the Bible is the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Because the Scriptures reveal Christ, they are sufficient to lead sinners to salvation and believers to spiritual maturity. Through His Word, God exposes our sin, reveals His grace, strengthens our faith, renews our minds, transforms our lives, and equips us for every good work. For this reason, every course in the Academy is built upon the conviction that God's Word is sufficient because it faithfully reveals God's Son.

We believe the gospel is the glorious announcement of what God has accomplished for sinners through the person and finished work of Jesus Christ. It is not merely the doorway into the Christian life, but the very foundation upon which the whole Christian life is built.

Jesus Christ lived the perfectly righteous life we could never live. On the cross, He willingly bore our sins, endured the judgment we deserved, and satisfied the justice of God in our place. He was buried, rose bodily from the dead on the third day, ascended into heaven, and now reigns as Lord and Savior. Through His death, sinners receive forgiveness. Through His resurrection, they receive new life. Through His exaltation, they receive a living Savior who continually intercedes for them. Through His Spirit, they receive the power to walk in newness of life.

We believe the gospel not only declares believers righteous before God, it also transforms them day by day into the likeness of Christ. The same gospel that reconciles us to God is God's appointed means of renewing our minds, changing our hearts, overcoming sin, producing holiness, and filling us with hope until the day we see Christ face to face.

For this reason, the gospel is not simply one subject among many that we teach. It is the foundation of every course, every mentoring relationship, every lesson, every word of encouragement, every correction, every loving rebuke, every exhortation, and every expression of hope we seek to give. We believe that lasting transformation is found, not by looking more closely at ourselves, but by continually looking to Jesus Christ, crucified for our sins, raised for our justification, reigning at the Father's right hand, and coming again in glory.

We believe that every human being is born a sinner, separated from God, spiritually dead, and unable to save himself by good works, religious effort, or personal merit. Left to ourselves, we stand guilty before a holy God and are deserving of His righteous judgment.

Yet God, in His abundant mercy, offers complete forgiveness and eternal life as a free gift of His grace. Salvation is received through repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, trusting wholly in His finished work rather than in anything we have done or could ever do. We are justified by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, entirely apart from our own righteousness.

Those who believe the gospel are united to Christ in His death and resurrection. Our sins are counted as His, and His perfect righteousness is counted as ours. He bore the wrath of God that we deserved so that we might receive the favor He alone deserved. He entered into death so that we might enter into His resurrection life. He was forsaken under the judgment of God so that we might be welcomed into the Father's everlasting love. He endured the punishment that brought us peace, and by His wounds we are healed. Because we are united with Him, we are forgiven, declared righteous, accepted, adopted as God's children, indwelt by His Holy Spirit, and empowered to walk in newness of life.

For this reason, we reject every attempt to earn God's favor through human effort. From beginning to end, salvation is the gracious work of God, accomplished by Christ, received by faith, and lived out through the power of the Holy Spirit, all for the glory of God alone.

We believe that everyone who trusts in Jesus Christ is united with Him in His death, His resurrection, and His life through the indwelling Holy Spirit. This union with Christ is not merely a theological truth to be admired, but the very foundation of the Christian life. Everything God calls us to become flows out of who we already are in Christ.

Because we have been united with Christ in His death, we believe our old identity, our guilt, our condemnation, and our debt of sin were nailed to His cross. The person we once were apart from Christ no longer defines us. We are no longer slaves to sin, no longer under its condemnation, and no longer obligated to obey its demands. When temptation comes, it no longer speaks to the person we once were, because that person died with Christ.

Because we have been united with Christ in His resurrection, we have received a new identity, a new heart, a new purpose, and a new power for living. The risen Christ now lives in us through His Holy Spirit, enabling us to walk in newness of life. We do not strive to become new people. We live because God has already made us new in Christ.

This does not mean believers never struggle with temptation or never stumble into sin. The Christian life is often a battle. Yet our confidence rests, not in our own determination, but in our union with the victorious Christ. The same Savior who died for us now lives in us, and His resurrection life is sufficient to strengthen us in every temptation, to restore us when we fall, and to conform us more and more to His likeness.

For this reason, every course in the Academy continually points students back to their union with Christ. We believe lasting freedom is not found by trying harder, but by living each day from our new identity as those who have died with Christ, have been raised with Christ, and now live by His indwelling life.

We believe the Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity, fully God with the Father and the Son. He is not merely a divine influence or power, but a living Person who glorifies Jesus Christ by applying His finished work to the hearts and lives of God's people.

The Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment, opening blind eyes to the beauty of the gospel and drawing sinners to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. He gives new birth, unites believers to Christ, indwells every child of God, and assures us that we belong to the Father. Through His gracious work, what Christ accomplished on the cross becomes our present reality.

The Holy Spirit continually points believers to Jesus Christ. He reminds us of Christ's words, teaches us the Scriptures, strengthens our faith, produces His fruit in our lives, equips us for service, comforts us in suffering, and empowers us to put sin to death and walk in joyful obedience. He never draws attention to Himself, but delights to glorify the Son, just as Jesus promised.

Because the Holy Spirit lives within every believer, we are never called to live the Christian life in our own strength. The One who raised Jesus Christ from the dead now dwells in us, supplying the grace, wisdom, strength, and power we need to follow Christ faithfully each day.

For this reason, every course in the Academy seeks to encourage students to depend, not upon their own resolve, but upon the indwelling Holy Spirit, who continually directs us to live from our union with Christ, reminding us that we have died with Him, have been raised with Him, and now live through His indwelling life.

We believe Jesus Christ is building His Church, and that every local church is called to proclaim the gospel, make disciples, baptize believers, teach the whole counsel of God, and shepherd God's people until Christ returns. The Church does not exist merely to gather crowds or conduct religious activities, but to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ and help believers grow into mature disciples who increasingly reflect His character.

The message entrusted to the Church is the gospel of Jesus Christ. Through the faithful preaching of Christ crucified and risen, God calls sinners to repentance and faith, grants new life by His Spirit, and continues the lifelong work of transforming His people into the likeness of His Son. The gospel is not only the Church's message to unbelievers, it is also God's ongoing means of strengthening, encouraging, correcting, and maturing every believer.

We believe every Christian should be actively involved in a faithful, Bible-believing local church where the Word of God is preached, the ordinances are observed, biblical fellowship is cultivated, and believers are encouraged to love, serve, and pray for one another. The Academy is not a substitute for the local church. Rather, it exists to serve the Church by providing gospel-centered discipleship that complements and strengthens the ministry Christ has entrusted to His people.

For this reason, we desire that every student of the Academy grow not only in biblical knowledge, but also in love for Christ, commitment to His Church, and joyful participation in His mission of making disciples throughout the world.

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, who was crucified for our sins, buried, and raised bodily from the dead on the third day, will one day return personally, visibly, and gloriously, just as He promised. His resurrection is the Father's declaration that His saving work is complete, and His promised return is the certain hope of every believer.

When Christ returns, every promise of the gospel will reach its glorious fulfillment. Faith will become sight. Sin will be forever abolished. Death will be swallowed up in victory. Every tear will be wiped away, and God's redeemed people will dwell in His presence forever, rejoicing in the One who loved us and gave Himself for us.

The certainty of Christ's return is not intended to produce fear in those who belong to Him, but joyful anticipation, steadfast endurance, and holy living. Because our Savior is coming again, we seek to live each day in faithful obedience, proclaiming His gospel and making disciples until He appears.

For this reason, every course in the Academy points students beyond present struggles to the living hope found in Jesus Christ. Our confidence does not rest in temporary victories over particular sins, but in the unshakable promise that the crucified, risen, reigning Savior will return to complete the good work He has begun in His people.

We believe that because Jesus Christ rose bodily from the dead, all people will one day be raised. His resurrection is the firstfruits and the guarantee of the resurrection to come. Just as Christ conquered death through His victorious resurrection, so all who belong to Him will share in His everlasting life.

We believe that every person will stand before God to give an account. Those who have trusted in Jesus Christ alone will be received, not because of their own righteousness, but because they have been clothed in the perfect righteousness of Christ. Their sins have been fully atoned for through His death, their condemnation has been removed, and they will enter into the joy of their Lord to dwell with Him forever.

Those who reject the gospel of Jesus Christ remain under the judgment their sins deserve, because they have refused the only Savior who bore God's wrath in the place of sinners. We therefore proclaim the gospel with both urgency and compassion, longing for all people to come to repentance and faith before that great day.

The certainty of the coming resurrection and final judgment reminds us that every human life is eternal and every person matters deeply to God. For this reason, the Academy seeks to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ with humility, faithfulness, and love, inviting all people to find forgiveness, new life, and everlasting hope through Him.