Doctrinal Statement – BJU Seminary

Please read each core doctrinal position and affirm that you understand and agree. [Required for admittance]

The Bible

The Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit and is the inerrant, infallible, historically reliable, providentially preserved revelation of God and is sufficient for faith and practice. Only the sixty-six books of the traditional Protestant Canon are the true, authoritative Word of God.

The triune God exists in three persons who are co-eternal in being and co-equal in nature, attributes, and glory: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is the Creator of all things in heaven and earth and the providential ruler of all creation.

Jesus Christ is the Son of God, fully God, fully man, incarnated by the power of the Holy Spirit through the virginal conception. His vicarious, substitutionary, penal atonement for the sins of mankind was accomplished by the shedding of His blood on the cross, through which He propitiated the wrath of God against sin and sinners. Jesus arose bodily from the dead and ascended in glory to the right hand of the Father.

As a member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is an actual person, not a mere influence or power. His ministry includes the conviction of sin, illumination and understanding of the Gospel, regeneration leading to the new birth, baptism into the Body of Christ, and empowerment for living the Christian life. Scripture teaches that Christ sent the Spirit to indwell believers and that the Holy Spirit gives gifts as well as enablement to believers for living the Christian life. Sign gifts as mentioned in the New Testament and observed in the early Church have fulfilled their purpose and are not a normative pattern for today.

Mankind is the special creation of God made in His own image, created male and female, who will live for all eternity either in heaven or hell. Adam’s rebellion against God resulted in universal human depravity; men and women are unable to save themselves from the just wrath of God or deliver themselves from the penalty of eternal death and torment for sin. God has the right to impose moral and ethical mandates on humanity, which He has done generally through human conscience and specifically through His Word. These mandates include norms for sexual identity and behavior, marriage between a man and a woman, and the protection and preservation of human life from conception.

Justification is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ’s vicarious, propitiatory, penal atonement alone and is freely offered to all who will repent of their sins and believe on Christ. The new birth comes through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit.

The New Testament teaches that the local church is central to God’s plan for this age—for the proclamation of the Gospel, the defense of truth, the preaching of the Word, and the worship of God by His people. The local church is vital to the spiritual growth and health of every genuine Christian. Scripture teaches that the office of pastor/elder is limited to spiritually qualified men.

God’s will for His people is that we should be holy and increasingly like Christ for His glory. Holiness includes guarding the truth from error, maintaining purity in faith and doctrine, and pursuing a life and practice that is in keeping with Scripture and in clear antithesis to the surrounding sinful culture. Fidelity to Scripture in our progressive sanctification compels us to intentionally separate from sin, worldliness, false teaching, and persistently disobedient brothers in Christ.

Jesus Christ will return visibly to deliver His people, judge the world, and establish His kingdom for God’s glory.