We believe….

1. The Bible is the complete, infallible, and inspired Word of God and is the final authority for
   Christian faith and living.
   [Psalm 119:105,160; Proverbs 30:5; Matthew 5:17-18; 2 Timothy 1:13, 3:16; Hebrews 4:12; 2
   Peter 1:20-21]
   –
2. God is one living and true God existing eternally in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy
   Spirit; and has revealed Himself to be perfect in love, righteous in all His ways, and Creator of
   all things.
   [Genesis 1:1; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; John 1:3; 1 Peter 1:2]
   –
3. Jesus Christ is God’s eternal Son. As both true God and true man, He allowed Himself to
   be born of a virgin, taught men how to live through His sinless life, was crucified as a sacrifice
   for our sins, arose bodily from the dead, was seen by over 500 persons, and returned to
   heaven where He acts as our High Priest before the Father.
   [Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:22-23; John 1:1-5, 10:30; Acts 1:9-11; Romans 1:3-4; 1 Corinthians
   15:3-4; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 4:14-15; I John 5:20]
   –
4. The Holy Spirit was sent by Jesus to empower us for His commission. He persuades us
   to repent of our sins and confess Jesus as Lord. He lives within us, teaches us, gives us
   discernment, and guides us in the way of wisdom in order to develop spiritual maturity and
   long-lasting fruit.
   [Proverbs 4:11; John 14:16-17, 16:7-13; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:12, 3:16; 2 Corinthians
   3:17; Galatians 5:22-25; Ephesians 5:18]
   –
5. Human beings were created in God’s image, and like Him are triune beings: Eternal
   spirits, possessing a soul (mind, will, emotions), and living in a temporary earthly body. As
   beings created in the image of God, every person is afforded compassion, love, kindness,
   respect and dignity. Human life is sacred and of inestimable worth from the moment of
   conception through natural death. We are called to defend, protect and value human life. God
   has created two distinct, complementary genders – male and female – which together reflect
   the image and nature of God. To reject one’s biological gender is to reject the image of God
   within that person. Man was given authority and dominion over all of creation, and free-will to
   exercise that authority. Tempted by Satan, man rebelled against God, bringing the curse of
   sin and death to all humanity and creation. Only through personal repentance and faith in
   Jesus Christ can we be forgiven our sins, reborn to the Holy Spirit, and take our rightful place
   as sons and daughters of The Most High. Now seated with Christ, who has the power to
   restore spiritual authority and dominion to us, we are empowered to carry out His
   commission.
   [Genesis 1:26-27; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a, 59:1-2; Mark 12:28-31; Mark 16:15-20; Luke
   6:31; Romans 3:23, 5:12, 8:17; 2 Cor. 6:16-18; 1 Thessalonians 5:23]
   –
6. The church is the living Body of Christ on earth. He is its head and the source of its life.
   The body is composed of those who have received Him as Savior and Lord. The local church
   consists of believers baptized and committed to one another, existing to fulfill the great
   commandment and the great commission by equipping believers to do the work of ministry.
   [Matthew 22:37; Romans 12:4-8; 1 Corinthians 12; 28:19-20; Ephesians 4:12; James 5:14-
   16; 1 Peter 2:1-10]
   –
7. Eternal life: Jesus Christ will return to earth to raise the dead, judge the world, and
   establish His glorious Kingdom. This is the hope of the Church and its encouragement for
   ministry. We believe in unbroken conscious existence after death. Although God’s desire is
   that none should perish, but have everlasting life with Him – He allows us to make that
   decision for ourselves. Those who have been reborn will live with God forever. Those who
   reject Christ will spend eternity in hell, a torturous place away from God’s presence that was
   created and intended for Satan and his demons.
   [John 3:16; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9; 1 Timothy 6:14-15; Titus 2:13;
   Revelation 20:12-15]
   –
8. Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept
   Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior – who by His own blood obtained eternal redemption for the
   believer. In its broadest sense salvation includes regeneration, sanctification, and
   glorification. Salvation through Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven.
   [John 3:16; Romans 10:8-10; Acts 4:10-12; 2 Corinthians 7:10; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 14:6]
   –
9. Marriage and Sexuality: The term “marriage” has only one meaning – the uniting of one
   man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. Marriage is
   God’s framework for raising Godly children. God intends sexual intimacy to occur only
   between a man and a woman who are married to each other. God has commanded that no
   intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of marriage between a man and a woman. Any
   form of sexual immorality (including adultery, sex outside of marriage, homosexual behavior,
   bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest and the use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God.
   [Genesis 2:18-25; Malachi 2:13-16; Matthew 15:18-20; 1 Corinthians 6:9-20, 7:2-5; Hebrews
   13:4]
   –
   Approved Feb 21, 2005 (delated)
   Revised Nov 16, 2009
   Revised Aug 20, 2013
   Revised April 27, 2016
   Revised & Approved November 11, 2018
   
   This doctrinal statement will be signed by each family attending Applewood Christian School.