1.
Concerning Scripture
We
believe that the Bible in its original writings (the 66 books
of the Old and New Testaments) is the only inspired and inerrant
Word of God, and is the only infallible rule in Christian faith
and practice.
2.
Concerning God
We
believe in one God existing eternally in three persons: Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, equal in power and glory and identical
in essence and attributes.
3.
Concerning God’s Providence
We
believe that all things that come to pass are directed by God’s
eternal will and purposes, according to His perfect wisdom,
power, justice, goodness and mercy and without making God the
author of sin nor man unaccountable for his thoughts, words
and deeds.
4.
Concerning Sin
We
believe that due to the sinful disobedience of Adam and Eve
all humanity has inherited a sin nature whose corruption affects
all of soul and body, separating them from God and bringing
them under God’s just and eternal condemnation.
5.
Concerning Jesus Christ
We
believe Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, was
conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, was fully
God and fully man, lived a life without sin, voluntarily bore
God’s wrathful condemnation of pain and death to save
His people from their sins, was raised bodily from the dead,
ascended into heaven, and now reigns as the exalted head of
His Body, the Church.
6.
Concerning Salvation
We
believe that all who are born again by the Holy Spirit receive
by faith the Lord Jesus Christ, are pardoned from all their
sin and accepted as righteous in God’s sight upon the
merits and works of Jesus Christ on their behalf alone and none
whatsoever upon any merits or works of their own.
7.
Concerning Sanctification
We
believe that all true believers, indwelt and sealed by the Holy
Spirit until the day of redemption, are enabled more and more
to live a godly life, bearing the fruit of the Spirit’s
renewing by obedience and good works without which faith is
dead, and are eternally secure in His faithful keeping.
8.
Concerning the Return of Christ
We
believe in the personal, bodily, and visible return of the Lord
Jesus Christ to judge the world, the bodily resurrection of
the just and the unjust, the everlasting punishment of the lost,
and the everlasting bliss of the saints.
STATEMENT OF CREATION
In
recent years, church members and concerned parents across our
land have been engaged in discussions about the proper way to
interpret the first nine chapters of Genesis. “Origins”
and “Scientific Creationism” has been the subject
of seminars, discussion and some disagreement. The Providence
Classical School Board is committed to academic excellence that
is not purposefully contrary to biblical truth nor irresponsibly
disruptive to the unity of the Christian community. Therefore,
it is the desire of the PCS School Board to train their students
to examine their assumptions about the correct way to read these
crucial chapters from Genesis under the guidelines of the affirmations
and non-negotiables below.
1. Providence Classical School affirms the inerrancy of the
Bible. Our school affirms the Scriptures of the Old and New
Testament are inspired (written ultimately by God), infallible
(incapable of teaching falsehood) and inerrant (without error
in its details). Providence Classical School affirms that our
discussion of issues in Genesis is not about our view of the
Bible’s authority; they are questions about how rightly
to interpret Scripture.
2.
Providence Classical School affirms that there are alternative
ways to read Genesis 1 that are respectable and within the bonds
of orthodoxy. The question is: how are we to interpret various
kinds of literature in the Bible? One does not read a love letter
the same way he reads assembly instructions for putting together
a Big Wheel. So what kind of literature is Genesis 1, and what
is the right way to read it? Does Genesis 1 describe six 24-hour
days? What about the Day - Age theory? Is Genesis 1 written
primarily, not to describe the mechanics of creation, but as
a polemic against polytheism and idolatry and to seek to establish
one Creator God who rested on the seventh day? Providence Classical
School rejects the point of view that only one specific way
of interpreting Genesis 1 is in keeping with our inerrant view
of the Bible or that holding to particular views automatically
means one’s view of the Bible’s authority is questionable.
In other words, we reject the “slippery slope” argument
to the effect that positions other than a six 24-hour day creation
mean one devalues the authority of Scripture.
3.
Providence Classical School affirms that one’s interpretation
of Genesis 1 is not a test of orthodoxy or a criterion for fellowship.
What constitutes our fellowship is not our view of baptism,
eschatology, or mechanics of creation. The test of orthodoxy
is what we believe about Jesus Christ -- not Jesus plus baptism,
eschatology or our view of origins. Our view of redemption,
not creation, is the criterion for fellowship.
4.
Providence Classical School affirms that the best course for
us all is that of humility. We recognize, and urge all in
Providence Classical School to recognize, that while the Bible
is not fallible, our interpretations may be. We need to be
willing to say, “I see this differently than you but
we are brothers/sisters in Christ.”
1.
God created the world.
(a)
He created it by His word. He spoke the world into existence
by an act of creative fiat (Psalm 33:6; Hebrews 11:3).
(b)
He created it out of nothing (John 1:3; Romans 4:17). Therefore,
matter is not eternal.
(c)
He created it with inherent order, “each according to
its kind” (Genesis 1:12, 21, 24, 25).
(d)
He created it “all very good” (Genesis 1:31). The
original creation was perfect.
2.
Adam and Eve were created by God in His image. They were actual,
historical, literal people distinct from the rest of creation
because of their image-bearing capacity. Man is, therefore,
immensely valuable to God. If we fudge on this point, we compromise
the parallel explicitly taught by Paul in Romans 5 between Adam
and Christ as the second Adam.
3.
Adam and Eve disobeyed God, and this plunged them and all humanity
into sin. There is an absolute connection between the fall of
man and the fall of creation.
Creation
of man (uniquely and historically) in God’s image and
the tragedy of the fall of man are crucial doctrinal truths
that affect our view of the redeeming work of Jesus Christ.
Providence Classical School unapologetically affirms these truths
and urges our faculty, students and their parents or guardians
to see their importance too.
“Speak
the truth in love,” Paul tells us. “Make every effort
to keep the unity of the Spirit.” Truth and love: they
must never be separated in any community of God’s people.
Bearing this in mind, let us press on to explore God’s
word and move more completely toward a better understanding
of it.
