DOCTRINAL STATEMENT
All members of the Board of Trustees, Administration and Faculty of Shasta Bible College and Graduate School
commit annually to respect and uphold the doctrinal statement of the College in its entirety.
We Believe…
The Scriptures
We believe in the plenary and verbal inspiration of the Scriptures, both of the Old and New Testaments. By this we understand that the Holy Spirit not only inspired the thoughts of the writers, but also superintended the wording and composition structure of those thoughts with the result that the original documents were inerrant as to fact and truth (1 Cor. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21). We further believe that the Scripture is to be interpreted normally according to the literal, historical, grammatical method, which requires the literal existence of Adam and Eve as the progenitors of all people, the worldwide cataclysmic flood, the creation of linguistic barriers and the origin of nations brought about by the diversification of languages at the tower of Babel.
The Godhead
We believe in one Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit; eternal in being; identical in nature; equal in power and glory and having precisely the same attributes and perfections (Deut. 6:4; 2 Cor. 13:14).
The Creation and Man’s Fall
We believe God created all things in the universe in the six days of creation described in Genesis 1:1-2:3. We further accept the Creation account as both factual and historical, and thus view it as foundational to the understanding of every fact and phenomenon in the created universe. In addition, we hold that all things that now exist are being sustained and ordered by God's providential care. Furthermore, we believe that God created man in His own image and likeness of God; but, through Adam's sin, man became alienated from God, acquired a sin nature, and came under the judicial sentence of death (Gen. 1:25-27; Rom. 3:22-23; Eph. 2:12).
Life
We believe God specially and directly created all life and that human beings are made in His image (Gen. 1:27). Human life is sacred, beginning at conception.
Marriage
God created humans male and female and has ordained marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Marriage is defined by Scripture and Shasta Bible College and Graduate School as the exclusive covenantal union of one man and one woman in a lifetime commitment to one another (Gen. 2:18-24; Matt. 19:5). A civil government’s sanction of a union will be recognized as a legitimate marriage by Shasta Bible College and Graduate School only to the extent that it is consistent with the definition of “marriage” found in this Doctrinal Statement.
Human Sexuality
Legitimate sexual relations are exercised solely within marriage. Consequently, sexual activities outside of marriage (referred to in the New Testament as porneia – πορνεια) including but not limited to, adultery, premarital sex, homosexuality, and pedophilia are inconsistent with the teachings of the Bible, the church, and Shasta Bible College and Graduate School. Further, lascivious conduct, transgender behavior, and the creation and/or distribution and/or use of pornography, are incompatible with a Biblical Christian lifestyle (Lev. 18:22; Deut. 22:5; Rom. 1:24-32; 1 Thess. 4:3-8; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Gal. 5:19-21; 1 Thess. 5:22; Rom. 13:14). We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of Shasta Bible College and Graduate School, to provide a Biblical role model for our students, and to maintain a consistent testimony for Jesus Christ in our community; members of our campus community should live in a manner consistent with our lifestyle commitment and the Scriptural guidelines for Christian behavior. The campus community functions as the Body of Christ. Consequently what one member does—regardless of position—affects everyone else. All employees are to be members or attendees in good standing of churches in general agreement with the Doctrinal Statement of SBC&GS and they must be in agreement with the Biblical perspective on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality (Matt. 5:16; Phil 2:14-16; 1 Thess. 5:22). We also believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect and dignity (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31).
The Person and Work of Jesus Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a propitiatory and substitutionary sacrifice, and that our redemption is made sure to us by His resurrection from the dead in the identical, though glorified, body in which He was crucified (John 1:1-2; Luke 1:35; Rom. 3:24-25; 1 Pet. 1:3-5).
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is now in heaven exalted at the right hand of God, where, as High Priest for His people, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor and Advocate (Heb.9:25; 7:25; Rom. 8:34; John 2:1-2).
The Personal Return of Jesus Christ
The personal return of Jesus Christ will be pretribulational and premillennial. While His return is imminent, the exact time of His coming is unrevealed (Acts 1:11; Rev. 1:7; Mark 13:33-37; Titus 2:11-13; Rev. 22:20). When He comes in the air He will remove His waiting church from the earth by means of resurrection and translation (l Thess. 4:16-18) after which He will pour out the righteous judgments of God upon the unbelieving world during the tribulation period (Rev. 6:1-18:24). Following this period of tribulation, He will descend with His church, resurrect the Old Testament and Tribulation Saints (Dan. 12:12-13; Isa. 26:19-21) and establish His literal Messianic Kingdom over all the nations for one thousand years (Rev. 19:1-20:6; Matt. 13:42-43). At the close of this thousand-year period, He will raise and judge the unsaved dead at the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11-15). Finally, as the Son of David, He will deliver up His Messianic Kingdom to God the Father (1 Cor. 15:24-28); and, as the eternal Son, Christ shall reign forever with the Father in the New Heavens and the New Earth (Luke 1:32-33; Rev. 21:1-22:6).
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Godhead, in the present age regenerates and indwells all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, baptizes them into the Body of Christ, and empowers for service. We also teach that every believer is commanded to be filled (controlled) with/by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:12-24; Eph. 1:13, 14; 5:18-20) and that the Spirit administers spiritual gifts to the church for the ultimate purpose of bringing glory to Christ through the implementation of the redemption of the lost and the building up of believers in the Faith (John 16:13-14; Acts 1:8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11; 2 Cor. 3:18). In this respect, we hold as well that God the Holy Spirit is sovereign in the bestowing of His gifts for the perfecting of the saints today, and that the sign gifts (speaking in tongues and sign miracles) in the initial days of the church were for the purpose of authenticating the ministry and message of the apostles as revealers of divine truth and were never intended to characterize the lives of believers (1 Cor. 12:4-11; 13:8-10; 14:22; 2 Cor. 12:12; Eph. 4:7-12; Heb. 2:1-4).
Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God offered to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that this faith is manifested in works pleasing to God (Eph. 2:18-20; Titus 2:11-14). We believe in the spiritual unity of all believers. We believe that all who are truly saved shall be kept by God forever (Rom. 8:1, 38, 39; John 10:27-30; 1 Cor. 1:4-8).
The Church
We believe that the Church is a spiritual organism composed of all believers who have been born again in this age by the Spirit of God and thereby are baptized by Him into the body of Christ (John 3:5; 1 Cor. 12:13). It is both the mystical body and the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 4:4; 5:25-32) which He began to build on the day of Pentecost (Matt. 16:18; Acts 2:47). The members of this one spiritual body are to assemble themselves together in local churches for worship, instruction, mutual encouragement and the observance of baptism and communion (Heb. 10:25; Matt. 28:19-20; Rom. 6:1-5; 1 Cor. 11:23-24). The local church is an autonomous body of immersed believers united together, upon profession of faith, under the headship of Christ and the leadership of pastors and deacons (Col. 1:18; Acts 10:47, 48; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:1-13). It is to be free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority and is to endeavor to reach men and women for Christ at home and abroad.
The apostasy, the great falling away characteristic of the last days (2 Thess. 2:3, 2 Tim. 3:1; Matt. 24:12), is detrimental to the work of Christ and His church. Since the ecclesiastical movement toward one ecumenical world church contributes to the Apostasy by sacrificing historic Biblical doctrine on the altar of religious unity, the Christian should recognize the dangers of the ecumenical movement and avoid compromising alliances which often lead to the denial of Biblical inerrancy and the subsequent abandonment of historic Biblical doctrine as well as the essential deity of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 John 8-11; Rom. 16:17-20; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1).
Satan
We believe that Satan is a personal, evil being who was originally created perfect along with an innumerable company of sinless beings known as angels. According to Scripture, Satan through the sin of pride fell and was followed by a great number of angels, some of whom became demons who assist him as emissaries in subverting and supplanting the work of God. He is the tempter and accuser of mankind who persistently strives to counterfeit the works and truth of God. Satan and his emissaries were defeated and judged at the Cross of Christ and will be bound for a thousand years at the return of Christ to the earth. Following Christ's Millennial reign, they will be cast into the Lake of Fire where they will be punished eternally (Ezek. 28:11-19; I Tim. 3:6; 2 Cor. 2:10, 11; 11:13-15; Matt. 4:3; II Pet. 2:4; Jude 6; Rev. 12:9,10; 20:10).
The Final State
We believe that the condition and retribution of the lost and the salvation and blessedness of the saved are conscious and everlasting (Mark 9:43-48; Rev. 20:15; 22:3-5, 11).
Conclusion
We not only believe that this body of doctrine is a sacred trust to be preserved and taught in its purity, but we also believe that it teaches a life to be lived and a gospel to be preached.
commit annually to respect and uphold the doctrinal statement of the College in its entirety.
We Believe…
The Scriptures
We believe in the plenary and verbal inspiration of the Scriptures, both of the Old and New Testaments. By this we understand that the Holy Spirit not only inspired the thoughts of the writers, but also superintended the wording and composition structure of those thoughts with the result that the original documents were inerrant as to fact and truth (1 Cor. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21). We further believe that the Scripture is to be interpreted normally according to the literal, historical, grammatical method, which requires the literal existence of Adam and Eve as the progenitors of all people, the worldwide cataclysmic flood, the creation of linguistic barriers and the origin of nations brought about by the diversification of languages at the tower of Babel.
The Godhead
We believe in one Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit; eternal in being; identical in nature; equal in power and glory and having precisely the same attributes and perfections (Deut. 6:4; 2 Cor. 13:14).
The Creation and Man’s Fall
We believe God created all things in the universe in the six days of creation described in Genesis 1:1-2:3. We further accept the Creation account as both factual and historical, and thus view it as foundational to the understanding of every fact and phenomenon in the created universe. In addition, we hold that all things that now exist are being sustained and ordered by God's providential care. Furthermore, we believe that God created man in His own image and likeness of God; but, through Adam's sin, man became alienated from God, acquired a sin nature, and came under the judicial sentence of death (Gen. 1:25-27; Rom. 3:22-23; Eph. 2:12).
Life
We believe God specially and directly created all life and that human beings are made in His image (Gen. 1:27). Human life is sacred, beginning at conception.
Marriage
God created humans male and female and has ordained marriage as a union between one man and one woman. Marriage is defined by Scripture and Shasta Bible College and Graduate School as the exclusive covenantal union of one man and one woman in a lifetime commitment to one another (Gen. 2:18-24; Matt. 19:5). A civil government’s sanction of a union will be recognized as a legitimate marriage by Shasta Bible College and Graduate School only to the extent that it is consistent with the definition of “marriage” found in this Doctrinal Statement.
Human Sexuality
Legitimate sexual relations are exercised solely within marriage. Consequently, sexual activities outside of marriage (referred to in the New Testament as porneia – πορνεια) including but not limited to, adultery, premarital sex, homosexuality, and pedophilia are inconsistent with the teachings of the Bible, the church, and Shasta Bible College and Graduate School. Further, lascivious conduct, transgender behavior, and the creation and/or distribution and/or use of pornography, are incompatible with a Biblical Christian lifestyle (Lev. 18:22; Deut. 22:5; Rom. 1:24-32; 1 Thess. 4:3-8; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; Gal. 5:19-21; 1 Thess. 5:22; Rom. 13:14). We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of Shasta Bible College and Graduate School, to provide a Biblical role model for our students, and to maintain a consistent testimony for Jesus Christ in our community; members of our campus community should live in a manner consistent with our lifestyle commitment and the Scriptural guidelines for Christian behavior. The campus community functions as the Body of Christ. Consequently what one member does—regardless of position—affects everyone else. All employees are to be members or attendees in good standing of churches in general agreement with the Doctrinal Statement of SBC&GS and they must be in agreement with the Biblical perspective on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality (Matt. 5:16; Phil 2:14-16; 1 Thess. 5:22). We also believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect and dignity (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31).
The Person and Work of Jesus Christ
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man. We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a propitiatory and substitutionary sacrifice, and that our redemption is made sure to us by His resurrection from the dead in the identical, though glorified, body in which He was crucified (John 1:1-2; Luke 1:35; Rom. 3:24-25; 1 Pet. 1:3-5).
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is now in heaven exalted at the right hand of God, where, as High Priest for His people, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor and Advocate (Heb.9:25; 7:25; Rom. 8:34; John 2:1-2).
The Personal Return of Jesus Christ
The personal return of Jesus Christ will be pretribulational and premillennial. While His return is imminent, the exact time of His coming is unrevealed (Acts 1:11; Rev. 1:7; Mark 13:33-37; Titus 2:11-13; Rev. 22:20). When He comes in the air He will remove His waiting church from the earth by means of resurrection and translation (l Thess. 4:16-18) after which He will pour out the righteous judgments of God upon the unbelieving world during the tribulation period (Rev. 6:1-18:24). Following this period of tribulation, He will descend with His church, resurrect the Old Testament and Tribulation Saints (Dan. 12:12-13; Isa. 26:19-21) and establish His literal Messianic Kingdom over all the nations for one thousand years (Rev. 19:1-20:6; Matt. 13:42-43). At the close of this thousand-year period, He will raise and judge the unsaved dead at the Great White Throne Judgment (Rev. 20:11-15). Finally, as the Son of David, He will deliver up His Messianic Kingdom to God the Father (1 Cor. 15:24-28); and, as the eternal Son, Christ shall reign forever with the Father in the New Heavens and the New Earth (Luke 1:32-33; Rev. 21:1-22:6).
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Godhead, in the present age regenerates and indwells all believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, baptizes them into the Body of Christ, and empowers for service. We also teach that every believer is commanded to be filled (controlled) with/by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:12-24; Eph. 1:13, 14; 5:18-20) and that the Spirit administers spiritual gifts to the church for the ultimate purpose of bringing glory to Christ through the implementation of the redemption of the lost and the building up of believers in the Faith (John 16:13-14; Acts 1:8; 1 Cor. 12:4-11; 2 Cor. 3:18). In this respect, we hold as well that God the Holy Spirit is sovereign in the bestowing of His gifts for the perfecting of the saints today, and that the sign gifts (speaking in tongues and sign miracles) in the initial days of the church were for the purpose of authenticating the ministry and message of the apostles as revealers of divine truth and were never intended to characterize the lives of believers (1 Cor. 12:4-11; 13:8-10; 14:22; 2 Cor. 12:12; Eph. 4:7-12; Heb. 2:1-4).
Salvation
We believe that salvation is the gift of God offered to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and that this faith is manifested in works pleasing to God (Eph. 2:18-20; Titus 2:11-14). We believe in the spiritual unity of all believers. We believe that all who are truly saved shall be kept by God forever (Rom. 8:1, 38, 39; John 10:27-30; 1 Cor. 1:4-8).
The Church
We believe that the Church is a spiritual organism composed of all believers who have been born again in this age by the Spirit of God and thereby are baptized by Him into the body of Christ (John 3:5; 1 Cor. 12:13). It is both the mystical body and the bride of the Lord Jesus Christ (Eph. 4:4; 5:25-32) which He began to build on the day of Pentecost (Matt. 16:18; Acts 2:47). The members of this one spiritual body are to assemble themselves together in local churches for worship, instruction, mutual encouragement and the observance of baptism and communion (Heb. 10:25; Matt. 28:19-20; Rom. 6:1-5; 1 Cor. 11:23-24). The local church is an autonomous body of immersed believers united together, upon profession of faith, under the headship of Christ and the leadership of pastors and deacons (Col. 1:18; Acts 10:47, 48; Phil. 1:1; 1 Tim. 3:1-13). It is to be free from interference by any ecclesiastical or political authority and is to endeavor to reach men and women for Christ at home and abroad.
The apostasy, the great falling away characteristic of the last days (2 Thess. 2:3, 2 Tim. 3:1; Matt. 24:12), is detrimental to the work of Christ and His church. Since the ecclesiastical movement toward one ecumenical world church contributes to the Apostasy by sacrificing historic Biblical doctrine on the altar of religious unity, the Christian should recognize the dangers of the ecumenical movement and avoid compromising alliances which often lead to the denial of Biblical inerrancy and the subsequent abandonment of historic Biblical doctrine as well as the essential deity of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 John 8-11; Rom. 16:17-20; 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1).
Satan
We believe that Satan is a personal, evil being who was originally created perfect along with an innumerable company of sinless beings known as angels. According to Scripture, Satan through the sin of pride fell and was followed by a great number of angels, some of whom became demons who assist him as emissaries in subverting and supplanting the work of God. He is the tempter and accuser of mankind who persistently strives to counterfeit the works and truth of God. Satan and his emissaries were defeated and judged at the Cross of Christ and will be bound for a thousand years at the return of Christ to the earth. Following Christ's Millennial reign, they will be cast into the Lake of Fire where they will be punished eternally (Ezek. 28:11-19; I Tim. 3:6; 2 Cor. 2:10, 11; 11:13-15; Matt. 4:3; II Pet. 2:4; Jude 6; Rev. 12:9,10; 20:10).
The Final State
We believe that the condition and retribution of the lost and the salvation and blessedness of the saved are conscious and everlasting (Mark 9:43-48; Rev. 20:15; 22:3-5, 11).
Conclusion
We not only believe that this body of doctrine is a sacred trust to be preserved and taught in its purity, but we also believe that it teaches a life to be lived and a gospel to be preached.
Distinctives
What Makes SBC&GS different from other christian colleges?
SBC&GS does not require students to adhere to our doctrinal position. We do ask students to show respect for our doctrinal position. Students are asked not to campaign for their differing positions or use the college setting to proselytize.
- We believe in the inspired Word of God.
- We believe in a literal 6 day creation.
- We believe in the pre-tribulation rapture of the church.
SBC&GS does not require students to adhere to our doctrinal position. We do ask students to show respect for our doctrinal position. Students are asked not to campaign for their differing positions or use the college setting to proselytize.
