Statement of Faith

A statement of faith provides a foundation from which to teach. At Geneva Academy we teach out of the biblical worldview as expressed in the Westminster Standards, the Three Forms of Unity (Belgic Confession, Heidelburg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort), and the Ecumenical historic creeds (Apostles’, Nicene, and the definition of Chalcedon – see 1.2), which we believe represent the historic, orthodox catholic faith. More definition can be provided upon request.

 

CREEDS

 

The Apostles’ Creed (AD 2nd)

 

I believe in God the Father Almighty; Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the virgin, Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into Hades. On the third day He rose again, ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father; from thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

 

Nicene Creed Constantinople (AD 381)

 

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from Heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the virgin, Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures, and ascended into Heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge both the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end. And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord, and Giver of Life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified; who spoke by the Prophets. And I believe in one holy, catholic and apostolic Church; acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

 

Definition of Chalcedon (AD 451)

 

Following, then, the holy fathers, we unite in teaching all men to confess the one and same Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. This selfsame one is perfect both in deity and in humanity; truly God and truly man, with a rational soul and a body; consubstantial with the Father according to His deity, and consubstantial with us according to the humanity; like us in all respects, sin only excepted. Before the ages He was begotten of the Father, according to the deity, and in these last days, for us and for our salvation, He was born of Mary the virgin, who is Godbearer according to His humanity; one and the same Christ, Son, Lord, only-begotten, to be acknowledged in two natures; without confusing them, without interchanging them, without dividing them, and without separating them; the distinction of natures by no means taken away by the union, but the properties of each nature being preserved, and concurring in one Person and one subsistence; not parted or divided into two persons, but one and the same only-begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as from the beginning the prophets have declared concerning Him, and the Lord Jesus Christ Himself has taught us, and the symbol of the fathers has handed down to us.

 

The statement of faith adopted by Geneva Academy is limited to primary Christian doctrine, which is considered to be central to all Christian denominations, and which sets orthodox Christianity apart from other faiths.

 

1. We believe the Bible alone to be the word of God, the ultimate and infallible authority for faith and practice.

 

2. We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is omnipotent; that is, He can do all things. He is omnipresent; that is, He is present to all creation, and has under His immediate authority all things which are in Heaven, in the earth, and under the earth. He is omniscient; that is, He knows all things. He readily exercises His power which is present everywhere, and to Him there is nothing that is impossible or unknown, that is, He knows what has been from eternity, what now takes place everywhere, and what will be to all eternity.

 

3. We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.

 

4. We believe that, for the salvation of lost and sinful men, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely necessary.

 

5. We believe that salvation is by grace through faith alone.

 

6. We believe that faith without works is dead.

 

7. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.

 

8. We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved to the resurrection of life and they that are lost to the resurrection of damnation.

 

9.  We believe in the unity of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

10.  We believe the Bible teaches that God created all things (the entire cosmos and all things therein visible and

invisible) from no preexistent matter, by the word of His power, in the space of six ordinary days and all very good.

 

11.  We believe the Bible teaches that God created man from the dust of the ground (non-living matter) after his own

image and therefore man did not evolve from lower life forms.

 

12.  We believe the Bible teaches that God created man, male and female, after His own image and commissioned them to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it, taking dominion over the earth and bringing it to mature fruitfulness for His glory. To this end, God ordained marriage to exist between one man and one woman. All sexual relationships between men and women are unlawful outside the bounds of the marriage covenant. All sexual relationships between members of the same sex are contrary to God’s created order and an abomination in His sight.

 

13. We believe the Bible teaches that no man is intentionally to take the life of another, unless as an authorized representative of God as a magistrate in the administration of justice or in defense of himself or his neighbor (as a private citizen or as a member of the armed forces of his country). Otherwise, a man’s life is to be protected from the moment of conception till the day of death.

 

As a member of the Association of Classical, Christian Schools (ACCS), Geneva Academy also subscribes to the ACCS statement of faith, which is found in that association’s by-laws (essentially the first two chapters of the Westminster Confession of Faith).