Statement of Faith
These core beliefs make up the foundation upon which all our ministry endeavors are based. It is GSA’s expectation that all educators will subscribe to the following Statement of Faith:
Good Soil Academy believes:
In one God, Creator, and Lord of the Universe, the co-eternal Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
That Jesus Christ, God’s Son, was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, died a substitutionary atoning death on the cross, rose bodily from the dead and ascended to heaven where, as truly God and truly man, He is the only mediator between God and human beings.
The Bible is God’s authoritative and inspired Word. It is without error in all its teachings, including creation, history, its own origins, and salvation. Christians are called to submit to its divine authority, both individually and corporately, in all matters of belief and conduct.
All people are lost sinners and cannot see the Kingdom of God except through the new birth. Justification is by grace through faith in Christ alone.
In the necessity of the work of the Holy Spirit for each individual’s new birth and growth to maturity, and for the Church’s constant renewal in truth, wisdom, faith, holiness, love, power, and mission.
In one holy, universal, and apostolic Church. Its calling is to worship God and witness concerning its Head, Jesus Christ, preaching the Gospel among all nations and demonstrating its commitment by compassionate service to the needs of human beings and by promoting righteousness and justice.
Jesus Christ Himself will physically return in glory to raise the dead and bring salvation and judgment to completion. God will fully manifest his Kingdom when He establishes a new heaven and new earth, in which He will be glorified forever and exclude all evil, suffering, and death
On Scripture
We believe the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments are inspired in all their very words by God, and inerrant in the original manuscripts (autographs). These sixty-six books alone are the final authority in faith and life.
God
We believe in one God who is Creator of heaven and earth. He is infinite Spirit, eternal, almighty, and infallible, including His omniscience and knowledge of all future events. He is unchangeable in His essence, and all wise, just, and holy. The triune God eternally exists in one essence and three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God intervenes in the universe in many ways.
Creation
We believe in the ex-nihilo special creation of the universe and in the supernatural creation of many diverse biological categories. We also believe in the historicity of the biblical record, including the special creation of Adam and Eve (the first human male and female) as the literal progenitors of all humans.
Jesus Christ
We believe in Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Trinity, the Eternal Word manifested in the flesh. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, lived a sinless life, and He is fully God and fully man, having two distinct natures co-joined in one Person. Jesus died as a representative and substitutionary sacrifice for human sins and offers salvation by grace alone. He arose from the dead in the same physical body, though glorified, in which He had lived and died, and His resurrection body is the pattern of that body which will be given to each believer. Christ ascended into heaven, showing the perfection of His redemptive work. He will literally and bodily return to earth to finalize the divine plan for humanity.
Humanity
We believe that humans were created in God’s image, and that in a discrete historical event Adam and Eve fell from their good relationship with God through sin. As a consequence of his sin, there is a divine curse on “the whole creation” (Romans 8:18-25 ESV) and all descendants of Adam became spiritually dead through having inherited a corrupt nature, Christ being the exception.
Salvation
We believe that only those who come to the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior by faith alone, apart from good works, are justified before God, have become God’s children, and inherit eternal life with God.
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit, being the Third Person of the Trinity, convicts humans of sin, regenerates, indwells, baptizes, seals, and sets believers apart to a holy life; that He keeps and empowers believers.
The Final State
We believe that Christ shall return to judge the living and the dead. The righteous will inherit eternal life and the kingdom prepared by God from the foundation of the world. The lost will inherit eternal punishment and be cast into the fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:31-46).
The Church
We believe that the universal Church of Jesus Christ is composed of those who have been redeemed and washed in His blood, regenerated and sealed by the Holy Spirit, and that they are saved to worship and to serve. It is the responsibility and privilege of all who are saved to seek to win others to Christ and live a holy life.
Final Authority for Matters of Belief and Conduct
The GSA Faith Statement does not exhaust the extent of our Christian belief. The Bible itself, as the inspired and infallible Word of God, is the authoritative source of Christian doctrine. With respect to faith, doctrine, practice, policy, and discipline, the international board of directors of Good Soil Partners is the final arbiter on the Bible’s application for the purposes of GSA as an organization.