Statement of Faith

The following WBCL Educational Foundation Statement of Faith does not exhaust the extent of our beliefs. The Bible itself, as the inerrant Word of God that speaks with final authority concerning love, truth, morality, and proper conduct, is the final source of all that we believe. 1

All board members, employees and volunteers collectively and individually agree they believe in each of the following statements:

  • God, who is Himself Truth and speaks truth only, has inspired His Holy Scripture. Holy Scripture, being God’s own word, is the infallible, divine authority in all matters upon which it touches; it is to be believed, as God’s’ instruction, in all that it affirms; obeyed, as God’s command, in all that it requires; and embraced, as God’s pledge, in all that it promises. We are persuaded that to deny the authority, trustworthiness, and inerrancy of Scripture is to set aside the witness of Jesus Christ and of the Holy Spirit.2
  • There is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.3
  • People are created in the image and after the likeness of God,4 but, as a consequence of sin, are separated from God. Because we have all sinned, we are all in need of salvation.5
  • The good news of the Gospel is that God sent His Son to become man and to die for our sins and to be raised again that we might be redeemed. We believe in the deity and humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His substitutionary and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, in His present rule as Head of the Church, and in His personal return in power and glory.6
  • We are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. Such faith is essential for salvation.7
  • As a result of our redemption, we are called to pursue holiness,8 to live following the Holy Spirit’s guidance, and to grow in the grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.9 In doing so, we are called to follow what Jesus identified as the two greatest commandments: to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, and mind and love our neighbor as ourselves.10 Through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we, as Christians, are empowered to live a godly life which includes repentance of sin,11 as defined in the Bible and as historically interpreted, and not as interpreted by contemporary culture.12 We recognize that we will nevertheless sin13 and that we all need to continue to grow and develop our relationship with Christ. But because God loves us, has adopted us as His children, and Jesus acts as our intercessor and advocate, God offers us forgiveness and continuing grace and mercy.14
  • Christians are called to love everyone. As a result, Christians should examine themselves first in order to avoid hypercritically judging others by a standard to which they do not hold themselves. Additionally, the Bible commands Christians to hold individuals who claim to be Christians to a higher standard of obedience to God’s Word than those who do not claim to be Christians.15
  • We believe that God has blessed people with the institution of marriage for His glory and to reflect the union of Jesus and the church.16 God established marriage as a lifelong, exclusive covenant relationship between a man and a woman as God biologically created them male and female at birth. Therefore, all intimate sexual activity outside this biblically defined marriage relationship is not in accordance with God’s plan and therefore sin.17 We believe that God created the human race male and female and that all conduct with the intent to adopt a gender other than one’s biological gender is not in accordance with God’s plan and therefore sin.18
  • God created us to live forever. Those who place their trust in Jesus Christ as Savior will be raised to go to heaven. Those who do not will be eternally separated from Him.19
  • Believers in our Lord Jesus Christ are united in the Holy Spirit.20
 
  1. The verses listed to support each statement do not exhaust all the Bible has to say about each belief. They are a representative sample of key passages in God’s inerrant Word that support each statement. The verses in each footnote are listed in the order they appear in the Bible.
  2. Ps. 119:160; Prov. 30:5; Jn. 10:35; 17:17; 1 Cor. 2:13; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pet. 1:20-21
  3. Gen. 1:1; Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; Jn. 10:30; 2 Cor. 13:14
  4. Gen 1:26-27; Jam. 3:9
  5. Rom. 3:9-18, 23; 5:12; 6:23
  6. Matt. 1:21-23; 24:29-31; 25:31; Luk. 1:26-35; Jn. 1:1,14,18; Acts 1:9-11; 2:22; 4:12; 13:38-39; Rom. 4:4-5; 1 Cor. 15:1-4; 2 Cor. 5:21; Col. 2:9; 1 Tim. 2:5; 1 Thes. 4:13-18; Heb. 1:3,6, 8; 4:14-15; 1 Jn. 5:20
  7. Jn. 14:6; Acts 4:12; Eph. 2:8-9; Tit. 3:5-7
  8. 1 Thes. 4:3; Heb. 12:14; 1 Pet. 1:16; 1 Jn. 1:4–7; 3:5–9
  9. Rom. 6:11–13; 8:2, 4; 12-13; Gal. 5:16–23; Eph. 4:22–24; Col. 3:1–10; 1 Pet. 1:14–16; 2 Pet. 3:18; Heb. 12:14
  10. Matt. 22:36-39; Eph. 5:1
  11. Jer. 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:27; 2 Pet. 1:2-3
  12. See, as examples of acts listed in the Bible as sin: Matt. 15:19; Rom. 1:26-32; Gal. 5:19-21; Phil. 1:17; 2:3; 1 Tim. 1:9-10; Jas. 3:14-16; 1 Pet. 4:3
  13. Ecc. 7:20; Rom. 3:23; 1 Jn. 1:10
  14. Acts 2:38; Rom. 8:15; Gal. 4:4-6; Eph. 1:4-7; Col. 1:14;2:13; Titus 3:5-7; I Jn .1:9; 2:1
  15. Matt. 7:1-5; 1 Cor. 5:9-13; 6:9-11, 18-20
  16. Eph. 5:23, 32
  17. Gen. 2:24; Ex. 20:14, 17, 22:19; Lev. 18:22-23, 20:13-16; Mal. 2:16; Matt. 19:4-6, 9; Rom. 1:18–32; 1 Cor. 6:9–11, 15-20; Eph. 5:21; 1 Thes. 4:3; 1 Tim. 1:8–11; Heb. 13:4; Jude 7
  18. Gen. 1:27
  19. Dan. 12:1-2; Matt. 25:46; 1 Cor. 15:50-57; 1 Thes. 4:13-5:10; Rev. 20:1-6, 11-15
  20. Jn. 17:22-23; Eph. 4:3, 13; Col. 3:14