Geneva Academy is built on a shared confession, not a general sense of values. The Statement of Faith below is the doctrinal ground the school stands on, and it is why a Bible lesson and a science lesson are taught here as one coherent whole, never as two separate worlds.
Our Statement of Faith is concise for the purposes of clarity and utility. A more detailed statement of primary doctrines, with supporting Scriptural passages, could run to many pages. For those interested in studying our positions further, expanded statements and Bible references are provided below.
We believe that the original manuscripts of the Old and New Testament comprise the full, word-for-word, truthful, inerrant Word of God, which is the supreme and final authority in doctrine and practice. (Isa. 40:8, II Tim. 3:16-17; Heb. 4:12; II Pet. 1:20, 21) (Please note: Geneva Academy does not believe that any single English translation of Scripture is inerrant.)
We believe that in the unity of the Godhead, there are three persons, of one substance, power, and eternity; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Father is neither begotten, nor proceeding: The Son is eternally begotten of the Father: the Holy Spirit eternally proceeding from the Father and the Son. (I John 5:7; Matt. 3:16, 28:19; II Cor. 13:14; John 1:14, 15:26; Gal. 4:6). Concerning God the Father, we believe that as Eternal Father, He is the Father of all men in the non-salvation, Creator-creature sense, the Father of the nation Israel, the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the spiritual Father of all who believe in Christ. He is the author of salvation, the One who sent the Son, and the disciplinarian of His children. (Ex. 4:22; Ps. 2:7-9; John 5:37; Acts 17:29; Gal. 3:26; Eph. 1:3-6; Heb. 12:9; I Pet. 1:3)
We believe Jesus Christ is God incarnate, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, completely God and completely man. We believe in His pre-existence, His sinless life, His substitutionary atonement, His bodily resurrection from the grave, His ascension into Heaven, and His bodily return from Heaven. (John 1:1, 14, 18; Luke 1:35; Rom. 3:24-26, 4:25; I Pet. 1:3-5; Eph. 4:11-16; I Thess. 4:13-18; Heb. 1:3, 7:23-25; I John 2:1-2)
We believe that regeneration by the Holy Spirit precedes and enables saving faith. Upon all who place their faith in Christ as Lord and Savior, the Holy Spirit then indwells, baptizes, seals, and bestows spiritual gifts. Experientially, the Holy Spirit fills, teaches, leads, assures, and prays for believers. (John 14:26, 16:6-15; Acts 1:5, 2:1-4, 11:1-18; Rom. 8:14-16, 26-27; I Cor. 6:19, 12:7-11, 13; Eph. 1:13-14, 5:18; II Thess. 2:1-10; Titus 3:5)
We believe man was created in the image of God; that Adam in his first sin condemned not only himself but also all mankind to an estate of sin. All of mankind in Adam is now separated from God and in need of a redeemer. (Gen. 1:1, 27, 2:17, 3:1-19; Isa. 14:12-14; Luke 20:36; Heb. 1:13-14, 2:5-8; I Pet. 2:4; Jude 6; John 12:31; Heb. 2:14; Rev. 20:10; John 1:1-3, 8:44; Col. 1:16-17; Rom. 5:12-21; Eph. 2:1-3). Concerning salvation, we read in Ephesians 1:11-14 the following: “In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory. In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” We affirm that these believers are eternally secure, have everlasting life, will not come into condemnation, and shall never perish. We believe that assurance comes to the believer from three primary means: trusting the Word of God’s promises, the witness of the Holy Spirit, and a persevering walk with the Lord. (John 1:12, 2:3, 16; II Cor. 5:17-21; Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:4-7; Dan. 12:1-2; Matt. 25:31-46; John 3:16, 36, 5:24, 10:28-29, 11:25-26; Rom. 8:28-39; I John 4:11-13; Jude 1; Rev. 20:12-15)
We affirm the statement that “we are saved by faith alone but not by a faith that is alone.” In other words, genuine Christian faith will result in joyful obedience to God, love to fellow believers, and compassion to those who do not yet know Him. (James 2:14-26; Matthew 7:15-20.) Our school community should be one of doers of the word, and not hearers only. (James 1:21)
We believe that the Holy Spirit applies to the saved the washing of regeneration, the benefits of adoption as God’s children, and all things that pertain to life and godliness. (Titus 3:4-7; Eph. 1:3-6; II Cor. 1:20; II Peter 1:3-4)
We believe in the physical resurrection of the human body (at the second coming of Christ); in the eternal conscious existence of all individuals in either Heaven or Hell; and in the rewards of the saved and the punishment of the lost for eternity. (I Cor. 15; Luke 16:19-31; II Cor. 5:8-10; I Cor. 3:11-15)
We believe in the Church, both universally and locally, as the spiritual body of which Christ is the Head. All true believers, therefore, are united in Christ. The church (and not any school) exercises Christ’s authority until His return. We also believe that only the church is entrusted with the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. (Matt. 16:18; cf. Acts 1:5, 11:15; I Cor. 12:13; Eph. 1:22-23, 4:11-16, 5:22-23; Col. 1:18) There is unity of mission amongst believers, and we believe that those whom God has saved are sent into the world by Christ, even as He was by the Father. Those so sent are ambassadors, commissioned to go make disciples and make Christ known to the whole world. (Matt. 28:18-20; John 15:8, 17:18, 20:21; Acts 1; Rom. 10:14-15; II Cor. 5:18-20; Col. 4:2-6; II Tim. 2:14-26)
We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. (Gen. 2:18-25) We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. (I Cor. 6:18, 7:2-5; Heb. 13:4) Any form of sexual immorality is sinful and offensive to God. (Matt. 15:18-20; I Cor. 6:9-10) In regard to gender, we believe that God, without error, creates each person as male or female. These two distinct genders reflect the image and nature of God. (Gen. 1:26-27) Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.
