PREAMBLE
Members of the board of trustees and administrators of Make It Clear Ministries (MIC) recognize that any doctrinal statement is an imperfect human attempt to summarize and systematize the riches of an infallible divine revelation. But this in no way detracts from the importance of such a statement. Though this Doctrinal Statement is thorough, it is not intended to be exhaustive on Systematic Theology. The following affirmations carefully specify our teaching position concerning the major biblical doctrines and thus provide a framework for curriculum and instruction at Make It Clear Ministries and Clarity Christian College. They also provide a cornerstone for protecting the ministry against theological drift. For this reason, board members, administration, and staff are required annually to sign a statement affirming agreement with this Statement of Faith. Unless referring to the Persons of the Godhead, the use of generic male terms refers to all genders.
ABOUT THE BIBLE – The Bible is God’s Word to us. Human authors wrote it under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. Because God inspired it, it is the truth without any mixture of error, absolute in its authority (Psalm 119:160), complete in its revelation, final in its content, and sufficient for life and godliness. Psalm 12:6; 119:105,160; 2 Peter 1:20, 21; Proverbs 30:5; 2 Timothy 1:13; 3:16.
ABOUT GOD – God is the Creator and Ruler of the Universe. He is eternally existent in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit and are one God coequal in power and glory, having precisely the same nature and attributes. We teach that God the Father, the First Person of the Trinity, orders and disposes of all things according to His own purpose and grace. He is the Creator of all things. As the only absolute and omnipotent Ruler in the universe, He is sovereign in creation, providence, and redemption. His fatherhood involves both His designation within the Trinity and His relationship with mankind. He is a spiritual Father only to believers. He has decreed for His own glory all things that come to pass. He continually upholds, directs, and governs all creatures and events. In His sovereignty, He is neither author nor approver of sin, nor does He abridge the accountability of moral, intelligent creatures. He has graciously known from eternity past those whom He would have as His own; saves from sin all who come to Him through faith alone in Jesus Christ; adopts as His own all those who come to Him; and He becomes, upon adoption, Father to His own. Genesis 1:1,26,27; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; John 14:8-11; Romans 8:13-16; Colossians 2:8,9; 1 Corinthians 12:3-6.
ABOUT JESUS CHRIST – Jesus Christ is God the Son and is coequal with God the Father. He was virgin-born, sinlessly perfect, offered Himself on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for our sin, and rose again on the third day to pay for all sins, and everlasting life is given to all who trust in Him. He now lives for us in heaven and will imminently return for all believers. Matthew 1:22,23; Luke 1:26-35; John 1:1,14; Hebrews 4:14,15; 1 Corinthians 15:3-7; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:14,15; Titus 2:13; 1 Peter 2:24.
ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT – The Holy Spirit is a divine Person, eternal, possessing all the attributes of personality and deity, including intellect, emotions, will, eternality, omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence, and truthfulness. He is coequal with God the Father and the Son in all the divine attributes. He is present in the world to draw people to Christ. He lives permanently in every Christian the moment they trust in Christ. He enables the Christian to live with power, understanding of spiritual truth, guidance in doing what is right, and a unique ability to serve Him. We teach, in this respect, that God the Holy Spirit is sovereign in the bestowing of all His gifts for the perfecting of the saints today and that speaking in tongues and the working of sign miracles in the beginning days of the church were to point to and authenticate the apostles as revealers of divine truth and were never intended to be characteristic of the lives of believers John 16:7-13; 14:16,17; Acts 1:8; Romans 8:1-11; 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 2:12; 3:16; 13:8-10; Galatians 5:25.
ABOUT MANKIND – God directly and immediately created man in His image and likeness. Man was created free of sin with a rational nature, intelligence, volition, self-determination, and moral responsibility to God. We are marred by a sinful nature, which causes us to disobey God. This “sin-nature” separates people from God and causes many problems in life. Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a; 59:1,2; Romans 3:23.
ABOUT SALVATION – Salvation is God’s free-gift to us, but we must accept it by faith alone in Jesus Christ as the One who died and rose again. We can never make up for our sins by self-improvement or good works (social or religious). Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from the penalty of sin. When we place our faith alone in Christ alone, we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ as his or her personal Savior by faith and is eternally secure in Christ. However, a Christian can, through sin, lose his fellowship, joy, power, testimony, and reward and incur the Father’s chastisement. Romans 3:23; 6:23; Revelation. 21:27; Ephesians 2:8,9; 2 Corinthians 5:21; John 3:16; 1 John 5:13; John 6:37,39; 10:28. 1 Corinthians 15:1-3. Hebrews 12:6.
ABOUT ETERNITY – People were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin or eternally with God through faith alone in Christ for our salvation. To be eternally separated from God is eternal condemnation in hell. To be eternally linked with God is an everlasting glorious life. Heaven and hell are real places of eternal existence. John 3:36; Romans 6:23; 8:17,18; 1 Corinthians 2:7-9; Revelation 20:15.
*A complete Statement of Faith is available upon request.
