Statement of Faith, About | Daniel Institute

The Holy Scriptures

We teach that the Bible is God's written revelation to man, and thus the 66 books of the Bible given to us by the Holy Spirit constitute the plenary (inspired equally in all parts) Word of God.
We teach that the Word of God is an objective, propositional revelation, verbally inspired in every word, absolutely inerrant in the original documents, infallible, and God-breathed.
We teach the literal, grammatical-historical interpretation of Scripture which affirms the belief that the opening chapters of Genesis present creation in six literal days, describe the special creation of man and woman, and define marriage as between one man and one woman. Scripture elsewhere dictates that any sexual activity outside of marriage is an abomination before the Lord.
We teach that God spoke in His written Word by a process of dual authorship. The Holy Spirit so superintended the human authors that, through their individual personalities and different styles of writing, they composed and recorded God's Word to man without error in whole or in part.

God

We teach that there is but one living and true God, an infinite, all-knowing Spirit, perfect in all His attributes, one in essence.
We teach that God the Father, the first person of the Trinity, orders and disposes 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.
We teach that God saves from sin all who come to Him through Jesus Christ; He adopts as His own all those who come to Him; and He becomes, upon adoption, Father to His own.

Christ

We teach that Jesus Christ possesses all the divine excellences, and in these He is coequal, consubstantial, and coeternal with the Father.
We teach that God the Father created "the heavens and the earth and all that is in them" according to His own will, through His Son, Jesus Christ, by whom all things continue in existence and in operation.
We teach that our Lord Jesus Christ was born of a virgin; that He was God incarnate; and that the purpose of the incarnation was to reveal God and to redeem men.
We teach that in the incarnation (God becoming man) Christ surrendered only the prerogatives of deity but nothing of the divine essence, either in degree or kind. In His incarnation, the eternally existing second person of the Trinity accepted all the essential characteristics of humanity and so became the Godman.
We teach that Jesus Christ represents humanity and deity in indivisible oneness.
We teach that our Lord Jesus Christ accomplished our redemption through the shedding of His blood and sacrificial death on the cross and that His death was voluntary, vicarious, substitutionary, propitiatory, and redemptive.
We teach that on the basis of the efficacy of the death of our Lord Jesus Christ, the believing sinner is freed from the punishment, the penalty, the power, and one day the very presence of sin; and that he is declared righteous, given eternal life, and adopted into the family of God.
We teach that our justification is made sure by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead and that He is now ascended to the right hand of the Father, where He mediates as our Advocate and High Priest.
We teach that in the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave, God confirmed the deity of His Son and gave proof that God has accepted the atoning work of Christ on the cross. Jesus' bodily resurrection is also the guarantee of a future resurrection life for all believers.
We teach that Jesus Christ will return to receive the church, which is His body, unto Himself at the rapture and, returning with His church in glory, will establish His millennial kingdom on earth.
We teach that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one through whom God will judge all mankind.

Holy Spirit

We teach that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, eternal, underived, possessing all the attributes of personality and deity including intellect, emotions, will, eternality, omnipresence, omniscience, omnipotence, and truthfulness (John 16:13). In all the divine attributes He is coequal and consubstantial with the Father and the Son
We teach that the Holy Spirit is the supernatural and sovereign agent in regeneration, baptizing all believers into the body of Christ. The Holy Spirit also indwells, sanctifies, instructs, empowers them for service, and seals them unto the day of redemption.
We teach that the Holy Spirit is the divine teacher Who guided the apostles and prophets into all truth as they committed to writing God's revelation, the Bible. Every believer possesses the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit from the moment of salvation, and it is the duty of all those born of the Spirit to be filled with (controlled by) the Spirit.
We teach that the Holy Spirit administers spiritual gifts to the church. The Holy Spirit glorifies neither Himself nor His gifts by ostentatious displays.
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 for the purpose of pointing to and authenticating the apostles as revealers of divine truth, and were never intended to be characteristic of the lives of believers.

Man

We teach that man was directly and immediately created by God in His image and likeness. Man was created free of sin with a rational nature, intelligence, volition, self-determination, and moral responsibility to God. Man was also created by God as either male or female, biologically defined and distinct sexes set by God for each individual. Confusion between the two is an abomination to Him.
We teach that God's intention in the creation of man was that man should glorify God, enjoy God's fellowship, live his life in the will of God, and by this accomplish God's purpose for man in the world.
We teach that in Adam's sin of disobedience to the revealed will and Word of God, man lost his innocence; incurred the penalty of spiritual and physical death; became subject to the wrath of God; and became inherently corrupt and utterly incapable of choosing or doing that which is acceptable to God apart from divine grace. With no recuperative powers to enable him to recover himself, man is hopelessly lost. Man's salvation is thereby wholly of God's grace through the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We teach that because all men were in Adam, a nature corrupted by Adam's sin has been transmitted to all men of all ages, Jesus Christ being the only exception. All men are thus sinners by nature, by choice, and by divine declaration.

Salvation

We teach that salvation is wholly of God by grace on the basis of the redemption of Jesus Christ, the merit of His shed blood, and not on the basis of human merit or works.
We teach that the unmerited favor that God grants to totally depraved sinners is not related to any initiative of their own part nor to God's anticipation of what they might do by their own will, but is solely of His sovereign grace and mercy.
We teach that election should not be looked upon as based merely on abstract sovereignty. God is truly sovereign but He exercises this sovereignty in harmony with His other attributes, especially His omniscience, justice, holiness, wisdom, grace, and love.
We teach that justification before God is an act of God by which He declares righteous those who, through faith in Christ, repent of their sins and confess Him as sovereign Lord.
We teach that every believer is sanctified (set apart) unto God by justification and is therefore declared to be holy and is identified as a saint. This sanctification is positional and instantaneous and should not be confused with progressive sanctification. This sanctification has to do with the believer's standing, not his present walk or condition.
We teach that there is also by the work of the Holy Spirit a progressive sanctification by which the state of the believer is brought closer to the standing the believer positionally enjoys through justification. Through obedience to the Word of God and the empowering of the Holy Spirit, the believer is able to live a life of increasing holiness in conformity to the will of God, becoming more and more like our Lord Jesus Christ.
We teach that every saved person is involved in a daily conflict––the new creation in Christ doing battle against the flesh––but adequate provision is made for victory through the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The struggle nevertheless stays with the believer all through this earthly life and is never completely ended. All claims to the eradication of sin in this life are unscriptural. Eradication of sin is not possible, but the Holy Spirit does provide for victory over sin.
We teach that all the redeemed once saved are kept by God's power and are thus secure in Christ forever.
We teach that believers should be separated unto our Lord Jesus Christ and affirm that the Christian life is a life of obedient righteousness demonstrated by a beatitude attitude and a continual pursuit of holiness.

Church

We teach that all who place their faith in Jesus Christ are immediately placed by the Holy Spirit into one united spiritual body, the church, the bride of Christ, of which Christ is the head.
We teach that the formation of the church, the body of Christ, began on the day of Pentecost and will be completed at the coming of Christ for His own at the rapture.
We teach that the church is thus a unique spiritual organism designed by Christ, made up of all born again believers in this present age. The church is distinct from Israel, a mystery not revealed until this age.
We teach that the establishment and continuity of local churches is clearly taught and defined in the New Testament Scriptures and that the members of the one scriptural body are directed to associate themselves together in local assemblies.
We teach that the one supreme authority for the church is Christ and that church leadership, gifts, order, discipline, and worship are all appointed through His sovereignty as found in the Scriptures. The biblically designated officers serving under Christ and over the assembly are elders and deacons, both of whom must meet biblical qualifications.
We teach that these leaders rule as servants of Christ and have His authority in directing the church. The congregation is to submit to their leadership.
We teach the importance of discipleship, mutual accountability of all believers to each other, as well as the need for discipline of sinning members of the congregation in accord with the standards of Scripture.
We teach that the purpose of the church is to glorify God by building itself up in the faith, by instruction of the Word, by fellowship, by keeping the ordinances and by advancing and communicating the gospel to the entire world.
We teach the calling of all saints to the work of service.
We teach the need of the church to cooperate with God as He accomplishes His purpose in the world. To that end, He gives the church spiritual gifts. First, He gives men chosen for the purpose of equipping the saints for the work of the ministry and He also gives unique and special spiritual abilities to each member of the body of Christ.
We teach that two ordinances have been committed to the local church: baptism and the Lord's Supper. The Lord's Supper is the commemoration and proclamation of His death until He comes, and should be always preceded by solemn self-examination. We also teach that whereas the elements of communion are only representative of the flesh and blood of Christ, the Lord's Supper is nevertheless an actual communion with the risen Christ who is present in a unique way, fellowshipping with His people.

Angels

We teach that angels are created beings and are therefore not to be worshiped. Although they are a higher order of creation than man, they are created to serve God and to worship Him.
We teach that Satan is a created angel and the author of sin. He incurred the judgment of God by rebelling against his Creator, by taking numerous angels with him in his fall, and by introducing sin into the human race by his temptation of Eve.
We teach that Satan is the open and declared enemy of God and man, the prince of this world who has been defeated through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Rom 16:20) and that he shall be eternally punished in the lake of fire.

Last Things

We teach that physical death involves no loss of our immaterial consciousness, that the soul of the redeemed passes immediately into the presence of Christ, that there is a separation of soul and body, and that, for the redeemed, such separation will continue until the rapture, which initiates the first resurrection, when our soul and body will be reunited to be glorified forever with our Lord. Until that time, the souls of the redeemed in Christ remain in joyful fellowship with our Lord Jesus.
We teach the bodily resurrection of all men, the saved to eternal life, and the unsaved to judgment and everlasting punishment.
We teach that the souls of the unsaved at death are kept under punishment until the second resurrection, when the soul and the resurrection body will be united. They shall then appear at the Great White Throne judgment and shall be cast into hell, the lake of fire, cut off from the life of God forever.
We teach the personal, bodily return of our Lord Jesus Christ before the seven-year tribulation to translate His church from this earth and, between this event and His glorious return with His saints, to reward believers according to their works.
We teach that immediately following the removal of the church from the earth the righteous judgments of God will be poured out upon an unbelieving world, and that these judgments will be climaxed by the return of Christ in glory to the earth. At that time the Old Testament and tribulation saints will be raised and the living will be judged. This period includes the seventieth week of Daniel's prophecy.
We teach that this time of our Lord's reign will be characterized by harmony, justice, peace, righteousness, and long life.
We teach that following the release of Satan after the thousand year reign of Christ, Satan will deceive the nations of the earth and gather them to battle against the saints and the beloved city, at which time Satan and his army will be devoured by fire from heaven. Following this, Satan will be thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone whereupon Christ, who is the judge of all men, will resurrect and judge the great and small at the Great White Throne judgment.
We teach that this resurrection of the unsaved dead to judgment will be a physical resurrection, whereupon receiving their judgment, they will be committed to an eternal conscious punishment in the lake of fire.
We teach that after the closing of the millennium, the temporary release of Satan, and the judgment of unbelievers the saved will enter the eternal state of glory with God, after which the elements of this earth are to be dissolved and replaced with a new earth wherein only righteousness dwells. Following this, the heavenly city will come down out of heaven and will be the dwelling place of the saints, where they will enjoy forever fellowship with God and one another. Our Lord Jesus Christ, having fulfilled His redemptive mission, will then deliver up the kingdom to God the Father that in all spheres the triune God may reign forever and ever.

Life, Marriage and Sexuality

We teach that God as Creator established life, marriage, and the moral implications therein. We teach this is exclusively, authoritatively, and sufficiently expressed in Scripture and that such definitions are universal truths which define reality and do not change.
We teach that humans bear the image of God and are such persons at conception as directly recognized by God. God does not differentiate between murder in or outside of the womb. Therefore, any form of abortion is murder, a defiant act against the God of life and against children whom He cares about (Matt 18:10) and gives as blessings. We teach that those created in the image of God must be treated with dignity and that this must extend to these persons in the womb.
We teach that the term “marriage” has only one meaning and that is marriage sanctioned by God which joins one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in scripture. Believers, living in obedience to the Scripture and under the control of the Holy Spirit, can begin to experience peaceful, productive, and fulfilled marriage as intended by God.
We teach that the marriages of believers are to illustrate the loving relationship of Christ and His church, with the husband loving his wife as Christ loves the church and the wife responding to her husband's loving leadership as the church responds to Christ.
We teach that marriage is always a public, formal, and officially recognized covenant between a man and a woman. We teach that without such a covenant, which may include a “common law marriage,” where valid in specific cases under pertinent law, prolonged conjugal cohabitation does not establish, and is not equivalent to, marriage. Biblically, such a relationship is fornication requiring repentance of such behavior. We teach that where no such covenant exists, or can be discerned, between a cohabiting couple prior to coming to faith in Christ, family units should be preserved to the extent possible and, if otherwise appropriate, solemnization encouraged. We teach that where a valid marriage has been established prior to coming to faith in Christ, the couple should remain married.
We teach that God hates divorce, permitting it only where there has been unrepentant sexual sin or desertion by an unbeliever. We teach that remarriage is permitted to a faithful partner, but only when the divorce was on biblical grounds.
We teach that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. We teach that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.
We teach that any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pedophilia, pornography, in desire or behavior is sinful and offensive to God. In addition, any attempt to change one's sex or disagreement with one's biological sex is sinful and offensive to God who ordained the sexes of male and female at creation and one's particular sex at conception.
We teach that homosexuality, in particular, is subject to God's wrath of abandonment, is a matter of choice and not inherited status, and epitomizes man's ungrateful rebellion against God. We teach that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture or the doctrines of the church. We teach that the faithful proclamation of the Scripture, including the call to repentance, does not constitute hate speech, or hateful and harassing behavior, but is instead a fundamental part of the church's loving mission to the world.

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