Our Beliefs
Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. (2 Timothy 1:13)
Statement of Faith
- We believe the Bible is the true, inspired, infallible Word of God and is our rule for faith and practice (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21).
- We believe there is one eternal and self-existent God who is and is revealed to us as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 3:16-17).
- We believe that Jesus Christ is God, was born of a virgin, was the perfect sacrifice for sins, bodily rose from the dead, ascended to heaven, and will return again (John 1:1-14; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
- We believe the Holy Spirit is a person of the Godhead who indwells the believer at salvation (John 16:1-6; Romans 8:9).
- We believe that all people are by nature and choice sinful and lost and have within themselves no possible means of salvation (Romans 3:10-23; Ephesians 2:1-3).
- We believe that salvation is a work of God’s grace received by faith in Christ. No human work can accomplish salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5).
- We believe that the local church is an organized body of believers that upwardly worships Christ, inwardly loves and cares for Christ’s people, and outwardly shares the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the glory of God (Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 4:11-16; Revelation 5:11-14).
- We believe that the two ordinances of the local church are the Lord’s Supper and believer’s baptism (1 Corinthians 11:23-29; Acts 2:41; 8:38-39).
- We believe that no sexual activity should be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. Heterosexuality is God’s order of creation. By God’s design there are only two genders that cannot be altered (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:21-25; 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8).
Understand that the above statements do not exhaust the content of our beliefs which are founded within the Word of God.
Teaching Sound Doctrine
But as for you, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine (Titus 2:1)
Position On Marriage & Human Sexuality
The institution of marriage has been valued by every culture and society throughout human history. Wayside Christian School believes marriage is an institution ordained by God and prescribed by the Scripture to be a monogamous relationship between a man and a woman physically created in these respective genders by God. We believe God intended heterosexual marriage to be an enduring covenanted relationship established before Himself and man to propagate the human race, lovingly express healthy relational and sexual intimacy, and picture the covenant relationship He has with all genuine believers.
God created man and woman in His image as two distinct but equal genders which He intends to use for His glory (Gen. 1:26-27). Furthermore, individual gender is assigned by God and determined at conception (Ps. 139:13-16). Therefore we believe that to intentionally alter or change one’s physical gender or to live as a gender other than the one assigned at conception is to reject God’s right as creator to assign gender to His creatures and is a personal rejection of His plan to glorify Himself through the original gender He assigned that individual (1 Cor. 10:31).
Because the positions set forth in this statement are grounded in the biblical, moral and ethical commands clearly taught and demanded by Scripture, WCS expects all employees and students enrolled at WCS to agree with and abide by this statement on marriage, human sexuality and gender identity.
All of us are sinners. We live in a world broken by sin and are called to live out our biblical beliefs among those who may disagree with us. We desire to do so in a way that honors God and points people to Christ (1 Pet. 1:11-12). We also believe every person must be treated with respect and compassion and are committed to living out our commitments to these biblical standards with grace and humility.
We also believe that we are called to speak God’s truth in love (Eph. 4:15) as we call all men to recognize that all human sinfulness is an offense to God (Rom. 3:10-11; Rom. 6:23a), and that He offers a full and free forgiveness through Jesus Christ to all who repent and forsake their sin and turn in faith to Him. (Acts 3:19-21; Rom. 6:23; 10:9-10; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; 1 John 1:8-9).
Statement on the Sanctity of Human Life
We believe that followers of Jesus Christ who are governed by the Bible are ethically obligated to preserve, promote, and defend the sanctity of life.
We believe that whenever there is an ethical dilemma the default position should always be to protect life, including the unborn (Prov. 24:11–12). Jesus teaches this principle of carefulness in the Sermon on the Mount when He instructs His followers not only to avoid killing, but to cease from any activity or passion that increases one’s proclivity toward murder (Matt 5.21-22).
We believe that the Bible consistently depicts life in the womb as both personal and human. Therefore, Wayside Chapel and Wayside Christian School affirms the sanctity of life as established by God the Creator and believes that such sanctity extends to the child not yet born. Life is a gift from God. All human life, including life developing in the womb, is created by God in His image and is, therefore, to be nurtured, supported, and protected. From the moment of conception, a child is a human being with all of the developing characteristics of human life, and this life is dependent on the mother for its continued development.
We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life. (Ps. 139)