Doctrinal Statement

The doctrinal position of SDCC, as set forth in the following tenets, is the cornerstone on which the College is built. All employees of the institution support the position, and all programs of the College are based upon it.

The absolute integrity of the Holy Scripture and its plenary verbal inspiration by the Holy Spirit, as originally written through men prepared of God for this purpose. The Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, are inerrant in relation to any subject with which they deal and are to be accepted in their natural and intended sense as of full authority over Christian faith and life. No other religious writings or supposed revelations are to be accepted as divinely inspired or authoritative.

The Triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. There is only one God, who is the source of all being and meaning, and who exists in three Persons, each of whom is eternal, omnipotent, personal, and perfect in holiness.

Direct creation and divine preservation of all things. All things in the universe were created by God in the six days of special creation described in Genesis 1:1-2:3. The creation account is accepted as factual, historical, and clearly expressed, and thus foundational to the understanding of every fact and phenomenon in the created universe. Furthermore, all things that now exist are being sustained and ordered by God’s providential care, and this fact is also essential to the proper understanding of any truth.

Man, created in God’s image and ordained as God’s manager over His creation. Although now marred by the Fall, man was originally given the authority and ability to exercise dominion over the created world. Even now, redeemed and regenerated men have the incentive and potential to reclaim in part the processes of nature and the institutions of society for the accomplishment of God’s revealed purposes.

The pervasive influence of sin and the curse. When the first man sinned, he brought himself and all his descendants, as well as his entire dominion, under God’s curse. Thus, the entire physical creation, the world of living organisms, and all of man’s institutions are now under the same “bondage of corruption” which has afflicted man himself. This universal principle of decay and death must be recognized in all phenomena if those phenomena are to be fully understood and properly utilized.

The redemptive work of Jesus Christ. In order to redeem man and the creation, God the Son became man through the miraculous conception and virgin birth of Jesus Christ. As the Son of Man, He lived a perfect and sinless human life and then yielded Himself up to die on the cross in substitution for all men. The great curse finally reached its climax when the Creator Himself accepted and endured its ultimate and greatest intensity.

The centrality of the bodily resurrection of Christ. After the death and burial of the body of the Lord Jesus, He rose from the grave on the third day. The redemption price has been fully paid and man’s justification before a holy God is now completely assured, as confirmed by His victory over the Curse and its universal law of decay and death. Not only can individual souls now be redeemed, but ultimately, the bodies of believers will likewise be resurrected and glorified; even the creation itself will be delivered from its bondage of corruption, all because Christ died and rose again.

The imminent return of Christ. Although the price has been paid and the victory is assured, the final consummation is to be realized only when Jesus Christ, now in heaven at the right hand of the Father, returns personally to the earth to destroy all rebellion and to establish His perfect and eternal reign. His second coming, like His first, will involve many events, including the rapture of His church, the seven-year tribulation period, and the glorious appearing of Christ on the earth to set up His millennial kingdom. This will culminate in the installation of a new earth and a new heaven, which will last forever and in which His glorious purposes in creation will finally be accomplished. In the meantime, His coming is imminent and may be expected momentarily.

Personal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. All people are guilty sinners before God, both by heredity and by willful disobedience to the light received through nature and through conscience, as well as by the breaking of God’s written commandments when known. No one can ever earn his own salvation, but Christ has graciously provided the free gift of salvation to all who will receive it, on the basis of His atoning death and resurrection. When a person’s will and mind are submitted in repentance toward Christ, then God the Holy Spirit makes that person a new creation, with a renewed mind and converted will. This great salvation (assuming it is real and not merely a superficial emotional or intellectual decision) imparts eternal life to the believer, and therefore, can never be destroyed.

The real, though temporary, nature of evil. Although God is not directly responsible for the existence of evil in the universe, He has allowed it to intrude for a time, in consistency with His creation of freedom and responsibility for all spiritual beings, and also in order to manifest Himself as both Creator and Redeemer. All present evil in the universe is headed up in the cosmic rebellion instigated by Lucifer, originally the highest of God’s angels, who is now Satan, the head of a mighty host of fallen angels actively opposing God’s purposes in creation and redemption. Ultimately, these will be confined forever to the Lake of Fire, along with the resurrected bodies of all men who died without accepting the Lord Jesus and His gift of salvation.

The biblical framework of history. The true understanding of the present world requires correlation of all the data of science and history within the historical framework provided by the Bible, including the following major events:

  • special creation of all things in six natural days;
  • the entrance of sin and the Curse into the world;
  • the worldwide Flood, which cataclysmically changed the entire earth in the days of Noah;
  • the origin of nations and languages at the Tower of Babel;
  • the preparation of a special nation, Israel, through which to reveal God’s Word to men;
  • the incarnation, death, and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, as the surety of redemption;
  • the consummation of all of God’s redemptive plans, as well as His purposes in creation, through the events associated with the bodily return of Jesus Christ.

The Christian’s responsibility to society. God has divided mankind into nations, tribes, and languages in order to enable each unit to more effectively fulfill its own mission in the world and to prevent a unified rebellion against Himself, such as what occurred at Babel. The institutions of the home, the church, and the government were established also with this end, all ideally to be directed toward the most effective ordering of society and history to implement God’s purposes. The individual believer, therefore, is responsible for loyalty and obedience to these social institutions, including the civil governments, which are faithfully fulfilling their ministries in accordance with God’s Word. He is similarly responsible, as God leads and enables, to seek changes in them if they become disobedient to God’s Word. In general, the constitutional government of the federal republic of the United States, together with the individual state and local government systems, has proven an effective means of accomplishing these purposes in this country, and is deserving of the support and defense of its citizens.

The Great Commission. Until the return of Christ, it is the Christian’s duty and privilege to seek the conversion, baptism, and full instruction of men in every tribe and nation, in accord with Christ’s Great Commission.

Primacy of the local church. While recognizing and emphasizing the importance of the universal fellowship and cooperation of all true Christian believers, the Scriptures make it plain that local organized assemblies of such believers are of primary importance in the practical implementation of the Great Commission. The ministry of San Diego Christian College, as well as of all other Christian associations and institutions, should be considered, therefore, as an extension or supporting ministry of a local church or of a group of such churches. Similarly, all students and employees should be active members of a local church in the community where they live.