A. The Sufficiency of Christ Through His Word (Colossians 2; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:1- 4) Sanctification is the process by which believers change to become more like Jesus Christ. Salvation and sanctification are both of the Lord, unmerited favors that we access by faith. As we trust and obey God’s Word, the Holy Spirit transforms us through the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2). Scripture alone can accurately evaluate every situation and provide effective guidance for authentic life change. When external checklists, programs, and policies claim to prescribe a cure for the human condition or to generate spiritual growth on their own, they compete with the sufficiency of Christ through His Word. Therefore, our focus will be to constantly direct students to the Scriptures and help them to internalize truth. B. The Reality of New Life in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:14-19; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 1:27, 3:1-4) The Christian life is not a matter of doing all that we can to become like Christ. It is responding by faith to the truth that Christ is now our life and allowing Him to live through us! Since all students who come to The Word of Life Bible Institute (The Bible Institute) profess new life in Christ, we take them at their word. In the words of Paul, “Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer. Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come” (2 Corinthians 5:16-17). Therefore, in matters of behavior, personal responsibility, and community life we appeal to a student’s new identity in Christ and call him or her to live in a manner that is worthy of their calling (Ephesians 4:1; Philippians 1:27); no longer for self but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. C. Heart Transformation (Romans 12:1-2; Ephesians 4:17-24; Colossians 3:15-16; Hebrews 4:12-13) The Word of God makes it clear that our fundamental problem is deeper than a lack of information or of skill. It is in fact, our hearts which are easily led astray from faith to unbelief (Hebrews 3:12-13). Scripture teaches that the goal of instruction is a pure and a sincere heart (1 Timothy 1:5; Hebrews 10:22). Therefore, in each of the processes of instruction, admonition, correction, and restoration, we aim to deepen students’ understanding of how behavior originates from the heart and is ultimately linked to faith and unbelief. Our goal is to allow the penetrating light of God’s Word to examine their hearts, fill them with truth (Philippians 4:8), and transform them by the renewing of their minds. D. Edifying Relationships (Hebrews 3:13, 10:24-25; Galatians 6:1-5; Ephesians 4:14-16, 25-32) God has placed believers in a community, the Church, which is described as Christ’s flock, His body, and His building. These metaphors indicate that God never intended believers to function in a vacuum! Paul compares us to the interdependent parts of the human body (1 Corinthians 12:12-31) and reminds us that we are actually “members of one another” (Ephesians 4:25) and are to build each other up in love as we minister to each other (1 Peter 4:8-10). The New Testament employs the phrase “one another” over fifty-six times in order to express the shift from the self-interest of the unbeliever to the gracious humility of the believer who now expresses love and concern for others. This is not accomplished by simply deploying a program but also by spending time listening to and building relationships with one another. Realizing that we are all tempted by sin, believers can move toward one another with understanding and humility, calling each other away from the dangers of sinful choices and pointing one another back to the truth of
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