OCS Statement of Beliefs
We believe that all teaching and learning occurs within the context of fundamental views of life and society. Starting with the belief that God is the source of all truth, education becomes the exciting adventure of seeking to appropriate knowledge in all its various facets under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Christian education at Oostburg Christian School takes for its perspective the Biblical view of God, man and the universe in their relationships.
1. From the Bible, we derive the following principles which provide the framework for education at Oostburg Christian School:
a. GOD: That the triune God who has revealed Himself in the Bible and in creation is sovereign as creator and sustainer of the universe and as redeemer and sanctifier of His people. All studies in school must incorporate and reference God acknowledging the beauty and order of His creation.
b. THE BIBLE: That the Bible is the inspired, infallible, authoritative, written Word of God, through which God reveals Himself (I Tim 3:16, 2 Pet 1:21). The historic Reformed Confessions are an accurate summary of God’s Word and further explain our beliefs about God, ourselves, of our fellow human beings, and of the world. The Bible declares an objective, transcendent morality about the World and this is written on our hearts (Rom 1:19-20). We believe that our children should be educated in all aspects through a biblical worldview.
c. CREATION: That God by the Word, that is, His Son, has created the heavens, the earth and all creatures out of nothing, giving to every creature its being, shape, form and office, to serve its creator. God’s children must come to learn that humanity and the entire world can be rightly understood only in relation to God who directs all things to the coming of His kingdom and the glory of His name by His creation, restoration, and providence. We recognize that we are to be stewards of this creation, holding it in trust for our Lord (Gen 1, Col 1:16).
d. HUMAN LIFE: That God created human beings at birth, male and female, in the image of God and our purpose is to bring Him praise and honor and glory. In His creation, God demonstrates His creativity through different races and cultures and these are to be celebrated with dignity and respect (Gen 1:26-27).
e. FAMILY: That God has designed marriage to be a covenantal, sexual, pro-creative, lifelong union of one man and one woman, as husband and wife, and is meant to signify the covenant between Christ and His bride the church (Genesis 2:18-25). God established families as a means to provide covenantal blessings to parents and their children. Any form of sexual immorality outside of biblical marriage is sinful and offensive to God. (Matt 15:18-20, 1 Cor 6:9-10.
f. SIN: That all human beings are sinful by nature and continually break God’s law (Ps 51:5, Eph 2:3, Rom 5:12). Man’s sin brought about God’s curse on all creation and corrupts everything ultimately resulting in death.
g. REDEMPTION: That Christ, the only begotten Son of God, was made man, being born of the virgin Mary and through His perfect obedience and His bearing the wrath of God on the cross justified sinners before God (Gal 4:4-5, Rom 4:5, Rom 8:30). Christ, as Redeemer, restores the relationship between God and His people and sanctifies human life through His Holy Spirit (II Cor 5:18).
h. THE GOSPEL: That the Gospel is the good news that salvation is the free gift of God to sinners, through faith, not by our own works (Eph 2:8-9). The Gospel is revealed as a single Covenant of Grace, which binds together the Old and New Testaments in the promise and fulfillment of Christ, the Messiah. Although the preaching of the gospel is primarily the task of the church, the Christian school must teach these truths as well.
i. CHURCH: That God established the church, the body of believers as the means through which the good news of the gospel is proclaimed and believers are built up in loving union with each other and Christ, the Head (Eph 2:19-20). The role of the believer is to serve the body of Christ as each is equipped for the edification and nurturing of the church (Eph 4:11-16).
j. KNOWLEDGE: That true knowledge is made possible by knowledge of the true God, revealed through the Word of God by the Holy Spirit. Thus knowledge of the true God plays a decisive role in the understanding of our everyday experience and of all educational activity (Ps 19:7-9, Prov 1:7).
k. GOD’S KINGDOM: That the kingdom of God embraces all of creation, and thus it transcends all political and temporal boundaries. The ultimate purpose of our teaching and learning is to broaden and increase the depth of understanding of God’s kingdom.
l. CALLING: That God’s people may be called to work in a broad spectrum of occupations in God’s kingdom. The calling of believers is to know and be faithful to God’s Word such that their lives are living sacrifices of praise before all people (Eph 5:2, Heb 13:15).
2. Based on the above-mentioned principles from God’s Word, we further affirm:
a. SCHOOLS: That the purpose of Christian schools is to educate God’s children for lives of obedience in their calling in this world as image-bearers of God and thus to enable God’s people to be effective servants and stewards in God’s
kingdom.
b. PARENTS: That the primary responsibility for education rests upon parents to whom children are entrusted by God, and Christian parents should accept this responsibility in view of the covenantal relationship which God has established with believers and their children. We believe that Christian schools staffed by Christian teachers provide one of the most effective ways for parents to carry out the responsibility for educating their children.
c. TEACHERS: That Christian teachers have a unique responsibility to educate the students under their care in obedience to God.
d. STUDENTS: That the Christian school must recognize that each student is created in the image of God, taking into account the variety of abilities, needs and responsibilities of young persons. The school must treat all students fairly, regardless of intelligence, athletic ability, race, sex, wealth, nationality, or any other human distinction.
e. COMMUNITY: That because Christian education contributes directly to the advancement of God’s kingdom, it is the obligation of the Christian community to Christian education, to pray for it, to work for it, and to give generously
for its support.
f. RELATIONSHIP TO THE GOVERNMENT: That government is an instrument of God to promote righteousness and justice and to curb evil (Rom. 13). As such it is to be obeyed insofar as its laws do not contradict the laws of God. In view of the fact that the government has regulated education in an increasingly secular way, parents and the school must continually make sure that such regulation by the government does not interfere with the Christian education of the children.
g. RELATIONSHIP TO THE LARGER SOCIETY: The school exists in a larger society, or community, which consists of believers and unbelievers. The school owes to that society the duty of educating students to be responsible citizens of that society as well as of God’s kingdom.