STANDARDS OF CONDUCT
Personal Holiness
Baptist Bible College & Seminary believes that it has a responsibility to guide students in their spiritual, moral, and intellectual development so they will be servants for Christ. While we recognize that each believer is free to follow a biblically informed conscience in personal standards of conduct, we choose to limit our freedom in some areas in order to build up others in our campus community. We desire all those associated with BBC&S to be characterized by the pursuit of godliness and biblical discernment in every area of life.
Philippians 4:8 instructs believers to be committed to whatever is “true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and of good report.” Additional Scripture passages that speak to this issue are Psalm 1 and 101; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 10:31; 2 Corinthians 10:4-5; and Ephesians 5:1-17. First Corinthians 8-10 direct us to evaluate whether our choices might harm a weaker brother or destroy our testimony to the unsaved. We want to foster a positive and godly community spirit on campus that assists students in preparation for effective ministry leadership. This includes a Christ-like spirit in speech, attitude, and conflict resolution.
Trustees, employees, and students choose to use media, technology, and literature in a way that is consistent with Christ-honoring discernment. We choose to avoid any activity that does not promote values consistent with biblical principles of righteousness and personal purity. For instance, we choose not to use alcoholic beverages, tobacco, or non-medicinal drugs. We refuse to be involved in occult practices. We will not be involved in gambling, worldly dancing, and immodest dress.
We affirm our commitment to these values annually in writing. Those who do not abide by the values or whose spirit is evidently unsympathetic toward the standards and ideals of the institution or who seem to be exerting any negative or harmful influence upon the school may be asked to leave.
Ecclesiastical Cooperation and Separation
The spiritual unity of all true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ is a great and blessed teaching of Scripture. All who minister for Christ quickly learn that spiritual unity is challenging to implement in the practical realities of ministry life.
The church is the pillar and foundation of truth. The very nature of the biblical word “church” (“called out assembly”) implies both sanctification and separation. We believe that God has called all genuine believers to be positively identified as His true followers of God in true holiness.
As we equip our students for effective ministry leadership, we must help them understand the great value of wisely partnering with others to fulfill the Great Commission. Attendant to that is their responsibility to help them learn to identify unwise or unbiblical associations they should avoid.
We believe that God does not direct His church to partner with organizations that deny His Word or His holy purposes. We live in the last days, so we should not be surprised to find organizations that once confessed Christ but have turned from Him (apostasy). As a school, we do not partner with such organizations or ecumenical endeavors, and we guide our students to understand the error of such partnerships.
In addition, the Scripture teaches that it is sometimes wise and necessary to choose not to partner with other believers. Those who affirm the core doctrines of Christian orthodoxy, but who deny other truths of the faith, may not be qualified to become partners in fulfilling the Great Commission. At times, we choose to limit our partnerships to ensure the opportunity to preach the whole counsel of God.