Our Purpose: For Christ, His Gospel, and His Church

We are “for Christ” because he was first “for us” (Rom 5:8). With God’s Word and the Reformed confessions we say that Jesus Christ is God the Son incarnate, true God and true man (Matt 27:54: Rom 9:5; 1 Tim 2:5), and God’s saving and justifying Word to all who believe (John 1:1, 18; 3:16). Christ is the “righteousness of God” (Rom 3:21). This seminary exists “for Christ,” because “there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12) and because Christ is the focal point of God’s revelation and saving work in the world (Luke 24:25–28; 2 Cor 1:20).

The Apostle Paul taught the Gospel this way, “that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time…” (1 Cor 15:3–6). Gospel means “Good News.” The Good News is that although in the first Adam humanity willfully chose death and hell over life and glory, in the second Adam (Rom 5:12–21) God has not left us in sin and death. Where we were disobedient, Christ was obedient for us; the death we deserved, he suffered for us; the life we need, he achieved in his resurrection; and ever more he reigns at God’s right and will hand to come in glory (Rom 4:25; Titus 2:13). The Good News is also that sinners are saved by God’s grace alone, through trusting in Christ the Savior alone, and not by our doing or even by our sanctity (Gal 2:16). Westminster Seminary California is committed to serve Christ and teach his Gospel because it is “the power of salvation to everyone who believes…” (Rom 1:16). It is our conviction that it is through the preaching of the Gospel that Christ has promised to call his people to saving faith and to edify his church (Acts 2:42; Rom 10:12–18).

As someone once said, there are institutions to heal the sick, feed the hungry, and clothe the naked, but if the church does not preach and teach the Gospel, no one else will. We believe this is the church’s most fundamental mission – bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to sinners. We exist to support this mission through the education and preparation of future teachers, preachers, and missionaries. To this end we are firmly and happily committed to “the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3) – the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as expressed in the Reformed confessions and catechisms.

 

We warmly invite you to Westminster Seminary California: for Christ, his Gospel, and his Church.