Indian Hills Christian School

The Scriptures
We believe that the Bible is the Word of God and is the only complete and final revelation of the will of God to man. The Holy Scriptures, written by men controlled by the Holy Spirit, are inerrant and are preserved by God for English speaking people in the Authorized Version of the Bible. The Bible is the divinely authoritative standard for every age and every life.

The Godhead
We believe that there is only one living and true God existing eternally in three persons: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit—equal in every divine perfection and executing distinct, but harmonious, functions in the great work of redemption. God is the absolute and sole creator of the universe, is inexpressibly glorious in holiness, and is worthy of all possible honor, praise, confidence, and love.

The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine person and that He is equal to and is of the same nature as God the Father and God the Son. To the unbelieving world, the Holy Spirit bears witness to the truth of the Gospel, and convicts of sin, of righteousness, and judgment. The Holy Spirit indwells, baptizes, seals, and sanctifies all believers at the moment of their salvation. He also endues, guides, teaches, witnesses, and fills all believers in response to confession of sin and yieldedness.

We further believe that the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance) and permanent spiritual gifts are evidences of His indwelling rather than speaking in tongues or other ecstatic and spectacular demonstrations.

The Son
We believe that Jesus Christ was begotten of the Holy Spirit in a miraculous manner; born in Mary, a virgin, and that He is both the Son of God and God, the Son. As both God and man, He lived a sinless life, taught with authority, wrought mighty works, wonders and signs, was crucified and died as a penalty for our sins, and was raised from the dead bodily on the third day. He later ascended to the Father’s right hand where He is the Head of the Church, is interceding for the believers, is preparing an abode for His children, and from whence He is coming in the clouds to rapture His church immediately prior to the Tribulation and from whence He is coming again personally, bodily, and visibly to this earth at the conclusion of the Tribulation to set up His Millennial Kingdom.

The Devil
We believe that Satan (Lucifer) was once perfect and enjoyed heavenly honors, but through pride and ambition to be as God, fell and took with him a host of angels. He is now the malignant prince of the power of the air and the unholy god of this world. Satan is man’s great tempter, the enemy of Christ, the accuser of the saints, the father of lies, the author of all false religions, the lord of the Antichrist, and the author of all powers of darkness. He is, however, destined to final defeat at the hand of God’s Son and to the judgment of an eternal hell—a place prepared for him and his angels.

The Depravity of Man
We believe that man was created in complete innocence in a perfect environment, but of his own volition, transgressed God. The result of Adam’s sin is not only physical death and spiritual death (separation from God for eternity) for all mankind, but the fall also endowed upon all mankind a sinful nature. Therefore, all people are sinners, not only by constraint, but by choice, and are unable to regain their former position of innocence, and are under just condemnation without defense or excuse before God.

Salvation
We believe in immediate positional sanctification at the moment of salvation, whereby God eternally sets the believer apart as belonging to Him by redemption and places the believer into the family of God as children, joint heirs with Jesus Christ. We are made partakers of God’s holiness in the process of progressive sanctification that begins at the new birth and is carried on in the heart of the believer as he yields his life to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, through the Work of God, surrendered will, prayer, watchfulness, and self-examination. Ultimate sanctification will be the portion of every believer when finally in the presence of the Lord, the soul and spirit will be united in the resurrected body; complete and free from every trace or effect of sin and rebellion.

Separation
We believe in a three-fold doctrine of separation encompassing: (1) the separation of the believer from all worldly practices that may dishonor Jesus Christ, that contradict biblical instruction, or that might damage the testimony of the individual believer or the church, (2) the separation of the local church from all affiliation and fellowship with those individuals or organizations that deny the verities of the faith, and (3) the separation of church and state.

The Eternal State
We believe that the souls of believers do, at death, immediately pass into the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in Heaven and there remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the body at the rapture of the church, when the body and soul will be reunited and will be in glory forever with Him.

The souls of unbelievers, at death, immediately pass into conscious torment in hell until the final judgment at the Great White Throne, when the body and soul will be reunited and cast into the Lake of Fire; not to be annihilated; but to be punished with an everlasting separation from the holiness, glory, power, and love of God.

The Church
We believe in the Church—a living, spiritual body of which Christ is the Head and in which all regenerated people in the dispensation are members and that those who are truly born again are baptized by the Holy Spirit into a vital union with Christ and into the universal Church which is His Body and Bride. The local church is the visible expression of the Body of Christ and is a congregation of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, scripturally baptized, and associated by covenant for worship, teaching, evangelism, edification, observance of the ordinances, and fellowship. The mission of the local church is to make individual disciples, baptize them, and teach them. The local church has the absolute right of self government, free from the interference of any earthly hierarchy of individuals or organizations. The offices of the local church are pastors (also called elders, bishops, pastor-teachers) and deacons. The local church is the center of God’s program for this age.

The Ordinances of the Church
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted two ordinances to be observed by all believers until His return—baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Baptism is a part of the believer’s obedience to Christ and involves immersion once in water in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; to show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem of our faith in the crucified, buried, and risen Savior, and our identification with the Savior in death to sin and resurrection to new life—a public recognition of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Baptism follows a public confession of the believer’s salvation and is a prerequisite to church membership. The Lord’s Supper (communion) is a memorial service in which the elements of bread and the fruit of the vine symbolize the body and blood of Christ, reminding the believer of the love of God. Participation in the Lord’s Supper is only for those who are members of this local church (or churches of like faith and practice) and is always preceded by careful self-examination.