Illiana Christian High School Statement of Faith 

Illiana Christian High School (faculty, staff, administration and board) partners with parents and churches to educate children in the fear and knowledge of the Lord. Welcoming students and families from a variety of Christian churches, Illiana celebrates the beliefs that we have in common while teaching from a Reformed Christian perspective. Keep reading to find out more about what that means. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7; Galatians 3:26-28; Ephesians 4:3-6) 

This Statement of Faith provides a summary of the Biblical beliefs that serve as a foundation for everything that goes on at Illiana Christian High School: all the work done by the board and administration and all the Christian instruction provided by its teachers and staff. For more about these beliefs please consult these three historical forms of unity that undergird Reformed doctrine: the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort. We also use five statements that date back to the Protestant Reformation to sum up our beliefs: Scripture Alone, Grace Alone, Faith Alone, in Christ Alone, and for God’s Glory Alone. All aspects of the governance of Illiana Christian High School by its board and administrators and all Christian instruction provided by its faculty and staff are provided in accordance with these beliefs.

THE BIBLE

The Bible is the holy, infallible Word of God which defines, regulates, and guides our faith. It is without error in the original documents. We believe everything in it because the Holy Spirit testifies in our hearts that it is from God, and also because it proves itself to be from God. It is the inspired, written Word of God through which God reveals the story of creation, fall, redemption, and re-creation. Through His Word, God directs humanity in all relationships, activities, ideas, and beliefs, including guiding His people in the education of their children. At Illiana the Bible is central to everything we do.

(1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Isaiah 40:8; Belgic Confession Articles 4 & 5)

GOD 

The Bible reveals one true God in three equal but distinct persons. While this is a divine mystery, we declare what Scripture reveals about the Triune God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God the Father is the almighty Creator. He created everything out of nothing in six days and continues to sustain His creation by His providential care. Jesus Christ, God’s only begotten Son, came to earth as a human being born of a virgin and lived without sin while remaining true and eternal God. In fulfillment of the Father’s plan to redeem fallen humanity and destroy the work of the devil, Jesus lived, died, and rose again as the atoning sacrifice for sin. His blood paid the price we could never pay. He rose and ascended into heaven, where He is now reigning and advocating for us. Christ will come again to redeem and restore the broken relationship between heaven and earth and between God and His people; His return will make all things new! The Holy Spirit inspired God’s word, draws people to faith, and lives in believers, giving us insight to understand God’s Word and strengthening us to serve and witness. The Holy Spirit does the work of sanctification, equipping us more and more each day to put off our sinful nature and to seek after the things that please God. 

At Illiana, we want to reveal to our students who God is, what He has done, and what He is doing. This means we will also teach them who God has made and called them to be and how to live their life for God’s glory. (Ephesians 4:6; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Isaiah 7:14; Philippians 2:9-11; John 1:29; Colossians 1:15-17; Colossians 2:9-10; Isaiah 45:5-7; Psalm 103:19; Romans 11:33-36; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Ephesians 1:13; John 15:26)

HUMANITY

God created human beings in His own image, male and female, distinct from all other living creatures. God declared the created order to be very good, commissioning men and women as His agents to care for, manage, and govern what He made. The Bible tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made, the crowning glory of God’s good creation. Therefore, every individual possesses intrinsic dignity and worth, making all human life sacred. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life. Humanity’s image-bearing is the basis for our treatment of all students with love and fairness. God’s Word also affirms the sanctity of one’s distinct biological sex, as it does the beauty of sexual intimacy only within the marriage union between a man and a woman. (Genesis 2:7; Genesis 2:15-25; Genesis 1:27; Genesis 5:2; James 3:9; Psalm 8, Psalm 139:13-16; Matthew 5:27-30; Ephesians 2:10; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 108; Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 109)

(Please see our policy on humanity and race at this LINK ) 

SIN AND SALVATION

Sin entered the world when Adam and Eve, our first parents, willfully disobeyed God. In their disobedience to God they incurred the penalty of death and became subject to God’s wrath. We share in these consequences and are now all incapable of choosing or doing God’s will apart from divine grace. The consequence of this original sin means that our human nature is corrupted and all of creation also suffers and groans under the painful results of sin. God’s justice demands that sin be punished; however, in His mercy, God sent His Son Jesus to pay the penalty of sin through His death on the cross. This is the good news of the gospel: God has done for us what we could never do for ourselves. He justified us by the death of Jesus, making us righteous and providing a way for us to have a relationship with Him. (Genesis 3; Romans 5:12; Romans 8:19-22; Mark 7:20-23; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:1-9; Belgic Confession Article 15)

This means that salvation is God’s work from start to finish, or to put it another way: there’s nothing we can do to earn our salvation. Salvation comes from God by grace through faith: undeserved and unearned. This gift comes to us through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the perfect sinless Lamb of God who took on our sin and bore our punishment. All who believe in Him are justified by His shed blood, though even the act of believing is the result of God calling and drawing us to Himself. Christ’s redemptive work began the complete restoration of all things which will come to full fruition in re-creation when Christ returns. (Romans 3:21-26; Romans 8:19-22)

What do we do in response to this free gift of salvation? We live our lives as a thank you to God. We don’t obey Him to try to earn His love; we follow His will for us out of gratitude, freeing us to show our love for Him without fear. Here at Illiana, we help students realize what this gift means so they will learn to love God more and will discover how they can live out their gratitude going out from this place into the world. (Ephesians 2:10; 2 Corinthians 9:15; Romans 6:13; Romans 12:1-2; Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 86)

COVENANTAL EDUCATION

God established a covenantal relationship with believers and their children; this means that He made a promise to be our God and to make us His people, and He fulfills that promise faithfully. God charges parents to raise their children under this covenantal framework in the fear and knowledge of the Lord. Therefore, the primary responsibility of education rests upon parents to whom children are entrusted by God. Working together as home and school, we raise and educate children within this covenant of grace, eager for them to join in Christ’s restoring and reconciling work. Therefore, we study every subject and area of knowledge as a means to understand God’s sovereign rule and care over all creation and as a way to join God in building His Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. (Genesis 17:3-9; Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

Because God’s covenant embraces the whole Christian community and because Christian education contributes directly to the advancement of God’s kingdom, the Christian community (through the Church) supports Christian education through prayer, service, and the generous giving of time and resources. Therefore, Church, home, and school all work together to develop students with a passion for God, people, and the world and send them out from Illiana to testify to God’s grace and build God’s Kingdom wherever they go. (John 1:12; 2 Corinthians 5:16-20; Acts 3:25; 2 Timothy 3:16; Matthew 28:18-20)