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The
Church accepts the Holy Bible as the revealed will of
God, the all-sufficient rule of faith a practice, and
for clarification of same adopts the following statement
of corporate, core beliefs:
1.
The Scriptures Inspired
The
Scriptures, both Old and New Testament, are verbally
inspired of God and are the revelation of God to man,
the infallible and authoritative rule of faith and conduct
(2
Tim 3:15-17; I Thess 2:13; II Peter 1:21).
2.
The One True God
The
one true God has revealed Himself as the eternally self-existent
"I Am," the Creator of the heaven and earth
and Redeemer of mankind. He has further revealed Himself
as embodying the principles of relationship and association
as Father, Son and the Holy Spirit (Deut
6:4; Isa 43:10,11; Matt 28:19; Luke 3:22).
3.
The Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ
The
Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God. The Scriptures
declare:
(a) His
virgin birth (Matt
1:23; Luke 1:31, 35)
(b) His
sinless life (Heb 7:26;
I Peter 2:22)
(c) His
miracles (Acts 2:22,
10:38)
(d)
His Substitutionary work on the
cross (I Cor
15:3, II Cor 5:21)
(e) His
bodily resurrection from the dead (Matt
28:6; Luke 24:39; I Cor 15:4)
(f) His
exaltation to the right hand of God the Father
(Acts 1:9,11; 2:33; Phil 2:9-11;
Heb 1-3)
4.
The Fall of Man
Man
was created good and upright; for God said, "Let
Us make man in Our image, after Our likeness."
Man, however, by voluntary transgression fell and thereby
incurred not only physical death but also and primarily
spiritual death which is separation from God (Gen 1:26-27; 2:17; 3:6; Rom
5:12-19).
5.
The Salvation of Man
Man's
only hope of redemption is through the shed blood of
Jesus Christ the Son of God.
(a) Conditions to
salvation
Salvation is received through
repentance toward God and faith toward the Lord Jesus
Christ: by the washing of regeneration and renewing
of the Holy Spirit, being justified by grace through
faith, man becomes an heir of God according to the hope
of eternal life (Luke
24:47; John 3:3; Rom 10:13-15; Eph 2:8; Titus 2:11;
3:5-7).
(b) The Evidences
of salvation
The inward evidence of
salvation is the direct witness of the Spirit
(Rom 8:16).
The outward evidence to all men is a life of righteousness
and true holiness (Eph 4:24;
Titus 2:12).
6.
The Sacraments of the Church
The
early church fathers recognized God's usage of material
things to actually transmit His power and grace according
to His will. This understanding is affirmed by the scriptures
and most succinctly defined by the early church as being
"the visible form of an invisible grace."
The following are recognized as being biblical sacraments:
(a)
Laying on of Hands
God
works supernaturally though the hands of men to perform
healing (Mark 16:18; Acts
3:7), to baptize men and women in the Holy
Spirit (Acts 9:17, 19:6),
and to impart gifts as the Spirit wills (Acts
13:3; I Tim 4:14; II Tim 1:6).
(b)
Baptism in Water
Baptism
in water is commanded by the Lord Himself in the Scriptures.
All who repent and believe on Christ as Savior and Lord
are to be baptized. Thus they declare to the world that
they have died with Christ and that they also have been
raised with Him to walk in newness of Life. Though not
efficacious in itself, baptism is both a means of grace
and an outward and visible sign of our inward experience
(Matt 28:19; Mark 16:16;
Acts 10:47,48).
(c)
Holy Communion
The
Lord's Supper, consisting of the elements--bread and
the fruit of the vine--is, by faith and as defined historically
by the church, an actual sharing in the power of the
Spirit and the divine nature of our Lord Jesus Christ
(II Peter 1:4);
a memorial of His suffering and death
(I Cor 11:26); and a prophecy of His
second coming (I Cor 11:26);
and is enjoined on all believers "till He come!"
7.
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit
All
believers are entitled to and should ardently expect
and earnestly seek the promise of the Father, the baptism
in the Holy Spirit, according to the command of our
Lord Jesus Christ. This was the normal experience of
all in the early Christian church. With it comes the
enduement of power for service, the bestowal of the
gifts and their uses in the work of the ministry (Luke
24:49; Acts 1;4, 8; I Cor 12:1-31). This
experience is distinct from and subsequent to the experience
of the new birth (Acts 8:12-17;
10:44-46: 15:7-9). With the baptism in the
Holy Spirit come such experiences as an overflowing
fullness of the Spirit (John
7:37-39; Acts 4:8), a deepened reverence
for God (Acts 2:43; Heb 12:28),
and intensified consecration to God and dedication to
His work (Acts 2:42),
and a more active love for Christ, for His Word and
for the lost (Mark 16:20).
8.
The Evidence of The Baptism in the Holy Spirit
The
baptism of believers in the Holy Spirit is witnessed
by the initial physical sign of speaking with other
tongues as the Spirit of God gives them utterance
(Acts 2:4). The speaking in tongues in this
instance is the same in essence as the gift of tongues
(I Cor 12:4-10, 28), but different in purpose
and use.
9.
Sanctification
Sanctification
is an act of separation from sin and other evil, and
of personal dedication unto God (Rom
12:1; I Thess 5:23; Heb 13:12). The Scriptures
teach a life of "holiness without which no man
shall see the Lord (Heb 12:14)."
By the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to obey
the command: "Be ye holy for I am holy" (I
Peter 1:15, 16).
Sanctification is realized in the believer by recognizing
his identification with Christ in His death and resurrection,
and by faith reckoning daily upon the fact of that union,
and by offering every faculty continually to the dominion
of the Holy Spirit (Rom 6:1-11,
13; 8:1, 2, 13; Gal 2:20; Phil 2:12, 13; I Peter 1:5).
10.
The Church and Its Mission
The
Church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God
through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the
fulfillment of her great commission. Each believer,
born of the Spirit, is an integral part of the General
Assembly and Church of the Firstborn, which are written
in heaven (Eph 1:22, 23; 2:22;
Heb 12:23).
Since God's purpose concerning man is to be worshipped
by him, to build these worshipers into a mature body
in the image of His Son and to seek and save those which
are lost,
Independence Christian Center's three part mission is:
(a) To
be a corporate body in which man may worship God
(Jn 4:23; I Cor 12:13; Heb 2:12).
(b) To
be a vessel of God's purpose to build a body of saints
being perfected in the image of His Son (Eph
4:11-16; I Cor 12:28; I Cor 14:12).
(c) To
be an agency of God for evangelizing the world (Acts
1:8; Matt 28:19, 20; Mark 16:15, 16).
Independence Christian Center exists expressly to give
continuing emphasis to the New Testament apostolic pattern
of teaching and encouraging believers to be baptized
in the Holy Spirit. This experience:
(a) Adds
a necessary dimension to worshipful relationship with
God (Acts 10:46; I Cor 2:10-16;
I Cor 12-14).
(b) Enables
them to respond to the full working of the Holy Spirit
in expression of gifts and ministries as in New Testament
times for the edifying of the body of Christ
(I Cor 12:28; Eph 4:11-16;
Col 1:29).
(c) Enables
them to evangelize in the power of the Spirit with accompanying
supernatural signs (Mark 16:15-20;
Acts 4:29-31; Heb 2:3, 4).
11.
The Ministry
A
divinely called and scripturally ordained ministry has
been provided by our Lord for the three-fold purpose
of leading the Church in
(a)
Worship of God (John
4:23, 24),
(b) building
a body of saints being perfected in the image of His
Son (Eph 4:11-16),
and
(c) Evangelization
of the world (Mark
16:15-20).
The Ordained Ministry is five-fold in composition, consisting
of the offices of Apostle,
Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher. These ministries
are gifts to the Church given to her by Christ Himself
(Eph 4:7-13)
and which function under His authority.
12.
Divine Healing
Divine
healing is an integral part of the gospel. Provision
for deliverance from sickness is made in the Substitutionary
suffering and death of Christ, and is the privilege
and right of all believers through faith in that work
(Isa 53:4-5; Matt 8:17; I
Peter 2:24; James 5:14-16).
13.
The Blessed Hope
The
resurrection of those who have fallen asleep in Christ
and their translation together with those who are alive
and remain unto the coming of the Lord is the imminent
and blessed hope of the Church
(I Thess 4:16, 17; Rom 8:23;
Titus 2:13; I Cor 15:51, 52).
14.
The Millennial Reign of Christ
The
second coming of Christ includes the rapture of the
saints, which is our blessed hope, followed by the visible
return of the Lord with His saints to reign on the earth
for one thousand years
(Zech 14:5; Matt 24:27, 30;
Rev 1:7; 19:11-14; 20:1-6). This
millennial reign will bring the salvation of national
Israel (Ezek 37:21,
22; Zeph 3:19, 20; Rom 11:26, 27) and
the establishment of universal peace (Isa
11:6-9; Psalm 72:3-8; Micah 4:3, 4)
15.
The Final Judgment
There
will be a final judgment in which those who reject Christ
as Savior will be raised and judged according to their
works. Their names will not be found written in the
Book of Life and they will be consigned, together with
the devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet,
to everlasting punishment in the lake which burneth
with fire and brimstone, which is the second death
(Matt 25:46; Mark 9:43-48;
Rev 19:20; 20:11-15; 21:8). |
