What We Believe

We subscribe to the Baptist General Conference Resolution on Marriage and the Family (June 2004)

We live in a time when society is calling into question the validity of marriage.  We reaffirm our historical commitment to the Biblical insitition of marriage and thereby the definition of a family.  We therefore resolve the reaffirmation of the following resolutions adopted by the delegates of Baptist General Conference in annual sessions 1974, 1977 and 1992 regarding the Family Unit, Marriage and Beliefs About Homosexual Behavior and Ministering to Homosexual Persons.  We call upon the pastors of the BGC to teach and members to champion the truths set forth in these resolutions.

THE FAMILY UNIT (Adopted 1974)

We acknowledge the importance and dignity of the family as a God-given institution created for His glory.

We believe the family is the foundation of society and that it is presently in serious danger due to sociological changes, false ideologies and non-Christian practices which are gaining wide acceptance.

We believe sufficient spiritual resources can be found in the Scriptures and in Jesus Christ to enable families to survive and function in our day in a manner that will fulfill God’s purposes for the family.

We believe that God intended that members of the family live in harmonious relationship with Him and with each other.

We believe that responsibilities of family members and of the family unit itself are set forth in the Scriptures.

We believe the local church should be zealous and active in nurturing the family, instructing the family and ministering to the family according to the Scriptures and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

We resolve, therefore, that:

1. The churches be encouraged to instruct the family concerning the responsibilities of family members given by God in the Scriptures as follows:

   a) Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord of the family and duly recognized as the source of the love upon which the family is built.

   b) The father as spiritual leader, provider, giving of himself in love for his wife and children as Christ gave Himself for the church (Eph. 5:21; 6:4; Col. 3:19-21).

   c) The mother as partner, companion and helper to the father, submitting to the leadership of her husband, loving him and her children (Col. 3:18; Eph. 5:22; Prov. 31; Titus 2:4).

   d) The children as obedient to the parents, respectful of their elders and attentive to the instructions of God and parents (Col. 3:21; Eph. 6:1-3; Luke 2:51-52; Lev. 19:32).

   e) The family as submitting each to the other in obedience to God out of their love for Christ and for one another (Eph. 5:1,2,21; Phil. 2:3).

2. The churches be encouraged to instruct the family regarding holy and productive living that leads to freedom from sin and peace with man and God through consistent and creative public and family worship, frequent open communication, the mutual sharing of burdens and the recognition of Christ’s lordship over the whole of life.
3. The churches be encouraged to assist rather than compete with the unity of the family by developing the program of the church so that it enhances the family unit, assisting in the discernment and development of such areas as:

   a) Our God-given individual talents, abilities and spiritual gifts.

   b) Our function as witnesses to society through stable, happy and contributing family units.

   c) Our relationships within the larger family of the local church.

4. The churches be encouraged to assist the family both materially and spiritually in combating the many rising problems that threaten the family such as poverty, unemployment, alcoholism, divorce, chemical dependency, trial marriage, premarital and extramarital coitus, materialism, disease, covetousness and the host of other problems that exist as enemies of the family.

The churches be encouraged to minister with compassion and mercy to those individuals who remain single and/or who are members of families broken by death, separation, divorce, desertion and conflicting religious beliefs so that those persons who fail to meet the scriptural ideal for the family might within the church find the love and acceptance which may be lacking in their home situation.

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Statement on Marriage (Adopted 1977)

Christian marriage is a sacred institution ordained of God for the happiness of mankind and the propagation of the race. It is a spiritual and physical union into which one man and one woman may enter for the glory of God and, according to the scriptural ideal, is to be broken only by death (Genesis 2:18, 24; Matthew 19:3-9; Romans 7:2).

The churches should exert a major effort to help their members uphold and preserve this ideal by providing preparatory classes for young people before marriage and special study classes for adult couples after marriage and by making available appropriate literature. Pastors should be encouraged to prepare themselves for extensive counseling with couples before uniting them in marriage and to include in their program of preaching sermons from God’s Word about the responsibilities of Christian marriage and the home (Matthew 28:20; Ephesians 5:21-33).

Each local church, according to historic Baptist practices, interprets the Biblical principles and determines its own policies on these matters. The Church as a loving and healing community should nurture and teach individuals and families in the Biblical ideals of marriage and the Christian home. Churches should deal with people involved in divorce and remarriage with firmness, love forgiveness, patience and prayer. (Galatians 5:1-2; II Timothy 2:24-26; Colossians 3:16).

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Beliefs about Homosexual Behavior and Ministering to Homosexual Persons (Adopted 1992)

We the delegates to the 114th Annual Meeting of the Baptist General Conference gathering in Estes Park, CO, June 28-28 endorse the following two-part resolution:

Part 1
Our affirmation that the Bible is the infallible Word of God with “supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct,” and our affirmation that “a Christian should live for the glory of God” include the following six beliefs about heterosexuality and homosexuality:

1. We believe that heterosexuality is God’s revealed will for humankind and that, since God is loving, a chaste and faithful expression of this orientation (whether in singleness or marriage) is the ideal to which God calls all people.
2. We believe that a homosexual orientation is a result of the fall of humanity into a sinful condition that pervades every person. Whatever biological or familial roots of homosexuality may be discovered we do not believe that these would sanction or excuse homosexual behavior, though they would deepen our compassion and patience for those who are struggling to be free from sexual temptations.
3. We believe there is hope for the person with a homosexual orientation and that Jesus Christ offers a healing alternative in which the power of sin is broken and the person is freed to know and experience his or her true identity in Christ and in the fellowship of his Church.
4. We believe that this freedom is attained through a process which includes recognizing homosexual behavior as sin, renouncing the practice of homosexual behavior, rediscovering healthy, non-erotic friendships with people of the same sex, embracing a moral sexual lifestyle, and in the age to come, rising from the dead with a new body free from every sinful impulse. This process parallels the similar process of sanctification needed in dealing with heterosexual temptations as well. We believe that this freedom comes through faith in Jesus Christ by the power of his Spirit.
5. We believe that all persons have been created in the image of God and should be accorded human dignity. We believe therefore that hateful, fearful, unconcerned harassment of persons with a homosexual orientation should be repudiated. We believe that respect for persons with a homosexual orientation involves honest, reasoned, non-violent sharing of facts concerning the immorality and liability of homosexual behavior. On the other hand, endorsing behavior which the Bible disapproves endangers persons and dishonors God.
6. We believe that Christian churches should reach out in love and truth to minister to people touched by homosexuality, and that those who contend Biblically against their own sexual temptation should be patiently assisted in their battle, not ostracized or disdained. However, the more prominent a leadership role or modeling role a person holds in a church or institution of the Conference, the higher will be the expectations for God’s ideal of sexual obedience and wholeness. We affirm that both heterosexual and homosexual persons should find help in the church to engage in the Biblical battle against all improper sexual thoughts and behaviors.

Part 2
We further endorse the following affirmation as an implication of the previous six beliefs. Since beliefs about the sinfulness of homosexual behavior, like beliefs about the sinfulness of lying, tealing, murder, greed, etc., are an essential part of our commitment to the supreme authority of the Bible in all matters of faith and conduct, nd since a person who believes that lying, stealing, murder or greed are Biblically acceptable lifestyles would not and should not be deemed qualified to serve in the leadership of our Conference, or teach in its educational institutions, or serve as pastors of Baptist General Conference churches, or as teachers and principals of all church-sponsored schools, or as missionaries of the Baptist General Conference, therefore we affirm that, in the same way, those who believe that homosexual behavior is a Biblically acceptable lifestyle are not qualified to serve in the leadership of the Conference or to teach in its educational institutions or to serve as pastors of Baptist General Conference churches, or as teachers and principals of all church-sponsored schools, or as missionaries of the Baptist General Conference.

We further affirm that this affirmation is simply an effort to make explicit the implicit religious consensus of the Baptist General Conference concerning the meaning of Article One (The Word of God) and Article Eight (Christian Conduct) of our Affirmation of Faith adopted in 1951.