1997 – Resolution on Hermeneutics

WHEREAS the sixty-six books of inspired, completed scripture identified as the Holy Bible or the Word of God has been the only foundation and source for ail true Christian faith and practice, and

WHEREAS the Articles of Faith of the Independent Baptist Fellowship of North America from its inception read in part: ‘We believe in the authority and sufficiency of the Holy Bible, consisting of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments,” that this Bible is “supernaturally, plenarily, and verbally inspired, free from any error, infallible, and inerrant [in the original texts], as no other writings have ever been or ever will be,” and, “we believe the Bible to be the true center of Christian unity and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions shall be tried,” and

WHEREAS the Word of God has been continuously under Satanic attack since the beginning of time and continues to be so today; That attack coming in many forms ranging from outright denial to a deceptive twisting of the meaning of the words themselves (Genesis 3:1-5; 2 Peter 3:15-17), and

WHEREAS among those claiming to be Bible-believers today there has arisen various attempts to twist the Scriptures through false hermeneutics in order to justify one’s own interpretation and practices. This includes attempts to defend feminism and homosexuality; to deny the literalness and eternality of hell; to question the sufficiency of Christ and His Word for all of life’s problems; to confuse the nature, purposes, and plan of God as it relates to the distinction between Israel and the New Testament Church; and other such problems, and

WHEREAS the proliferation of these various, false hermeneutics have resulted in much confusion,. division, and harm not only within the Church of God affecting both the unity and witness of the local church and the service and walk with Chrit of the individual believer but also among the unbelievers as they misunderstand the nature and claims of Christ upon their life and the misery that awaits them In eternity.

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED THAT WE, the members of the Independent Baptist Fellowship of North America, meeting in annual conference in Detroit, Michigan, on June 17-19, 1997, do hereby declare our allegiance to a literal understanding of the Word of God that respects the historical setting, considers the context, and observes the normal lexical and grammatical rules of interpretation.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we condemn all attempts to deny the inspiration, inerrancy, and infallibility of the scriptures as originally recorded by holy men of God as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:19-21) and by His providential care and promise, kept pure down through the ages (Psalm 12:6-7; Psalm 119:89; 1 Peter 1 :23-25).

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that we oppose all attempts through false systems of hermeneutics to blur the distinction between Israel and the Church as contained in covenant theology and progressive dispensationalism, and to culturally accommodate the commands and precepts of scripture to allow for a radical feminism or an acceptance of homosexuality in any of its abominable forms.