2008 – Resolution on Preaching and Politics

Whereas, there are many subjects in the public square that are addressed in Scripture, and

Whereas, there arc threats and efforts made to intimidate and prevent Bible preachers from addressing the issues of righteousness and sin in our society, according to the Word of God, and

Whereas, we support the Bill of Rights which guarantees us the freedom of speech, the freedom from a state church and the liberty to worship God according to the dictates of our conscience and not according to the mandates of government or courts,

Be it therefore resolved, that we, the members of the Independent Baptist Fellowship of North America, meeting in Shipshewana, Indiana, on June 17-19, 2008, do hereby resolve that we will continue to fearlessly preach against the sins of our society, such as hedonism, homosexuality, abortion and promiscuity, and will continue to uphold such biblical principles as holiness, purity, the sanctity of marriage, the sanctity of life and the biblical model of a family; and

That we will publicly oppose from the Scriptures all attacks against our religious liberties, guaranteed to us by our founding fathers, and exercise those liberties fully in church ministries and in fulfillment of the Great Commission; and

That while we would not endorse any political party or candidate for public office, we reserve the right to exercise our liberty to scrutinize both the persons and their platforms in the light of Scripture, preach what God says in His Word about their positions and platforms and support the principles and candidates that best serve the spiritual welfare of our nation; and

That it is our duty as pastors to exercise the liberty of the pulpit to uphold the testimony of the Church by going on record publicly in support of righteousness and in condemnation of evil; and

That we likewise admonish those who misuse the privilege of the pulpit and abuse thereby their people, by exercising authority for personal gain or political purposes and not the spiritual welfare of God's people; and

That we further urge our people to devote themselves to much prayer for the future of our nation and implore God's mercies that He would give us the leadership in government that we need, rather than the leadership our nation deserves.