Introduction
Realizing that the church of Jesus Christ has always been under the attack of Satan and the evil, vain philosophies of the world, and that such will be the case until Christ returns to judge sin, Calvary Bible Church takes a stand upon the following moral issues (we do not believe these to be merely social issues, but important moral issues which are addressed in the Word of God):
Civil Government
The Ten Commandments
Sexual Sin
Humanism
Feminism
Abortion
Euthanasia
Capital Punishment
Divorce
Separation from Worldliness
Secret Oath-Bound Societies
Civil Government
We believe that civil government is ordained of God for the punishment of evil doers and for the protection of the good (Rom. 13:1-7 [show]Romans 13:1-7
[13:1]Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. [2]Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. [3]For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, [4]for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. [5]Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. [6]For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. [7]Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. (ESV)
). We therefore consider it our duty to pray for rulers and magistrates (I Tim. 2:1-3 [show]1 Timothy 2:1-3
[2:1]First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, [2]for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. [3]This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, (ESV)) and to be submissive to their authority, except in things opposed to the will of God (Tit. 3:1 [show]Titus 3:1
[3:1]Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, (ESV); I Pet. 2:13-14 [show]1 Peter 2:13-14
[13]Be subject for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, [14]or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good. (ESV); Acts 4:19, 5 [show]Acts 4:19
[19]But Peter and John answered them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, (ESV)
Acts 4:5
[5]On the next day their rulers and elders and scribes gathered together in Jerusalem, (ESV):29; Matt. 23:10 [show]Matthew 23:10
[10]Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. (ESV)).
The Ten Commandments
We believe that the principles found in the Ten Commandments, though given specifically to the nation of Israel (Exod. 20:1-2), were intended to transcend all time and are therefore morally binding upon believers today. They are a reflection of God’s holy character and since God cannot change (Mal. 3:6 [show]Malachi 3:6
[6]"For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. (ESV)), the principles contained therein are perpetual. The law of God is holy, just, and good (Rom. 7:7-14 [show]Romans 7:7-14
[7]What then shall we say? That the law is sin? By no means! Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin. For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet." [8]But sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, produced in me all kinds of covetousness. For apart from the law, sin lies dead. [9]I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died. [10]The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. [11]For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me. [12]So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good.
[13]Did that which is good, then, bring death to me? By no means! It was sin, producing death in me through what is good, in order that sin might be shown to be sin, and through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. [14]For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold under sin. (ESV)).
Sexual Sin
Calvary Bible Church stands against all sexual sin, such as adultery, fornication (including pre-marital sex, members of the opposite sex living together prior to marriage, and pornography of all kinds and in all forms), prostitution, homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality (Lev. 18 [show]Leviticus 18
[18:1]And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, [2]"Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, I am the LORD your God. [3]You shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and you shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. [4]You shall follow my rules and keep my statutes and walk in them. I am the LORD your God. [5]You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD.
[6]"None of you shall approach any one of his close relatives to uncover nakedness. I am the LORD. [7]You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of your mother; she is your mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness. [8]You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife; it is your father's nakedness. [9]You shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether brought up in the family or in another home. [10]You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son's daughter or of your daughter's daughter, for their nakedness is your own nakedness. [11]You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife's daughter, brought up in your father's family, since she is your sister. [12]You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister; she is your father's relative. [13]You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, for she is your mother's relative. [14]You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother, that is, you shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. [15]You shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son's wife, you shall not uncover her nakedness. [16]You shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife; it is your brother's nakedness. [17]You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, and you shall not take her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter to uncover her nakedness; they are relatives; it is depravity. [18]And you shall not take a woman as a rival wife to her sister, uncovering her nakedness while her sister is still alive.
[19]"You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness. [20]And you shall not lie sexually with your neighbor's wife and so make yourself unclean with her. [21]You shall not give any of your children to offer them to Molech, and so profane the name of your God: I am the LORD. [22]You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. [23]And you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is perversion.
[24]"Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, for by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, [25]and the land became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land vomited out its inhabitants. [26]But you shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the native or the stranger who sojourns among you [27](for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), [28]lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. [29]For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people. [30]So keep my charge never to practice any of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: I am the LORD your God." (ESV); Mark 7:20-23 [show]Mark 7:20-23
[20]And he said, "What comes out of a person is what defiles him. [21]For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, [22]coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness. [23]All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person." (ESV); Rom. 1:26-27 [show]Romans 1:26-27
[26]For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; [27]and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error. (ESV)), and polygamy (Gen. 2:24 [show]Genesis 2:24
[24]Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (ESV); Matt. 19:4-6 [show]Matthew 19:4-6
[4]He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, [5]and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? [6]So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate." (ESV)) believing that all are opposed to the true gospel as set forth in the Scriptures (I Cor. 6:9-10 [show]1 Corinthians 6:9-10
[9]Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, [10]nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (ESV)). We readily acknowledge that it is the responsibility of the church of Jesus Christ to witness to those who are entangled in such sins, knowing that only Jesus Christ can forgive all sins, and through the power of his Spirit, set such ones free (I Cor. 6:11 [show]1 Corinthians 6:11
[11]And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (ESV)).
Humanism
Calvary Bible Church stands against humanism, which in essence teaches that man is the center of the Universe (II Tim. 3:1-5 [show]2 Timothy 3:1-5
[3:1]But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. [2]For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, [3]heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, [4]treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, [5]having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. (ESV); Rom. 12:1-2 [show]Romans 12:1-2
[12:1]I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. [2]Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (ESV)) and rejects the true God of the Scriptures as the Creator and only Redeemer of the world.
Feminism
While the female gender was created in the image of God to the same degree as the male gender (Gen. 1:26-27 [show]Genesis 1:26-27
[26]Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
[27]So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.), and while the female gender is to be loved and treated with complete respect and dignity (I Tim 5:1-2 [show]1 Timothy 5:1-2
[5:1]Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, [2]older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity. (ESV); I Pet. 3:7 [show]1 Peter 3:7
[7]Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered. (ESV)); and while in God’s eyes the female gender is equal to the male gender, we recognize that God intended there to be a difference in function between the two sexes. Women were created in a position of subordination to man, this being evident by: the fact that she was created to be his helper (Gen. 2:18 [show]Genesis 2:18
[18]Then the LORD God said, "It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him." (ESV)); the order of creation, the man being created first (I Tim 2:13 [show]1 Timothy 2:13
[13]For Adam was formed first, then Eve; (ESV)); and the fact that Adam named her (Gen. 2:19-23 [show]Genesis 2:19-23
[19]Now out of the ground the LORD God had formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens and brought them to the man to see what he would call them. And whatever the man called every living creature, that was its name. [20]The man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. But for Adam there was not found a helper fit for him. [21]So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and while he slept took one of his ribs and closed up its place with flesh. [22]And the rib that the LORD God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. [23]Then the man said,
"This at last is bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called Woman,
because she was taken out of Man."). Further, because Eve was deceived directly by Satan in the Garden of Eden (I Tim. 2:14 [show]1 Timothy 2:14
[14]and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. (ESV)), God placed the female gender in a position of subordination in the home and the church. We therefore, as a church, stand opposed to all philosophies, organizations, and movements which resist the Biblical teaching concerning the proper role of women and that teach women to be independent of men.
Abortion
God’s Word is plain that human life begins at conception (Gen. 25:22 [show]Genesis 25:22
[22]The children struggled together within her, and she said, "If it is thus, why is this happening to me?" So she went to inquire of the LORD. (ESV); Job 10:18, 31 [show]Job 10:18
[18]"Why did you bring me out from the womb?
Would that I had died before any eye had seen me:15; Ps. 51:5, 58 [show]Psalm 51:5
[5]Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.:3, 139:13-16; Isa. 44:2, 44 [show]Isaiah 44:2
[2]Thus says the LORD who made you,
who formed you from the womb and will help you:
Fear not, O Jacob my servant,
Jeshurun whom I have chosen.:24; Jer. 1:5 [show]Jeremiah 1:5
[5]"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
and before you were born I consecrated you;
I appointed you a prophet to the nations."; Eccl. 11:5 [show]Ecclesiastes 11:5
[5]As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. (ESV); Luke 1:41, 44 [show]Luke 1:41
[41]And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, (ESV)
Luke 1:44
[44]For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. (ESV)), and that abortion for any and every reason, including rape, incest, medical reasons, birth control, or simply the choice of the woman, is murder (Exod. 21:22-23). Those who do take such innocent lives will perish in hell unless they repent and turn to Christ for forgiveness and cleansing of sin (Rom. 1:29-32 [show]Romans 1:29-32
[29]They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, [30]slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, [31]foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. [32]Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (ESV)). We do not believe that it is at all possible for anyone to be a true believer who believes in, practices or supports abortion. Only God has the right to take life except in those circumstance where he has clearly granted human government the right to bear the sword (Rom. 13:1-7 [show]Romans 13:1-7
[13:1]Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. [2]Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. [3]For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, [4]for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. [5]Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. [6]For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. [7]Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. (ESV)).
Euthanasia
We stand equally opposed to active euthanasia. God is the giver and taker of life and man has no right to decide when he himself or another is supposed to die (Exod. 20:13; Job 1:21 [show]Job 1:21
[21]And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." (ESV)). The only exceptions to the forbidden sin of murder are self-defense, war, and judicial execution, all of which are related to self-preservation.
Capital Punishment
God has given the right to human government to take a man’s life, especially as vengeance upon the act of murder (Gen. 9:1-6 [show]Genesis 9:1-6
[9:1]And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. [2]The fear of you and the dread of you shall be upon every beast of the earth and upon every bird of the heavens, upon everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. [3]Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. [4]But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. [5]And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.
[6]"Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed,
for God made man in his own image.; Rom. 13:1-7 [show]Romans 13:1-7
[13:1]Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. [2]Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. [3]For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, [4]for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. [5]Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. [6]For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. [7]Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed. (ESV)). Every precaution must be exercised to insure that only the guilty are so punished.
Divorce
We recognize the sanctity of marriage realizing that God instituted it for the happiness and welfare of mankind (Gen. 2:24 [show]Genesis 2:24
[24]Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. (ESV); Matt. 19:1-9 [show]Matthew 19:1-9
[19:1]Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. [2]And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there.
[3]And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, "Is it lawful to divorce one's wife for any cause?" [4]He answered, "Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, [5]and said, 'Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? [6]So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate." [7]They said to him, "Why then did Moses command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?" [8]He said to them, "Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. [9]And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery." (ESV); Heb. 13:4 [show]Hebrews 13:4
[4]Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous. (ESV)). Therefore, we stand opposed to divorce. Divorce is the dissolution of a divinely instituted bond and a breaking of the covenant established by marriage (Mal. 2:13-16 [show]Malachi 2:13-16
[13]And this second thing you do. You cover the LORD's altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. [14]But you say, "Why does he not?" Because the LORD was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. [15]Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth. [16]"For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the LORD, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the LORD of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless." (ESV)). We look with disfavor upon the practice of divorce for any reason whatsoever and we believe that the only scriptural grounds for divorce are immorality and desertion. Even when either of these grounds are present, we believe that if at all possible, the marriage should remain intact and forgiveness be exercised. Due to the grace of God, those who have been divorced and those who have married divorced persons, if they give evidence of repentance and continuance in Christian grace on their part, and forgiveness on God’s part, may be received into church membership and do not forfeit the privilege to be used in Christian service within the church (I Cor. 6:9-11 [show]1 Corinthians 6:9-11
[9]Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, [10]nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. [11]And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (ESV); II Cor. 2:5-11 [show]2 Corinthians 2:5-11
[5]Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure--not to put it too severely--to all of you. [6]For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, [7]so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. [8]So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. [9]For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. [10]Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, [11]so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs. (ESV)).