RESOLUTIONS TO BE CONSIDERED BY THE FUNDAMENTAL BAPTIST FELLOWSHIP MEETING AT TRI-CITY BAPTIST CHURCH, TEMPE, ARIZONA
JUNE 15-17, 1982

REGARDING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF OUR 62nd ANNUAL FELLOWSHIP THEME: "Building & Battling"

The FBF believes that the theme for its 62nd annual fellowship is a timely needed truth for fundamental Baptists. It acknowledges the Scriptural responsibility both to establish and "build" New Testament churches through extensive evangelistic endeavors, as well as the need to "battle" for the Faith by intensive exposure of all Scriptural adversaries.

It recognizes the human tendency to emphasize one of these ministries while neglecting or ignoring the other. Since both are Scriptural imperatives, it exhorts the individuals, institutions and churches represented at this fellowship to seek a Scriptural balance in the fulfillment of these commands, manifesting a fervent "compassionate heart" with a firm "contending hide."

It also encourages those gathered at this conference to implement in their ministries upon their return the theme of this year's conference, thus confirming the spiritual value of this year's annual fellowship. It urges Fundamentalists everywhere to join in the fulfillment of these Scripturally mandated ministries, recognizing that they are both divine obligations, not human options.

REGARDING "BAPTIST FUNDAMENTALISM 84"

The FBF believes that the nationwide meeting known as "Baptist Fundamentalism 84" planned for April 22-24, 1984, in Washington, D.C., co-chaired by Dr. Jerry Falwell and Dr. John Rawlings, is unworthy of the endorsement of true Fundamentalists since it is obvious that the co-chairman, Dr. Jerry Falwell, has moved out of the Fundamentalist orbit and firmly pitched his religious tent in the camp of the compromising New Evangelicals.

We call upon obedient Fundamentalists everywhere to disavow and repudiate any connection with this compromising venture. Since Dr. Falwell's feet are now firmly planted in the New Evangelical camp and since he continues to move further in that direction with each passing year, we would warn those who sponsor and support "Baptist Fundamentalism 84" to be aware of the direction in which they will be moving, believing that this is an effort to capture the name "fundamentalism" for a new inclusivism that repudiates the Biblical separatist position.

REGARDING THE RELATIONSHIP OF THE CHARISMATIC MOVEMENT, THE APOSTATE ONE WORLD ECUMENICAL CHURCH MOVEMENT AND THE CATHOLIC CHARISMATIC RENEWAL TO EACH OTHER

The FBF exposes the modern-day charismatic movement as a counterfeit of true Biblical Christianity and as the catalytic event for a one-world church of anti-christ and condemns his movement for its subjective experience-centered emphasis rather than an objective Scripture-centered foundation.

It cites as specific instances of this ecumenical fusing the forthcoming Pentecostal World Conference, September 14-19 in Nairobi, Kenya, where a professor from the radical left-wing apostate Union Theological Seminary in New York City is scheduled to be a main speaker and the statement by charismatic Lutheran pastor Larry Christenson that "from the beginning the charismatic renewal has had a strong ecumenical thrust" with an "obligation of unity" hovering over this movement.

The FBF also exposes the Roman Catholic charismatic renewal as an intricate part of this ecumenical conspiracy and religious apostasy since one of its leading spokesmen, Kevin Ranagham, openly admits in the current June 1982 issue of Charisma magazine that "The (Catholic charismatic) renewal has been the channel of the most significant grassroots ecumenical movement to date"; and since he also freely indicates that as a result of the Catholic charismatic renewal, Catholics involved in this movement have been "awakened to the richness of the mass, the sacraments and a new understanding of the place of Mary and the saints"; and since he declares in other recent articles that for the Catholic charismatic renewal Pope John Paul II is a "true prophet" and God's authentic spokesman" and that the voice of the Pope is the present Word of God for this age; since this same Pope John Paul II exalts the Virgin Mary, making the Marian cult a cornerstone of his papacy, praying before her image and kissing her statue and openly stating that he places all his actions "in the hands of Mary" and thus his plea for world evangelization to "Christ" M~'ST BE interpreted in this light; and since Mr. Ranaghan declares in another article that "the church of Christ subsists in the Catholic Church and that SHE (the Roman Catholic Church) possesses in UNIQUE FULLNESS BOTH THE REVELATION AND THE MEANS OF SALVATION" and that the experience of Catholic charismatics MUST be placed "in this context" as listed above and in the "company of Mary and the saints"; the FBF condemns these movements, recognizing that the ecumenical pilgrimage is a journey back to the positions, practices and beliefs of the pagan Roman harlot. It exhorts all who designate themselves as Bible believing Christians to recognize the true nature of the charismatic movement and the ecumenical thrust behind it and to voice their protest concerning it.

REGARDING THE NATURE OF HISTORIC FUNDAMENTALISM

The FBF repudiates the positions of those who refer to "historic" Fundamentalism and who wish to claim identity with it merely by stating their belief in "five" fundamentals. The FBF rejects this claim of pseudo-fundamentalists as being valid since there are vast numbers within the confines of the National Council of Churches, the World Council of Churches and the National Association of Evangelicals who, while giving lip service to these "fine" Fundamentalists, knowingly continue to support the apostate denominational program and modernistic liberal machinery because they are unwilling to be Scripturally obedient and place their membership outside the ecumenical camp. It declares that a true fundamentalist is militant in his posture, not only giving lip service to belief in verbal inspiration, but also willing to adhere, obey and defend its truths against the attacks of Satan. It urges all true believers within the confines of such groups to sever all connections with these apostate denominations and to align themselves with a New Testament Fundamentalist church, and further urges those who wish to be identified with historic Fundamentalism to repudiate this pseudo-fundamentalist position.

REGARDING BIBLICAL SEPARATION

The FBF rejects the concept of "secondary" or "Degree" separation, believing that there are no degrees of obedience declared in the Word of God. The FBF believes that according to the Word of God believers are commanded to be equally separated both from disobedient believers as well as from religious apostates, and it affirms the Biblical truth that "partial" obedience is disobedience. In these days of increasing compromise, it calls upon Biblical Fundamentalists to draw clear lines of spiritual distinction between Biblical truth and religious error in obedience to God's Word.

REGARDING MUSIC

The FBF recognizes the important place that music plays in the worship, fellowship and instruction of God's saints. It also realizes the influential power that music exercises for evil or for good. It recognizes that in order to properly fulfill these functions the melody, harmony and rhythm should complement the words and there fore views with dismay the deteriorating quality in so-called "sacred" music through the influence of contemporary nightclub dance band sounds that are sensual and worldly in nature, "fleshly-oriented," and based on diluted jargon that not only indicates a lack of reverence and respect for a holy God, but also disregard for the conventional traditions of grammatical speech.

The FBF rejects as unscriptural and unwholesome that type of music which imitates the sound of the world while claiming to be a song of the Word, where the emphasis is placed on sensual entertainment rather than spiritual edification. It also warns against the use of that type of music where the same lyrics and words are equally adaptable with little or no change to a sensual nightclub atmosphere, a secular choral appearance and a religious activity.

It strongly warns against an ecumenically based music that can be utilized with little or no adaptation by ecumenists, charismatics, worldly compromising New Evangelicals and fundamentalist churches alike, noting that such ecumenical music is now infiltrating and penetrating some of the new hymnals that are being published for use in regular church services as well as songbooks for use in Christian Day schools and views with great concern the increasing use of such music within the orbit of true fundamentalist circles.

In view of these alarming trends, the FBF encourages all believers, churches and Fundamentalist institutions to exercise great discernment in the choice, performance and performers of all music; and particularly urges that Christian families and local churches keep a Biblical standard of music in their homes and all church activities and that we use music that is Biblical in content, edifying in message, and glorifying to God in intent.

REGARDING THE ECUMENICAL MOVEMENT

The FBF believes that all attempts for church union as represented by the World Council of Churches and the National Council of Churches, the 1982 "America for Jesus" rallies, the Bill Gaither Praise Gatherings, the forthcoming Billy Graham sponsored congress for evangelists, and all accommodations with the Roman Catholic church are satanic in origin and objectives, and calls upon all regenerate believers to separate from this apostasy that is condemned by the Word of God. It also warns believers to beware of the dual ecumenical strategy: the official formal merger attempts, as well as the more subtle informal method which ecumenical advocates are now terming "spiritual ecumenism", examples of such "spiritual" ecumenism being small joint prayer groups among members of various apostate denominations, informal "cell" Bible study units which are ecumenically slanted, ecumenically sponsored "marriage encounter" seminars, the use of ecumenically based "music", and ecumenically sponsored joint Bible translation committees.

REGARDING THE BETRAYAL OF RUSSIAN BAPTISTS BY BILLY GRAHAM

The FBF exposes and repudiates the treacherous betrayal of Baptist brethren and others by Evangelist Billy Graham who speaking at a Communist-controlled anti-nuclear conference in Moscow reported that he saw little evidence of religious repression in Russia. We stand with the persecuted and imprisoned brethren who are being "drawn unto death, and . . . are ready to be slain" (Proverbs 23:11, 12) because of refusal to compromise their faith, in contrast to others whose churches are "registered" with the state.

REGARDING THE ANTI-NUCLEAR PEACE MOVEMENT

The FBF deplores nuclear war and desires to be peacemakers. It believes that the modern day anti-nuclear movement gives great comfort to Russia, encourages unilateral disarmament of the West, brings divisiveness into our NATO alliance, destroys the will of the American people to arm themselves militarily, limits administrative choices, would permanently freeze the United States in a position of nuclear inferiority, invites nuclear attack, and espouses a fallacious philosophy of negotiating from weakness rather than strength.

REGARDING INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE HARRASSMENT OF CHRISTIAN SCHOOLS

The FBF unites in decrying the outrageous action of the Internal Revenue Service in continually harassing Christian schools and organizations and violating their First Amendment rights through its own fiat decrees.

REGARDING THE JERRY FALWELL MINISTRIES

The FBF affirms that the Jerry Falwell ministries are New Evangelical and do not represent historic Fundamentalism. Falwell's book The Fundamentalist Phenomenon exhibits this by calling for a unification of Fundamentalists and New Evangelicals and rebuking Biblical separatists with such inflammatory terms as "u1tra-separatist" and "lunatic fringe" further confirmed by New Evangelicals such as Clark Pinnock and George Marsden's conclusions that Dr. Falwell is a fellow New Evangelical.

REGARDING THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION

The FBF recognizes as dangerous the growing rapprochement between fundamental independent Baptists and groups such as the Southern Baptist Convention through pulpit exchanges, speaking together in evangelistic conclaves, having Southern Baptists to speak at schools and colleges that profess to be fundamental; believes that since the Southern Baptist Convention is filled with neo-orthodoxy and liberalism in its theological seminaries and colleges and that all movements within the Convention over "the battle for the Bible" are sham conflicts as long as those in the Convention continue to support the enemy with their gifts through the Cooperative Baptist Program; we call, therefore, upon fundamental Baptists to shun association with this group which daily goes deeper into the apostasy.

REGARDING THE A.C.E.

The FBF views with alarm the compromise of the A.C.E. school program through their affiliation with charismatics, New Evangelicals, and other non-separatist groups in their regional rallies; it views with further alarm the deteriorating compromise and inconsistency of the A.C.E. headquarters in permitting heretical non-trin1tarian cultic groups such as the United Pentecostal denomination to qualify for the A.C.E. program when this group proclaims such unbiblical doctrines as the denial of the Trinity, baptismal regeneration, and speaking in tongues as the initial evidence of salvation; while claiming that A.C.E. "will not enter into contract with any organization" other than a "local incorporated Bible-believing New Testament Church."

It cites as an example of this compromise the removal of the word "Trinity" from all future new A.C.F. curriculum material under the guise that in the future the A.C.E. program will use only "Biblical terminology" in its curriculum, leaving it to "pastors to identify" such "terminology and definitions" like "Godhead" "to their people." It also cites the appearance of the A.C.E. president at a building dedication service of an A.C.E. school building within the United Pentecostal Church on December 14, 1980, in Nashville, Tennessee.

REGARDING DR. IAN PAISLEY AND NORTHEN IRELAND

The FBF deplores the unjust action by our State Department against its citizens and Dr. Ian Paisley in denying to this minister of the gospel, member of the British Parliament and European Parliaments, a visa to visit the United States. It views this action as sectarianism, religious bigotry of the worst sort, and as Roman Catholic pressure to keep the peoples of the United States from learning the true facts about the situation in Northern Ireland. The FBF requests that a visa be granted immediately to Dr. Paisley.

REGARDING LIBERATION THEOLOGY

The FBF identifies with the oppressed and downtrodden of the world, but rejects the so-called "Liberation Theology" as operating in a thought world totally opposed to Biblical Christianity. The FBF believes that the term "Liberation Theology" is a deceptive term, not being "theology" in any proper sense of the word, but in reality nothing less than communistic marxism under the guise of religious terminology and that its real purpose is used by the communist system to deceive and exploit the masses that they might be fomenters of violence in order to overthrow the existing religious, sociological, and political structures, and enslave the masses under a communistic system.

The FBF exposes the World Council of Churches for its promotion of this "Liberation Theology" and its collaboration with marxist revolutionaries. It also exposes the Latin American Mission, an EFMA and IFMA affiliated mission agency, for its sympathetic entertainment of this insidious theology. It urges all Bible-believing Christian, indigenous churches and missionary organizations, particularly within the Latin American countries, to become aware of the purpose of this vicious theology and to expose its marxist foundation.

REGARDING THE BIBLICAL MANUSCRIPTS CONTROVERSY

The FBF recognizes that discussion and debate concerning the Biblical manuscripts continue to attract national attention. In the process there has developed considerable confusion and misunderstanding as to the actual issues in the controversy, causing some Fundamentalists on the one hand to take a "don't get me involved in that fanatical sidetrack" approach and some, on the other hand, to break fellowship with otherwise militant separatists with whom they disagree on the subject.

We recognize that any issue involving the eternal World o God is of necessity important and should be dealt with carefully, intelligently and prayerfully. Therefore, we resolve that this fellowship denounce the bitter, divisive tactics on the part of some who resort to violent, unfounded accusations, vicious name-calling, and destruction campaigns in order to propagate their position.

We further resolve that this fellowship take note of the large number of good men-pastors, educators, evangelists-on both sides of the debate and that we encourage these men and schools in further scholarly discussion and publication so long as they do so with courtesy and consideration for the godly, fundamental men with who they disagree.

REGARDING BASIC YOUTH CONFLICTS

The FBF expresses its concern over the ministry of Bill Gothard and the Institute in Basic Youth Conflicts organization due to its continued silence with regard to making a clear cut stand for Biblical Fundamentalism as opposed to New Evangelicalism after several years of patient personal and private counsel by numerous Fundamentalist leaders, and calls upon Fundamentalists to exercise caution in condoning or cooperating with a ministry that has never identified with the cause of Biblical separatism. While expressing these concerns and reservations, it lovingly entreats Mr. Gothard and the IBYC ministry to take such a stand for true Fundamentalism and to declare such position both in its printed manuals and live-taped seminars in fulfillment of its Biblical responsibility of obedience to Scriptural authority.

REGARDING OUR HOSTS & COORDINATORS

The FBF extends its thanks to Pastor James Singleton and the people and staff of the Tri-City Baptist Church for their splendid southwestern "desert" hospitality. It also expresses its gratefulness to Rev. C. E. Cofty, National FBF Coordinator, and Rev. Gary Emory who served as local coordinator for their excellent labors in the organization of this year's fellowship meeting.