In a day of religious confusion the FBF believes that resolutions are needed in order to define issues and to articulate the positions of our movement; therefore, the FBF will continue to present resolutions on issues of the day.

REGARDING FUNDAMENTALISM AND ITS BELIEFS

The FBF believes that a Fundamentalist is a genuine believer in the Person, work, and doctrine of the Lord Jesus Christ who: Regards the Bible, both the Old and New Testaments, in the original writings as the verbally inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God; Recognizes the Bible as the authoritative voice of God on all issues pertaining to life: civil, social, and spiritual; Endeavors to practice biblical conduct in all areas of his life; Believes in all the foundational truths of historic Christianity, including the inspiration of Scripture in the autographs; the virgin birth of the Lord Jesus Christ; the deity of Christ; the bodily resurrection, ascension, and literal return of the Lord Jesus Christ; salvation by grace through faith; regeneration by the Holy Spirit; and the eternal destinies of heaven or hell; Earnestly contends for the Faith, which includes a militant defense and proclamation of the faith and separation from all forms of heresy, apostasy, unbelief, and inclusivism&emdash;direct or indirect.

REGARDING THE BLOOD OF CHRIST

The FBF affirms its belief that Christ was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8), that the blood of Christ cleanses from all sin (I John 1:7), that without shedding of blood there is no remission of sin (Hebrews 9:22), and that the blood of Christ is precious (I Peter 1:18).

REGARDING PROMISE KEEPERS

The FBF continues to oppose the burgeoning movement known as Promise Keepers, seeing in this "grassroots ecumenism" one of the gravest dangers to the cause of the true biblical separation in this generation. A recent example of this was in the 1996 Clergy Conference for Men held in Atlanta, Georgia, February 13-15, where Bill McCartney, leader of Promise Keepers, said, "It is exciting to see the denominational barriers come down as we have Protestants and Roman Catholics together. The purpose of this meeting is to have the unity of the church. " While giving lip service to Jesus Christ, Promise Keepers, in its attempt to break down denominational walls, sends out a confusing message concerning doctrinal walls that God sets up in His Word as essential to Biblical Christianity.

REGARDING ECUMENICAL TRENDS

The FBF believes that truth demands confrontation and calls upon all fundamental pastors to continually teach their people the dangers of New Evangelicalism, Roman Catholicism, ecumenical evangelism, Promise Keepers, and such movements that blur and threaten to destroy the Faith once delivered to the saints.

REGARDING THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

The FBF continues to repudiate the Roman Catholic Church as apostate in spite of its wide acceptance by many groups. We do not believe that Rome with its exaltation of the Pope, masses, and sacramental salvation is a true representation of Biblical Christianity. We believe that all changes in Romanism are superficial and fail to deal with the blasphemy of the mass, the primacy of Peter as the first Pope, and justification through the works of the sacraments.

REGARDING JACK VAN IMPE

The FBF continues to look with amazement at Jack Van Impe's exaltation of the Pope and calls upon fundamental pastors to alert their people to the dangers of his ministry. For many years Van Impe practiced a strong stance on Biblical separation, but in recent years he has moved to a non-separatist and New Evangelical position rather than a scriptural position on separation. Van Impe's radical change reinforces the Scriptural teaching that in the latter times men give heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils (I Timothy 4:1).

REGARDING EVANGELICALS AND CATHOLICS TOGETHER

The FBF rejects satanic strategies for diluting and thereby destroying the Gospel of Christ through movements such as "Evangelicals and Roman Catholics Together: The Christian Mission in the Third Millennium." Both groups admit that there exists no full agreement between them on basic biblical doctrines; nevertheless, they are seeking to bridge the theological gap and bring together their constituencies by dialogue and consensus in order to fight common enemies such as Islam, secularism, and moral societal breakdown. Current attempts to unify these radically diverse groups are based on expediency, producing a mixing of truth with error. Experience, not biblical truth, is exalted as the touchstone of unity. We look with suspicion upon these attempts to work together with the Roman Catholic Church, believing that Romanism with its perversion of scriptural truth is an enemy as equally dangerous as the secular humanism we are seeking to combat. We are convinced that these efforts at unity will result in a breaking down of the fundamental distinctions between biblical Christianity and Rome's perversion of the Gospel. The FBF further rejects all kinds of charismatic, Roman Catholic, and evangelical "bonding," believing that it will produce mass confusion and contribute to laying the foundation for the one-world church of the antichrist.

REGARDING BIBLE TRANSLATIONS AND HERESIES

The FBF rejects the heresy that the King James Version contains "advanced revelation" not available in the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts and the heresy that salvation is possible only through the incorruptible seed of the King James Version being planted in an unbeliever.

REGARDING CHARISMATIC DEVIATIONS

The FBF rejects the current charismatic craze of being "slain in the Spirit" and the "laughing revival" as having no biblical precedent and does not believe that these unusual occurrences are evidences of revival since they lack the profound sense of the awesome holiness of God and piercing awareness of sin which are always present in a genuine revival of Christian spirituality.

REGARDING FUNDAMENTALISM AND MILITANCY

The FBF believes that the maintenance of a strong Biblical position requires a militancy about articulating Biblical doctrine, the refutation of unbiblical doctrines, the refusal to cooperate with unbelief and compromise, and, when necessary, the separation from the same. While affirming that battles need to be fought from the viewpoint of personal integrity and honesty, we contend that it was the lack of militancy that produced the group that came to be known as New Evangelicals.

REGARDING ORGANIZATIONS PROFITING FROM FALSE DIVISIONS

While the FBF applauds all who are seeking to defend the Faith and to practice Biblical separation, it is concerned about the multiplying number of organizations which exist solely for the purpose of critiquing preachers, churches, and other ministries. Some of these appear to be creating doctrinal controversy in order to sustain themselves through the sale of tapes, booklets, and other materials. Any organization which perpetuates itself economically by the sale of materials which expose errors in other ministries leaves itself open to the temptation to "find" error in order to multiply sales and keep itself alive. The demand for money and the potential of financial gain raise serious questions about the credibility of such organizations. The Bible clearly identifies the local church as the "pillar and ground of the truth" (I Timothy 3:15) and also warns against those who teach divisive doctrines for personal advantage (Romans 16:16-17). The mission of the local church is perpetuated by proclamation of the Gospel. The defense of the Faith is often a costly matter for a church. The proclamation of the Gospel maintains balance in a church, and the coastlines of the fight purifies its motives. Organizations which exist solely for the purpose of exposing error often lack balance, and those which expose error for profit certainly have impure motives. Fundamentalism needs to speak with a clear voice and untainted motives. The FBF calls upon Fundamentalists to urge those who have been perpetuating themselves by promoting division among us to repent (Titus 3:9-11).

REGARDING THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION AND ECUMENICITY

The FBF applauds recent attempts within the Southern Baptist Convention relative to the authority, infallibility, and inerrancy of Scripture but believes that much of this is negated by the participation of Southern Baptist churches in ecumenical interfaith worship services and continuing support of the Cooperative Program.

REGARDING PERVERSIONS OF GRACE

The FBF condemns the current emphasis on a "grace" that makes room for social drinking and the use of any type of music, including rock songs with non- antibiblical words. We see this as a license that further adds to the confusion of a deteriorating moral situation both in the world and in the churches.

REGARDING FALSE CHURCH UNITY

The FBF believes that all attempts for church unity as represented by the National and World Councils of Churches, the Jesus gatherings, the Washington for Jesus Rally, the national Convocation for Christian Leaders at Stanford University, and accommodations with the Roman 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.

REGARDING UNITY IN NON-ESSENTIALS

The FBF condemns a false ecumenism; however, we urge all Fundamentalists to practice a true biblical unity with those who hold without compromise those doctrines that are essential to Fundamentalism. In those areas which are not essential we should allow latitude and differences in a spirit of goodwill.

REGARDING HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE

The FBF is alarmed at the rapid pace at which the homosexual agenda&emdash;including homosexual marriage&emdash;is making inroads and finding acceptance in our society. It appears that the Supreme Court of Hawaii will soon mandate the recognition of homosexual marriages in that state which, in turn, will then be recognized by most of the other states. The FBF deplores the spiritual, social, and economical disaster that would soon follow. Homosexual couples would have adoption rights, Social Security benefits, and pension rights. Businesses would be forced to pay health insurance, retirement, and death benefits to homosexual spouses. Schools would be required to change their curricula to reflect homosexual marriage as a normal and healthy lifestyle choice. Textbooks would be required to reflect the change in social norms. Churches would ultimately be required to recognize and accept homosexual marriages and would face charges of discrimination or even hate crimes if they preached against homosexuality or homosexual marriage&emdash;or resisted performing homosexual marriages. The FBF stands without apology for God's created order concerning marriage and sexual conduct as it is revealed in the Word of God. The tragic unnecessary loss of over 600,000 lives directly attributable to homosexual sins over the past 15 years here in the U.S.A. irrefutably confirms the wisdom of God's plan and design for man and woman. If America's pulpits do not provide true moMl leadership, there will be none at all. We challenge every pastor and evangelist to be a moral leader. We call for an informed, compassionate, uncompromising exposition of truth from the pulpit, a call to repentance, and a clear public articulation and defense of the wisdom of God's created order.

REGARDING SEPARATIST FUNDAMENTALISM

The FBF reaffirms its commitment to separatist Fundamentalism. This title, separatist Fundamentalism, is a clear statement of our distinctive character. "Fundamentalist" identifies us as a group committed to orthodox Christianity and distinguishes us from groups which have deviated from the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith. "Separatist" identifies us as a group which believes that we can have no fellowship and engage in no cooperative ministry with apostates (II John 9:11; II Corinthians 6:14-18). It further distinguishes us from other orthodox Christians who refuse to acknowledge and obey the biblical command of separation from apostasy (II Thessalonians 3:6-15). As Separatist Fundamentalists we believe that separation on both fronts, from apostates and disobedient brothers, is essential to the preservation of God's truth. On the basis of our separatist commitment, we believe it is necessary to limit the scope of our fellowship in ministry to those men, churches, and ministries which likewise agree with and practice sepaMtion from those who deny the fundamental doctrines of the Faith and from those who deny the doctrine of separation from disobedient believers.

REGARDING APPRECIATION TO THE HOST CHURCH

The FBF expresses its appreciation to the Bethel Baptist Church of Schaumburg, Illinois, and its pastor, Frank Bumpus, for their work in hosting this 76th meeting of the Fundamental Baptist Fellowship. We pray God's blessings upon them in the days ahead as they stand for the testimony of Christ in the greater Chicago area. Respectfully Submitted, Resolutions Committee: Rod Bell Dave Doran Dave Innes Arno Weniger James Singleton, Chairman