2008 – Resolution on the Divine Institution of Marriage

Whereas, at the time of creation, God Himself established the institution of marriage and defined marriage as the union between one man and one woman for life (Genesis 2:23, 24), and

Whereas, Christ also honored the institution of marriage and reaffirmed its definition by quoting from Genesis 2 (Mark 10:1-12), and

Whereas, the New Testament epistles are consistent in their support of the importance of the institution of marriage and in reaffirming the definition of one man and one woman for life (Romans 7:1-6; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Ephesians 5:22-33; 1 Peter 3:1-7), and

Whereas, there have been and continue to be many attempts, both on the federal and state levels, to undermine the divine institution of marriage and to overthrow the biblical definition through legislation concerning divorce, remarriage, co-habitation and homosexual unions;

Be it therefore resolved, that we, the members of the Independent Baptist Fellowship of North America, meeting June 17-19, 2008, in Shipshewana, Indiana, commit ourselves to uphold and faithfully proclaim the sanctity of marriage and to consistently reaffirm that marriage is a privilege, not a right, instituted by God and not subject to the whims of man;

Be it further resolved, that we declare that man has no right to change that which God has instituted or to alter the Bible's definition of marriage;

Be it further resolved, that we will oppose and firmly stand against any legislation or decisions by the courts which seek to expand the definition of marriage beyond one man and one woman united for life and that we strongly support all legislation that will defend the sanctity of the divine institution of marriage and its biblical definition wherever necessary, lest the decision be made for us by activist judges.