Declaración de matrimonio
- We believe that marriage was given by God as part of His common grace, and that it has no meaning other than as He has provided (Genesis 2:18–24). We believe that marriage is subject to the curse of the Fall but that believers, living in obedience to the Scripture and under the control of the Holy Spirit, can begin to experience a peaceful, productive, and fulfilled marriage as intended by God (Genesis 3:16; 1 Peter 3:7).
- We believe that the marriages of believers are to illustrate the loving relationship of Christ and His church, with the husband loving his wife as Christ loves the church and the wife responding to her husband’s loving leadership as the church responds to Christ (Ephesian 5:18–33).
- We believe that the marriages of believers illustrates Christ’s relationship with His church, therefore, believers should choose to marry those who share their faith and regenerate life (2 Corinthians 6:14).
- We believe that the term “marriage” has only one meaning and that is marriage sanctioned by God which joins one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Genesis 2:23–24).
- We believe that marriage is always a public, formal, and officially recognized covenant between a man and a woman. We believe that without such a covenant, which may include a “common law marriage,” where valid in specific cases under pertinent law, prolonged conjugal cohabitation does not establish, and is not equivalent to, marriage (John 4:18). We believe that where no such covenant exists, or can be discerned between a cohabiting couple prior to coming to faith in Christ, family units should be preserved to the extent possible and, if otherwise appropriate, solemnization encouraged. We believe that where a valid marriage has been established prior to coming to faith in Christ, the couple should remain married (1 Corinthians 7:24).
- We believe that God hates divorce, permitting it only where there has been unrepentant sexual sin (Malachi 2:14–16; Matthew 5:32, 19:9) or desertion by an unbeliever (1 Corinthians 7:12–15). We believe that remarriage is permitted to a believing partner only when the divorce was on biblical grounds.
- We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other. We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman (Hebrews 13:4).
- We believe that any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pedophilia, pornography, any attempt to change one’s sex or disagreement with one’s biological sex, is sinful and offensive to God (Leviticus 18:1–30; Matthew 5:28; Romans 1:26–29; 1 Corinthians 5:1, 6:9; 1 Thessalonians 4:1–8).
- We believe that homosexuality is a matter of choice and not an inherited status and epitomizes man’s ungrateful rebellion against God (Romans 1:18–28).
- We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture or the doctrines of the church. We believe that the faithful proclamation of the Scripture, including the call to repentance, does not constitute hate speech, or hateful and harassing behavior, but is instead a fundamental part of the church’s loving mission to the world (Matthew 28:16–20; 2 Corinthians 5:11–20; 1 Timothy 1:5; 2 Timothy 4:1–2).
- We believe that God offers redemption and forgiveness to all who confess and forsake their sin, including sexual sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. We teach that His forgiveness is total and complete (Psalm 103:11–12, 130:3–4; Is. 43:25, 44:22; John 5:24; Colossians 2:13–14) and that God imputes the full righteousness of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21) to the believing sinner. We teach that the forgiven sinner has been cleansed from the guilt of sin, set apart unto God, or made holy, and justified before Him (1 Corinthians 6:9–11). We teach that any man or woman who has received that forgiveness is “in Christ” and is a “new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
- We believe that human life is a sacred gift from God and must be respected from the moment of conception (fertilization) until natural death. We believe that the intentional, willful termination of a pregnancy (“abortion”) at any time after conception constitutes the taking of unborn human life. Accordingly, abortions, including for reasons of birth defects, gender selection, birth control, population control, or even in the tragic instances of rape or incest, and acts of encouraging, facilitating, or paying for abortions, are inconsistent with Scripture and the glory of God (Psalm 139:13–16).
- We oppose active intervention with the intent to produce death (“euthanasia”), whether for the relief of suffering, economic considerations, or convenience of the person, family, or society. We do not oppose the withdrawal or failure to institute artificial means of life support in patients who are clearly and irreversibly deteriorating, in whom death appears imminent beyond reasonable hope of recovery.
