Marriage Amendment

Wednesday, November 4th, First Baptist Church of Stanleyville voted to approve an amendment to our church constitution to clearly spell out our stance on marriage. This amendment should protect FBCS from any legal ramifications if we ever have to turn down a same-sex couple asking to be married in our church.

I have posted the amendment below in the hope that more churches will copy our example and make changes to their church constitution.

ARTICLE XIII- MARRIAGE

First Baptist Church of Stanleyville with Scripture as our guide affirm traditional marriage…

We affirm 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 2:15-24; Mark 10:6-9; Ephesians 5:22-33).

We affirm that God intends sexual intimacy to only occur between a man and a woman who are married to each other. We affirm that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman (1 Corinthians 7:1-9; Proverbs 5; Matthew 5:27-30).

We affirm that any form of sexual immorality, such as adultery, fornication, homosexuality, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, pornography or any attempt to change one's sex, or disagreement with one's biological sex, is sinful and offensive to God (Leviticus 18:22-30; Romans 1:16-32; 1 Corinthians 7:1-2; Hebrews 13:4).

We affirm that in order to preserve the function and integrity of the church as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the church members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by the church in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, must abide by and agree to this Statement on Marriage and Sexuality and conduct themselves accordingly (Ephesians 5:25-27).

We affirm that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ (John 3:16; 1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9; Romans 10:9).

We affirm 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 nor the doctrines of the church (Genesis 1:26-27, 5:1-2, 9:6; Psalm 17:15; Ecclesiastes 7:20).