Our Core Beliefs
The following doctrinal statements represent the core theological beliefs for IBMG. A fuller expression of our theological beliefs is found in our doctrinal statement.
The Bible: The Bible is inspired by the Holy Spirit and is the inerrant, infallible, historically reliable, providentially preserved revelation of God and is sufficient for faith and practice. Only the sixty-six books of the traditional Protestant Canon are the true, authoritative Word of God.
God: The triune God exists in three persons who are co-eternal in being and co-equal in nature, attributes, and glory: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is the Creator of all things in heaven and earth and the providential ruler of all creation.
Jesus: Jesus Christ is the Son of God, fully God, fully man, incarnated by the power of the Holy Spirit through the virginal conception. His vicarious, substitutionary, penal atonement for the sins of mankind was accomplished by the shedding of His blood on the cross, through which He propitiated the wrath of God against sin and sinners. Jesus arose bodily from the dead and ascended in glory to the right hand of the Father.
The Holy Spirit: As a member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit is an actual person, not a mere influence or power. His ministry includes the conviction of sin, illumination and understanding of the Gospel, regeneration leading to the new birth, baptism into the Body of Christ, and empowerment for living the Christian life. Scripture teaches that Christ sent the Spirit to indwell believers and that the Holy Spirit gives gifts as well as enablement to believers for living the Christian life. Sign gifts as mentioned in the New Testament and observed in the early Church have fulfilled their purpose and are not a normative pattern for today.
Man: Mankind is the special creation of God made in His own image, created male and female, who will live for all eternity either in heaven or hell. Adam’s rebellion against God resulted in universal human depravity; men and women are unable to save themselves from the just wrath of God or deliver themselves from the penalty of eternal death and torment for sin. God has the right to impose moral and ethical mandates on humanity, which He has done generally through human conscience and specifically through His Word. These mandates include norms for sexual identity and behavior, marriage between a man and a woman, and the protection and preservation of human life from conception.
Salvation: Justification is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ’s vicarious, propitiatory, penal atonement alone and is freely offered to all who will repent of their sins and believe on Christ. The new birth comes through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit.
The Church: The New Testament teaches that the local church is central to God’s plan for this age—for the proclamation of the Gospel, the defense of truth, the preaching of the Word, and the worship of God by His people. The local church is vital to the spiritual growth and health of every genuine Christian. Scripture teaches that God calls, and the church recognizes only spiritually qualified men for the office of pastor/elder.
Sanctification: God’s will for His people is that we should be holy and increasingly like Christ for His glory. Holiness includes guarding the truth from error, maintaining purity in faith and doctrine, and pursuing a life and practice that is in keeping with Scripture and in clear antithesis to the surrounding sinful culture. Fidelity to Scripture in our progressive sanctification compels us to intentionally separate from sin, worldliness, false teaching, and persistently disobedient brothers in Christ.
The Future: Jesus Christ will return visibly to deliver His people, judge the world, and establish His kingdom for God’s glory.
Missions: Through the local church, we believe God sets apart those whom He chooses to carry the gospel across ethnic and cultural borders. These men and women are called by the Holy Spirit and are sent by the local church with the primary task of preaching the gospel and discipling those who receive Christ as their Savior through a life-touching-life ministry.
Position Statements
Sanctity of Human Life
God values human life. After narrating God’s creation of a world teeming with life, the Bible’s first chapter climaxes with God’s first recorded words. God proclaims His intention to create a final creature “in our image” and “after our likeness” (Gen. 1:26). The crowning act of creation follows. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them” (Gen. 1:27). The chapter concludes with God’s verdict on His creation. “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good” (Gen. 1:31).
The theme of God valuing human life is found throughout the Bible. He values human life at its beginning. He values human life at its end. And God demonstrates that He values human life in the humanity of His Son.
God values human life at its beginning.
God’s first command to humans was to “be fruitful and multiply” (Gen. 1:28). But the Bible does not view procreation as occurring independently of God’s ongoing creative work. Psalm 139:13–16 asserts that God creates human life in the womb. “For You formed my inward parts; You knitted me together in my mother’s womb. …Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in Your book were written…the days that were formed for me.”1 David’s use of personal pronouns implies his humanness and personhood began at the moment of conception. Psalm 139:15 metaphorically compares a mother’s womb to the “depths of the earth” where, says David, “I was being made in secret, intricately woven.” The metaphor points to the creation account where God breathed into the dust of the earth a “living soul” (Gen. 2:7).
The prophet Jeremiah speaks of God forming, knowing, and sanctifying him in his mother’s womb. “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you; and before you were born, I consecrated you” (Jer. 1:5). The prophet also indicates that death in the womb is possible, implying that while in the womb he was a living person. “Because he did not kill me in the womb; so my mother would have been my grave” (Jer. 20:17).
The Mosaic Law treats the human conceptus (living being from conception forward) as a viable person with legal rights. If a man strikes a pregnant woman causing premature delivery and the consequent death of the child, he must pay with his own life according the law of lex talionis (Ex. 21:22–25). Likewise, the account of Samson’s birth assumes the personhood of his fetus. The angel of the LORD twice instructed his mother to keep the Nazarite vow of abstinence from “wine or strong drink” and “the unclean thing” lest she defile the person in her womb to whom the vow actually applied (Jud. 13:3-5, 13-14). Numerous other texts assume the personhood of unborn children (Gen. 25:23–26; 38:27–30; Job 31:15–18; Ps. 22:9–10; Isa. 44:2).
Therefore, we believe that life and personhood begin at conception (Psalm 51:5) and must therefore be granted the same respect and protection the Bible affords to all living persons.
God values human life at its end.
The Bible depicts human life as inviolable not only in its origins, but also in its termination. Death is a wretched and abnormal condition resulting from man’s rebellion against his Creator. The Bible consistently views death as a consequence of sin, and greatest curse upon the human condition. Death is inevitable, but not desirable.
The Bible teaches that God determines the limits of human life. The book of Job states, “[Man’s] days are determined, and the number of his months is with You, and You have appointed his limits that he cannot pass” (Job 14:5). Solomon affirms that for each person, God determines “a time to be born, and a time to die” (Ecc. 3:2). Hebrews 9:27 speaks of God’s appointing man’s death and subsequent judgment. The Bible denies man the prerogative to terminate life apart from God’s intent or independent of His timing. Exodus 20:13 declares, “You shall not murder.” In only three specific cases does God permit humans to terminate the lives of other humans; in cases of capital punishment, in war, and in self-defense (Gen. 9:6; Deu. 7:1–2; Ex. 22:2–3).
Rather than facilitating the death of the elderly, the Bible instructs the younger to value their wisdom and discretion (Lev. 19:32; Prov. 16:31). This instruction applies especially to children respecting their parents. “Listen to your father who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old” (Prov. 23:22). The Scripture does not recognize as legitimate several contemporary justifications for euthanasia, including the right to die with dignity, the relief of financial strains on the family, the relief of burdensomeness to society, or the relief of suffering. We may not understand why God permits indefinite suffering on the part of the dying, or why he allows the elderly to become enduring burdens to their families. But we are certain that God permits trials for the sake of perfecting the Christian’s faith (James 1:2–4). Job suffered severely, but he recognized that his suffering was appointed for him by God, and Job did not arbitrarily terminate his life (Job 23:10, 14).
God values human life in the humanity of His Son.
The Old Testament begins with the creation of man in God’s image. The New Testament begins with the birth of God in man’s image. The virgin birth of Jesus Christ, his experience of human sorrow and suffering, his vicarious atonement, and his sacrificial death on a cruel instrument of torture compellingly demonstrate that God values human life. But God’s love for humanity is not merely temporal, it is eternal. In the resurrected body of Jesus Christ, God permanently assumed the human condition.
Christ’s bodily resurrection emphatically reiterates God’s original assessment of His creation. “And God saw everything that He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Gen. 1:31). The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is the first act in God’s restoration of the whole creation to its original pre-fallen condition (Isa. 65:17; Romans 8:22-23; Rev. 21:1–5). Creation fell in the first Adam; in the second Adam (Jesus) creation is restored (Romans 5:12–17). Christ’s death reversed the verdict of death that fell upon the human race subsequent to Adam’s sin. Christ’s resurrection offers resurrection life to all who believe (1 Cor. 15:3–4, 12–23).
The Bible is a book about life and death. God values all created life. God especially values human life. And God offers eternal life through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
IBMGlobal Applications
We believe that followers of Jesus Christ who are governed by the Bible are ethically obligated to preserve, promote, and defend the sanctity of life.
We believe that whenever there is an ethical dilemma the default position should always be to protect life, including the unborn (Prov. 24:11–12). Jesus teaches this principle of carefulness in the Sermon on the Mount when He instructs His followers not only to avoid killing, but to cease from any activity or passion that increases one’s proclivity toward murder (Matt 5.21-22).
Because we believe that the Bible consistently depicts life in the womb as both personal and human, we oppose the practice of abortion on the grounds that it involves the intentional, purposeful, and direct ending of a human life (person) that began at conception. In the event that a situation arises where the mother’s physical life would be endangered, it would be morally and ethically reasonable to deliver the baby and allocate life-saving resources for both the baby and the mother, rather than risk the loss of both mother and child.
Marriage and Human Sexuality
The institution of marriage has been valued by every culture and society throughout human history. We believe marriage is an institution ordained by God and prescribed by Scripture to be a monogamous relationship between a man and a woman physically created in these two respective genders by God. We believe God intended heterosexual marriage to be an enduring covenanted relationship established before Himself and man to propagate the human race, lovingly express healthy relational and sexual intimacy, and picture the covenant relationship He has with all genuine believers.
Basis of Authority for the Definition
As a Christian organization, IBMGlobal strives to live according to the doctrinal, moral, and ethical dictates of the Bible which serves as our final authority for all matters pertaining to doctrinal beliefs and moral and ethical practices. Our understanding of marriage and application of its meaning is grounded in more than established human tradition and existing cultural norms. As the authoritative, inspired, inerrant, and timelessly relevant Word of God, the Scriptures have binding authority for the doctrinal belief and moral practice of believers, churches, and Christian institutions (2 Sam. 7:28; Prov. 30:5; Matt. 4:4; 5:17-20; 24:35; 2 Tim. 3:15–16; 2 Pet. 1:16–21; 3:2). The Bible speaks clearly and authoritatively to the matters of marriage, consensual sexual activity and gender identity. Scripture’s clear teachings on these matters govern and are central to our beliefs and practices and serve as the final authoritative grounds for the content of this position statement.
The Scriptures teach that God created man and woman in His image (Gen. 1:27–28), brought them together in the life-long covenant relationship of marriage and blessed this union (Gen. 1:28). Furthermore, the Scriptures make plain that this first marriage was intended to be an authoritative pattern for all future human marriages as evidenced by the teachings of Moses (Gen. 2:18-24), the Wisdom books (Prov. 12:4; 18:22; 31:10; Eccles. 9:9), the Prophets (Mal. 2:13–16), the Apostles (1 Cor. 7:1–16; Eph. 5:21-33; Col. 3:14–19; Heb. 13:4; 1 Pet. 3:1–7), and Jesus Himself (Matt. 19:4–6; Mark 10:1–9).
Marriage is a covenantal life-long relationship between a woman and a man who were physically created and assigned these genders by God (Gen. 1:27; Ps. 139:13–16; Matt. 19:4; Mark 10:6). We believe God intended heterosexual marriage for the propagation of the human race and the loving expression of healthy relational and sexual intimacy, and to picture the covenant relationship He has with all believers (Eph. 5:22–33).
Context for Human Sexuality
Human sexuality is part of God’s divine design for human beings (Gen. 1:28). However, the Bible restricts all forms of consensual sexual activity to within the boundaries of the marriage relationship (1 Cor. 7:1–5; Heb. 13:4). The Bible clearly prohibits not only non-consensual sexual misconduct (Deut. 22:25–27) but also any consensual sexual activity outside the boundaries of heterosexual marriage (1 Thess. 4:1–8). Furthermore the Bible specifically names as sinful and prohibits any form of sexual activity between persons of the same sex (Rom. 1:26-27; 1 Cor. 6:9–10; 1 Tim. 1:10), polygamy (Matt. 19:4–6; 1 Cor. 7:11), incest (Lev. 18:6–18; 1 Cor. 5:1), bestiality (Exod. 22:19; Lev. 18:23; 20:15–16; Deut. 27:21; Gal. 5:19; Eph. 5:3; Col. 3:5), adultery (Exod. 20:14; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20; James 2:11), and fornication of any sort including pornography (1 Cor. 6:9-10; 1 Thess. 4:3–8; Lev. 18:20).
Statement about Gender Identity
God created man and woman in His image as two distinct but equal genders which He intends to use for His glory (Gen. 1:26–27). Furthermore, individual gender is assigned by God and determined at conception (Ps. 139:13–16). Therefore, we believe that to intentionally alter or change one’s physical gender or to live as a gender other than the one assigned at conception is to reject God’s right as Creator to assign gender to His creatures and is a personal rejection of His plan to glorify Himself through the original gender He assigned that individual (1 Cor. 10:31).
Posture toward those who disagree with us
All of us are sinners. We live in a world broken by sin and are called to live out our biblical beliefs among those who may disagree with us. We desire to do so in ways that honor God and point them to Him (1 Pet. 1:11–12). We believe every person must be treated with respect and compassion and are committed to living out our commitments to these biblical standards with grace, humility, and appropriate respect. We also believe that we are called to speak God’s truth in love (Eph. 4:15) as we call all men to recognize that all human sinfulness is an offense to God (Rom. 3:10–11; Rom. 6:23a), that God has displayed immense grace and mercy toward all sinners (Eph. 2:1–10), and that He offers a full and free forgiveness through Jesus Christ to all who repent and forsake their sin and turn in faith to Him (Acts 3:19–21; Rom. 6:23; 10:9–10; 1 Cor. 6:9–11; 1 John 1:8–9).
Complementarianism
IBMG holds a complementarian position which affirms that men and women are both created equally as full bearers of the image of God, have equal value and standing before God, and equally enjoy the blessings and grace of God. This requires that each gender treat the other with dignity, respect, and love. We believe God assigns distinct roles to men and women in marriage and in the church. We further affirm that the Scripture restricts the office of pastor/elder to spiritually qualified men. While we recognize that not all believers who desire to obey truth agree with every aspect of complementarianism, the basic tenets of complementarianism articulated here reflect what we expect individuals and ministries operating under our auspices to support and practice.