Doctrinal Statement on Controversial Subjects for 20/20 Scriptural Vision

The purpose of the following statement is to clarify, with relative brevity, where we stand on a number of issues that are controversial among modern professing Christians including Independent Baptists. We will happily answer any questions, make any clarifications, and provide Scriptural support for our positions. A more detailed exposition of what we believe is soon to follow. This Statement can be found on 20/20 website here: https://www.2020scripturalvision.com/doctrinal-statement

1. In Bibliology.

We believe that the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek words of the Old Testament Hebrew Masoretic Text and New Testament Textus Receptus that underlie the English Authorized King James Version (KJV) constitute the perfectly preserved Word of God according to God’s promises of perfect preservation of the words He gave. We believe that English speaking churches should only use the KJV. We do not criticize, but uphold, the KJV as a translation and as God’s Word intact in the English language. We reject all theories of Ruckmanism, such as advanced revelation in the English language, inspiration of the KJV translators, KJV is improved over the original language texts, and the like. We believe that the study of the original languages of the Bible is hugely valuable and profitable, and at the very least should be studied when studying words in the Bible. We also reject all unbelieving higher criticism and textual criticism of the Bible, which includes modern translations from the Critical Text.

2. In Theology Proper, Trinitarianism, Christology, and Pneumatology.

We hold to the classical view of God and of the Trinity, that God is one in essence, yet in three distinct and eternal Persons, sharing all the Divine attributes, and distinguished ontologically only in that the Son is eternally begotten of the Father, and the Holy Spirit eternally proceeds from the Father and the Son. Jesus Christ, in His incarnation, united to Himself a true human nature, so that He is now, and forever will be, one Person with two distinct natures, Divine and human. We accept the historic Baptist doctrine of Spirit baptism, recognizing that it was a first century phenomenon synonymous with Christ’s sending of the Spirit as Comforter, and from that time forward the Holy Spirit is received at the moment of salvation, to indwell, comfort, lead, teach, guide, convict and seal the saint till the day of redemption. The sign gifts ceased in the first century, and the allegedly restored charismatic and Pentecostal “gifts” are not of God, include their heresy of "tongues-speaking" demonic gibberish.

3. In Anthropology.

We believe that Adam was the first man, and all men sinned in him and were reckoned sinners by the immediate imputation of his sin and by the mediate receipt of a sinful nature through their parents (Gen 3; Ps 51:5; Rom 5). Scripture only teaches the recent creation of the human race, and evolution must be rejected in all its forms. The earth was created recently, not millions of years ago, the days of creation were literal, 24-hour periods with no gaps between them, there was no death before the Fall, and the Flood in Noah’s day was universal, not local. We also believe that man is body, soul, and spirit, and soul and spirit are not synonymous within the spiritual side of human nature, so that we confess a moderate trichotomy. Gender roles such as male headship in family, church, and society, are part of the created order, not a societal construct, so women are not to rule over their husbands at home nor lead the church as pastors or deacons or to be over men in any public sector or workplace.

4. In Hamartiology and Soteriology.

We believe that a man is justified by repentant faith alone. We reject both Calvinism and Arminianism, believing that man is pervasively and terribly depraved as a result of the Fall and unable to save himself, but God gives prevenient grace to enable unconverted men to respond positively to His grace and granting of repentance. Election is based upon Divine foreknowledge, NOT predetermination as Calvinism supposes. The Atonement is penal, substitutionary, and unlimited. Christ’s literal blood-shedding was as necessary as His death for man’s salvation. Irresistible grace is not a Biblical doctrine; God’s grace is certainly resistible as noted clearly throughout scripture, such as in Pr 1:20-30 and in the cases of Balaam, Judas, the followers of Christ in Jn 2:23-25 and 6:60-66, and many other places. God will preserve His saints to the end, He never ceases His work in them, so that they are eternally secure for that reason but many other reasons additionally (e.g., justification, reconciliation, regeneration, inseparable from God’s love, the gospel, etc). Repentance is not just a change of mind or synonymous with faith, but a change of the mind and will of man that results in a change of action, which is turning to God in sorrow from sin, from self, from stuff, from people, which produces true Biblical conversion and always a changed life permanently. True Salvation as described and defined in the Word of God is Lordship Salvation — they are one and the same. While believers can temporarily disobey, no true believer can ever be eternally lost or live in error or sin habitually (2 Pet 1:4; 2:14, 18; 1 Cor 6:9-11; Gal 5:19-25). All born again believers are not progressively sanctified to the same extent, nor is sanctification automatic, but it is nonetheless certain, as is glorification.

5. In Ecclesiology.

We recognize that the church is only a local, visible assembly of immersed born again believers that have demonstrated evidence and fruit of salvation (Matt 13:23; Col 1:4-6). While all believers will one day assemble together in the New Jerusalem, the idea that all believers on earth are a universal, invisible church is false. The local, visible church is Christ’s body. Israel had the special closeness of the bride/wife relationship to God in the OT, and the local church does in the NT, while all in the New Jerusalem—the dwelling of all the redeemed of all dispensations—will enjoy that special closeness in the eternal state. Both baptism and the Lord’s Supper are church ordinances. Baptism requires a Scriptural subject, a truly saved believer; a Scriptural purpose, to show forth Christ’s death, burial and resurrection;  a Scriptural mode, immersion;  and a Scriptural authority, a NT Baptist/Anabaptist church—not a Catholic or Protestant or other sect religious organization. The Lord’s Supper of unleavened bread and wine is likewise a church ordinance, and it is consequently a memorial celebrated by each of Christ’s churches for their own members. Grape juice, not alcoholic wine, should be used at the Lord’s Supper, as it represents the unleavened blood of Christ and the Bible demands total abstinence from alcohol to be practiced by all Christians. Churches should practice congregational government and authority underneath the leadership of a pastor or pastors, rather than rule by a deacon board or board of ruling and teaching elders, none of which are biblical. The idea of a head pastor is Scriptural. Churches that currently are called “Baptist” have existed in every century since Christ started His church during His earthly ministry and before Pentecost. While there has been a real succession of Baptist churches from the days of Christ, their Founder, until today, each church is not obligated to trace its own succession link-by-link to prove that it is one of Christ’s true churches. Since the local, visible church is the pillar and ground of the truth for this age, conventions, associations, boards, and all parachurch institutions are unnecessary and unbiblical.

6. In Eschatology.

We believe in a post-tribulation and pre-millennial Second Coming of Christ, as hundreds of scripture prophecy throughout the OT and NT. We believe that prophecy is to be interpreted only literally, never allegorically (unless clearly indicated by Scripture, with an explanation of the allegory), and therefore accept dispensational distinctions and reject covenant theology. The one-world “church” of Rev 17-18 is centred in Rome, and modern Roman Catholicism is a partial fulfillment of the future one-world harlot “church.” Israel and the church are completely distinct entities, and Replacement Theology is heresy. Hell and the lake of fire is a place where all the lost will suffer literal and conscious torment in fire and brimstone for all eternity.

7. Concerning other various controverted Personal and Ecclesiastical Practices. 

(a) Evangelism. We believe that every Christian should be involved in aggressively seeking to reach every single person in his community with the gospel through practices such as house to house evangelism and literature distribution, while also supporting evangelists (i.e. missionaries) to reach the rest of the world. People who are truly saved with fruit of repentance and evidence of salvation, baptized by immersion, and faithfully serving as members of NT Baptist churches should be counted as converts, if one was to count converts. Those who merely repeat a sinner’s prayer and do not give all inclusive evidence of salvation as laid out in the epistle of first John or don’t have a desire to serve the Lord should not be counted as converts. God saves sinners who repent and believe in Christ, rather than any who say the sinner’s prayer or ask Jesus to come into their hearts. Churches should follow the evangelistic methodology of the book of Acts and the Lord Jesus Christ in the four Gospels, seeking to boldly preach the gospel to everyone, rather than following the evangelistic methodology of the “seeker-sensitive” or “purpose-driven” or “neo-evangelical” or “emerging” movements by asking sinners to pray a prayer or ask Jesus into their heart or employ promotion and marketing techniques or worldliness to attract the lost. 

(b) Music. We believe that in church and everywhere else Christians should reject all worldly, fleshly, and devilish music and listen only to sacred Christian music or classical music. All jazz, blues, country-western, easy-listening, rock, and rap music is worldly, fleshly, and devilish. The very highest standard of sacred music should be tenaciously held to and all of what is called Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) utterly rejected. Churches should worship the Lord with psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, rather than with songs that contain little Scriptural content or written by ungodly apostates such as CCM musicians. 

(c) Modesty. We believe that Scripture teaches both modesty and gender distinction. Clothing that does not cover at least to the knee is nakedness. Modesty is more than simply not being naked. In the Bible, clothing normally covers the entire body to the foot, although when necessary men were allowed to gird up their loins. Wearing the clothing that pertains to the other gender is an abomination to God. Pants are men’s apparel, while skirts and dresses are ladies’ apparel. Men should have short hair and women should have long hair, which is described in 1 Cor 11 as hair to the middle of the back (“komao”). While the heart is more important than the outward appearance, what is reflected on the outside comes from the inside, from the heart, and reflects whether the person actually loves God (by obeying His Word) or loves Him not, by not obeying His Word (Jn 14:21-24; 1 Jn 2:3-5). God wants the entire believer, inwardly and outwardly, to be consecrated to Himself, to be conformed to the image of His Son. 

(d) Marriage and the Home. We believe that God hates all divorce, and that remarriage while one’s spouse is alive is adultery, continual adultery until repented of which demands ceasing and forsaking the sin (Pr 28:13). This does not change between saved or lost, since marriage was given to all of mankind (Gen 2) and is honourable in all (Heb 13:4). Pastors and other church leaders, just like members of the church, cannot be divorced or remarried, nor should they be in the ministry if they cannot rule their own house and have ungodly children. Courtship under parental authority rather than dating is the Scriptural pattern for obtaining one’s life’s partner. 

(e) Apologetics and Warning. We believe that part of a faithful and balanced ministry of preaching and teaching the whole Word of God is ongoing pointed and specific warnings about false teachers and false teachings. While providing the flock a steady diet of the exposited Word, it is critical to identify and reprove false teachers by name to protect the saints of God. Public ministries and teachers must be publicly reproved, named, warned of and exposed (Rom 16:17), following the example of prophets, priests, preachers, apostles and God the Son Himself in Scripture, including Paul the Apostle who names the names of ten individuals in 1 and 2 Timothy alone.

(f) Separation. Every born again believer and NT church should practice a militant separation from the world and zealous and whole-hearted separation unto God, as well as a consistent and clear separation from all unconverted false teachers, disobedient brethren, and ecclesiastical compromise, so that a separatist stance, rather than a neo-evangelical position, is maintained. The Biblical Doctrine of Separation and Unscriptural Forms of Separation.