THE DuPAGE DECLARATION:
A CALL TO BIBLICAL FIDELITY
PREAMBLE
We evangelical renewal leaders from North American mainline churches
gathered at Wheaton in DuPage County, Illinois
March 19, 20, 1990
express our concern for the church of Jesus Christ in its drift away from
the evangelical faith. What is needed, we believe, is a genuine revival
rooted in the Word of God. We, therefore, present this declaration: A
Call to Biblical Fidelity.
This declaration represents our understanding of theological and
moral issues that are now in dispute in our churches.
It is not intended
to be an exhaustive list of church doctrines and concerns.
It is offered in the spirit of Christ, our Savior and Judge, who calls
each of us to confess our complicity in private and public sin, "For it
is time for judgment to begin with the family of God" (1 Peter 4:17, NIV;
cf. 2 Timothy 4:1-5). We resolve to serve Him with total fidelity and obedience
to His Word.
DECLARATION
I
We affirm the Trinitarian name of God - Father, Son and Holy
Spirit.
We deny that these designations are mere metaphors drawn from
the cultural experience of the past and may therefore be replaced by new
symbols reflecting the cultural ethos of today.
II
We affirm that God has revealed Himself fully and decisively
in Jesus Christ as attested in Holy Scripture.
We deny that there are other revelations in nature or history
that fulfill or complete this one revelation of God.
III
We affirm that there is only one way to salvation--God's way
to us in Jesus Christ, which is apprehended by faith alone through God's
grace.
We deny that other religions are pathways to salvation, or that
one can be in a right relationship with God apart from repentance and faith
in Jesus Christ.
IV
We affirm that Jesus Christ is God incarnate in human flesh,
fully human and fully divine, different from all other human beings in
kind, not simply in degree.
We deny that Jesus Christ is essentially the flower of humanity,
a spiritual master, a paradigm of what all human beings can become.
V
We affirm that Holy Scripture is the written Word of God, the
uniquely inspired testimony to God's self-disclosure in the history of
biblical Israel culminating in Jesus Christ. The scriptures of the Old
and New Testaments take precedence over experience, tradition and reason
and are therefore our infallible standard for faith and practice.
We deny that Holy Scripture is a merely human document that records
the religious experiences of a past people, that it is only an aid in understanding
our experiences in the present rather than a rule that is used by the Spirit
of God to direct the people of God in every age.
VI
We affirm the biblical guidelines for human sexuality: chastity
outside of marriage, lifelong fidelity and holiness in marriage,
and celibacy for the sake of the kingdom.
We deny that premarital or extramarital relations, trial marriages,
cohabitation outside of marriage, homosexual relations and so-called homosexual
unions, can ever be in genuine accord with the will and purpose of God
for his people.
VII
We affirm the sanctity of human life at every stage based on
our creation in the image of God and our election by God for service in
his kingdom.
We deny, for example, that the personal choice of either parent
takes precedence over the right of the unborn child to life in the service
of God's glory. We deplore the continuing traffic of abortion as the slaughter
of innocents, which can only be an abomination in the sight of God.
VIII
We affirm that the mission of the church is to spread the good
news of salvation by word and deed to a lost and despairing humanity. This
mission to proclaim the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus Christ
to all nations calls people of faith to discipleship and obedience in the
pursuit of personal and social holiness. We further affirm that the fruit
of the gospel proclamation is justice, mercy and peace.
We deny that the mission of the church is the self-development
of exploited peoples or the political liberation of oppressed peoples.
We invite pastors and lay people from the Body of Christ
to join us in affirming this declaration.
Persons or groups desiring to affirm
this declaration by
adding their names may contact:
James V. Heidinger II, Good News,
P.O. Box 150, Wilmore, KY 40390.
BRF Witness
Volume 25, Number 5
September/October 1990