Word of Life Fellowship, Inc – Standard of Conduct
1. Word of Life Fellowship, Inc., including domestic and foreign affiliations under the Word of Life structure, is dedicated to the Lordship of Christ in all areas of life. The distinctives of Word of Life lay in its philosophy and goals. The Word of Life family is a community of a board of directors, staff members, Palm Grove Residents, and students (hereafter referred to as “associates”). Each associate consequently bears certain responsibilities and obligations within the organization for the implementation of its philosophy and goals. In order that the organization functions efficiently and its goals be realized, it is necessary that there be a mutual commitment to a corpus of standards which involve the willing surrender of certain individual purposes and goals. 2. Word of Life follows specific biblical principles, which relate to Christian behavior. Therefore, Word of Life prohibits practices, which are clearly forbidden by the Word of God, such as drunkenness, sexual immorality, dishonesty, and the like (I Corinthians 6:9-20). Further, to expect associates to exemplify Christian love, consideration for the rights of others, honesty, and a high sense of Christian ethics is to expect only that which the Word of God teaches to be primary in the character of the Christian (Ephesians 4:24 – 5:8). 3. Word of Life is firmly committed to a literal interpretation of the Bible and rejects any attempt to “reinterpret” Scripture in light of “modern” moral or psychological theories. In the Biblical account of creation, the family was the first societal institution ordained by God. Furthermore, Scripture plainly declares that the first two humans created by God for His glory were distinctly male and female (Genesis 1:27, 2:18-22). Together, these complementary genders reflect the image and nature of God. We bel ieve that one’s gender is determined at birth and that the rejection of one’s biological gender is a rejection of God’s decreed will and His good plan for humanity and the individual. God joined the man and woman in the holy rite of matrimony and commanded them to be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth (Genesis 1:28). Therefore, the only legitimate marriage is the joining of one man and one woman (Genesis 2:24, Romans 7:2, I Corinthians 7:10, Ephesians 5:22-23). In both the Old and New Testaments, God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity should take place outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. Accordingly, all forms of homosexuality, lesbianism, bisexuality, bestiality, incest, fornication, adultery, and pornography are sinful per versions of God’s gift of sex (Genesis 2:24, 19:5, 13, 26:8 -9, Leviticus 13:22, 18:1- 30, Romans 1:26-29, I Corinthians 5:1, 6:9, I Thessalonians 4:1-8, Hebrews 13:4). Since Word of Life believes that all sexual activity outside of a marriage, including hom osexual practices, are in direct opposition to God’s Word and constitute a direct contradiction to God’s institution of the home, Word of Life will not employ or continue to employ men or women who promote or participate in homosexual behavior or any other sexual activity outside of marriage. 4. Word of Life recognizes the principles of Christian liberty within the sphere of those things which are intrinsically innocent. However, Word of Life also recognizes that liberty needs to be restricted in certain instances. Scriptural precedent is found in Acts 15 and Romans 14, where certain practices inherently innocent were forbidden because they could do spiritual harm to other members of the Christian community.
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