FOR THE SAKE OF CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH

The Frankfurt Declaration of Christian & Civil Liberties

Introduction

Christians, Against The Abuse Of Power

In the course of human events, it sometimes becomes necessary for people of good faith to speak out against the abuse of power. This should be done only after serious and prayerful deliberation, and even then, in an attitude of humility and with respect for the authorities that have been established by God. Such protest should be expressed in the hope that civil authorities who are found to be eroding rights and liberties may yet fulfill their responsibility as their rightful guardians.

A few concerned pastors from different continents, moved by an emergent totalitarianism of the State over all realms of society, and particularly the Church, and the disregard of God- given and constitutionally guaranteed rights during the Covid crisis, joined in common cause to craft a solemn declaration, which seeks to address these threats with the timeless truths of God’s Word. The following affirmations and denials, derived from biblical principles, we put forth for consideration by all Christians and relevant authorities, in the hope that this document will give light and strength for faithful witness to Jesus Christ in our day.

2 Sam. 12:1-14; Acts 4:24-29; Rom. 13:1-7; 1 Pet. 2:13-14

Statement

Conclusion

Call for Respect, Repentance, & Resistance

We commend and express our gratitude to those civil authorities who respect the essential nature of these Christian beliefs and practices and who have a high regard for individual and religious freedoms. To those civil authorities who have disregarded these freedoms, we call on you to repent and to become again the protectors of liberty and of the rights that God has given to all men, lest in the abuse of your God-given authority, you become liable to God’s wrath. To those who desire to compel us to obey the secular State rather than God, we respectfully, but firmly say (like the three Hebrews who refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s golden statue), “We have no need to answer you in this matter. The God we serve is able to save us from you, and He will rescue us from your hand. But even if He does not, we want you to know that we will not serve your gods or worship the idols you have set up.” (Dan. 3:16-18)

To our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world we say: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Josh 1:9) It appears that the world may well be entering a time of testing, not only for the Church, but for everyone who believes in freedom and who opposes tyranny. Let us stand with those who are hard-pressed, arrested, or forcefully isolated because they have chosen to do what is right. Let us stand in solidarity with those whose churches are forcefully closed or who are exiled from their congregations. Let us help and support in practical ways those who are fined or have to forfeit their employment for the sake of Christ. And we ask our brothers and sisters who have lived under persecution all their lives to pray for us, that God would give us the grace to bless those who persecute us and to pray for them; that God would give us the courage to stand firm in our faith as His witnesses; and that He, who is Lord over all, would give us the strength to remain faithful and persevere to the end. Amen.

2 Sam. 12:1-14; Dan. 5:22-23; Matt. 24:12-13; 1 Cor. 16:13-14; Eph. 5:10-13

Signatories

Initial Signers

Dr. Scott

Aniol

Executive Vice President

,

G3 Ministries

Douglasville, GA

,

USA

Dr. Voddie

Baucham

Dean of Divinity

,

African Christian University

Lusaka

,

Zambia

Jonathan

Bayes

Pastor

,

Stanton Lees Chapel

Stanton, Derbyshire

,

England, UK

Dr. Joe

Boot

Founder & President

,

Ezra Institute for Contemporary Christianity

Grimsby, ON

,

Canada

Tom

Buck

Pastor

,

First Baptist Church

Lindale, TX

,

USA

Wolfgang

Bühne

Evangelist & Publicist

Meinerzhagen

,

Germany

Josh

Buice

President

,

G3 Ministries

Atlanta, GA

,

USA

Dr. Tim

Cantrell

Pastor

,

Antioch Bible Church

Johannesburg

,

South Africa

Kiprotich

Chelashaw

Pastor

,

Christ Church

Nairobi

,

Kenya

Dr. James

Coates

Pastor

,

GraceLife Church

Edmonton, AB

,

Canada

Tim

Conway

Pastor

,

Grace Community Church

San Antonio, TX

,

USA

Don

Currin

Founder

,

Don Currin Ministries

Tuscumbia, AL

,

USA

Jeff

Durbin

Pastor

,

Apologia Church

Tempe, AZ

,

USA

Eberhard

Dahm

Founder & President

,

Institute for Church Building

Grolsheim

,

Germany

Sebastian

Engelhardt

Pastor

,

Evangelical Reformed Baptist Church

Basel

,

Switzerland

Dr. Stefan

Felber

Pastor & Director

,

Gemeindehilfsbund

Walsrode

,

Germany

Tom

Foord

Pastor

,

Hope Reformed Baptist Church

Brisbane

,

Australia

Richard

Friesen

Pastor

,

Free Evangelical Church Böbingen

Böbingen

,

Germany

Dr. Jason

Garwood

Pastor

,

Cross & Crown Church

Warrenton, VA

,

USA

Bruce

Gore

Teacher

,

First Presbyterian Church

Spokane, WA

,

USA

Dr. Paul

Hartwig

Pastor

,

Lakeside Chapel

Betty’s Bay

,

South Africa

Johann

Hesse

Preacher & Director

,

Gemeindehilfsbund

Walsrode

,

Germany

Phil

Johnson

Teaching Elder

,

Grace Community Church

Sun Valley, CA

,

USA

Regan

King

Pastor

,

The Angel Church

Angel, London

,

England, UK

Dr. Jürgen-Burkhard

Klautke

Dean

,

Seminary for Reformed Theology

Giessen

,

Germany

Steven

Lloyd

Pastor

,

Protestant Evangelical Church

Narbonne

,

France

Dr. Jared

Longshore

Pastor

,

Christ Church

Moscow, ID

,

USA

Dr. John

MacArthur

Senior Pastor

,

Grace Community Church

Sun Valley, CA

,

USA

Billy

McCurrie

Pastor

,

Aughton Park Baptist Church

Ormskirk

,

England, UK

Warren

McKenzie

Pastor

,

Biota Baptist Church

Brisbane

,

Australia

Pooyan

Mehrshahi

Pastor

,

Providence Baptist Chapel

Cheltenham

,

England, UK

Ben

Merkle

President

,

New St. Andrews College

Moscow, ID

,

USA

Josh

Mills

Pastor

,

Trinity Baptist Church

Burlington, ON

,

Canada

Dr. Wolfgang

Nestvogel

Pastor

,

Confessing Evangelical Church

Hannover

,

Germany

John-William

Noble

Pastor

,

Grace Baptist Church

Aberdeen

,

Scotland, UK

Dr. Benedikt

Peters

Publicist & Teacher

Arbon

,

Switzerland

Justin

Peters

Justin Peters Ministries

Bozeman, MT

,

USA

Jacob

Reaume

Pastor

,

Trinity Bible Chapel

Waterloo, ON

,

Canada

Stephen

Rees

Pastor

,

Grace Baptist Church Stockport

Greater Manchester

,

UK

Steve

Richardson

Pastor

Tillsonburg, ON

,

Canada

Tobias

Riemenschneider

Pastor

,

Evangelical Reformed Baptist Church

Frankfurt

,

Germany

Dr. Aaron

Rock

Pastor

,

Harvest Bible Church

Windsor, ON

,

Canada

Paul

Sayers

Church Planter

,

Evangelical Reformed Baptist Church

Kaiserslautern

,

Germany

Peter

Schild

Pastor

,

Evangelical Reformed Baptist Church

Frankfurt

,

Germany

Prof. Dr. Uwe A.

Seidel

Teacher

Rosenheim

,

Germany

Tim

Stephens

Pastor

,

Fairview Baptist Church

Calgary, AB

,

Canada

Geoff

Thomas

Former Pastor for 50 years

,

Alfred Place Baptist Church

Aberystwyth

,

Wales, UK

Joel

Webbon

Pastor

,

Covenant Bible Church

Georgetown, TX

,

USA

Dr. James

White

Pastor

,

Apologia Church

Tempe, AZ

,

USA

Douglas

Wilson

Pastor

,

Christ Church

Moscow, ID

,

USA

Signatories

Notable Signers

Dr Tasman

Walker

Brisbane

,

Australia

E. Calvin

Beisner

President

,

Cornwall Alliance

Collierville, TN

,

United States

Tony

Beam

Senior Director of Church and Community Engagement

,

North Greenville University

Greer, S.C.

,

United States

Luke

Pierson

Discipleship Pastor

,

Apologia Church

Mesa, AZ

,

USA

Dr. Mark

Ellis

Academic Director, Brazil

,

Grace School of Theology

Atibaia, São Paulo

,

Brazil

Dr. Rick

Griffith

Amman

,

Jordan

Dr. Alex

Montoya

Pastor

,

First Fundamental Bible Church

Whittier, CA

,

United States

Dr. Jason

Falzarano

Professor of Biblical Studies

,

Calvary Chapel University

Sun City

,

USA

Dr. John

McMath

Rathdrum, ID

,

USA

Dr. Paul

Smith

Chandler, AZ

,

USA

Dr. John

Baumgardner

Research Professor Emeritus

,

Liberty University

Forest, Virginia

,

United States

Dr. Brian

Thomas

Research Scientist

,

Institute for Creation Research

Dallas

,

USA

Dr. James

Borland

Lynchburg, VA

,

U.S.A.

Dr. Richard

Mayhue

Research Professor of Theology Emeritus

,

The Master’s Seminary

Sun Valley, CA

,

USA

Dr. Terry

Mortenson

Hebron, KY

,

USA

Bnonn

Tennant

Te Awamutu

,

New Zealand

Matthew

Hallick

Media & Analysis/Producer

,

Liberty Coalition Canada

Winnipeg

,

Canada

Gabriel

Rench

Host

,

CrossPolitic Studios

Moscow

,

United States

Rev. Dr. Michael

Thiessen

Ontario

,

Canada

Mark

Christopher

Reverend

,

Berean Bible Institute

Cape Town

,

South Africa

Richard

Henry

Pastor

,

New Harvest Baptist Church

Leitchfield

,

United States

William

Wolfe

Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense

,

DoD, Trump Administration

Louisville, KY

,

United States

Bruce

Cameron

Reed Larson Professor of Labor Law

,

Regent University School of Law

Virginia Beach

,

United States

Dr Peter

Borger

Lörrach

,

Germany

Reinhard

Moeller

Pfarrer / Rev.

,

Freie Evangelische Gemeinde Aesch

CH-4147 Aesch BL

,

Switzerland

Jens

Zimmermann

Professor of Theology

,

Regent College

Vancouver

,

Canada

Nikolaos

Tziolas

Professor

,

University of Cyprus

Nicosia

,

Cyprus

Albrecht

Weißbach

Managing Director

,

KALEB e.V.

Chemnitz

,

Germany

Daniel

Rivaud

Pasteur

,

Église évangélique, fondateur du CPDH

Strasbourg

,

France

Marco

Bartholomae

Director of Membership

,

The Master's Academy International

Los Angeles

,

United States

Jon

Harris

Founder

,

Conversations That Matter

Highland

,

United States

Dr. Eduardo

Echeverria

Professor of Philosophy and Systematic Theology

,

Sacred Heart Major Seminary

Detroit

,

United States of America

Douglas

Farrow

Professor of Theology and Ethics

,

McGill University

Montreal

,

Canada

Dr. Lisa

Nolland

CEO

,

The Marriage, Sex and Culture Group

London

,

United Kingdom

Calvin

Robinson

Reverend

,

Free Church of England

London

,

UK

Jochen

Klautke

Pastor

,

Bekennende Evangelisch-Reformierte Gemeinde

Gießen

,

Germany

Dr. Kevin

Zuber

Professor

,

The Master's Seminary

Canyon Country

,

United States

Ali

McLachlan

Pastor

,

Grace Baptist Church

Edinburgh

,

Scotland

Rod

Lampard

Writer

,

Caldron Pool

Wauchope

,

Australia

Dr. Eric

Weathers

Senior Vice President, Strategic Partnerships

,

The Master's Academy International

Sun Valley, CA

,

United States of America

David

Goodwin

President

,

Association of Classical Christian Schools

Boise

,

USA

Ben

Davis

Founder

,

Caldron Pool

Sydney

,

Australia

Joachim Hans

Kuhs

MEP

,

European Parliament

Baden-Baden

,

Germany

Christian

Andresen

Dean

,

European Bible Training Center

Berlin

,

Germany

Dr. Malachi

O’Brien

Lead Pastor & former 2nd Vice President of the Southern Baptist Convention

,

The Church at Pleasant Ridge

Harrisonville

,

United States

Timothy

Grant

Senior Pastor

,

Mount Isa Baptist Church

Mount Isa

,

Australia

Dr. Robert

Oliver

Bradford on Avon

,

United Kingdom

Nathan

Oblak

Grimsby, Ontario

,

Canada

Matthew

Littlefield

Pastor

,

New Beith Baptist Church

Logan City

,

Australia

Dr. Lothar

Gassmann

Missionary, Church Planter, Apologist, Publisher

,

Bible Church

Pforzheim

,

Germany

Bill

Muehlenberg

Founder

,

CultureWatch

Melbourne

,

Australia

Winrich

Scheffbuch

Stuttgart

,

Deutschland

Thomas

Schneider

Evangelist

,

AG WELT e.V.

Breitenbrunn

,

Germany

Phill

Sacre

Missionary

,

Church of England

Clacton-on-Sea

,

England, UK

Nathanael

Wright

Senior Pastor

,

Crossroads Church

London

,

Canada

Dr. Jamie

Franklin

Priest

,

Church of England

Nottingham

,

England, UK

Dr. Jason

Lisle

Founder & President

,

Biblical Science Institute

Colorado Springs

,

U.S.A.

Marius

Bodnariu

Brasov

,

Romania

Rob

Slane

Apologist & Author

,

Christ Church Salisbury

Salisbury

,

England, UK

Joshua

Jones

Pastor

,

Beth-El Community Church

Milford, NE

,

USA

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