Harvest Bible Fellowship’s Position Regarding Unethical and Government-Mandated Vaccinations
Affirmed by Congregation on 8/30/2020
The Lord Jesus has given both family and individuals the God-given jurisdiction over personal health and physical well-being. Personal health choices (that are Biblically lawful) do not fall underneath the jurisdiction of the civil government. This is a classical Christian understanding of “sphere sovereignty.”
A biblically faithful view of the civil sphere, as well as the ecclesiastical sphere, provides no jurisdiction for civil magistrates or ecclesiastical authorities to mandate vaccinations upon adults or in any way coerce parents to inject vaccines, or any other substance, into their children.
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Any civil or ecclesiastical authority who attempts to mandate that parents vaccinate their children, whether through the following forms (including, but not limited to): public banishment, fine, imprisonment or other means of coercion are acting tyrannically and are in grievous sin.
Any attempts to impede fellowship in the body for the unvaccinated by a believer is divisiveness and, unless repented of, are grounds for church discipline. We affirm that quarantine of the sick is a biblical and wise practice and that it is sinful to knowingly expose others to what is known to be a contagious disease. We deny that the unvaccinated can be assumed to carry diseases for which they have not been vaccinated.
In addition, our understanding of the role of the civil sphere is to bear the sword in a ministry of justice, not administer vaccinations and/or injections. Consequently, our church will not be forced to violate our conscience in regards to injecting a foreign substance into our bodies or the bodies of our children. Even ethically-sourced vaccinations fall under the realm of Romans 14 and the liberty of Christian conscience, and should not be forced upon those who believe it to be a sinful or harmful practice. These decisions of Christian liberty are to be left up to individuals and parents.
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Lastly, many of these vaccinations contain or are developed using aborted fetal tissue, which is abhorrent in the eyes of God. For any member at Harvest Bible Fellowship to willingly and/or forcibly take these unethically-sourced vaccinations would be in direct violation of our Christian faith and practice of what it means to love God, love neighbor, and abhor evil. If members are unrepentant, this is grounds for church discipline.
For a list of vaccinations on the schedule that are produced via aborted fetal tissue - see link. Notice: on this list are included many COVID-19 vaccinations, MMR, and Chicken Pox.