The messengers of the NC Baptist Convention have spoken and have declared strong resolve for the preborn and the family. November 7, 2023, will be a day to remember and it is our prayer that this will not be the Baptists merely offering lip service to our Lord and our vulnerable neighbors but a day of victorious small beginnings toward mass repentance and revival! Among many things, these blessed brethren resolved to repent of holding any mindset that justifies anyone’s “legal” murder (even if the intent is to have “less” murder) and of any apathy held toward the preborn being wholesale slaughtered in our 50-year holocaust. They also resolved to increase their focus and efforts from not only supporting assistance ministries (that help provide resources for parents) but also expanding efforts with an increased focus and singular resolve to only support legislation that is just and righteous and that does not pervert God’s Law or offer up some people to be “legally” aborted in order to “save” others from potential murder. Regulations defining how, when, and where someone may be “legally” murdered are sin! Human beings made in God’s image are not chess pieces to be willingly traded or offered up as tributes to die.

As long as sin and fallen men are in the world, it is a fool’s errand (and totally unBiblical) to think we can make child sacrifice “unthinkable” which is why we ourselves must save as many lives as possible AND we must vigorously demand civil deacons only pass just laws and righteous sanctions that treat everyone as equal in value which restrains evil until this groaning world is fully cleansed and redeemed by Christ Jesus.

Below is the fully adopted Resolution on Equal Protection for the Preborn and below that is the original version of the resolution submitted by Pastor Matthew Tarpley and co-authored by Pastor Jesse Watkins.

Once you read the resolutions below, please go read more about them HERE.

Resolution on Equal Protection for the Preborn (overwhelmingly adopted on 11/07/2023 in Greensboro):

WHEREAS Scripture unequivocally declares every child in the womb is made in God’s image and is entitled to equal protection under the law, and Scripture furthermore explicitly forbids all murder, commands civil magistrates to bear the sword of justice without partiality, and commands each of us to love our neighbors as ourselves with particular regard for orphans, widows, and those in weak societal positions; and (Gen. 1:27, Ex. 21:22-25, Gen. 9:6, Ex. 20:13, Lev. 19:15, Ps. 82:3, Mrk. 12:31)

WHEREAS as a part of the Great Commission our Lord Jesus has commanded us to make disciples of all nations and teach them to observe all things He has commanded, and since God has decreed “You Shall Not Murder” not one single created being has the authority to transgress, add to, detract from, or pervert this eternal decree and those who do should immediately repent and believe the Gospel; and (Matt. 28:19-20, Rom 11:33, Deut. 4:2, Jas. 1:17-18, 1 Jn. 3:4-6)

WHEREAS since 1974 the number one cause of death annually in North Carolina continues to be legalized abortions happening in accordance with current North Carolina laws; and since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, there has been slow political resolve to see abortion outlawed in North Carolina; and (Isa. 10:1-3, Jas. 4:17, Hab. 1:2-4, Rom. 13:3-4, Job 34:10-21, Prv. 25:26)

WHEREAS North Carolina Baptists, NC Baptist Executive Leaders and the Christian Life and Public Affairs Committee of the NC Baptist Board of Directors have fought for the value of the preborn through the funding and placement of five ultrasound machines in pregnancy resource centers throughout NC just since 2022; and North Carolina Baptists and Baptist churches and have been engaged in the fight for preborn life through support of pregnancy resource centers, engagement in adoption and foster care initiatives, involvement in legal advocacy at the local, state, and national level, and investment in varieties of local ministries engaged with valuing all life from the womb to tomb; now therefore, be it (Deut 30:19, Ps 119:73, Ps. 139:13-16, Is. 44:24)

RESOLVED that we as the messengers of the BSCNC meeting November 6-7, 2023 in Greensboro, NC, will advocate for the equal protection of the preborn and justice under our laws, that we will not stop in our legal efforts until the day when abortion is both illegal and unthinkable; and be it further (1 Cor. 5:6-7, Ps. 89:14, Mic. 6:8, Prv. 31:9, 2 Tim. 4:2, Acts 10:42, Acts 20:27, Mrk. 13:10)

RESOLVED that we humbly confess and lament holding any mindsets that legitimize or justify abortion, that we humbly confess and lament any apathy in not laboring with the power and resources granted to us by God to act for the preborn and to end legalized abortion in its entirety, and that we humbly confess and lament any lack of grace and compassion for all those participating in and impacted by abortion whose greatest need is the grace and forgiveness of Jesus; and be it further (Ps. 51:10-12, Ps. 119:97-104, Rom. 12:9-12, Rev. 3:15-16, Eph. 5:16, Gal. 6:9, 1 Jn. 3:18)

RESOLVED that we, our churches, and our ministries must love both our born and preborn neighbors by continuing steadfast in our commitment to pursue pure and undefiled religion toward both mothers and children prayerfully, financially, and in practice through pregnancy resource centers, counseling, fostering, adopting, direct interposition where possible, and other available means; and be it finally (Jas. 1:27, Eph. 2:10, 1 Jn. 3:16-18, Heb. 13:16, Matt. 6:1-4, Jer. 22:3)

RESOLVED that establishing equal justice and protection under our laws for the preborn children of North Carolina, from fertilization to birth, will be among the top priorities of ourselves, our churches, and the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.

Resolution on Equal Protection for the Preborn (original version submitted by Pastors Tarpley and Watkins):

WHEREAS since 1974 the number one cause of death annually in North Carolina continues to be parents murdering their own children by the act of legalized abortions happening in accordance with current North Carolina laws and regulations that, by law, offer up some children as acceptable to murder in order to save others; and (Isa. 10:1-3, Jas. 4:17, Hab. 1:2-4)

WHEREAS since the overturning of Roe v. Wade, there has been no marked increase in resolve to see the act of abortion outlawed as murder and in 2023 the NC General Assembly, with a veto-proof Republican supermajority, passed a law that allows for the legal abortion of pre-born human beings in the womb up to 12 weeks old or to 24 weeks old with exceptions; and (Rom. 13:3-4, Job 34:10-21, Prv. 25:26)

WHEREAS Scripture unequivocally declares every child in the womb is made in God’s image and is entitled to equal protection under the law, and Scripture furthermore explicitly forbids all murder, commands civil magistrates to bear the sword of justice without partiality, and commands each of us to love our neighbors as ourselves with particular regard for orphans, widows, and those in weak societal positions; and (Gen. 1:27, Ex. 21:22-25, Gen. 9:6, Ex. 20:13, Lev.19:15, Ps. 82:3, Mrk. 12:31)

WHEREAS as a part of the great commission our Lord Jesus has commanded us to teach the Nations to observe all things He has commanded, and since God has decreed “You Shall Not Murder” not one single created being has the authority to transgress, add to, detract from, or pervert this eternal decree and those who do should immediately repent and believe the Gospel; now therefore, be it (Matt. 28:19-20, Rom 11:33, Deut. 4:2, Jas. 1:17-18, 1 Jn. 3:4-6)

RESOLVED that we as the messengers of the BSCNC meeting November 6-7, 2023 in Greensboro, NC, will not tolerate or justify any abortion legislation that leaves even one innocent child vulnerable to legalized murder or that does not afford them equal protection and justice under our laws but rather we will increase our efforts to entirely outlaw abortion as murder and preach the reconciliatory message of Christ Jesus to those who would defy God’s Law; and be it further (1 Cor. 5:6-7, Ps. 89:14, Mic. 6:8, Prv. 31:9, 2 Tim. 4:2, Acts 10:42, Acts 20:27, Mrk. 13:10)

RESOLVED that we, our churches, and our ministries must love both our born and preborn neighbors by continuing steadfast in our commitment to pursue pure and undefiled religion toward both mothers and children prayerfully, financially, and in practice through pregnancy resource centers, counseling, fostering, adopting, direct interposition where possible, and other available means; and be it further (Jas. 1:27, Eph. 2:10, 1 Jn. 3:16-18, Heb. 13:16, Matt. 6:1-4, Jer. 22:3)

RESOLVED that we humbly confess and lament holding any mindsets that legitimize or justify abortion, and of any apathy in not laboring with the power and resources granted to us by God to act for the preborn and to end this state- sanctioned abortion holocaust in its entirety; and be it further (Ps. 51:10-12, Ps. 119:97-104, Rom. 12:9-12, Rev. 3:15-16, Eph. 5:16, Gal. 6:9, 1 Jn. 3:18)

RESOLVED that establishing equal justice and protection under our laws for the preborn children of North Carolina, from fertilization to natural birth, will be among the top priorities of ourselves, our churches, and the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.