Main beliefs While New IFB pastors may hold differing views on small matters, the churches are united around multiple core doctrines. These include
salvation by faith alone,
eternal security,
King James Onlyism,
soul winning,
hellfire preaching, and a
post-Tribulation Rapture. The New IFB also takes strong stances against worldliness,
Calvinism,
dispensationalism,
liberalism, and
Zionism.
Lordship salvation theology,
Scientology,
Messianic Judaism and
Hebrew Roots movements,
Roman Catholicism,
Eastern Orthodoxy,
geocentric interpretations of creation,
television as a medium, attendance at
Bible colleges, enrollment in secular
colleges and
universities, modern
animal-rights advocacy, and the
observance of the Sabbath on Saturday. Several New IFB pastors have also promoted doctrinal positions that depart from historic Christian orthodoxy. One pastor has taught the belief that each Person in the
Trinity possesses a separate mind, will, and spiritual body. This articulation is commonly called
tritheism, a view which is heretical according to historic Christian theology. In another sermon, "Nothing But the Blood," Anderson criticized the
soteriological views of
John MacArthur and other
Protestant theologians who reject the idea that the physical body of Christ itself possesses divine attributes. This articulation is commonly called
monophysitism, another view which is heretical according to historic Christian theology. The movement also teaches the belief that Jesus experienced punitive suffering during the
Harrowing of Hell as part of the
atonement, Additionally, the New IFB movement has argued that the
Christian Flag represents the religion of the
Antichrist.
Ecclesiology The New IFB movement teaches the belief that the Bible prohibits the observance of the
Eucharist in corporate church services, According to the New IFB movement, communion should be privately practiced within homes. The movement also rejects the doctrine of a
universal church composed of all believers, affirming instead that
only local, like-minded Baptist congregations constitute legitimate New Testament churches. This viewpoint contributes to a strongly exclusivist posture. Consistent with this stance, the New IFB rejects the major historical creeds of Christianity, such as the
Apostles' Creed and the
Nicene Creed, regarding them as incompatible with their understanding of biblical authority. The ADL has explicitly described the movement and several leaders of it as antisemitic, citing their doctrinal positions and their public rhetoric as evidence. A recurring theme in Anderson's preaching is his opposition to the use of the Hebrew language and the use of Hebraized forms of the name "Jesus" (such as
Yeshua). Anderson argues that employing a Hebrew-language name is inherently deceptive and he also claims that individuals who prefer to use such terminology are "not saved" because they are attempting to
"turn Christians into Jews." The New IFB movement's theology rejects
Christian Zionism in accordance with the belief that the modern
State of Israel is a "Satanic fraud" rather than a fulfillment of biblical prophecy. According to the movement's theology,
Christians constitute the true "chosen people" of God. This position is often accompanied by assertions that unbelieving Jews have been spiritually "cut off" and as a result, they possess no special covenantal relationship with God outside of individual salvation through Christ.
Homosexuality, transgenderism, and capital punishment The New IFB movement strongly
opposes homosexuality, teaching the belief that individuals become homosexual as a consequence of rejecting and "hating" God and it asserts that as punishment for this sin, such individuals are "
reprobates" who can no longer receive
justification or
salvation. As a result, New IFB pastors frequently argue that civil governments should enforce
Old Testament penal codes regarding homosexuality, including
capital punishment. Anderson and other New IFB leaders have repeatedly praised the
2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, a
terrorist attack in which an attacker murdered 49 people and injured 53 others at a queer nightclub in
Orlando, Florida. On the third anniversary of the Pulse shooting, the New IFB organized the "Make America Straight Again" conference, hosted by a New IFB-affiliated church in the Orlando area. In June 2019, Grayson Fritts, the pastor of All Scripture Baptist Church in
Knoxville, Tennessee, and a former detective with the
Knox County Sheriff's Office, delivered a sermon in which he called for the execution of gay people, citing biblical law as a justification for it. Anderson has repeatedly expressed animosity toward
transgender public figures and more broadly, he has expressed animosity toward transgender identity. In a sermon entitled "Six Types of Prayer," Anderson stated that he prayed that
Caitlyn Jenner's heart would "explode." == See also ==