You may be aware that the presbytery of Aberdeen has agreed to the induction of a pastor who has openly declared himself to be living in a homosexual relationship. A number of Church of Scotland ministers, some of whom I am friendly with through the pastors’ prayer lunch have brought a “case” against this decision at the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
At first glance, we might simply think this has nothing to do with me. I’m not in the Church of Scotland after all. However, time and again, I have observed that as Biblical truth has been compromised in the “national church”, the temptation for such truth to be questioned among free churches increases (although there is usually a 10 year gap until we “catch up”).
I have been inundated with emails asking me to visit http://www.confessingchurch.org.uk/ and sign the petition there. I have clicked the link and signed it. And I did so for the following reasons:
1. I am concerned for the integrity of Christ’s church. The church is described as the Bride of Christ in the New Testament. Now, we know that there is a distinction between the “visible church” (all who “belong” in some way to something called “church”) and the “invisible church” (those who are truly born again and justified), but surely one passion we share is a desire to make these two realities as close to being equal as possible. If we stand back as the visible church declares sinful practice to be acceptable, we fail in our responsibility to minimise the distinction between the visible and invisible church.
2. I am concerned for the Church of Scotland. I grew up within the Church of Scotland and have many friends within it. If this decision is not overturned, evangelicals within the Church will have a very difficult decision to make. Either they leave or they stay. And either way, the Church of Scotland is weakened.
3. I am concerned for the witness of the church to the homosexual community. This is part of our mission field and we do it a grave disservice by sending mixed messages or by suggesting that homosexual activity is ok. We are called to love and care for homosexuals, just as we are called to witness to all. And the most loving thing we can do is not to pretend that such a lifestyle is acceptable to God when we know it is not (cf. Romans 1:32).
4. I am concerned for the simple purity of the gospel message. The message of the gospel is not that all are acceptable to God because God is a massive, inclusive blob. No, the message of the gospel is that Jesus died for sinners so that sinners could enter into a living relationship with the Holy and Almighty God. All sexual sin can be covered by the cross so long as it is confessed as such in a spirit of repentance. The gospel does not call us to affirm sin as ok, rather it offers liberation and transformation from sin for those who believe with repentance.
5. I am concerned for the message the church sends about our humanity. Maleness and femaleness, manhood and womanhood are key elements in our shared humanity. God designed men and women to complement one another and to become one flesh in marriage (see Genesis 2:24). Only such a marriage paints a picture of the sacrificing love of Christ for the church and the submitting love of the church for Christ. Meditate of Ephesians 5:22-33.
6. I am concerned for the glory of God. This is my ultimate concern. God is glorified when His word is obeyed and when men and women find their ultimate pleasure and desire in Him. I know of many formerly practicing homosexuals who now would declare that their passion is God and Jesus. Some of them have ongoing struggles, others don’t. But they all, by the word of their testimony, glorify God. It is through redirecting their ultimate passion, their ultimate desire to Him that they have overcome homosexual urges. To God be the glory!
And so I signed the petition. And I would encourage you too to visit http://www.confessingchurch.org.uk/ and if you agree with what they say, lend your support to our friends in the Church of Scotland.
1 May, 2009 at 1:37 am |
Matthew,
Thanks for these thoughts, I too will be signing the petition.
Iain
18 October, 2009 at 6:01 pm |
Dear Matthew
Thanks for these thoughts. Your text tells me that you are a group of small minded, self-obsessed, homophobic people. Shame on you. As a heterosexual member of the Church, it scares me to think that you are spreading your vile hatred amongst the children of Aberdeen. Perhaps you are a latent homosexual and this is what scares you so much?
Perhaps I’ll come and listen to your rantings in person and have my say then.
19 October, 2009 at 12:13 am |
Mark Luke,
thanks for your comments
you are of course more than welcome to join us anytime. I would happily chat with you about our position on this matter if you’d find that helpful.
20 February, 2010 at 6:22 am |
Your comments horrify me. What of the deviant sexual behaviour within the Church (and I refer specifically to ministers who indulge in this behaviour. Yes, there are many of them) which is tolerated and covered up because it is “heterosexual”. The bigotry horrifies me. May God forgive you. I am heterosexual by the way. I am sick of the “old Boys Club” that is the hierarcy of the Church today
20 February, 2010 at 11:16 am |
Hi Debbie and thanks so much for your comments.
The coverup of sexual offences by clergy is an absolute scandal. Part of the problem for more catholic type churches is that they believe that once someone is “ordained” then they can’t be “unordained” and so they are left with the question of what to do with an “ordained” sex offender. I don’t believe in ordination at all and I would happily see them dismissed from their positions.
At Gerrard Street, we have a number of pastoral staff and any one of us would be immediately dismissed if sexual offences or inappropriate sexual acts occurred. This would be true of both heterosexual or homosexual behaviour. So I can’t really defend other churches, but can assure you that at the church where I serve we genuinely believe that elders of the church must be “husbands of one wife”.
With regard to our view of homosexuality, I am aware that it is not the mainstream view in the West anymore. However, we base our morality principally upon the teaching of the Bible. And the Bible really couldn’t be clearer on the question of homosexual behaviour.
Just to be clear, we do not believe that those with homosexual leanings are somehow “condemned”, but rather that the Bible prohibits homosexual practice (just as it prohibits all sex outside of marriage). Jesus died for us all and that includes those with homosexual leanings.
In this post, I am simply expressing my understanding of the Christian position, informed by the Bible, into a situation where the church seems to have lost its way.