Grace Presbyterian Church, Montclair, New Jersey

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Pastor's Pulse

by Paul Leggett, Pastor

Living in Obedience to God’s Word

August 2008

“Jesus said to them, ‘Is not this the reason you are wrong, that you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God?’” – Mark 12:24

This year’s General Assembly, held in San Jose, California, from June 21 to 28, voted for the fourth time in the past ten Assemblies to send this critical but contested section of our Book of Order to the presbyteries for their vote.  The section which in the Book of Order is G-6.0106b states,

“Those who are called to office in the church are to lead a life in obedience to Scripture and in conformity to the historic confessional standards of the church.  Among these standards is the requirement to live either in fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness.  Persons refusing to repent of any self-acknowledged practice which the confessions call sin shall not be ordained and/or installed as deacons, elders or ministers of the Word and Sacrament.”

Three times in the past twelve years the 173 presbyteries have affirmed this section of the Book of Order by a majority vote.  For the third time the General Assembly is asking the presbyteries to delete it.  Twice before the presbyteries upheld it by significant majorities.  This particular statement has in fact been the most controversial in the Presbyterian Church USA in this period.

Why is that? The prescriptions set forth in this paragraph have been basic standards for church officers throughout the centuries and remain so in most Christian Church denominations throughout the world today. The issue that this section has symbolized is the whole matter of homosexuality. The question that the Presbyterian Church USA as well as other historic Protestant bodies have debated is, is homosexual behavior a sin? How do we respond to this?

The first point to note is that the much debated paragraph G-6.0106b never mentions homosexuality.  It is a call to obedience to Scripture and to live in conformity with the standards of our confessions.  It lifts up marriage between a man and a woman as the sole expression of sexual intimacy.  Yet the initial standard is “to lead a life in obedience to Scripture.” This is the core failing of the church today, including the General Assembly.  In fact at this year’s Assembly a motion was actually discussed to redefine marriage as between “two persons” rather than a man and a woman.  Such a motion, while defeated, was hardly legitimate since it would change the definition in our Book of Confessions, something the Assembly by itself has no power to do.

We live in a world where marriage is often under attack.  This situation persists despite evidence that marriage is beneficial not only to husbands and wives but to children.  This benefit has positive consequences not only on the personal level but also for society in general (as noted by the National Marriage Project at Rutgers University).  However we live in a world where sexual intimacy is not tied to marriage.  The specific issue of homosexuality has become a political and social issue more than an ethical or even scientific one.  Dr. Robert Spitzer, Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University, who had originally proposed removing homosexuality from the list of psychiatric disorders, maintained several years ago that some homosexual persons can significantly change their orientation.  Yet it has been observed that the issue of homosexuality has become such a political one that consideration of scientific and medical issues can become secondary.

The Presbyterian Church never sought to make homosexuality a unique issue.  As noted, the theme of G-6.0106b is marriage.  The General Assembly previously has taken strong stands in support of equal rights for Gay/Lesbian/Transgender and Bisexual persons.  This is different from approving any sexual behavior which Scripture and the confessions call sin.  Sexuality and sexual behavior in its diverse and complex forms has always been a difficult topic to understand fully.  Ancient Greece and Rome approved sexual practices which most of us would find abhorrent.  So what can we really say?  Is this all only a matter of opinion or cultural preference?

The ultimate question is, do we have a word from the Lord?  The answer is yes.  Scripture makes it clear that sexual intimacy belongs only in marriage (Genesis 2:23-24; Mark 10:6-9; Hebrews 13:4).  The Bible does not endorse slavery or the subjugation of women as is sometimes claimed.  It does however call homosexual behavior a sin (along with divorce, adultery, prostitution and fornication, not to mention greed, robbery and drunkenness (I Corinthians 6:9-10).  Yes, Jesus calls everyone to himself.  He goes out of his way to welcome tax collectors, prostitutes and sinners.  He also calls everyone to repent of whatever sin we struggle with.  He does not expect us to be sinless.  He does, however, call us to take up our cross and follow him.  This includes confessing and repenting of our sins.  None of us is without sin.

We have only one ultimate authority.  That is the Word of God found in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.  These and these only bring us to the Living Word, Jesus Christ.  Apart from that Word we have only endless debate and endless confusion.