There is a battle going on in the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). That battle is over the roles that homosexuals can have in the Church. Though I am not a member of a PCA church, I am a member of a church in a similar denomination, the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC). The seminary I went to provides ministers for both denominations and both denominations rely heavily on the Westminster Confessions and Catechisms as well as a few other likeminded confessions for their extra Biblical sources for the doctrines they teach and hold their office holders accountable to conform to.
This battle in the PCA isn't the same as previous battles over homosexuality in some of the mainline denominations. Those previous battles were over allowing homosexuals to be ministers and allowing churches in those denominations to perform same-sex weddings. Rather, the battle is over whether celibate men who identify themselves as same-sex attracted (SSA), homosexual, or gay can hold offices in the PCA churches. These men are celibate because they understand the inconsistency that exists in participating in homosexual relationships and what the Scriptures say. Thus they refrain from participating in such relationships. But even there, there is some diversity in those who are identifying as being SSA.
We are covering that issue here because the PCA is considering two overtures that address this issue. We will be review pertinent parts of the overtures #23 (click here) and #37 (click here). In particular, we will be focusing on the statement that starts at line #33 on page 1 of Overture #23 and the statement that starts at line #25 on page 1 of Overture #37.
The statement in question from Overture #23 says the following:
Whereas the Christian’s identity is rooted in Christ so that he is a “new creation” in Him, his identity cannot be defined by sexual and/or any other desires or lifestyles that are contrary to Holy Scripture; for the Christian there is a clear distinction between self- conception (“this is who I am”) and remaining indwelling sin (“this is what I must daily mortify”) (Rom. 6:1–14; I Cor. 6:9–11; II Cor. 5:17; Col. 3:1–5); and
The statement in question from Overture #37 says the following:
Whereas the Christian’s identity is rooted in Christ so that he is a “new creation” in Him, his identity cannot be defined by any desires or lifestyles that are contrary to the Holy Scripture; for the Christian there is a clear distinction between self-conception (“This is who I am”) and remaining indwelling sin (“This is what I must daily mortify”) (Rom. 6: 1-14; 1 Cor. 6: 9-11; 2 Cor. 5:17; Gal. 2:20; Col. 3:1-5); and
At issue here is how those struggling with SSA identify themselves. And this is where things get complicated. This 'identifying' oneself as is a relatively new expression. What is meant by it? According to one source, to identify oneself as a particular gender is to see 'one's most innermost concept of oneself as being a male or female. Thus, when it comes to sexual orientation, to identify as being SSA or gay is for a man to state that, in his innermost being, he is attracted to those of the same sex.
Now the problem with the Scriptures listed in the above statements from the overtures is that the Scriptures never use that word 'identify' when discussing one's relationship with Christ or seeing oneself as a new creation. Thus, when those statements insert the word 'identify,' they are estimating that the Scriptures cited are dealing roughly with the same concepts used when people identify themselves as being of a particular gender or having a give sexual orientation. Those Scriptures, however, are clear; that a Christian's, let alone an officeholder in a church, innermost way of seeing oneself is as someone whom Christ has recreated. That would seem to support Overtures #23 and #37.
However, those statements of us Christians having become new creations and having killed fleshly desires are interspersed with Scriptural statements telling us to put away the old ways and mortify our fleshly desires. And thus there is some ambiguity in the Scriptures as to where we are as people who belong to Christ. We have both done away with and continue to battle sinful desires.
But furthermore, there is another Scripture that also speaks to our innermost being as people and how we identify ourselves. That Scripture is Luke 18:9-14 (click here to read the passage). For if we only view ourselves as having killed our fleshly desires, then we cannot identify ourselves as being the tax collector from that passage one time. We can only then identify ourselves as being the Pharisee. But it is the Pharisee who is condemned while the tax collector is saved in that parable.
And that brings us to a crucial part of the issue brought up by Overtures #23 and #37. That part is whether officeholders in the Church and the rest of us Christians can have more than one identity. That rather than being simple because we are new creations, are we complicated and complex people whose core being is that of being both a new creation and worst of sinners? Here we should note that tax collectors were seen as being one of the worst, if not the worst sinner, which is why Jesus used the tax collector as is example to compare with the Pharisee.
Seeing our identity as being complex and complicated could speak against Overtures #23 and #37. That is because if a celibate man identifies as both gay or SSA and Christian, is he not being honest then about the complexity of his identity and sharing a struggle in the battle that all Christians have though we do not all share the same sinful desires.
There are other complications over whether the PCA should pass these overtures. One of those issues involve those Christians who are celibate but, because they believe that nature made them this way, that their desires are not sinful in and of themselves so that they have not sexually sinned unless they carry out those desires. Overtures #23 and #37 correctly speak against that belief. For if even looking at a woman lustfully is counted as adultery according to Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, then how are same-sex desires not also sinful?
There is another issue that complicates things over the PCA's decision whether it should adopt Overtures #23 and #37. That issue comes from the statement starting on line 39 on page 1 of Overture #23. That statement says the following:
Whereas the sexual revolution and LGBTQ+ movement are infiltrating many quarters of the Church and causing no small amount of confusion; and
That statement shows not the issues that the individual Christian is battling, but a major fear that conservative denominations like the PCA are experiencing. That fear is whether the PCA, on a case by case basis, will decide whether allowing a Christian man who also identifies as being gay or SSA is honestly sharing his struggle or whether allows such a Christian to hold office is opening the door for those not struggling with their sinful desires to become members and officers in the churches of that denomination. Here we should note that that fear becomes a phobia when the PCA either feels that it either cannot or refuses to even try to tell the difference between those Christian applicants for offices who are honestly sharing the battles they have with sinful desires from those who are not.
The homosexual issue has caused great division in the Church in America. And that division, in part, is due to the role conservative Christian leaders and churches have played. For those leaders who and churches that oppose equality for the LGBT community in society, not in the church, have put its younger members into the dilemma of choosing which sin they must accept: the marginalizing, or persecuting, of those in the LGBT community or viewing homosexuality in ways that are contrary to how the Scriptures portray it. Overtures #23 and #37 just might be putting the PCA churches and members in a similar position when it comes to how it views Christians who identify as being gay or SSA but who are celibate.
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