We speak truly by saying that the grass is green, but the grass is green because God spoke it to be so. If God, however, called the grass purple, the grass would be purple. While we are creatures that can only speak truth or falsehood about the creation around us, God is the Creator who shapes and fashions all things by His command.

…in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, promised before the ages began…Titus 1:2 ESV

A few days ago, my eldest daughter and I had a conversation about why we can fully trust God, and as so often happens with smaller children, it was not the first time that we treat down that particular conversational path. In essence, I told her that we can trust God not only because what He says is true but because what God says is truth, that He not only never lies but He cannot lie.
But perhaps we should begin with this question: what is a lie? Or what does telling the truth mean? Well, we either speak the truth or a lie depending on how our words reflect reality. If we say something that reflects the reality around us, then those words are true, whereas if we say something that does not reflect the reality around us, then those words are false. For example, saying that the grass is blue and the sky is green is false and to do so means speaking a lie about what really is. Instead, we speak truthfully whenever we say that grass is green and the sky is blue.
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I trust that you are men driven by Christian character who will not countenance watching a sound church of Jesus Christ – your church – be torn asunder, especially by a small minority. If this is true, then give no support, encouragement or succor to any man who would refuse now to submit wholeheartedly to the will of the brethren. 

Dear Brothers:
Pondering the dangerous and seemingly unquenchable division in our nation right now the thought has occurred to me that sometimes men just have to “slug it out.” Boxers, pre-fight, stare at each other with absolute malice in their eyes and the visceral desire to kill or seriously wound the other.  Honestly, there is no way that this aggression is going to be defused without a fight.  However, after the match the combatants usually hug and congratulate each other as reconciled enemies. The hostilities have abated, and the two stand with a unique and very strong bond as brothers in arms.
Around 160 years ago our nation was torn apart by a bloody civil war.  Young men chomped at the bit to move onto the field of battle and unleash lethal force upon their neighbor.
However, after four years of bloodshed men on both sides had had enough and were ready to be at peace. General Robert E. Lee did much to help bring about that peace.
It is reported that President Jefferson Davis desired to continue to fight a guerrilla war against the U.S. However, knowing the costs of dividing a nation and the price of war, Lee said, “No.” Instead, he went on an extensive campaign throughout the South to help heal the rift that had formed.  He encouraged Southerners to forget the past, to lay aside revenge and not to engage in continued warfare against the Union. Did Lee suddenly think that his reasons for fighting were wrong? No, however, what he saw was the greater good of peace and unity that stood before a nation torn apart by a four-year war.
Interestingly, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), our denomination, has been at civil war for the same number of years. It was in 2018 that a member church of your presbytery stunned the denomination by hosting Revoice, a Side-B gay affirming conference. Letters and articles were written addressing genuine concerns.  Greg Johnson went on a speaking campaign via podcasts, magazines, twitter and finally a book.
The Heart of the People
Brothers, the rollout of Side-B was orchestrated in your presbytery. I am not going to get into all of the evidence of this in this letter, but suffice it to say, the evidence is clear. Now, I do not think that you all planned to “take down” the PCA.  I simply believe that you misread the heart and mind of the denomination; a heart and mind that has been clearly demonstrated over the past two General Assemblies.
At GA 2021, the GA voted to pass overture 23 by well over 2/3 of the body.  The overture clearly expressed the will of the denomination that a man not be allowed to serve as a church officer who professes to be a “gay Christian,” “same-sex attracted Christian,” “homosexual Christian,” or like terms. Many in the PCA wanted their feelings expressed and did so.
Those on the other side were successful in scuttling the overture by seeing that it did not reach the high threshold for ratification by 2/3 of presbyteries.  Nonetheless, the vote was very close to the two-thirds of presbyteries needed.
So, the elders of the denomination came back together in 2022 and passed yet two more overtures dealing with the matter.  Overture 29 only had 200 votes against it.  Overture 15, with specific language referring to those claiming to be homosexuals, and despite arguments that it wouldn’t be able to pass the 2/3 threshold, still passed GA by nearly 55% of the body. The point in all of this is that the denomination has spoken.  It does not agree with Side -B-gay-but-celibate ideology. The sentiment is overwhelming.  The war is over.
Jolene
Back in the early ‘70s Dolly Parton sang a song about a woman who came from a position of admitted weakness, begging her antagonist, who was beautiful and seductive, to have a heart and not take away her only love, just because she could.
Our denomination finds itself coming to you in a position of weakness. Those who support Side B could wage a guerilla war within our denomination. 1) They could work to scuttle the overtures again, frustrating the will of the members, and we could debate them again at GA after GA. Or 2), they could allow the overtures to pass, but simply not obey their spirit while hiding within sympathetic presbyteries and an effete Standing Judicial Commission.  Certainly, PCA members would be very frustrated.  Or 3), they could even engage in a tactical retreat in order to hide out and replan, only to spring another surprise on the Church in a few years. In short, those supporting Side B ideology could do much to sow discord and in so doing destroy the peace and health of the PCA, something they swore not to do in their ordination vows.
The reality is it is time for those who support Side B-gay-but-celibate ideology to submit to the will of their brethren, also a part of their ordination vows and bring an end to the lost-cause campaign.
This is where you step in to be the Robert E. Lee of our age. The denomination needs you to say, “Enough.  It is time for peace and submission.”  Many of those who support the other side of this issue look up to you all – particularly certain members of your court who perhaps have served them at the seminary.
Fool Me Thrice
There is an old proverb: “Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me.” Even though I have had my trust abused on numerous occasions by fellow PCA presbyters and ought to know better, I am just a sucker.  I trust that you are men driven by Christian character who will not countenance watching a sound church of Jesus Christ – your church – be torn asunder, especially by a small minority. If this is true, then give no support, encouragement or succor to any man who would refuse now to submit wholeheartedly to the will of the brethren.  Make every effort to root out rebellion, and counsel men of the need to uphold their vows.
It is understood that some will conscientiously be unable to submit to the will of the brethren in this matter. They must be encouraged to exit the denomination for one that suits them better.
Brotherhood Again
The fight has been long, tiresome and costly. We have slugged it out, so to speak. It is time to shake hands, come together and be one church with the same heart and mind. It is incumbent upon you to rally together to restore peace and unity in the PCA, to strengthen the PCA for the good of Christ’s Church.
Sincerely in Christ,
Jim Shaw is a teaching elder in the Presbyterian Church in America serving Redeemer Presbyterian in Brunswick, GA. 
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Jesus’ deity a matter not of triviality but of reality. The great, staggering truth of Christianity is that Christ, the God-man, was nurtured in a womb—that He who had always existed became part of God’s space-time economy. Jesus, while true man, is also true God.

Maybe you’ve heard this description somewhere: He was born in poverty, lived only thirty-three years, spent most of His life in obscurity, never wrote a book, never had any position in public life, was crucified with two thieves—and yet two thousand years later, millions still follow Him. It’s certainly not the whole story of Jesus Christ, but it is a helpful, thought-provoking summary of His legacy. Whether we’re convinced in our faith or questioning in our agnosticism, there’s no escaping the fact that Jesus of Nazareth has left an indelible mark on human history. All of us must reckon with the question of His identity.
Rumors, conversations, and confusion surrounding Jesus’ identity are nothing new. Many were trying to sort out who He was during His earthly ministry. At one point, Jesus asked the twelve disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” (Matt. 16:13). To this they replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” When Jesus asked them in response, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (vv. 14–16)
The variety of responses received then are more than matched today. Consider, for example, Gandhi’s view: he maintained that “the soul of religions is one, but is encased in a multitude of forms.”1 Certainly this position isn’t tenable for the Christian, for we serve the God who claimed, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). Tragically, though, many professing Christians would either respond to Gandhi’s sentiment with ambivalence or, in the spirit of inclusivity, embrace it outright. But we must be clear: we cannot be orthodox in our faith while holding to an unbiblical view of Christ.
As we build the case for the authentic Jesus, there are four factors we ought to consider: His humanity, His deity, His unity, and His authority.
Jesus Is a Man
The authentic Jesus, first of all, is a human Jesus. Irrespective of His supernatural conception, Jesus’ birth itself was, in fact, normal. He entered life as an infant who learned how to walk and speak. Joseph and Mary would have trained Him in the details of His daily routine. (See Luke 2:52.) The philosopher Søren Kierkegaard said of Jesus, “His life ran, like ours, ‘from womb to tomb.’”2
That Jesus was human is evident in both His human experience and His human emotion.
His Human Experience
We can piece together a very human Christ from the Gospel records. In the account of the woman at the well, for example, we find Jesus “wearied … from his journey,” bidding His disciples to go on while He rested (John 4:6). He also experienced real hunger (Matt. 21:18) and thirst (John 19:28). Incidentally, this is in part why the Pharisees were annoyed with Jesus: because in His hunger and thirst, He would even dine with sinners (Luke 5:29–30).
Further, Jesus knew human pain. In Mark 14, which records the scene in the garden of Gethsemane, we’re told that Jesus was “greatly distressed and troubled,” and His soul was “very sorrowful, even to death” (14:33–34).
Still other examples of Jesus’ human experiences include His customary Sabbath observance (Luke 4:16) and His being tempted (Heb. 4:15). Such experiences underscore the fact that portraying Christ as anything less than fully man is simply unfaithful to what is recorded about Him. Any attempt to show that Jesus is God by diminishing His humanity is to introduce an unauthentic Jesus.
His Human Emotion
In addition to human experiences, Jesus also felt the full gamut of human emotions. He knew what it was to be joyful. Speaking to His disciples about the realities of their salvation in Him, Luke records in his Gospel that Jesus “rejoiced in the Holy Spirit” and began to pray (10:21). In other words, in His humanity, He experienced a very natural, yet also supernatural, joy.
On the other hand, Jesus endured great sorrow. He loved, and He lost those He loved (John 11:5). Matthew paints a vivid picture for us also of our Lord’s compassion: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (9:36). Humanity’s lostness weighed heavily on Christ’s heart.
Jesus was not some unfeeling creature, an alien from another place. He cannot be thought of in those terms. He was able to sit and empathize with men and women in their thirst, hunger, joy, sorrow, love, and pain. As Isaiah prophesied, He was a man “acquainted with grief” (53:3).
Docetism: A Deficient View
Despite the straightforward teaching concerning Christ’s humanity, deficient views of His nature abound. Among the earliest of unorthodox teachings was Docetism. Its name comes from the Greek word dokeō, “to appear.” Based on the Gnostic worldview that matter is evil and spirit is good, Docetism taught that God could never have taken on a real human body. Whatever the incarnation was, Docetism maintained, it was merely appearances. Jesus wasn’t a real human being. He looked like one, He sounded like one, but according to the Docetists, He wasn’t one.
Responding to this claim in his first-century context, John made this statement regarding Jesus’ true humanity:
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. (1 John 1:1–4)
Jesus was, in fact, a real human being.
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