Overture froSoutheast Alabama Presbytery Asks the 49th PCA GA to Amend BCO 16 By Adding a New Paragraph
Southeast Alabama Presbytery approved an overture at a March 31, 2022 Called Meeting, asking the 49th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America to “amend BCO 16 by adding a new paragraph using wording from the Report of the Ad Interim Committee on Human Sexuality.”
The Overture presents proposed wording to amend BCO 16 by adding a fourth paragraph.The overture argues that since the 48th General Assembly in 2021 voted unanimously to commend the Human Sexuality Report, it seems appropriate to ask the 49th General Assembly to approve wording to add to BCO 16. The proposed wording provides the following:
16-4. Those whom God calls to bear office in His Church shall demonstrate maturity of faith and growing conformity to Jesus Christ. While these office bearers will see spiritual perfection only in glory, they will continue in this life to confess and to mortify remaining sins. Thus, those who identify or describe themselves according to their specific sins, or who teach that it is acceptable for Christians to identify or describe in such a manner, shall not be approved for service by any court of Christ’s Church.
An overture is a means by which a Presbytery can bring a matter to the GA for consideration. This overture will be considered by the 49th PCA General Assembly at its meeting in Birmingham, Ala., June 20-24, 2022.
Whereas, the Westminster Standards make a categorical distinction between the “state of sin” and the “state of grace” (WCF 9.3-4); and
Whereas, ever since the Fall, man is naturally in the “state of sin” in which he has lost all ability to will and to do any spiritual good and is a slave to the penalty, guilt, and power of sin (WCF 9.3); and
Whereas, in the state of sin, his sin defines who he is, and he must rightly conceive of himself and label himself as a fornicator, idolater, adulterer, homosexual, thief, drunkard, reviler, and swindler (1 Cor. 6:9-10); in this state of sin, that is how he is to consider himself and identify himself because he is a slave to sin; and
Whereas, when the Holy Spirit works faith in man, uniting him to Christ in his effectual calling, he is translated into the “state of grace” (WCF 9.4; WSC 30) and partakes of the benefits of justification, adoption, and sanctification (WSC 30-32); and
Whereas, in this state, while he does not perfectly or only will that which is good but also that which is evil (due to his remaining corruption), he is freed from bondage to sin and by grace is enabled freely to will and to do that which is spiritually good (WCF 9.4); and
Whereas, the conversion from the state of sin to the state of grace is so dramatic and the distinction between the two so vast that the Christian is no longer to conceive of himself and label himself as a fornicator, idolater, adulterer, homosexual, thief, drunkard, reviler, and swindler; Scripture says such will not inherit the kingdom of God, “and such were some of you” (1 Cor. 6:9-11); in the state of grace, the believer is no longer to identify that way (e.g. as a fornicator, idolater, adulterer, etc.) for “you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Cor. 6:9-11); because of his union with Christ, his specific sins no longer define who he is; and
Whereas, due to remaining corruption, the Christian can still speak of himself as a sinner in the present tense (1 Tim. 1:12-16) as one who continues to experience and battle with the presence and pollution of sin (Gal. 5:17; Rom. 7:14-25) and even at times feel as though he is enslaved to sin (Rom. 7:14); however, the truth is that the believer is no longer a slave to sin, having been freed from slavery to its guilt (Rom. 3:24; Eph. 1:7), its penalty (Gal. 3:13), and its power (1 Pet. 1:18-19; Rom. 6:6); and
Whereas, while of course the Christian is (and can say he is) a sinner (1 Tim. 1:12-16), he is no longer to identify himself with his specific sins; as Paul says, “Such were some of you” (1Cor. 6:9-11), and “Though formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent… I received mercy… in Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 1:13-14); and
Whereas, instead of considering himself as a drunkard or an adulterer or a homosexual, the Christian is commanded to have a different self-conception: “You must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 6:11); and
Whereas, the Christian may continue to struggle with the same sins all his life long; such a believer should not consider himself a drunkard or an adulterer or a homosexual but rather a Christian who struggles with the temptation to drunkenness, adultery, or homosexuality; and who is repentant if or when he succumbs to such temptations; and
Whereas, BCO 16-1 reads, “Ordinary vocation to office in the Church is the calling of God bythe Spirit, through the inward testimony of a good conscience, the manifest approbationof God’s people, and the concurring judgment of a lawful court of the Church;” and
Whereas, BCO 16-2 reads, “The government of the Church is by officers gifted to representChrist, and the right of God’s people to recognize by election to office those so gifted isinalienable. Therefore no man can be placed over a church in any office without the election, or at least the consent of that church;” and
Whereas, BCO 16-3 reads, “Upon those whom God calls to bear office in His Church He bestows suitable gifts for the discharge of their various duties. And it is indispensable that, besides possessing the necessary gifts and abilities, natural and acquired, every one admitted to an office should be sound in the faith, and his life be according to godliness. Wherefore every candidate for office is to be approved by the court by which he is to be ordained;” and
Therefore, be it resolved that BCO 16 be amended by adding 16-4 as a new paragraph with the following wording (underlining for new wording):
16-4. Those whom God calls to bear office in His Church shall demonstrate maturity of faith and growing conformity to Jesus Christ. While these office bearers will see spiritual perfection only in glory, they will continue in this life to confess and to mortify remaining sins. Thus, those who identify or describe themselves according to their specific sins, or who teach that it is acceptable for Christians to identify or describe in such a manner, shall not be approved for service by any court of Christ’s Church.
Approved by Southeast Alabama Presbytery on March 31, 2022.
Attested by TE Kevin Corley, Clerk
-
My Darkest Night; Hopefully Not Yours
It would be a mercy of God to take a man’s mind away in hell, but that surely is the agony of hell. Mercy was for another time, now so long ago. A man must live with himself, without the dignities of feigned kindness and pretended beauty. His mind is the most tortured part of him, regardless of what pains he is afflicted within the body.
At 3:30 a.m., I awoke to a black room, so dark that my eyes could not see even one inch away, much less to the other side. The simple room in a Romanian home in Brasov had one of those metal external shades that are lowered over the window, capable of completely deleting light. I was in the darkest place I had been in perhaps for years. And, since it was night and I was alone in the house, I thought.
“Outer darkness.” I’ve been troubled by those words before—not blindness in this world where others may help, but “outer,” away from all others, forever. I do not understand why hell is described as both “outer darkness” and a place of fire, for where there is fire there is light. Perhaps these are only feeble descriptors meant to approximate the reality, the best that words can do. Perhaps the darkness of “outer darkness” and the fire of “the lake of fire” cannot perfectly convey the emptiness and pain of that future place, but are only signposts to something worse. The signpost isn’t the city itself. What if the worst we can think about hell would one day seem pleasant by comparison to the one experiencing it? What if the true hell can only be experienced, and not described?
What does a man think about in outer darkness? Could he think of, say, a day at the beach with his family? Impossible. For if he were to think of a day at the beach with his family he would immediately moan in agony for he will never see his family nor a day at the beach again, ever. If a man has no hope, nor any prospect of arriving at a place where the slightest wisp of hope could blow like a gentle breeze over him, how could he ever be happy again? Every joy is an eternal pain—a reminder of what will never be.
Read More -
Prayer Tips: For What Should We Pray?
Indeed, whatever God ordains is right because, not only will He not leave or forsake His people (Deut. 31:6, Heb. 13:5), He will also continually care for us as a Shepherd tends His flock (Ps. 23), and He will work all things for His greatest glory and our greatest good (Rom. 8:28). Therefore, we pray for the will of God to be accomplished, even as we bring our cares, needs, and concerns before Him.
Two of some of the biggest questions that many Christians ask relate to prayer. On one hand, Christians want to know how they should pray. On the other hand, they want to know what they should be praying for. According to the Westminster Larger Catechism, “Prayer is an offering up of our desires unto God, in the name of Christ, by the help of his Spirit; with confession of our sins, and thankful acknowledgment of his mercies” (WLC 178). So, the how of prayer, then, is to confess desires (and needs) to God the Father, in the name of the Son, by the power of the Holy Spirit. Simple enough, right? We even recognize that prayer will include confession of sins and thankfulness for God’s many benefits that He graciously bestows upon us. The question remains, however: What should the Christian be praying for? When the world falls into deeper sin, or that loved one still has not repented and trusted in Jesus Christ, or that child is sick, or that family has lost nearly everything, and words seem to fail, and thoughts do not come, what are we to pray for? Though the Holy Spirit does indeed offer groanings and utterings in these moments (Rom. 8:26), we still want something solid to express and pray.
The answer may come as a surprise due to its simplicity, but Jesus answered this question in the opening of the Lord’s Prayer, directing us to pray: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”[1]
First, our words should be directed toward the Father, and we should pray for His name to be hallowed (consecrated, blessed, honored). Above all else, we should desire for the Lord to direct our prayers in such a way to glorify Himself (1 Cor. 10:31).
Secondly, we are to pray for His Kingdom to come.
Read More -
Why Did Covid Enforcement Target Religion?
Written by Dr. Julie Ponesse |
Wednesday, September 7, 2022
Religious persons today are a threat, but not to public safety as the narrative instructs us. They are a threat to the idea that the state is to be worshipped above all else, to the religion that’s trying to take their place, to the idea that it’s possible to find a compelling and complete sense of meaning outside of the state.Religious leaders like Artur Pawlowski who question COVID-19 health restrictions are a “threat to public safety.” Or so the criticism goes.
After giving a sermon in February 2022 in Coutts, Alberta, in which he urged trucker convoy protestors to “hold the line” in their efforts to safeguard freedoms, Pastor Pawlowski was arrested, denied bail, and imprisoned for 40 days until the decision was unanimously overturned by the Alberta Court of Appeal in July.
According to the 2021 World Watch List compiled by the advocacy group Open Doors, there were two important persecution trends in 2020: the number of Christians killed increased by 60 percent, and governments used COVID-19 restrictions as an excuse for religious persecution.
Facial recognition systems, for example, were installed in state-approved churches in China, allowing churchgoers to be tracked and punished, and India’s nationalist Janata Party encouraged the persecution of Christians by sanctioning Hindu extremism. In Canada, a country that used to be a safe haven for the persecuted, pastors are being ticketed and imprisoned for holding religious services, and religion, itself, is slandered in the COVID narrative, associated with poor research, misinformation, and right-wing politics.
Our treatment of religious persons seems to be non-fictionalizing Orwell’s totalitarian state, Oceania, in which atheism is compulsory and religious belief is a crime (one of the crimes to which the hero of 1984, Winston Smith, confesses).
In Orwell’s superstate, atheism is not only essential to “the Party’s” absolute power, but it is compelling. According to Orwell’s dystopian fantasy, human life is meaningless because individuals will always die; but by joining the Party, they become part of something more enduring than themselves. Totalitarianism—I use that word intentionally—offers a way to rescue themselves from the threat of absolute nonexistence.
In any totalitarian state (including the one we are inching towards), citizens are divided and polarized. There are the believers and the non-believers, the members and the outliers, the chosen ones and the sinners. The followers believe above all else in the ability of the state to achieve a kind of utopia. They follow the state’s commands, not because of their evidentiary reasonableness but because their commitment to the project requires unquestioning allegiance. The sinners are heretics who stand in the way of safety and purity. What appeal have reason and freedom and autonomy when stacked against effortless and guaranteed immortality?
Today, many people are turning away from personal religion toward state-led science, which is presented as being more sophisticated and more aligned with truth. But totalitarianism is not an alternative to religion; it is secularized religion, as Holocaust survivor Hannah Arendt wrote, and its appeal is spreading across the globe at a head-spinning rate.
Totalitarianism replaces personal religion with the idea that we can find meaning not in God but in ourselves, in a group of human beings. “The State takes the place of God,” wrote Carl Jung, “the socialist dictatorships are religions and State slavery is a form of worship.” The slogan of Oceania’s Party, “Freedom is slavery,” could easily be the slogan of Canada’s ruling party today. (And dare I mention the sign above the gate at Auschwitz “Arbeit Macht Frei” [“Work Makes One Free”]?)
In the totalitarian state, the methods of religious enthusiasm and evangelism are deployed to convince the masses that the dream of a perfectly pure, progressive state—a heaven on earth—justifies any limitation of personal freedom. And so, the punishment of dissidents—via mandates, surveillance, imprisonment, and possibly even extermination of individuals or groups—is considered acceptable or even noble.
Read More
Related Posts:
