The proposal of OVT-001 is no surprise—the PCUSA has allowed same-sex marriage since 2014. This is symptomatic of the denomination’s more fundamental rejection of Scriptural authority, which has resulted in conservative Presbyterian churches breaking away from the PCUSA and forming other denominations as early as 1936. The PCUSA has not gained the world in return for losing its soul, as the once-powerful denomination’s membership steadily declines.

An increasingly revisionist Presbyterian Church (USA) will take up legislation at its 226th General Assembly June 25–July 4 in Salt Lake City barring ordination of candidates who are not LGBTQ-affirming.
Designated OVT-001, the proposal, known as an overture in Presbyterian parlance, would change two sections of the PCUSA Book of Order. The first change alters section F-1.0403, “Unity in Diversity,” to read (changes in brackets):
“The unity of believers in Christ is reflected in the rich diversity of the Church’s membership. In Christ, by the power of the Spirit, God unites persons through baptism, regardless of race, ethnicity, age, sex, [gender identity, sexual orientation,] disability, geography, or theological conviction. There is therefore no place in the life of the Church for discrimination against any person. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) shall guarantee full participation and representation in its worship, governance, and emerging life to all persons or groups within its membership. No member shall be denied participation or representation for any reason other than those stated in this Constitution.”
This addition of “gender identity, sexual orientation” may initially seem unproblematic in the first two sentences of this section. Christ can indeed unite diverse people to himself, including those who struggle with gender dysphoria and same-sex attraction. Implicit in the inclusion of the categories of gender identity and sexual orientation, however, is that there is nothing problematic about gender dysphoria and same-sex attraction.
This becomes clear in the rest of F-1.0403, which bars all discrimination against anyone in these categories (what the Rationale section of OVT-001 refers to as “protected classes”), especially regarding “worship, governance, and emerging life” in the PCUSA.
All humans are created in the image of God and must be treated with dignity and respect, this must not be denied. The imago Dei does not, however, mean that nobody may be denied a role in church governance for practicing transgenderism or homosexuality.
In 1 Timothy 3, the Apostle Paul writes that elders must be “above reproach” and deacons must be “blameless” (among many other qualifications). Earlier in the same epistle—and in multiple other epistles—Paul follows the Old Testament’s condemnation of practicing homosexuality, demonstrating along with Jude that it is no more licit under the New Covenant than it was under the Old. Given this, it seems reasonable to conclude that homosexual activity would be worthy of reproach and blame, disqualifying one from holding church office.
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But by the power of God and the fervency of His people, the list of hopeful outcomes goes on and on. And standing above all of this, uniting and summarizing every good outcome, is the transcendent and paramount glory of God, who undoubtedly will receive the honor and praise.

As you’ve likely heard, on June 24, 2022 the Supreme Court upheld a 2018 Mississippi law and in the process, overturned Roe v. Wade.  The decision will allow individual states to determine the parameters and accessibility of abortion in their respective states.  The practical result will be a smorgasbord of state-by-state parameters on abortion that are determined by state legislatures.  It is likely that the result will be the limiting, and in some places severe limiting, of access to abortions.
The decision of the court is both good and at the same time a little strange; but mostly it’s really good.  Good because this decision promotes and moves towards a more righteous standard of living by the proper use of the sword entrusted to governing authorities for the thwarting of evil (Romans 13:1-7).
“When justice is done, it is a joy to the righteous but terror to evildoers” (Proverbs 21:15).
These prohibitions are long overdue.  In the last 50 years more than 50 million babies have been aborted in America (1.5 billion worldwide).  Abortion in America disproportionately targets minorities, girls, and children with physical disabilities (more than 90% of down syndrome babies are aborted in America each year).  And the reality is that an overwhelming number of abortions in America are not out of necessity but out of fear or convenience or ease.
At moments like this the church must not waver in her commitment to pursue that which is honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8).  Human life is not a random concurrence of human tissues that magically evolve into a little version of a person at some supposed week of gestation, but rather human life is a sheer act of creation, fearfully and wonderfully crafted, by a living God who breathes life and then sustains that life minute after minute of every day according to His power.  And so, the foolishness of God is wiser than the wisdom of man (1 Corinthians 1:25).  It is a  good decision because righteous laws and precepts bring glory to God.
At the same time, the decision of the court is also quite strange to me.  Strange because it comes at the advent of what has been described as a post Christian era.  And yet, this decision of the court is happening now and not say 30 or 40 or 50 years ago, where a student of history might expect to find it.  In the late 1900s, while Christianity maintained an outsized influence on society, abortion continued rather freely as a normative part of our society.  While many stores remained closed on Sundays and prayer was still being offered at major sporting events, before gay marriage was legal or transgender was a thing, abortion stood out as an odd and progressive outlier of our society.  Now, as all of society seems to be changing at light-speed, when the majority of Americans seem to have no serious religious convictions at all, we experience this decision of the court that will promote goodness and righteousness.
So, since this decision is both good and oddly placed, Christians find themselves in a curious position.  We rejoice over just outcomes but we also struggle to find our place in a world where we can so often feel like the annoying antagonists of an apathetic generation.  The clear message for the church is this: there is work to be done if we can expect any lasting change. A just legal standard has been established but the hearts of this people are still overwhelmingly against the Lord.  My prayer has been that God would use the potency of the law to sear hearts and so to revive many.  To accomplish this, the Lord often uses the movements of history to direct the affairs of His kingdom, movements like the ones we now witness.  And He has called us to be part of this work and so work we must. “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest” (John 4:35).  There is work to be done!  To that end I offer a few simple suggestions:
Pray.  Pray for our elected officials, at every level, that they would pursue righteousness apart from vain ambition.  Pray for our judges that they would seek the truth, be guided by God, and that they would sense the gravity of the work they undertake.  Pray for expectant mothers of wanted and unwanted children that, whatever their circumstances, perhaps God would give them a tender affection for their children, husbands who love and care for their families, a community that will support them, and the courage to honor the image of God in the gift of life.  Pray for revival in our communities and neighborhoods, for hearts to be turned to the Lord, that many would “cease to do evil, learn to do good, seek justice, correct oppression, bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s case” (Isaiah 1:16).
“The sins of others work for good to the godly, as they set them the more a-praying against sin.  If there were not such a spirit of wickedness abroad, perhaps there would not be such a spirit of prayer.  Crying sins cause crying prayers.  The people of God pray against the iniquity of the times, that God will give a check to sin that he will put sin to the blush” (Thomas Watson, All Things For Good ).
Declare.  Declare our God and declare His truth to the watching world.  Too often over the last 50 years the church has emphasized a call to be compassionate and gracious at the expense of the call to be righteous and true.  We have been suppressed or have wrongly thought that the only way to appeal to the world is through love and kindness, and so we’ve neutered our message and created a version of truth that seems more amiable to those around us.  Yet there is rarely a time the Word of God mentions love apart from truth or kindness in the absence of righteousness.  Contrary to human wisdom, the declaration of God’s righteousness is often the very tool that He uses to draw people unto Himself.  Look no further than Nineveh upon whom Jonah pronounced judgment leading to their repentance.
“For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Corinthians 7:10).
We must be active in our communities and influential in culture and engaged in science and medicine and fervent in our exhortation and in conversations with neighbors and discussions in our book clubs or trivia groups.  With abortion, the masses have been duped into believing a sterile and inconsequential version of manslaughter.  Those types of opinions don’t change overnight but rather with thought provoking conversation and by the grace of God.  Let us be winsome, humble, measured, and peaceful – but let us not cower from the moment as we distinguish between what is good and evil, right and wrong, true and false.  And where the Bible speaks clearly, may God make us willing and able to speak clearly ourselves.
Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”  And the people of Nineveh believed God. They called for a fast and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them to the least of them (Jonah 3:2-5).
Advocate.  Here is where I hope to leave you with maybe the greatest burden and exhortation to action.  For many years, legal abortion has disguised and concealed the vulnerabilities of many of our neighbors, coworkers, friends, and family.  Many single mothers have been saddled with the weight of carrying a child by themselves, and often, without obvious means to care for that child, abortion has offered a “manageable alternative.”  Other mothers have had to deal with the heaviness of discovering their baby had a disability that would impact them for the rest of their lives and abortion offered a way to maintain a “normal life.”  Some have been affected by the sin of others through rape or other terrible actions and are without answers, save one, abortion.  Many argued that these women and others would be left helpless, without any answers, and many thousands of them would endure great pain and suffering, some may even lose their lives.  Let’s not pretend that some version of these are not a logical and expected outcomes.  However, far from being a call to relent and give ground to “necessary evils,” this is a call to the church to step up and let faith be demonstrated by action.  Consider some of the great triumphs of American history that were simultaneously overtly righteous and exceedingly painful.  The abolition of slavery and the triumph of WWII come to mind. These were costly decisions that were blatantly righteous.  More importantly, they were opportunities for godly men and women and the church to step into the void and to courageously go where God might lead and to act as God might call them, serving the afflicted and the oppressed.
So too is the moment before us.  Now is our time.  Christians everywhere must step-up, in an uncomfortable and sacrificial way, in the lives of those impacted by the changes in abortion laws.  Young women in many communities need advocates and support networks and help with childcare, with access to flexible work, and encouragement completing their education.  Young men need male role models exhorting them to take responsibility and ownership of their decisions and espousing the beauty of fatherhood.  Pregnancy and crisis centers will need more counselors, advocates, volunteers, money, and support from our churches.  And many, many more Christian families must be willing to be involved with foster care and adoption in their communities in even some of the most challenging situations (e.g., children with disabilities).  In most affluent countries the ratio of abortions to adoptions is somewhere between 100:1 to 500:1. This cannot be the case for us.  The church must heed the call of our Lord, seize the opportunity before us, and step into the void with unequivocal truth and self-sacrificial love.  It will be costly.  It must be costly.
“Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”  James 2:18
Finally, let’s not forget that the law cannot bring life, only Christ brings life.  Just as the Mosaic law does not give life or change hearts, likewise the American courts and legal determinations cannot give life or change hearts.  But the law is by design a guide for what is good and a visible deterrent of that which is wrong.  The expected outcome of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization and the overturning of Roe v. Wade will inevitably produce this type of consequential legal standard.
We cannot estimate how many people will decline to even consider having an abortion if they understand it to be illegal or dubious under the law.  Or how many of those same people will ask clear and discerning questions about the value of life and the source of truth.  Or the numbers of human lives that will be saved by limiting access.  Or the activities and agendas of ungodly people that will be limited or muffled through the curbing of the work of organizations like Planned Parenthood.  But by the power of God and the fervency of His people, the list of hopeful outcomes goes on and on. And standing above all of this, uniting and summarizing every good outcome, is the transcendent and paramount glory of God, who undoubtedly will receive the honor and praise.
Bryan Rigg is a Minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and is pastor of Mercy PCA in Lynchburg, VA.
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This life will steal your joy unless it is rooted in eternity. We grasp and grope for joy like patrons of a brothel, denying that true love waits for us at Home. Joy is not to be found here. We must hope for Home. If we can do this, the eternal Joy of heaven will pierce our wounded hearts with the light of Christ. 

In The Edge of Eternity, Randy Alcorn imagines what it will be like to experience true joy in heaven, as compared to the joys we now experience. The man who enters into the golden gates of glory says, “This is joy itself. Every foretaste of joy in the Shadowlands [Earth] was, but the stab, the pang, the inconsolable longing for this place! How could anyone be satisfied with less than this?” (p. 309). The joys of life before heaven will always be marred with grief.
The sweetest tasting fruit always turns putrid. Streaks of gold and glittering shapes of promise light the sky’s morning moments, yet darkness always follows. Love lights the heart like blazing fire, but death comes to snuff out the purest flame with crushing despair. Grief always follows jubilation.
Highs always convert to lows. Tears follow laughs. Achievements fade. Death.
It is a human constant in this fallen world—a law of nature—that happiness is always followed by despair. No joyful moment or experience shields us from the inevitable entropy of our happiness. The joy of a puppy turns to the tears of an old dead dog. The bliss of marriage ends in the gut-wrenching parting of the grave. Promotion always ends in retirement. The joyful union of love is always broken by lashes of life.
Yet most people live for these happy moments. Are they ignorant of their end? Do they not realize that their lust for happiness determines their bitter fate? Why do we instinctively crave wealth like infant hands piercing the womb with clenched fists of desire? We grasp and grope, yet all our hands will lie with palms open in the grave. “The pursuit of happiness” is the American dream. But perhaps it is a nightmare. Certainly, it’s an unwinnable game—toiling day after day under the beating sun to gain people and things that will perish before we do or after. Happiness is not the inevitable result of life; death is. How do we daily—hourly—pursue this happiness when life guarantees it will be ripped from our hands forever?
“Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher.
We think that we can accomplish in our little lives something that thousands or millions of years of billions or trillions of humans have been unable to do—be happy.
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