Steadfast

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. 18 A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. 

Matthew 7:15-20

This week the Presbyterian Church USA approved homosexual marriage. The following was reported by the New York Times;

“Leaders of Presbyterian Church USA congregations voted to change the definition of marriage from the union of “a man and a woman” to “two people. Come June 21, the new policy allowing the church to marry homosexuals will take effect. The church’s 171 bodies, known as presbyteries, voted on the constitutional change Tuesday, months after the General Assembly recommended it.”

“Finally, the church in its constitutional documents fully recognizes that the love of gays and lesbian couples is worth celebrating in the faith community,” said Rev. Brian Ellison, executive director of the Covenant Network of Presbyterians, to the New York Times. “There is still disagreement and I don’t mean to minimize that, but I think we are learning that we can disagree and still be [in] church together.”

As we have seen over the past several months as we have walked through scripture, there are false teachers in the Church. In Corinth Paul warned the Church about the false teachers, the same concern needs to be addressed within the church today. When an entire denomination of 1.8 million members votes to turn their backs on God’s Word, we know that this change did not start last week, last month or even last year. I submit to you that it started when the denomination started to believe that the Bible is cultural and not the inerrant and infallible Word of God. 

Why do I say it is cultural? Because in 1919 in this country, the debate was going on about making women pastors in clear violation of scripture. This was the argument put forth for those wanting women Pastors,

“The ordination of women belongs to the spirit of the age, her civil equality is assured in our own and other nations - who deny her ecclesiastical equality? A considerable majority of the membership of the Presbyterian Church is composed of women and girls, and they do more missionary and other church work than the other sex; hence they are entitled to the honors as well as the labors of the Church. In many cases, especially on the frontiers, the organization of new churches is hindered and sometimes made impossible because of the lack of suitable material for elders among the men of the community, whereas there is abundance of good “elder-timber” among the Christian women. Women elders and ministers would in thousands of cases be able to do useful and necessary work for the children and the poor which is impossible for male officers. The call to minister in holy things is of God and is not limited to one sex; when this call is heard by a woman it is not seemly in man to say her nay.” 

In 1953 the first female pastor was ordained in the Presbyterian Church. When you allow scripture to be twisted in order to promote what scripture forbids, you head down a very slippery slope. That slope has not seen its end. What we have seen happen in the Presbyterian Church USA, we also see happening in other denominations as well, even in some Baptist churches.

We must remain steadfast in our commitment to the inerrant, infallible Word of God. Let us pray that God would guard us from false teachers and let us pray for our brothers and sisters within any church that turns from the truth.

Your Shepherd,

Pastor Mark