Curriculum
Outline
for Sunday School Class
November
2000
Objectives
- To provide background of the developments that led to
the adoption of G-6.0106b.
- To help adults better understand how Scripture, the
Book of Order and the Book of Confessions
address issues of human sexuality.
- To provide for the class, and for the signatures of
those who attend, a brief statement of concerns addressed
to the pastor, elders, deacons and congregation.
Outline for Instruction
1. Prayer (Suggestion)
- We are all sinful human beings. None is righteous; no,
not one. Forgive our sins. Forgive us when we try to
legitimize sin by believing or declaring that it is not
sin. Forgive us for measuring ourselves by others. Forgive
our church leaders, General Assembly and presbyteries when
they insist on grace without truth, love without law, and
justice without discipline. Disciple us to be faithful
witnesses to your perfection and your requirements.
Rebuild from the rubble caused by our rebellion the Church
for which Jesus Christ died, so that we might be presented
spotless before you. Amen.
2. Presentation (10 minutes)
- The language of G-6.0106b
- The theological presuppositions that underlie G-6.0106b
- Why do we need to preserve G-6.0106b?
3. Bible, Book of Confessions and Book of
Order (10 minutes)
Overview
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is a confessional
denomination. The risen Jesus Christ is the head of the
Church, just as he is sovereign over all of creation. God is
three-in-one: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Bible is the “infallible
rule of faith and practice.”
Presbyterians use three documents to affirm and guide their
faith.
- The Bible
- The Book of Confessions
- The Book of Order
The Book of Confessions and the Book of Order
form the Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
Historically, Scripture has been interpreted as prohibiting
the practice of homosexuality. While many Biblical scholars
hold to the historical interpretation, some have challenged
interpretations of key texts.
For instance, a few Old Testament scholars maintain that the
infamous story of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19) is not relevant
to homosexuality; that it deals with inhospitality and
violence. Likewise, some New Testament scholars have
questioned whether Paul is really such a hard-liner against
homosexual activity. They speculate that Paul was specifically
addressing Greco-Roman culture, in which homosexual behavior
took the form of male prostitution and pederasty (the practice
of adolescent boys selling themselves for sex with older men);
thus Paul’s condemnations (Rom. 1:27; I Cor. 6:9), they
argue, had more to do with lust and exploitation than
homosexual activity in general.
If nothing else, the work of these contemporary scholars
reminds us that we cannot understand Scripture without
thoroughly considering its literary, cultural and theological
context. And when we thoroughly consider the various
contexts of Scripture, we discover that its teaching remains
consistent: Scripture prohibits adulterous and homosexual
activity. The New Testament, particularly Paul’s
writings, assumes and affirms the Old Testament prohibitions
against homosexual behavior (see Lev.18:22, 20:13). Paul did
not make a distinction among various forms of homosexuality,
and he seemed not to define homosexual activity so narrowly as
male prostitution and pederasty (see I Cor. 6:9; I Tim 1:10).
Moreover, what the Bible says primarily about sexual conduct
is that God intends for a man and a woman to live in a
monogamous, lifelong relationship with each other. This was
stated as the intention of creation (Gen. 2:24), and it was
reaffirmed by Jesus himself (Matt. 19:4-6). Departures from
this Biblical norm, whether homosexual or heterosexual (pre-
and extra-martial sex) are sin.
Similarly, our confessions and Book of Order have
consistently agreed that living in adultery or homosexuality
is a prohibition against ordination as a church officer. The
PCUSA’s historic position has been to hold a higher
standard for officers than for members or attenders.
(Assign some of the following Scripture and excerpts from the
Book of Confessions and Book of Order to be
read by class members.)
What Scripture says
- Exodus 20:14: “You shall not commit
adultery.”
- Leviticus 18:22: “Do not lie with a man as
one lies with a woman; that is detestable.”
- Leviticus 20:13: “If a man lies with a man
as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is
detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be
on their own heads.”
- Romans 1:26-27: “Because of this, God gave
them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged
natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the
men also abandoned natural relations with women and were
inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent
acts with other men, and received in themselves the due
penalty for their perversion.”
- I Corinthians 6:9-11: “Do you not know
that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do
not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor
idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor
homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor
drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the
kingdom of God. And that is what some of you were. But you
were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our
God.” Note Paul’s reference to the fact that “some
of you were ...” indicating that people had been
changed by God and had abandoned their former lifestyles.
Contrast that with today’s assertions that homosexual
and lesbian activity are “lifestyle gifts of God.”
- Hebrews 13:4: “Marriage should be honored
by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge
the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”
- Romans 13:12-14: “The night is nearly
over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the
deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us
behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and
drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not
in dissension and jealousy. Rather clothe yourselves with
the Lord Jesus Christ, and do no think about how to
gratify the desires of the sinful nature.”
- I Corinthians 6:18-20: “Flee from sexual
immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside
his body, but he who sins sexually, sins against his own
body. Do you not know that your body is the temple of the
Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from
God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price.
Therefore honor God with your body.”
- Hebrews 12:14-16: “Make every effort to
live in peace with all people and to be holy; without
holiness no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one
misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up
to cause trouble and defile many. See that no one is
sexually immoral.”
- Matthew 15:17-20: “Don’t you see that
whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then
out of the body? But the things that come out of the mouth
come from the heart, and these make a person ‘unclean.’
For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery,
sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”
What our confessions say
- Counsel: “The whole counsel of God,
concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s
salvation. Faith, and life, is either expressly written
down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence
may be deduced from Scripture....” (6.006)
- Interpretation of Scripture: “The
infallible rule of interpretation of Scripture, is the
Scripture itself; and, therefore, when there is a
questions about the true and full sense of any Scripture
(which is not manifold, but one), it may be searched and
known by other places that speak more clearly.”
(6.009)
- Conscience: “God alone is Lord of the
conscience, and hath left it free from the doctrines and
commandments of men which are in anything contrary to
his Word, or beside it matters of faith or worship.”
(Emphasis added) (6.109)
Our confessions plainly teach and warn that Christians
are always bound by God’s moral law (6.105), that
repentance is of such necessity to all sinners, that none may
expect pardon without it (6.081-6.086), and specifically
include ‘homosexual perversion’ (4.087) and ‘adultery,
fornication, ... [and] sodomy’ (8.249) as being forbidden
by God, and further teach the requirement of sexual purity
among the people of God (7.248-9, 4.108-9, 5.245-7, 5.251,
6.131-9).
What our Book of Order says
The Book of Order assigns to the General Assembly the
responsibility “to warn or bear witness against error in
doctrine or immorality in practice in or outside the church”
(G-13.0103p).
“While confessional standards are subordinate to the
Scriptures, they are, nonetheless, standards. They are not
lightly drawn up or subscribed to, nor may they be ignored or
dismissed. The church is prepared to counsel with or even
to discipline one ordained who seriously rejects the faith
expressed in the confessions.” (Emphasis added)
(G-2.0200).
“In addition to possessing the necessary gifts and
abilities, natural and acquired, those who undertake
particular ministries should be persons of strong faith,
dedicated discipleship, and love of Jesus Christ as Savior and
Lord. Their manner of life should be a demonstration of the
Christian gospel in the church and in the world.”
(G-6.0106a)
“It is necessary to the integrity and health of the
church that the persons who serve in it as officers shall
adhere to the essentials of the Reformed faith and polity as
expressed in the Book of Confessions and the Form of
Government. So far as may be possible without serious
departure from these standards, without infringing on the
rights and views of others, and without obstructing the
constitutional governance of the church, freedom of conscience
with respect to the interpretation of Scripture is to be
maintained. It is to be recognized, however, that in becoming
a candidate or officer of the Presbyterian Church (USA) One
chooses to exercise freedom of conscience within certain
bounds. His or her conscience is captive to the Word of God as
interpreted in the standards of the church so long as he or
she continues to seek or hold office in that body.
(Emphasis added) (G-6.0108a,b)
To Sum Up
- Scripture is unequivocally clear on the issue of human
sexuality: monogamous relationships within the covenant of
marriage are the only acceptable sexual expression.
- The Book of Confessions has historically
affirmed the Biblical standards for human sexuality and
adultery as being contrary to the Word of God.
- The Book of Order requires high standards for
its officers and requires that they affirm, by oath, that
they subscribe to the “essential tenets” of the
Reformed faith, including moral obligations.
Resolution
We, the members of this adult class, share by the grace of God
a joint responsibility with our pastor(s) and officers for the
peace, unity, and purity of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
The issues before us touch all three bases.
- We need peace – the peace that passes
understanding – so that our denomination can get on
with the first order of business: telling the world about
Jesus Christ. For more than two decades, gay and lesbian
political activists have divided our leadership and
diluted our witness.
- We need unity – the kind of unity that Jesus spoke
of in the 17th chapter of John: unity with the Father,
unity with the Son and unity within the Church. Jesus
specifically said that the unity he spoke of was not unity
with the world and its cultural whims.
- We need purity – and not our own self-imagined
purity. We need the purity of a holy God. We need to be
made pure by God’s Word and not our own. That purity
is not possible when every person does what is right in
one’s own eyes.
Finally, there is a fourth principle. We need to be involved
as the family of God in affirming our own faith. We need to
pray for our leaders in our congregation, presbytery, synod
and General Assembly. We need to proclaim our faith in Jesus
Christ to our leaders. We need to urge them to exercise their
leadership to reassert the foundational principles of the
Kingdom of God.
We urge our pastor(s) and session to endorse this resolution
and to take all action necessary to implement strategies to
accomplish all humans can to bring about the peace, unity and
purity of the Presbyterian Church (USA).
Signed: |