God’s Good Design

In recent months, certain denominations have expressed their “progressive” doctrine by veering away from the Bible’s teaching on marriage, gender, and sexuality.  For example:

• Although formally affirming traditional marriage, in the United Methodist Church bishops and churches have been ordaining non-celibate gay clergy and celebrating same-sex marriages since 2019.  A result of this defiance of Methodist teaching is that nearly a quarter of the 30,000 UMC churches in the US have left the denomination, most of them joining up with the new Global Methodist Church which stands by the Bible’s teaching that marriage involves a man and a woman.
• Last November the Church of England voted in favor of special services asking God’s blessing on same-sex couples.  Anglicans who accept biblical authority are, understandably, disturbed to see their denomination take this turn (e.g., author Rebecca McLaughlin, who was raised in the COE and trained at an Anglican theological college, said, “This vote breaks my heart”).
• Last month Pope Francis made a historic change to Vatican policy, allowing priests to bless same-sex couples.  This brings about a major shift in Roman Catholic teaching and practice.
• Of course, many other denominations crossed this Rubicon years ago (e.g., Presbyterian Church USA, Episcopal Church, ELCA Lutheran Church, and United Church of Christ).

To be sure, countless churches and Christian organizations and individual believers still embrace God’s good design for marriage, so we shouldn’t be discouraged.  But we should:  1) Stand firm on Scripture, regardless of the opposition that may come our way (remember Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed…”).  2) Pray for professing Christians who’ve strayed from God’s Word, that they’d repent and return to ortho­dox faith.  3) Love your neighbors, regardless of their beliefs or lifestyle (“in but not of”).  4) Trust Jesus—he’s building his church!