CHANGESINTHEPCUSAMAY2011 - First Presbyterian Church, Paullina, Iowa

The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer - Psalm 18:2

With all of the 2010 General Assembly amendments being ratified by a simple majority vote of the presbyteries of the PC(USA), nothing has changed here in Paullina, Iowa. We are still and will continue to be a Confessing Church which affirms the following;

The Confessing Church Movement is a movement toward the reclaiming of the Presbyterian Church (USA)’s essential unity and identity in Jesus Christ and reaffirmation of the following essential tenets of the Reformed faith from the Book of Order and the Book of Confessions of the PCUSA:

1. That "God has put all things under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and made Christ 'Head of the Church,' which is His body" (G-1.0100); that "the church is called to tell the Good News of salvation by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ as the only Savior and Lord" (G-3.0300) and that "there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12).

2. That "the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are, by the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ in the Church universal (C14.0405b2); and that "the authority of the Holy Scripture, for which it ought to be believed and obeyed, depends not upon the testimony of any person or church, but wholly upon God, the author thereof, and therefore is to be received, because it is the Word of God." (The Westminster Confession of Faith, Chapter I)

3. That "truth is in order to goodness; and the great touchstone of truth is its tendency to promote holiness, according to our Saviors rule 'by their fruits you shall know them. (G-1.0304); that this holiness includes the honoring of marriage between a man and a woman as the only relationship within which sexual activity is appropriate (The Heidelberg Catechism Q. 108 & 109, The Second Helvetic confession chapter XXIX.) And that "anarchy in sexual relationships is a symptom of man’s alienation from God, his neighbor and himself." (The Confession of 1967 part II, section A, Reconciliation in Society, 4d)

The major change in the ordination standards in the Book of Order, section G.6.0106b, which will go into effect as of July 10^th, 2011 in the PC(USA) will now read:

Standards for ordained service reflect the church’s desire to submit joyfully to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in all aspects of life (G-1.0000). The governing body responsible for ordination and/or installation (G.14.0240; G-14.0450) shall examine each candidate’s calling, gifts, preparation, and suitability for the responsibilities of office. The examination shall include, but not be limited to, a determination of the candidate’s ability and commitment to fulfill all requirements as expressed in the constitutional questions for ordination and installation (W-4.4003). Governing bodies shall be guided by Scripture and the confessions in applying standards to individual candidates.

According to a letter from the General Assembly office of the PC(USA), this impending change will allow persons in a same-gender relationship to be considered for ordination and/or installation as deacons, elders, and ministers of the Word and Sacrament within the PC(USA).

In response to the above, nothing has changed here at First Presbyterian Church of Paullina, Iowa. Our session, our cluster of churches, and our presbytery are all very staunchly Biblically conservative and fundamental. We have and will continue to embrace the truth of God’s Word on these matters and any matters dealing with our lives and the life of the church. We have and will continue to stand firm on the Lordship of Jesus Christ as “Head of the church,” and the only way for salvation (John 14:6). We have and will continue to view any relationship other than “living with fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman, or chastity in singleness” as being sinful in the eyes of God.

As we work through these issues, we would just remind all of Christ’s own words from John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” Christ Jesus has given us His Holy Spirit as a Mighty Counselor, to lead us in all things and to remind us of everything our Lord has taught us. May we keep all of these matters in our prayers, and may we continue to rely upon God’s omnipotence to shape His church according to His will and design, for His purposes and for His greater glory.

http://www.pfrenewal.org/issues/396-response-to-removal-of-standard-for-church-leaders

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Amendment 10-A has now been approved by a majority of the presbyteries within the PC(USA). While the ongoing voting in remaining presbyteries is important, both as a means of faithful witness, and for the sake of understanding the state of our divisions, the biblical standard of fidelity in marriage between a man and a woman and chastity in singleness will soon be removed as an explicit denominational standard for ordination and/or installation of church officers. We deeply grieve this unfaithful action, for it brings great harm to the life and witness of the PC(USA). We have prayed that our denomination would uphold this biblical standard, and we have worked to maintain it. But now a line has been crossed.

This revision of our Book of Order signals a massive change in our covenantal life and a departure from the beliefs and practice of the historic and global church. We who are committed to holding fast the clear teaching of scripture must pray and work all the more to discern how to move forward with biblical faithfulness in and for a denomination that has lost its way.

First, we must affirm what has not changed:

Jesus Christ is Lord—this has not changed and never will! Remember Jesus’ words, “I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18 ).
The ultimate victory of Jesus Christ over sin and death has not been compromised! No action taken by the PC(USA) can threaten our Lord’s redemptive purpose.
Scripture still clearly teaches that God intends the gift of sexual intimacy to be expressed within a lifelong covenant of marriage between a man and a woman. No vote by the PC(USA) can change God’s truth.

Within the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), other important realities have not changed:

Congregations and presbyteries have the right and the responsibility to examine and elect Deacons, Elders, and Ministers of the Word and Sacrament.
The new constitutional language, though lacking the clear expression of “fidelity/chastity,” does not require us to violate our understanding of biblical standards.
Our Book of Order can be amended again. We who oppose this decay in ordination standards are still free to work to restore the clarity that has been lost and even to raise the level of accountability.

This is not a time for panic or for ill-considered actions that could potentially damage our mission and witness even more than the passage of Amendment 10-A. Neither is it a time for pretending that we can continue to “do church” as we have before. Instead, this is the time for:

focused prayer on repentance for our own unfaithfulness and wisdom for the future;
new covenanted fellowships within and perhaps beyond the PC(USA) based on closer theological agreement, which will support continued biblical faithfulness, and;
sober assessments of the options we have for ministry with integrity.

PFR pledges to continue our ministry of networking, resourcing, educating, and equipping biblically faithful, missional leaders within the PC(USA). We have been here for you throughout the many struggles that have led to this point, we are here with you now—and wherever God may lead us.

So let us together lift up our hearts—it is not an accident or a disaster that brings us here. God is at work.

Scriptures Regarding God's Word

Romans 1:24-27; I Timothy 1:10; and Jude 7. If one takes these Scriptures seriously, homosexuality will be recognized as an evil. The Romans passage is unmistakably clear. Paul attributes the moral depravity of men and women to their rejection of "the truth of God" (1:25). They refused "to retain God in their knowledge" (1:28), thereby dethroning God and deifying themselves. The Old Testament had clearly condemned homosexuality but in Paul's day there were those persons who rejected its teaching. Because of their rejection of God's commands He punished their sin by delivering them over to it.

The philosophy of substituting God's Word with one's own reasoning commenced with Satan. He introduced it at the outset of the human race by suggesting to Eve that she ignore God's orders, assuring her that in so doing she would become like God with the power to discern good and evil (Genesis 3:1-5). That was Satan's big lie. Paul said that when any person rejects God's truth, his mind becomes "reprobate," meaning perverted, void of sound judgment. The perverted mind, having rejected God's truth, is not capable of discerning good and evil.

In Romans 1:26-31 twenty-three punishable sins are listed with homosexuality leading the list. Paul wrote, "For this cause God gave them up into vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet" (Romans 1:26, 27). These verses are telling us that homosexuals suffer in their body and personality the inevitable consequences of their wrong doing. Notice that the behaviour of the homosexual is described as a "vile affection" (1:26). The Greek word translated "vile" (atimia) means filthy, dirty, evil, dishonourable. The word "affection" in Greek is pathos, used by the Greeks of either a good or bad desire. Here in the context of Romans it is used in a bad sense. The "vile affection" is a degrading passion, a shameful lust. Both the desire (lusting after) and the act of homosexuality are condemned in the Bible as sin.