Gay Clergy, What's Going On?

(Posted 7/15/09 on http://www.ccfw.org/)

Gay Clergy? What’s going on with the Episcopalians?
Do we have the right to approve what God has clearly forbidden? This is apparently the case, if you accept what the leadership and lay representatives of the Episcopal General Convention approved this last Tuesday, July 14th at their legislative assembly in Anaheim, California (see the story here ). By a vote of 77-19 (by the leaders) and 78-21 (by the lay representatives), the representative body of Episcopalians decided to overturn its moratorium on gay ordination. This move lays the foundation for the ordination of gays and lesbians in the church and pushes the American Episcopal Church even further away from the larger Anglican Communion. The bishops said that “God has called and may call” to ministry gays in committed lifelong relationships. Currently, Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, elected in 2003, is the only openly gay bishop in the church.

The bigger question is this: What does God think of this? The church is His church, not ours and He has determined the lines and boundaries of our lives, and specifically, the morality and usefulness of those in leadership and in the pew. Homosexuality, as well as every other form of immoral perversion (i.e. adultery, fornication, incest, etc.) is forbidden by God. God is a holy God and has called His people to be holy as well (I Peter 1:14-17) and this includes our sexual choices (I Thessalonians 4:3-8, I Corinthians 6:9-11).

God is a God of grace and truth. He sets the standards of truth by which we can know what is right and wrong, but He also gives us the grace we need to overcome our sinful distortions. Ever since Adam and Eve chose to rebel against God’s will and original design in the beginning, we all continue to struggle with the sinful temptations to distort God’s ideal and transgress His boundaries. Whether it’s lying or stealing or gossiping or any other violation that God has called sin, including homosexuality, God’s standard of holiness gets rejected and denied when we choose our sinful preferences and this gets us in a whole lot of trouble with Him.

The Bible says the “wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 6:23). Our only hope for real joy and forgiveness and change comes in a willingness to admit our sinful choices even if the culture or church calls them OK and to receive the free gift of God (His grace and forgiveness) through believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ willingly gave up His perfect life to cover our willful sins against God so that we could be forgiven and restored. That’s an incredible act of love and grace.
It’s sad to see the church in some circles stand up and misrepresent God and confuse so many people on an issue that is so clearly addressed by the Lord of the church. We all need to take our cues not from the culture or even from some of the misguided in the church, but from God’s timeless Word which gives us the truth and grace we need to live and enjoy life God’s way.

See the following article for additional helpful information on this topic.