On August 29th, the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood released a statement that was signed by 150 leaders in the evangelical community. When I read it, I thought I would share it with you as part of my sermon when we got into the second chapter of II Peter, where Peter speaks of the condemnation of Sodom and Gomorrah and the coming judgment on those who indulge the flesh in corrupt desires. Now that I’ve concluded that the best way to cover what Peter is saying is to present the entire chapter in one sermon, I realize there is no way I can do justice to Peter’s message and the Nashville Statement in one setting. I have therefore decided to simply encourage you to read the statement yourself. Printed copies will be in the new hall rack this Sunday.
The preamble to the statement begins with these important words:
“Evangelical Christians at the dawn of the twenty-first century find themselves living in a period of historic transition. As Western culture has become increasingly post-Christian, it has embarked upon a massive revision of what it means to be a human being. By and large the spirit of our age no longer discerns or delights in the beauty of God’s design for human life. Many deny that God created human beings for his glory and that his good purposes for us include our personal and physical design as male and female. It is common to think that human identity as male and female is not part of God’s beautiful plan, but is, rather, an expression of an individual’s autonomous preferences. The pathway to full and lasting joy through God’s good design for his creatures is thus replaced by the path of shortsighted alternatives that, sooner or later, ruin human life and dishonor God.”
The statement itself then consists of fourteen affirmations and denials that clearly lay out a biblical response to the sexual misinformation that is being actively promoted in our society today. I strongly encourage everyone to read the statement and have it available when their children come home with questions.
God Bless, Rick
Chatham Christian Church 