During my recent trip to Canada to visit friends and family, my wife and I found ourselves in the middle of discussion, within the church we are associated with, about the appropriate stance the church should take on the issue of morals.
The debate arose following a proposal from the national council that our church is affiliated with. A motion put forth about unity declares "We believe that any attempt to divide the church because of disagreements over moral issues, polity or liturgy is an unacceptable confusion of Law and Gospel, which will lead inevitably to a distortion of the Gospel of Jesus Christ." (From a letter publicly available on the website of our national church council)
I believe this is a very concerning statement, because it is opening up a can of worms that could see the church compromise biblical morals for shallow unity. This motion could potentially give authority to anyone within the church to argue their moral standard and not be confronted because leadership fear disunity within the church.
While unity in the Church is important, Jesus Himself stood for truth and knew He was going to cause separation in His words and actions. Jesus said "Do you suppose that I came to give peace on earth? I tell you, not at all, but rather division." Luke 12:51
I am not suggesting Christians are perfect or can be, in fact because of our failures we are reminded of our constant need for Jesus Christ, but I believe we are responsible to set the bar high for moral behaviour.
Historically, God's people have been recognised as the standard for morality and a leader in social values. This is evident in the way countries have been founded; from when Israel was given the 10 commandments to current times, where many leading countries have based their constitution on biblical principles because they turned to the Church for wisdom and guidance.
My concern is that in today's western society the Church is no longer being looked to as a moral yardstick but is viewed like a stubborn horse that needs to be broken in.
Instead of leading in moral behaviour by standing strong against the pressure of culture and society the Church is following non-biblical principles that many in the non-Christian world are practising.
Homosexuality within church leadership is one example of a current moral issue the Church community is in debate over. While homosexuality has become a lot more open and accepted by our society, in my view, the bible is clear that this practice is a sin. In my view, it is a sin that debars leadership in the church. Yet, within church denominations, in a variety of countries, men and women who have confessed they are practising homosexuals are being given church leadership roles.
I believe the church must open the doors to homosexuals, because the church welcomes sinners (like all of us), but to place such persons in a position of leadership within the church gives an inaccurate representation to the body of Christ, and to the world, of God's view on marriage, family and relationships.
It is my view that it is time the Church stops giving into such pressures of society and begin standing for the word of God (as I and millions of others understand its core historic teaching on these issues).
It is my contention that together, as God's people, we regain our credibility within society as a leader in morals and values. May we pray for the Church to stand firm and be united in our declaration of living in accordance to biblical principles, even in the face of 'secular' and 'internal' opposition.
Will the real church please stand up!