Responding to national pressure from inside and outside their denomination, Missouri Presbytery put together an investigatory committee and just issued their Report. This is another post in a series on Missouri Presbytery’s Report and the General Assembly’s response. For all Warhorn articles on Missouri Presbytery’s Revoice Report, see here. For all Warhorn articles on Revoice, see here.
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Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people did not answer him a word. (1Kings 18:21)
Covenant Theological Seminary and Missouri Presbytery gave us the Revoice scandal. Now they want to give us the Revoice study committee, although they don’t tag their proposal with Revoice’s name and the liberals will do their best to keep the study committee from being associated with Missouri Presbytery’s Overture 45. Directly, that is.
Yesterday, the Bills and Overtures Committee met just prior to the full assembly to review overtures sent to the assembly. It’s this committee’s job to make recommendations to the assembly concerning which overtures from which presbytery the full assembly should deny and which they should approve. The hope is this will save debate time on the assembly floor.
At their pre-assembly meeting, Bills and Overtures decided to deal with the Revoice schism by recommending the assembly adopt Missouri Presbytery’s tactic of shoving Revoice and related issue off on a consensus-building study committee. This would allow some of the conservatives’ steam to be let off without being too obvious an endorsement of Revoice and Christian gaydom. Conservatives in the south could be told to wait and see, and by the time the study committee returns with their report in a couple years, even more in the church will be able to be marshalled in support of the normalization of the effeminate and sodomitic identities.
Kick the can down the road a few years and everyone will be more tolerant of sexual perversions. Even southerners.
To get the study committee through, it’s likely libs will throw a few bones to conservatives.
First, it was embarrassing Missouri Presbytery never mentioned the Seventh Commandment or our confessional standards’ list of the duties required and sins forbidden by that commandment. We expect Bills and Overtures to clean that up. They will recommend their proposed study committee be required to mention the Seventh Commandment and the Larger Catechism’s exposition of that commandment in their Report.
Second, the Revoice schism is rank with effeminacy, so it was also quite embarrassing Missouri Presbytery didn’t mention this sin anywhere in their 143-page Report:
Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. (1Corinthians 6:9-10)
We expect Bills and Overtures to clean this up, also. They will recommend their proposed study committee be required to mention the sin of effeminacy in their report.
Regardless of the methods liberals employ to get their study committee through Bills and Overtures and onto the floor, what the godly must see is that study committees are never the proper response to schism and heresy. Study committees are the tools liberal denominational leaders use to deny there is any schism or heresy. After all, the servant of God doesn’t study schism and heresy. He files charges against it and works intensely for its removal from his sheepfold where it threatens the souls of his sheep.
I’ve served on a General Assembly study committee. From that experience and over three decades observing Presbyterian Church (USA) and Presbyterian Church in America liberal politicians use study committees to subvert the unity and purity of the Christ’s Church, I call for God’s men to argue and vote against this assembly appointing a study committee on the sodomitic and effeminate identities.
If it looks like the liberals have the votes to get their study committee through, go to a mic and amend the scope of the committee to include the study of the zoophile, polyamorous, incestuous, and pedophile alongside the sodomitic and effeminate identities.
My brother David said it well:
So you’re a God-fearing commissioner who wants to take a stand for God at GA this year? Here’s a suggestion: file charges. Don’t seek consensus. Spoil the party by defying the consensus. File charges. Stand at the microphone and move your complaint against GA. Speak for God. Have nothing to do with study committees and consensus.
