In response to decisions made by the Christian Reformed Church in 2022 the group Better Together – A Third Way has formed. This group strives to be an alternative approach to two previous groups, namely All One Body and Abide. The emphasis of Better Together is to promote unity rather than being divided over issues.
Unity is certainly a very important matter in the eyes of Scripture. It must be given proper emphasis.
One of the primary messages coming from Better Together is that we can be united even when we disagree over matters that do not determine our salvation.
Does homosexuality determine one’s salvation? I Corinthians 6:9-10 include the words:
Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, . . . nor men who practice homosexuality . . . will inherit the kingdom of God.
It is worthwhile examining one of the key premises of Better Together closely. In light of the above passage, how can it be said that same-sex marriage, homosexuality, does not determine our salvation?
In order to be sure we are not overlooking something, or assuming a definition, it is true that the phrase “kingdom of God” is different than the word “salvation.” Are those two essentially synonymous, or is there some kind of distinction we need to be aware of? In this regard we need to take into account the fact that Mark 9:47 contrasts the kingdom of God with hell. John 3:3 tells us that one cannot see the kingdom of God unless one is born again. Therefore, it would seem reasonable to conclude that the kingdom of God is for all practical purposes equivalent to salvation.
What does Better Together mean, then, when they say that homo-sexuality is not a matter of salvation?
Can Better Together offer value in these controversial times if one of its core values is incorrect?
You are welcome to share your thoughts on comments on the blog below. If insights received from this blog can show homosexuality is not a salvation matter, they will be shared via email to many ministers in the Christian Reformed Church and the Reformed Church in America.
Thank you for participating in this very important matter at this point in time.
5 replies on “Better Together – Not A Salvation Matter?”
Myth #1: Even if homosexual practice is a sin, it should not be singled out for special condemnation. We are all sinners who are forgiven, loved and accepted by a gracious God. We should not judge someone whom God accepts.
Those who advocate such a position forget that a key word in Scripture is ‘repentance.’ We can only experience forgiveness if we repent and turn from our sinful ways. If a practicing homosexual sees the error of his/her ways, sincerely repents and commits to seeking God’s (and the Church’s) help in leaving such practice behind, then the discussion is over. However, if that is not the case, how can the Church allow its members to freely engage in grossly immoral behavior while refusing to repent, and to follow their own flawed moral compass rather than the Scripture (and the teaching of the Church based upon it), without the expectation of any sanctions? Would those who advocate such a position feel the same way about people who engage in other forms of sexual immorality like incest, adultery, polygamy and pedophilia? Why then is the sin of homosexual practice singled out for immunity?
All sins are not equal in terms of destructive potential and consequences, both to the individual involved and to others. Surely shoplifting a pen from a store is demonstrably less harmful than committing adultery. Both Testaments assign greater penalties for some sins than for others precisely because some sins are grossly more destructive than others. Yes, we all need to repent and are in need of forgiveness and grace, but, as Paul demonstrates on many occasions, this should not lead us to a policy of appeasement when it comes to sins that have great destructive potential.
The Bible teaches a great deal about ‘judgment.’ The church is given the responsibility of making judgments (i.e. exercising church discipline) in matters like these. The Corinthian Church in particular would not have survived without the risks that Paul took in making such judgments. In fact, the church is called, difficult as it may be, to make such judgments. Otherwise, it becomes an accomplice to behavior that God finds detestable. At the same time, such judgment must be free from hypocrisy and carried out in humility. In other words, while making judgments, we must not be judgmental.
The church is also called to live as an example before, and give guidance to, the community at large. To allow, and even in some cases to endorse, the practice of homosexuality within the church sends a confused message to a society that is wrestling with this issue. Even some secular firms still have the courage to make moral judgments! For example, the CEO of the Boeing Corporation was fired recently for giving the company a bad image and setting a bad example for employees by having an extra-martial affair with a colleague. Should the church be any less courageous in holding up a similar standard when it comes to that sin, or to the sin of homosexual practice, or to any other similarly destructive sin?
Myth #2: Christians have different points of view on many things. On the issue of homosexuality, we should simply ‘live and let live’, come together and get on with the mission of the Church.
A call to unity and mission is a laudable summons, but it must be subservient to adherence to the authority of the Scriptures as interpreted by the Church through the Standards and the Constitution. Authority, not tolerance, must be the foundational concern underlying this whole discussion. “Speaking the truth in love” does not mean allowing some to circumvent the clear teaching of Scripture, or to flout carefully agreed upon Standards or positions of the church, on this or on any other substantive issue, in order to accommodate erroneous cultural pressures.
The church should always be reforming within a constantly changing cultural context, but reforming together. If the issue of authority were dodged now, what would the Church fall back on if, for example, the cultural goal posts were to be moved yet again to the point where any extra-marital relationship would be held up as ‘a basic building block for emotional intimacy and commitment?’ And what kind of unity would the church have, and what kind of a mission would it carry out, if everyone could do what was ‘right in their own eyes?’ Unity is a high goal, but not the highest goal. It is futile, and leading people astray, to advocate uniting around error. The goal should be affirmation of Scriptural truth, with unity as a natural by-product.
There are issues that the Scriptures are not clear on, and on some current issues, they do not give precise guidance. On these we can agree to disagree and maintain unity. However, on this issue, there is no ambiguity. The pro-homosexual lobby is simply creating ambiguity and calling it another legitimate interpretation of the Scriptures.
I’m very grateful for Wendell P. Karsen’s reply. I believe Christians must speak the truth in love, but I suspect we often blurt out the truth without specifically and intentionally loving a person, especially one making some error (sin). This also means we may not stop at I Cor. 6:10 for a decision on any of the listed sins, as v. 11 seems to imply that those ‘type of sinners’ were in the congregation in Corinth, “That is what some of you were”. The “But” in the verse is incredibly important. Those who turn to and give themselves to Christ are “washed… sanctified… justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
People who have not turned to saving faith in Jesus Christ all have a big ‘salvation issue’, but ALL who come to our God in faith are saved by Christ despite whatever their sin and whether is is on this or the other lists of sins in Scripture. Loving any sinner still in any sin is harder that speaking the truth about the sin, but we should not go the easier way, we need to love people while they are yet sinners and help them be ready to hear the truth of God’s Word.
Why single out one item on this list? Following this logic, most of us are lost, including all “sexually immoral, idolators, adulterers, thieves, the greedy, drunkards, slanderers, and swindlers…” And why stop there? “Impurity, hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like…these will not inherit the kingdom of heaven.” (Gal 5:19-21). Envy alone would pretty much empty the church. We are all broken and we all fall short in ways that we cannot even imagine, yet take comfort in the all-encompassing forgiveness founded on the work of Christ. The road to holiness deals with failures based on grace, not legalism. Someday all of my invisible and unacknowledged sins will be wiped away for good as I am perfectly transformed into the person Jesus intended me to be. In the meantime, blindness to my brokenness does not preclude me from the kingdom, or from fully participating in the life of the church.
It is true, Dave, that any of the sins you list would be sufficient to prevent one from inheriting the kingdom of God. Hence the importance of repentance. As we are followers of Christ, we want to know what is pleasing to Him and what is displeasing so that we can resist those things. As far as invisible, unacknowledged sins, blindness to brokenness, as far as homosexual activity is concerned, these things can be avoided by following God’s Word.
David, you are right about the fact that we are all broken and we all deal with sin that we don’t even see or know. That is the beauty of the grace of God through Jesus Christ! But I would point out that it is not those who believe that this is a confessional matter that single this sin out. Most pastors that I know preach regularly against envy, greed, lust, selfish ambition and we call ALL people to repentance on all of those sins, knowing that those who are in Christ are already forgiven through his shed blood. I would actually reverse your question and say, “Why single out an item on this list as something that is not a sin and should actually be tolerated in the church or even celebrated?” May God give us more and more of his grace to recognize the sin in our lives and turn from that sin with the help of our brothers and sisters in Christ.