I read Mr. Jason's letter which appeared in the Ponoka News of October 12 and would like to point out some errors that were contained therein. I will present these errors in no particular order which is indicative of the error's importance.
One error that I would point out is the error which sees the church as a servant of society or even worse as an organisation that belongs to its members when the church is neither. The church as an institution does not exist by the will of its members or by the permission of the State. The Church as a community of the redeemed exist purely by the will of God, the church is the community of the redeemed- 1 Corinthians 1:2. The goal of the church is not to serve the needs of humanity but rather to testify to the living God and to be the Body of Christ, John 10:15. Therefore we can see that the Church and the nation state do not have the same criteria for what qualifies an individual for membership into their respective institutions. For membership in the nation state you need to do one of two things- be born in the nation, or if born outside of the nation's borders then you must be born to a member of that nation, or as a adult you can voluntarily become a member. To be a member in good standing it is required of the nation's citizens that they adhere to the nation's laws. This is a stark contrast to the means by which membership in the church is acquired. Membership in the church is not acquired by birth but is a given by God to a few and according to his own good pleasure - John 17:9.
As with the State, the church has some codes of conduct that are prescribed or prohibited for its members. Some of those behaviours which mandated of those who are members of the church are found in passages like- Mark 12:30, Rom. 12:9, Deuteronomy 27:10. Those who refuse to abide by the ordinances that are in the Bible are said to have no part in the church - Romans 1:26-32, Romans 6:12-13. In Romans 12:1-21 we have the instructions for how the followers of Christ must live their lives.
Notice that in vs. 2 of Romans 12 we are clearly instructed that members of the church are not to be conformed to the spirit of the world but that believers are to be transformed by renewing work arising out of their faith. Right now the spirit of the world is embracing same sex relationships but those kind of relationships are clearly forbidden by God - Romans 1:26-27, Leviticus 18:22, Leviticus 20:13, 1Timothy 1:10, 1Corinthians 6:9.
The other area of error that I see in Mr. Jason's letter is that of comparing acceptance of homosexuality with the disappearance of racist attitudes toward interracial marriages. Now in this situation the church clearly has Biblical teachings that forbid discrimination between fellow believers on any grounds related to race, wealth or societal status - Colossians 3:11, Galatians 3:28, Romans 3:29,
I Corinthians 12:13, Isaiah 60:3, Isaiah 2:3, Acts 10:34.
In conclusion it is the Biblical evidence that God's expectations of the members of His church centers on their behaviour in relationship to His commands. Human weaknesses are not taken into consideration as constituting grounds for the altering of His absolute commands. Therefore on this basis there can be no Biblical argument for legitimizing homosexuality amongst church members or by good and necessary inference can the church allow the ordination of homosexual pastors.
In the end there were two genders that were created - Genesis 2:7,22 - and not one. Outside of the sexual coming together of individuals from these two genders, there can be no future for the existence of the human race.
