‘Beware of false prophets’
The Layman Spring 2008 Volume 41, Number 2, April 14, 2008
Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Matthew 7:15 (English Standard Versio
False prophets recently have scattered rotten fruit in several corners of God’s Kingdom, celebrating the morally corrupt ideas of men and women while trampling under their feet the infallible Word of God. Worse than that, through an idolatrous sleight of hand, they have placed themselves at the center of our common faith and practice and turned on its head the Word of the Lord:
- I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5 (ESV)
These most recent actions of those false prophets within the bounds of the Presbyterian Church (USA) – which has been wasting away for decades under the erosive onslaught of continued departures from Biblical beliefs and historic practices – are easily summarized:
- On Jan. 15, the Presbytery of San Francisco approved as “ready for examination, with departure” a lesbian who has been blocked from ordination for more than 20 years.
- On Jan. 26, the Presbytery of the Twin Cities Area voted that the “fidelity/chastity” ordination standard in the Book of Order is not an essential of Reformed faith and polity, as well as voting to restore an openly gay man to the ordained office of minister of Word and sacrament.
- On Feb. 16, John Knox Presbytery approved an overture to “hopefully overturn” the Feb. 14 rulings by the General Assembly Permanent Judicial Commission that stated presbyteries considering candidates for ordination cannot depart from the “fidelity/chastity” requirement. The overture stresses local option in the examination of candidates and argues that the “fidelity/chastity” requirement is not an essential of the Reformed faith.
In each case, the majorities relied on an authoritative interpretation approved by the 217th General Assembly. That approval – Recommendation 5 of the PUP report – granted sessions and presbyteries full discretion to declare as “non-essential” Biblical ordination standards mandated by the Constitution.
By this action, the General Assembly bypassed the presbyteries – which previously upheld the ordination standard three times in national referendums by ever-growing margins – and amended the Constitution without using the process it requires, thus denying the presbyteries their proper role in making such decisions.
- Are grapes gathered from thorn bushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Matthew 7:16-18 (ESV)
This action, as the Presbyterian Lay Committee said in a statement July 6, 2006, “opened the way not only for the ordination of persons who openly engage in sexual activity outside of marriage, but also of persons who do not believe in the bodily Resurrection of Jesus or any other foundational doctrine of the faith. Every ordination standard may now be deemed optional. Congregations that honor Reformed faith will experience a viral effect, as other congregations within their presbyteries exempt themselves from the essential tenets of that faith.”
These actions, and pending actions relying upon the contorted reasoning of the PUP report still working their way through other presbyteries and the upcoming General Assembly, illustrate more than just the worsening theological crisis fracturing the PCUSA. This ongoing rejection of God’s Word, Biblical teaching and the constitutional commitments that form the basis of our communion clearly demonstrate that in many places we no longer can say we are people of the Book. Instead, more and more Presbyterians are declaring themselves to be people of the moment – breaking covenant with the Biblical and historic bonds that have defined and held this denomination together.
This trend moves beyond the piecemeal fragmentation that has been roiling the denomination for years and takes a quantum leap to the precipice of schism.
- Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. Matthew 7:19-20 (ESV)
After sustained prayer, it is with great sorrow that we conclude there are too many trees that are not bearing good fruit within the PCUSA. More and more, individuals are simply leaving, while more and more congregations are voting or planning to vote to seek dismissal to another Reformed denomination that they believe is more Biblically orthodox and authentically, fervently committed to the Great Commission.
Like Elijah, the infallible counsel of His Word strengthens all those who refuse to bow their knee to Baal. Scripture leads us to believe that now, as always, Jesus Christ will gather His followers around His Word. We believe that the Lord will rally thousands of Presbyterians whose integrity and Biblical faithfulness will not abide the compromised belief and practices that have been thrust upon them.
Consequently, we denounce the ongoing abandonment of Biblical beliefs and historic practices that have sustained and strengthened the Church Universal throughout history. We call upon Presbyterians at every level of the denomination to challenge these continued breaches of the covenant that holds us in faithful communion.
In this, we remember that our unity is not in an institution created by man, as those false prophets proclaim, but in the timeless and inerrant Word of God – where “faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11 – NIV).