The need for confessions of faith to address sexuality

(This is a revised post in light of the clarification today [July 13] by Eugene Peterson that he does not support same-sex marriage.)

I have not read anything by Eugene Peterson, retired pastor and well-known author of The Message paraphrase and many other books. Many evangelicals I respect testify they have benefited greatly from his writings.

In an interview published Wednesday (July 12), Peterson is quoted saying he now supports same-sex marriage. A day later, he issued a retraction and clarification, saying he does not support same-sex marriage. By doing so, he removes his name from being likely the best known person identified with the evangelical movement to change his mind about this contentious issue. Instead, other individuals -- such as author/speaker Jen Hatmaker -- and churches such as GracePointe Church in Nashville, Tenn., continue to lead the way among those identified with evangelicalism in adopting a position on human sexuality contrary to the Bible and millennia of church teaching.

Undoubtedly, they will not be the last to abandon Scripture and Christ's church on this issue. It is possible theirs could eventually be remembered as the early faces of what turned out to be a wave of professing evangelicals who departed from orthodoxy on marriage and sexuality. I hope no such wave develops, but it is becoming increasingly difficult for Christians to withstand the cultural pressure to compromise.

For now, such desertions by people and congregations regarded as evangelical constitute part of the reason for churches to make clear what they believe about marriage and sexuality. That is why the members of our church, Covenant Community Church of Fredericksburg, Va., adopted last year a new article in our Confession of Faith to explain what we believe based on the Bible.

Here is our article on "Gender, Marriage, and Sexuality," with Scripture references included:

God has created each person as either male or female. Rejection of this biological state is a rejection of the role of each person in bearing the image of God. Marriage is the uniting of only one man and only one woman in a lifetime covenant, providing a picture of the union between Christ and His church, the exclusive context for sexual expression, and the means for procreation of the human race. (Gen. 1:27-28, 2:18-25; Ex. 20:14; Ps. 127:3; Prov. 5:15-20; Mal. 2:13-16; Matt. 5:31-32, 19:1-9; Mark 10:1-12; Luke 16:18; Rom. 1:18-32; I Cor. 6:9-20, 7:1-16; Eph. 5:22-33; Heb. 13:4)