From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. (2 Corinthians 5:16)
It is clear from 2 Corinthians 5:16, that the church perceives the place of spiritual realities in life. In the history of science and the study of our world, two inventions had the effect of opening up entire new worlds of study, worlds that we hitherto did not know existed. The microscope introduced us to a world too small to be seen by our eyes and the telescope to a world too large for our vision. There is more to life than what we can perceive with our unaided five senses. In 2 Corinthians 5:16, Paul points to a world that is hidden from unbelievers. They do not and cannot see it. Jesus sometimes says, “Let he who has ears, hear. Let he who has eyes, see.” A key insight regarding Christ’s followers is that they perceive a world that others do not see. Paul writes, From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Paul is saying that, for Christians, the realities of spiritual truth take priority over the material world.
We live in a world in which we do not see Jesus Christ physically. He has ascended to his heavenly throne. That is a spiritual statement. Jesus Christ’s ascension refers to an unseen world. It is not an unreal world, but an unseen one. When Paul says that we no longer regard Christ according to the flesh, he means that we see the surpassing worth of Jesus Christ. He is not just an accidental character on the stage of world history. His life, death, suffering, resurrection, and ascension are at the very center of the meaning of human history and the purpose of this world. But to grasp these truths, you must have the eyes of faith to see, and the ears of faith, to hear.
It is here, in the ability to see spiritually, that we will find part of the explanation regarding the action of the Presbyterian Church in removing our ordination standards. There are many, including many in positions of leadership within our denomination, who do not discern things spiritually.
They do not have ears to hear, or eyes to see. The primary motivational energy behind this change in our standards is to permit the ordination of practicing homosexuals. The change also will further undermine our commitment as a church to the marriage of a man and woman for it will permit the ordination of those who live together but are not married. The agenda promoting this change comes from the world. It is in clear violation of the teaching of Scripture. This action has been taken because the message of the world—that which can be physically seen and heard—is permitted to overrule the spiritual teaching of the Scripture and the historic witness of the church. The agenda of the world is permitted to drown out the spiritual understanding given to us in God’s Word.
The Church Proclaims That New Life Is Available In Jesus Christ
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Cor 5:17)
When Jesus Christ comes into a person’s life, he brings new life. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. If a person is in Christ, then he or she has experienced regeneration. The word regeneration is the theological word for being born again. To generate means to give life. To regenerate means to give it again. This is not a command, but a declaration. Paul is not saying, “be regenerated.” It is not in our power to give life to ourselves. He is saying that those who are in Christ have been regenerated, born again, given new, spiritual life.
The world wants to say that you cannot change. Lady Gaga sings “Born this way” and the message is that there is no option for change. In fact, same-sex attraction is not an inherited trait; its causes are complex and variable. The message of the gospel of Christ is that change most certainly is possible because “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.”
Fairview Presbyterian Church has become part of the Exodus International Church Association. Exodus International is the largest umbrella organization of groups who work with and minister to those who struggle with same-sex desires and who seek freedom from those desires and the “gay” lifestyle. One of the groups under the umbrella is Presbyterian: One by One. The Session began talking about joining the Exodus International Church Association in the fall of 2010. After agreeing to do so, it took a couple of months to complete the application process. Soon after being added to the Exodus International web site, a man contacted me and explained that he has struggled with same-sex attraction in the past but that he now is happily married with two children. What did the Apostle Paul say? “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.”
Fairview Presbyterian Church seeks to be a place that offers grace and healing in the name of Jesus Christ. If someone is struggling with their sexual identity, they will find a welcome here at Fairview Presbyterian Church. If God were to bring through our doors a lesbian couple, they would receive a welcome. They would not hear approval of their lifestyle, but they would be welcome and we would be genuinely glad of their presence. The only people who can walk through our doors on Sunday mornings are sinners. Remember the words of our Lord Jesus, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners” (Matthew 9:12-13). We welcome those whom Christ brings to us with the same warmth and welcome that he would offer.
People of faith perceive the reality of the spiritual world. People of faith understand that in Christ there is new life. Thirdly, the Christian faith is founded on the facts of what Jesus has done, not aspirations of what we hope to do one day.
The Christian Faith Is Founded On The Facts Of What Christ Has Done, Not Aspirations Of What We Hope To Do
All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. (2 Cor 5:18-19)
First, note the word all at the beginning of this verse. Everything Paul is talking about is from God, a gift of God. It is not some, not most, but all. It is not man seeking God, but God seeking men and women.
I commend to you, J. Gresham Machen’s 1923 book, Christianity and Liberalism www.biblebelievers.com/machen. It is remarkable how applicable it is to our situation today. Contrasting Christianity with Liberalism (note the assumption that Liberalism is not Christian) Machen writes, “Christianity is a religion not founded on aspirations, but on facts. Here is found the most fundamental difference between liberalism and Christianity—liberalism is altogether in the imperative mood, while Christianity begins with a triumphant indicative.” Liberalism tells us what we are supposed to do. The Christian faith tells us what God has done. A liberal preacher specializes in exhortation. The Christian preacher declares the gospel of Christ.
Paul writes, “All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself.” It is in the past tense; it is what God has done. Through Christ, God has been reconciled to the world. This is the gospel message.
We have a task to do. We are not passive. We are given the ministry of reconciliation. God has entrusted to us the message of reconciliation. Note, the ministry of reconciliation is the message of reconciliation. It is not our accomplishment. It is not our work. It is God’s work. We are tasked to declare it and proclaim it.
Paul explains that we are given the ministry of reconciliation. We are to proclaim the message of God’s reconciliation through Christ. This is the task of the church. The nature of our responsibility in the church, is to be ambassadors.
We Are Christ’s Ambassadors
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold now is the day of salvation. (2 Cor 5:20-6:2)
My wife Lois Ann and I have been privileged to know and call as friends a handful of ambassadors through the years. The office of ambassador is a very important position. An ambassador is not a head of state. But the ambassador is the representative of a state. He (or she) is the official agent of the sending nation. He has the authority to transact business and to speak in the name of his sending nation. The ambassador conveys and communicates policy, but he does not create policy. An ambassador does not represent himself.
We are the ambassadors of Christ. We do not do the work of redeeming and regenerating, but we do the work of proclaiming the message. A pastor’s job is to point to Christ. We represent Christ. We are to point only to Christ. A pastor is to warn those who point to something or someone other than Christ. We are ambassadors of the Great Commission. Our job is to declare the two great truths of regeneration and reconciliation. We say to the world, “God has done it. Therefore, repent and turn to him in faith.”
The most serious failure of the Presbyterian Church in adopting amendment (10-A) is that in the current Book of Order language of “fidelity and chastity,” the emphasis fell upon our duty to obey what is taught in the Holy Scriptures and the confessions of faith. In the new language, we are called upon only to be “guided by” the Scriptures and confessions. However, an ambassador’s job is to obey his sending authority. In this change, as a church, we are repudiating the sending authority of God.
God’s people perceive the spiritual world. We know that new life is to be found in Jesus Christ. The Christian faith is a faith based on facts, things that happened in history. As God’s people, we are his ambassadors. Lastly, we are servants of God, not mouthpieces for the world.
We Are Servants Of God, Not Mouthpieces For The World
We put no obstacle in anyone’s way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities.… (2 Cor 6:3ff)
The religion of Liberalism, as Machen described it, is a religion of aspiration. In the heyday of the World Council of Churches, a popular phrase at the time was that “The world sets the agenda for the church.” This has certainly been reflected in the story of the spiritual drift of the Presbyterian Church (USA). That the world promotes the sexual revolution in general and homosexuality in particular is not surprising. That the church would do so is a counterfeit Christianity.
I want to conclude with a portion of the “Here We Stand” document that was adopted and distributed by the leaders of the renewal groups within the Presbyterian Church (USA). Note that the title is taken from Martin Luther’s famous response to the demand of the Diet of Worms that he recant his writings and teachings.
We declare that individually and corporately, we Presbyterians are called to a life of fidelity to God, in accordance with his will revealed in the Word of God (e.g. Gen. 2:24; Exod. 20:14; Jude 3-8; Heb. 13:4; Rom. 1:26-27; Rom.13:12-14; 1 Cor. 6:9-11; 1 Cor. 6:18-20; 1 Cor. 5:1-13; Eph 5:1-10; Matt. 15:17-20; and others); and that, as officers of the church, we “accept the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments to be, by the Holy Spirit, the unique and authoritative witness to Jesus Christ…” (Directory for Worship, W-4.4003b).
We further declare that we Presbyterians who are officers of the church, have voluntarily promised to “receive and adopt the essential tenets of the Reformed faith as expressed in the confessions of our church as authentic and reliable expositions of what Scripture leads us to believe and do…”, (Directory for Worship, W-4.4003c) and that the confessions call us to lives of sexual holiness; (4.087; 4.108-4.1099.47; 7.247-7.249).
We further declare that we Presbyterians are called to repentance from every form of idolatry and from every other sin that seeks to rule us individually or corporately, including sexual sin and the temptation to accept sexual sin as permissible behavior.
We further declare that we Presbyterians are called to hold each other accountable to the standards, the teaching, the grace and truth, of the Scriptures and the Confessions, even when the councils of the church err.
We choose to obey God, as revealed in Jesus Christ through Scripture.
As grateful recipients of Christ’s mercy, we choose to proclaim the Gospel to those in error on this matter, even in our own denomination, and to seek their repentance and restoration to life in our Lord Jesus Christ.
As Presbyterians committed to following Christ, we call the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to repent of this recent action that conforms to the desires of the flesh rather than yielding to and upholding the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, by which she is conformed to Christ.
I invite you to pray with me for our denomination: Heavenly Father, we lift up to you our beloved church. We ache for how it has drifted from the gospel message of Christ’s reconciliation and new life, replacing it with the idolatry of human effort. Forgive us our folly. Transform us by the power of the Holy Spirit. Give us ears to hear and eyes to see the greatness and glory of the person and work of Jesus Christ. Make us true ambassadors, faithful in our message, declaring Christ, lifting up Christ, pointing to Christ, honoring Christ, exalting Christ—him and him alone. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen.
This sermon first appeared in Theology Matters, Vol. 17, No. 4 (Sep/Oct 2011).
