
The Declaration
Human
sexual (genital) behavior is intended by God to
be expressed solely within the confines of
heterosexual, monogamous marriage. Since God is
love, sexual activity can only be considered a
true act of love when carried out within these
parameters, clearly established by God in His
Holy Word (the Bible).
Sexual
intercourse is to be the same giving act that it
represents - which is Jesus Christ's union with
His Bride, the Church. It is two becoming one
flesh - physically, spiritually and emotionally -
the ultimate end of the separating of Eve from
Adam's side.
It
is a procreative and pleasure-giving act that may
bear the fruit of children. It is a cause for the
continuation of the human race and a bonding
agent for the love shared between husband and
wife. When done out of love by two spiritually
healthy human beings, it will enhance the
well-being and solidify the growing oneness of
man and wife.
God
purposed in creation that human sexual
interaction be a reflection of that ultimate
marriage to which He has called us - that between
God and man / between Christ and the Church.
Just
as God remains faithful, undivided and
undeflected from His commitment to man, so this
central act in marriage must remain equally
faithful, undivided and undeflected -
exemplifying the love, the trust and the
commitment of a spouse to his/her marital
partner.
Fidelity
to God's blueprint for human sexual behavior is
integral to healthy human spirituality.
The
proscriptions on human sexual behavior
established by God in His Holy Word (the Bible)
are positive and life-giving. They are designed
to bring both maximum glory to God and to be
protective measures for those who might otherwise
try to find life and fulfillment in alternative
sexual behavior, which can only bring death and
destruction. As such, they are an expression of
God's perfect love and desire to protect those He
has created.
Any
deflection from these intended purposes of the
Creator God is rebellion against the wisdom and
goodness of God and sets one at enmity with Him
until that person has repented of their actions
and come into agreement once again with God's
design. The idea that man has the right to chose
his own methods of sexual expression flies in the
face of everything taught in sacred Scripture.
For
those who find themselves caught in an aberrant
sexual lifestyle, God offers the atoning death of
His Son, Jesus Christ, which brings forgiveness,
cleansing, healing and transforming power. Jesus
did not come to condemn mankind, but to save any
and all who would come to Him for cleansing.
We
are Speaking Out
- We are speaking out against
the attempts by those in secular and
religious communities who seek to
overturn and redefine the clear teachings
of the Bible, to make it appear as though
sexual behavior outside of the bounds
described above is somehow normal and
blessed by God. There has been a clear
and unbroken Judeo-Christian, scriptural
witness on these matters for over
thirty-five hundred years.
- We are speaking out against
the impression being given by a minority
of religious and media figures that their
version of sexual morality is consistent
with the biblical witness and/or accepted
by the Church.
- We are speaking out against
the unchecked confusion and division sown
in the Church by such apostles of
immorality.
- We are speaking out against
the death and destruction that such
teachings have brought to our culture and
the confusion that it has sown in our
children.
- We are speaking out against
any sex education program that would
teach such ideas to our young people.
- We are speaking out against
the impression given by some that those
who support biblical definitions of
morality hate those who refuse to accept
or live by them.
We
Stand in Opposition
- We oppose any and all
efforts to normalize or sanctify
homosexual behavior, to advocate or bless
homosexual marriages or to ordain those
who engage in homosexual behavior.
- We oppose any attempt to
stigmatize or reject persons who are
turning to Christ for forgiveness,
healing and transformation who have been
struggling with their sexual orientation.
- We oppose any suggestion
that they are lesser or more sinful human
beings than anyone else. They are welcome
in the Church.
- We oppose any and all
attempts to normalize or sanctify
heterosexual immorality, including the
use of pornography or prostitutes,
adulterous or other non-marital sexual
relationships or any other behavior
outside of healthy, heterosexual, marital
monogamy.
- We oppose the taking of a
human life in its mother's womb or any
other form of abortion.
We
Call Out
- We call for people to return
to the God of the Bible, through His Son
Jesus Christ.
- We call for people to return
to God's design for human behavior
(sexual and otherwise) as found in the
Holy Bible.
- We call for people to seek
and receive from God Almighty the
forgiveness, the cleansing, the
deliverance and the healing that they
need as a result of their unnatural
sexual behavior.
- We call for people to seek
and receive from God the desire and the
power to walk in His ways.
- We call for those in
government to honor the institution of
marriage as it has been held for
thousands of years by keeping it
restricted to heterosexual, monogamous
unions.
- We call for government to
resist the legitimization of alternative
sexual lifestyles in creating civil
unions for couples who do not qualify for
marriage.
- We call for our educational
system to remove sex education materials
that promote promiscuity, homosexual
behavior or any other sexual behavior
outside of traditional marriage.
- We call for the producers
and distributors of every form of media
communication to resist the temptation to
fatten their coffers by continuing to
spread the toxic message of sexual
immorality.
- We call for religious
leaders to stand firm against the tide of
moral relativism and to remain faithful
to God's Holy Word.
- We call for religious
leaders to refuse to ordain those who
engage in homosexual or non-marital
heterosexual activity.
- We call for those leaders
and laity in the Church who have not yet
done so, to extend the same hand of love
and grace to the repentant sinner that
Christ has extended, and to repent from
any condescending or hateful attitudes
that they have held toward those who
struggle with unholy sexual temptations.
- We call for religious
leaders to refuse to bless what God calls
sin, including homosexual unions, but to
instead invite those who struggle with
unholy sexual desire to the same fount of
forgiveness and healing as everyone else
- even Jesus Christ, the Lord.
To endorse
this statement, click here.
This
statement may be copied or reproduced in its
entirety for news stories, bulletins,
newsletters, flyers, etc., or copied and
distributed at public or private meetings for the
purpose of obtaining supporting signatures,
without our further permission. Please credit Mastering
Life Ministries of
Jacksonville, Fl. as the source and our web site
as a contact point (www.MasteringLife.org).
(c)
Copyright 2000, Mastering
Life Ministries
|