Megachurch Takes Stand: Members to Sign Marriage Pledge or Face Expulsion - Here's What It Says
A Florida megachurch is requiring its members to sign a pledge affirming the biblical view of marriage or face expulsion.
On Tuesday, Rolling Stone reported that First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, which has 3,500 members, is asking its members to sign a pledge by March in which the promise to renounce LGBT expression and adhere to the biblical view of marriage and sexuality.
The pledge asks that members accept “God’s standard of human sexuality” and that the only acceptable “desire and expression” of human sexuality is to be found in marriage between one man and one woman.
The pledge itself said, “As a member of First Baptist Church, I believe that God creates people in his image as either male or female, and that this creation is a fixed matter of human biology, not individual choice. I believe marriage is instituted by God, not government, is between one man and one woman, and is the only context for sexual desire and expression.”
First Baptist Church Jacksonville in Jacksonville, Florida is requiring its members to sign a bigoted anti-LGBTQ+ pledge affirming that marriage is between man and a woman and that there is only two genders to remain members in good standing. https://t.co/Nia2xCNao3
— Justin Gibson (@JGibsonDem) January 27, 2023
It then lists several verses from Scripture in which people can find this view of sexuality explicitly stated in the Bible.
According to Rolling Stone, while refusing to sign the pledge does not prohibit one from attending a service at First Baptist Church, it does prevent them from becoming members of.
In September of last year, the church hinted that a big move regarding human sexuality would be made, when it released a YouTube video in which the pastor, Heath Lambert, expressed his opposition to the confusion brought on by the sexual revolution, and vowed to require all members to agree to the convictions of the church.
In comments to Rolling Stone, Lambert said that the pledge is not about singling-out LGBT people specifically, but rather calling out the whole array of sexual sins, including “[r]ape, incest, polygamy — all sorts of things are ruled out just as much as homosexuality.”
It is wonderful to see a major church taking a firm stand on the issue of marriage and sexuality and making it very clear that they stand with the vision of humanity found in the Bible.
In an age where even many of the mainline churches in America are submitting to the demands of the leftist agenda, it is refreshing to see a church stand up for the word of God.
First Baptist is not alone in this fight. The Catholic Diocese of Des Moines, Iowa, recently enacted a policy that required educators in the diocese to reject transgenderism and affirm each person’s biological sex.
If more Christian churches and denominations took the same clear stance that First Baptist and the Diocese of Des Moines are taking, imagine what that could mean for the culture war.
Perhaps then, fewer people would be confused about what exactly the Bible teaches regarding sex and marriage, and it would make it easier for them to follow God’s commandments.
By requiring its members to sign this pledge, First Baptist is making its position clear on the issue, and it is clearly telling its members what the proper view of human sexuality is.
The churches need to be at the forefront of the culture war, they need to be willing to push back against these extreme woke agendas.
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