Our Beliefs on Christian Identity
& Sexual Ethics
A Note from Our Rector:
I think we'd all agree clarity is a good thing. It's loving and helpful. It’s also true that attempts at clarity can sometimes feel reductive, lacking an invitation to conversation, leaving us with little more than an idea of someone's "position" on a matter. And so, especially in our time, we end up sorting ourselves and others. This is not only a loss, but it's the easy way out of complexity. We try hard not to do that at Village Church. And that’s not what we’re doing here.
For the sake of clarity on matters of Christian identity and sexuality (a frequent conversation topic at Village Church), we've decided to publish our beliefs. These beliefs are not new - not for us, not for the Anglican Church in North America and not for the Church historic. Truth be told, all our beliefs, grounded as they are in Scripture and 2 millennia of undulating faithfulness and imperfect practice, are indeed a starting point for conversation and community - cause for humility and curiosity. We hope that's how you'll receive them.
Three things are important:
These are about everyone. Every body.
These are not exhaustive. Let’s keep talking.
These were developed with help from a collection of folks (some Anglicans!) who experience their sexuality diversely, but share the same desire to honor God with their bodies - together.
Thanks for reading these thoroughly, carefully and prayerfully.
Seth+
The Church
We believe the Church, local and universal, is an embodied and spiritual participation of earth with heaven and an overlap of past, present and a fully redeemed future. So the Church, at our best, is a foretaste of the true community to come in the new creation. We should be a community in which all Christians experience dignity, belonging and genuine intimacy. We believe that God gives each member of his household — married and unmarried alike — unique opportunities to extend welcome and hospitality so that all might partake in the joys, benefits, and responsibilities of kinship. (Prov. 22:6; Eph. 1:5; Gal. 4:4–5; Eph. 2:19; 3:15; Rom 12:5; Matt. 12:50; 19:29; Col. 1:1–14; 1 Cor. 12)
Christian Identity
We believe all Christians have been given a new identity in their union with Jesus Christ, through the work of the Holy Spirit. This spiritual identity is the truest element of Christian personhood and should therefore be the central feature of Christian self-understanding. We believe other features within the composite of individual identity or experience—such as nationality, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation —do not change or add to this spiritual identity, but should be ordered in relation to what is ultimate and unites all within the household of God. The Christian faith also holds that though we are individuals, our autonomy and bodily activity are understood in terms of and with responsibility to this profound communal reality of union with one another in Christ - body, mind and spirit. (Rom. 6:6; 1 Pet. 2:9; 1 John 3:1–2; Phil. 3:8; Rom. 8:12–17; Phil. 3:4–11; Acts 22:25–28; 1 Cor. 9:19–23)
Therefore, we believe it is the responsibility of every Christian to turn away from illicit sexual desire, and to steward their sexual lives in obedience to Christ the Lord. Further, we believe that both singleness and marriage are callings to be honored and commended by the Church. We believe that all Christians who joyfully embrace celibacy — whether on a temporary basis before marrying, or as a lifelong pattern of faithfulness — uniquely model the life of the world to come, when, in Jesus’ own words, the people of God “neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels.” (Matt. 5:8,48; 1 Cor. 6:13; Heb. 13:4; 1 Cor. 7:6–9; Matt. 19:10-12; Matt. 22:30)
Creation, Covenant & Design
We believe God created humankind male and female in his own image and likeness, and that Scripture, beginning with Genesis 1-2, reveals God’s glorious design for human sexuality in marriage. Marriage involves two partners who are both similar in their humanity and different in their sex. We believe God instituted the family at creation as the most basic unit of temporal, physical kinship; that marriage and the family are therefore good; and that stewarding these bonds in obedience to Christ is one of the primary means by which the Kingdom of God expands. Borrowing from St. Augustine, we embrace the “Four Goods of Marriage” as recovered and articulated in the Book of Common Prayer: 1) Procreation and family nurture, 2) Mutual joy, comfort and prosperity in life, 3) Bodily fidelity, and 4) The strengthening of community and society.
We believe that any inward cultivation or outward expression of sexual desire apart from a loving, respectful “one-flesh” bond between husband and wife is out of accord with God’s creational intent, and therefore against his good and gracious will. We believe that divorce, except as a result of adultery, abandonment or abuse (a form of abandonment), is in violation of this sacred covenantal union and requires confession and repentance - if full reconciliation is not to be had. (Mal. 2:14; Matt. 19:4–6; Gen. 2:24; 1 Cor. 6:12–7:5; Gen. 1:28; Mal. 2:15; Gen. 2:18; Eph. 5:22–33; 1 Pet. 3:7; Col. 3:18–19; Gen. 2:25; Matt. 5:28; Matt. 19:3-12; Gal. 5:19–21)
Christians are called to live in their bodies through their relationships for the glory of God, the good of their neighbors, and with responsibility for their spiritual brothers and sisters in the Church.
We believe that sin entered the world as a result of human rebellion and now permeates every aspect of creation, disordering our desires, including our sexuality. Along with every form of sexual desire apart from that expressed in the bond between husband and wife, we believe that same-sex sexual desire is a product of the Fall; that same-sex sexual desire was not a pre-Fall reality; and that sexual desire itself is a temporal good and, according to Christ, will not exist in the new creation upon his return. Thus, sexuality in any form, interpreted by means of any proclivity, any social or cultural construct, or any psychological phenomena remains subject to God’s order and intent in this age. (Gen. 3; Gen. 6:5; Jer. 17:9; Rom. 3:10–19; 1 Cor. 6:9–10; Matt. 22:30)
Relationships & Community
We believe that the bonds of spiritual kinship between brothers and sisters in the adopted family of God are deeper and more fundamental to Christian self-understanding than even natural family relationships. We believe that the Christian tradition celebrates deep, committed relationships between believers that are marked by spiritual intimacy, emotional connection, and chaste, non-sexual expressions of physical affection. Such expressions of intimacy and affection should be ordered according to the patterns and principles of spiritual kinship that exist within God’s family. As modeled by Jesus and his disciples, we believe this pursuit of intimate, rich, platonic friendship is consistent with the biblical witness and Christian tradition, and that such relationships can be marked by varying degrees of permanence, affection, and a shared sense of partnership in life and ministry. (Matt. 12:49, John 13:1–20; 21:12; 1 Sam. 18:3, 20:17,42)
We believe all Christians have the capacity for both sinful and holy desire for relationship with other people; that intimate friendship between believers can be a means of sanctification; and that the Holy Spirit can direct and shape affection for other image-bearers in ways that honor their dignity and celebrate their unique personhood. We believe that Christians should seek wisdom and prudence when entering any relationship marked by greater intimacy, and that believers must exercise care and resolve to avoid all forms of temptation. We believe that Christians must actively resist and turn away from every thought, action, desire, or behavior that does not align with God’s revealed intentions for human sexuality, since we are not our own, but belong—body and soul, both in life and in death—to our faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. (Rom. 8:12–13; Col. 3:5)
Grace & Forgiveness
We believe in the gift of grace, the power of forgiveness and in the necessary help of the Holy Spirit to cultivate in us “the holiness without which no one will see God” (Heb. 12:14). Christians are called to live in their bodies through their relationships for the glory of God, the good of their neighbors, and with responsibility for their spiritual brothers and sisters in the Church. We believe that all Christian conduct should seek to be blameless and above reproach for the sake of a compelling Christian witness. To the extent we miss the high mark of our calling - and we all do - we are restored through confession and repentance with the unwavering assurance of forgiveness and restoration in the bonds of Christ’s unfailing love for sinners. (Eph 2:8-9, Gal 6:1-3, Mt 5:16, 1 John 1:5-9)