October 2018, Public Statement
Doing Life a Better Way… God’s Way, John 10:10
At the heart of church@paravista’s intentions is doing life a better way, namely God’s way. Church@paravista welcomes all to join us in pursuing this better way.
To pursue God’s way we come under the authority of God’s Word and live life according to God’s creation blueprint. Human sexuality and marriage are part of this creation blueprint.
God created male and female as a feature of every aspect of the created order of living things, from plants, to animals and then culminating with mankind. This male-female dichotomy is a feature of the diversity of creation as the provision by God for the reproductive capacity of living things.
In a fallen world certain aspects of human sexuality and sexual expression will evidence the effects of fallenness. However, the rule of God’s created order is that sexual identity is to be understood in terms of male and female categories, and sexual intimacy is to have its expression in marriage. In the case of human sexuality, it is the male-female categories that equip humanity to fulfill the creation mandate, “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28).Further to this, the context of marriage as between one man and one woman, to the exclusion of all others, is God’s design for the expression of sexual intimacy.
A feature of God’s creation mandate is the declaration that, “God created male and female in His own image” (Genesis 1:27). Human sexuality as male-female, thus gives expression to the image of God in humankind. As God created man in His image, so male and female sexuality enables mankind to reproduce offspring who are likewise “created” after their image. This implies that human sexuality as male and female is the natural and pre-determined outcome of procreation, not a post-natal determination.
Factors such as social conditioning, emotional disposition or personal preference may be used to affect the way that human sexuality finds expression after birth. However, these factors do not override or displace the biologically determined male or female gender category, that according to God’s creation blueprint, results from birth. It is the biological determination of human sexuality from birth that is to influence the development of individual sexual identity thereafter.
Human sexuality understood in male and female terms, is God’s way for us to follow. As also is God’s way with marriage, as a life-long covenant between one man and one woman. At church@paravista our position on human sexuality and marriage is aligned with God’s way. Through fellowship, encouragement and mutual support, we desire to assist all who would join us to discover self awareness and personal fulfilment, in terms of God’s creation design for sexual identity and marriage, and His ultimate purposes for us in Christ Jesus.
To understand human sexuality and marriage, church@paravista chooses God’s way. As the creator and sustainer of life, God’s way is the best way. We encourage all to make this their way too. The choice is yours.
Sermon on Same Sex Attraction & The Church
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