Why are some of us so adamantly opposed to the General Convention’s actions on the New Hampshire Bishop and same-sex blessings? Why can’t we let this go? Why is it so important that we are willing to discuss such extreme steps as withholding money from the church, or even breaking communion over it? The reason it is so important is that this issue goes to the core of what the Church is.

• Jesus created the Church, and we belong to God.
• God is sovereign. The Lord is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. Deut 4:39
• We are guided only and completely by God’s will. Rom. 12:2.
• The source of our knowledge of God and of God’s will is the Holy Scriptures—not the culture, not the inclination of our hearts, but the Bible. God has given us that precious gift so that we may know God’s will.
• Jesus said that we err when we do not know the scriptures and we do not know the power of God. MT 22:29

Our General Convention has acted in disregard of the clear and unambiguous words of God in Holy Scripture. Our General Convention has abandoned the teaching of the universal Church. This is not just a difference of opinion. It is a departure from the very purpose and identity of the Church.

God calls us to love and to serve, and the Episcopal Church has shown itself to be good at loving and serving. We are known for our compassion. But in an effort to do good, we have stepped into territory that belongs only to God. For God also calls us to holiness. First Peter 1:14-16 says:

As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I [the Lord your God] am holy.

God calls us to be holy in the way we order our lives. God calls the leaders of our people to be holy. Only God defines holiness. Being holy requires being obedient to God. We have committed the grave error of making up our own human definitions of holiness. God does not allow such arrogance to stand.

The General Convention’s action has been portrayed as following the Holy Spirit in doing a new thing. But how do you judge what is the Holy Spirit and what is of the spirit of humankind, or of the enemy? Our own catechism in the Book of Common Prayer tells us how:

Q. How do we recognize truths taught by the Holy Spirit?
A. We recognize truths taught by the Holy Spirit when they are in accord with the Scriptures. (BCP 853)

I am only saying things to you that come from the mainstream of Christian thinking. It is standard, traditional, center-aisle Christian doctrine that the Bible is the Word of God that guides and governs the people of God. No Catholic, Orthodox or Mainline Protestant denomination has taken the innovative step our General Convention has taken. Traditional Anglicanism stands against what we have done:

• The Lambeth Conference, a meeting of the more than 900 Anglican Bishops, ruled in 1998 that homosexual practice is contrary to scripture, and counseled against “legitimizing or blessing same sex unions [and] ordaining those involved in same gender unions.” (Resolution I.10 )
• On May 27 of this year, the Primates of the Anglican Communion, at their semi-annual meeting, wrote to us “we as a body, cannot support the authorization of rites [for the blessing of same sex unions.]”
• The Archbishop of Canterbury has taken the unprecedented step of calling a special meeting of all the Primates of the Anglican Communion in London on October 16 for the sole purpose of discussing what has happened in the Episcopal Church USA.

So, if you believe the General Convention has erred grievously, you are not alone. You are in the mainstream. A large number of Bishops in the Episcopal Church USA have repudiated the actions of the General Convention, some have cut off their giving to the national church, and some have scheduled special diocesan conventions to deal with this crisis.

It has been said often, “We don’t have to agree in order to do God’s work. We need to get on with the work God has given us to do.” But the work God has given us to do is to proclaim the Gospel. And for us to work together, we are going to need to proclaim the same Gospel. When I listen to how differently we interpret scripture, I fear we are proclaiming two different Gospels. One Gospel says,

• We were made in God’s image.
• We have fallen from grace through our sinfulness.
• In that state, we cannot inherit the kingdom of God.
• The Good News is that God has sent His only Son, Jesus Christ, to rescue us from our sin.
• We can be saved if we will humble ourselves, admit our sin, repent, and receive God’s forgiveness.

This is the Gospel that Peter preached on Pentecost, that first day of the Christian Church: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, for the forgiveness of your sins.” (Acts 2:38)

But we are being asked to embrace a different Gospel. It says,

• We were made in God’s image.
• Therefore, we have nothing to be ashamed of, nothing to repent of.
• The Good News is that God loves us so much, He will honor, bless and celebrate us as we are.

When we call it “breaking down a barrier” to stop telling people that their behavior is sinful, then we are embracing this new Gospel. As long as we are proclaiming two different Gospels, how are we going to proclaim the Gospel together?

The consequences are enormous. Jesus said, “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.” (Luke 17:1-2)

This is not just a disagreement about churchmanship or polity or newcomer strategy. This goes to the very core of what the Church is as the people of God. If we are going to remain God’s Church, with God’s blessing upon us, we are going to have to solve the problem of how we can together preach one Gospel that is consistent with the Word of God. I pray God will give us the grace to do that.

If the Church were just a community of people holding widely differing views about God, I could agree to disagree on this issue. If all that bound us together were our mutual respect and acceptance, I could agree to disagree. But the Church is a people formed by God and guided by God’s will as revealed in God’s Word. We are accountable to God, and God will judge us. That is why this issue is so important.