The Nashville Statement by The Council of Bibical Manhood and Womanhood Lyrics
[PREAMBLE]
“Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves…” –Psalm 100:3
Evangelical Christians at the dawn of the twenty-first century find themselves living in a period of historic transition. As Western culture has become increasingly post-Christian, it has embarked upon a massive revision of what it means to be a human being. By and large the spirit of our age no longer discerns or delights in the beauty of God’s design for human life. Many deny that God created human beings for his glory, and that his good purposes for us include our personal and physical design as male and female. It is common to think that human identity as male and female is not part of God’s beautiful plan, but is, rather, an expression of an individual’s autonomous preferences. The pathway to full and lasting joy through God’s good design for his creatures is thus replaced by the path of shortsighted alternatives that, sooner or later, ruin human life and dishonor God.
This secular spirit of our age presents a great challenge to the Christian church. Will the church of the Lord Jesus Christ lose her biblical conviction, clarity, and courage, and blend into the spirit of the age? Or will she hold fast to the word of life, draw courage from Jesus, and unashamedly proclaim his way as the way of life? Will she maintain her clear, counter-cultural witness to a world that seems bent on ruin?
We are persuaded that faithfulness in our generation means declaring once again the true story of the world and of our place in it—particularly as male and female. Christian Scripture teaches that there is but one God who alone is Creator and Lord of all. To him alone, every person owes glad-hearted thanksgiving, heart-felt praise, and total allegiance. This is the path not only of glorifying God, but of knowing ourselves. To forget our Creator is to forget who we are, for he made us for himself. And we cannot know ourselves truly without truly knowing him who made us. We did not make ourselves. We are not our own. Our true identity, as male and female persons, is given by God. It is not only foolish, but hopeless, to try to make ourselves what God did not create us to be.
We believe that God’s design for his creation and his way of salvation serve to bring him the greatest glory and bring us the greatest good. God’s good plan provides us with the greatest freedom. Jesus said he came that we might have life and have it in overflowing measure. He is for us and not against us. Therefore, in the hope of serving Christ’s church and witnessing publicly to the good purposes of God for human sexuality revealed in Christian Scripture, we offer the following affirmations and denials.
[ARTICLE 1]
WE AFFIRM that God has designed marriage to be a covenantal, sexual, procreative, lifelong union of one man and one woman, as husband and wife, and is meant to signify the covenant love between Christ and his bride the church.
WE DENY that God has designed marriage to be a homosexual, polygamous, or polyamorous relationship. We also deny that marriage is a mere human contract rather than a covenant made before God.
[ARTICLE 2]
WE AFFIRM that God’s revealed will for all people is chastity outside of marriage and fidelity within marriage.
WE DENY that any affections, desires, or commitments ever justify sexual intercourse before or outside marriage; nor do they justify any form of sexual immorality.
[ARTICLE 3]
WE AFFIRM that God created Adam and Eve, the first human beings, in his own image, equal before God as persons, and distinct as male and female.
WE DENY that the divinely ordained differences between male and female render them unequal in dignity or worth.
[ARTICLE 4]
WE AFFIRM that divinely ordained differences between male and female reflect God’s original creation design and are meant for human good and human flourishing.
WE DENY that such differences are a result of the Fall or are a tragedy to be overcome.
[ARTICLE 5]
WE AFFIRM that the differences between male and female reproductive structures are integral to God’s design for self-conception as male or female.
WE DENY that physical anomalies or psychological conditions nullify the God-appointed link between biological sex and self-conception as male or female.
[ARTICLE 6]
WE AFFIRM that those born with a physical disorder of sex development are created in the image of God and have dignity and worth equal to all other image-bearers. They are acknowledged by our Lord Jesus in his words about “eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb.” With all others they are welcome as faithful followers of Jesus Christ and should embrace their biological sex insofar as it may be known.
WE DENY that ambiguities related to a person’s biological sex render one incapable of living a fruitful life in joyful obedience to Christ.
[ARTICLE 7]
WE AFFIRM that self-conception as male or female should be defined by God’s holy purposes in creation and redemption as revealed in Scripture.
WE DENY that adopting a homosexual or transgender self-conception is consistent with God’s holy purposes in creation and redemption.
[ARTICLE 8]
WE AFFIRM that people who experience sexual attraction for the same sex may live a rich and fruitful life pleasing to God through faith in Jesus Christ, as they, like all Christians, walk in purity of life.
WE DENY that sexual attraction for the same sex is part of the natural goodness of God’s original creation, or that it puts a person outside the hope of the gospel.
[ARTICLE 9]
WE AFFIRM that sin distorts sexual desires by directing them away from the marriage covenant and toward sexual immorality— a distortion that includes both heterosexual and homosexual immorality.
WE DENY that an enduring pattern of desire for sexual immorality justifies sexually immoral behavior.
[ARTICLE 10]
WE AFFIRM that it is sinful to approve of homosexual immorality or transgenderism and that such approval constitutes an essential departure from Christian faithfulness and witness.
WE DENY that the approval of homosexual immorality or transgenderism is a matter of moral indifference about which otherwise faithful Christians should agree to disagree.
[ARTICLE 11]
WE AFFIRM our duty to speak the truth in love at all times, including when we speak to or about one another as male or female.
WE DENY any obligation to speak in such ways that dishonor God’s design of his image-bearers as male and female.
[ARTICLE 12]
WE AFFIRM that the grace of God in Christ gives both merciful pardon and transforming power, and that this pardon and power enable a follower of Jesus to put to death sinful desires and to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.
WE DENY that the grace of God in Christ is insufficient to forgive all sexual sins and to give power for holiness to every believer who feels drawn into sexual sin.
[ARTICLE 13]
WE AFFIRM that the grace of God in Christ enables sinners to forsake transgender self-conceptions and by divine forbearance to accept the God-ordained link between one’s biological sex and one’s self-conception as male or female.
WE DENY that the grace of God in Christ sanctions self-conceptions that are at odds with God’s revealed will.
[ARTICLE 14]
WE AFFIRM that Christ Jesus has come into the world to save sinners and that through Christ’s death and resurrection forgiveness of sins and eternal life are available to every person who repents of sin and trusts in Christ alone as Savior, Lord, and supreme treasure.
WE DENY hat the Lord’s arm is too short to save or that any sinner is beyond his reach.
[Scriptural References*]
Gen. 1: 26-28
Gen. 2: 15-25
Gen. 3: 1-24
Exod. 20:14
Exod. 20:17
Lev. 18:22
Lev. 20:13
Deut. 5:18
Deut. 5:21
Deut. 22:5
Judges. 19:22
2 Sam. 11:1 - 12:15
Job 31:1
Psalm 51: 1-19
Prov. 5: 1-23
Prov. 6: 20-35
Prov. 7: 1-27
Isa. 59:1
Mal. 2:14
Matt. 5:27–30
Matt. 19: 4-6
Matt. 19: 8-9
Matt. 19:12
Acts 15:20, 29
Rom. 1: 26–27
Rom. 1:32
1 Cor. 6: 9–11
1 Cor. 6: 18-20
1 Cor 7: 1-7
2 Cor. 5:17
Gal. 5:24
Eph. 4:15
Eph. 4: 20–24
Eph. 5: 31–32
Col. 3:5
1 Thess. 4:3-8
1 Tim. 1:9–10
1 Tim 1:15
2 Tim. 2:22
Titus 2:11-12
Heb. 13:4
James 1:14–15
1 Pet. 2:11
Jude 7
* Scripture texts are not a part of the original document but have been added subsequently for reference
[INITIAL SIGNATORIES]
Institutional affiliation for identification purposes only
Denny Burk
President, Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
John Piper
Founder & Teacher, Desiring God; Chancellor, Bethlehem College & Seminary
James Dobson
Founder & President, Family Talk
Russell Moore
President, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
J. I. Packer
Professor of Theology, Regent College
Wayne Grudem
Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies, Phoenix Seminary
R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
President, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Tony Perkins
President, Family Research Council
D. A. Carson
President & Co-Founder, The Gospel Coalition; Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
John MacArthur
Pastor, Grace Community Church; President, The Master's Seminary & College
Sam Allberry
Editor, The Gospel Coalition
R. C. Sproul
Founder & Chairman, Ligonier Ministries
Rosaria Butterfield
Author of "The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert"
Francis Chan
Author & Pastor, We Are Church
Marvin Olasky
Editor in Chief, World Magazine
Ligon Duncan
Chancellor & CEO, Reformed Theological Seminary
Steve Gaines
President, The Southern Baptist Convention; Pastor, Bellevue Baptist Church
Andrew T. Walker
Director of Policy Studies, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
H.B. Charles, Jr.
Pastor, Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida
Christopher Yuan
Speaker & Author, Moody Bible Institute
Dennis Rainey
Founder & Former President, FamilyLife, a Cru Ministry
Frank Page
President & CEO, Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee; Former President, Southern Baptist Convention
Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth
Author & Speaker, Revive Our Hearts
Daniel L. Akin
President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Kevin DeYoung
Senior Pastor, Christ Covenant Church
Alistair Begg
Reverend, Parkside Church
Heath Lambert
Executive Director, Association of Certified Biblical Counselors
Jerry A. Johnson
President & CEO, National Religious Broadcasters
Mark Dever
Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church
Randy Alcorn
Director, Eternal Perspective Ministries
Karen Swallow Prior
Professor of English, Liberty University
Matt Chandler
Pastor, The Village Church
Fred Luter
Senior Pastor Franklin Avenue Baptist Church; Former President, Southern Baptist Convention
James MacDonald
Founder & Senior Pastor, Harvest Bible Chapel
James Merritt
Pastor, Cross Pointe Church; Former President, Southern Baptist Convention
Jack Graham
Pastor, Prestonwood Baptist Church
J. D. Greear
Pastor, The Summit Church
Darryl Delhousaye
President, Phoenix Seminary
Thomas White
President, Cedarville University
Bryant Wright
Senior Pastor, Johnson Ferry Baptist Church; Former SBC President
Don Sweeting
President, Colorado Christian University
Jeff Purswell
Director of Theology, Sovereign Grace Churches
Johnny Hunt
Pastor, First Baptist Church of Woodstock
Jason K. Allen
President, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Erick-Woods Erickson
Editor in Chief, The Resurgent
Mark L. Bailey
President & Senior Professor of Bible Exposition, Dallas Theological Seminary
K. Erik Thoennes
Professor & Chair of Theology, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University
Vaughan Roberts
Rector of St. Ebbe's Church, Oxford, UK
David French
Senior Writer, National Review
Paige Patterson
President, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
R. Kent Hughes
Visiting Professor of Practical Theology of Evangelism and Culture, Westminster Theological Seminary
Jeff Iorg
President, Gateway Seminary
Sam Storms
Lead Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Bridgeway Church
Richard Land
President, Southern Evangelical Seminary
Barbara Rainey
Co-Founder, FamilyLife, a Cru Ministry
Robert A. J. Gagnon
Scholar & Author of "The Bible and Homosexual Practice"
Samuel W. "Dub" Oliver
President, Union University
Ronnie Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church; Former President, Southern Baptist Convention
C. J. Mahaney
Senior Pastor, Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville
Jason G. Duesing
Provost, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary & College
Matt Carter
Pastor, The Austin Stone Church
Chuck Kelley
President, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
Burk Parsons
Copastor, St. Andrew's Chapel
Eric Teetsel
President, Family Policy Alliance of Kansas
Alastair Roberts
Scholar & Author of "Heirs Together: A Theology of the Sexes"
Kevin Ezell
President, North American Mission Board
Ray Ortlund
Pastor, Immanuel Church
O. S. Hawkins
President, GuideStone SBC
Thom S. Rainer
President & CEO, LifeWay Christian Resources
Michael Reeves
President & Professor of Theology, Union School of Theology, UK
Todd Wagner
Pastor, Watermark Community Church
John M. Frame
Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology & Philosophy, Reformed Theological Seminary
Randy Stinson
Senior Vice President for Academic Administration & Provost, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Mac Brunson
Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church of Jacksonville
Paul Nyquist
President, Moody Bible Institute
Thomas Schreiner
James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
H. Wayne House
Dean & Distinguished Research Professor of Theology, Law, & Culture, Faith International University & Seminary
J. P. Moreland
Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University
Miguel Nunez
Pastor, Iglesia Bautista Internacional
Bruce Ware
Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Michael Goeke
Associate Pastor, First Baptist Church of San Francisco
Joel Belz
Founder, World Magazine, World News Group
Michael Horton
J. Gresham Machen Professor of Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California
Jackie Hill Perry
Speaker, Writer, Humble Beast Recording Artist
Dick Lucas
Reverend Prebendary, Rector Emeritus, St Helen's Bishopsgate, UK
Afshin Ziafat
Lead Pastor, Providence Church
Stephen Strang
Founder & CEO, Charisma Media
Christiana Holcomb
Legal Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom
Jimmy Draper
President Emeritus, LifeWay; Former President, Southern Baptist Convention
Stephen J. Wellum
Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Anthony Kidd
Pastor of Preaching, Community of Faith Bible Church
James M. Hamilton, Jr.
Professor of Biblical Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Bryan Carter
Senior Pastor, Concord Church
Owen Strachan
Associate Professor of Christian Theology, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Chris Larson
President & CEO, Ligonier Ministries
Bruce Riley Ashford
Provost & Professor of Theology & Culture, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Candi Finch
Assistant Professor of Theology in Women's Studies, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Curtis Woods
Associate Executive Director, Kentucky Baptist Convention
Nathan Finn
Dean, Professor of Theological Studies, Union University
James Robison
Founder & President, LIFE Outreach International; Founder & Publisher, The Stream
C. Ben Mitchell
Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy, Union University
Darrell Bock
Senior Professor, Dallas Theological Seminary
William Philip
Senior Minister, The Tron Church, Glasgow, UK
David Mathis
Executive Editor, Desiring God
Ken Magnuson
Professor of Christian Ethics, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Daniel Heimbach
Senior Professor of Christian Ethics, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Hershael W. York
Victor and Louise Lester Professor of Christian Preaching, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Mary Mohler
Director, Seminary Wives Institute
Hunter Baker
Associate Professor, Union University
Dorothy Kelley Patterson
Professor of Theology in Women's Studies, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Jim Shaddix
W. A. Criswell Professor of Expository Preaching, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
John N. Oswalt
Visiting Distinguished Professor of Old Testament, Asbury Theological Seminary
Jack Deere
Author & Speaker, Grace Church of St. Louis
Juan R. Sanchez
Senior Pastor, High Pointe Baptist Church, Austin, Texas
Malcolm B. Yarnell, III
Research Professor of Systematic Theology, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Jonathan Leeman
Editorial Director, 9Marks
Mary A. Kassian
Author & Director, Girls Gone Wise
Mark Daniel Liederbach
Vice President & Professor of Theology, Ethics and Culture, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Matthew J. Hall
Dean of Boyce College & Senior VP of Academic Innovation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Micah Fries
Senior Pastor, Brainerd Baptist Church
Nathan Lino
Senior Pastor, Northeast Houston Baptist Church
Paul Weber
President & CEO, Family Policy Alliance
Bob Lepine
Vice President of Content, FamilyLife
Andy Naselli
Associate Professor of New Testament and Theology, Bethlehem College & Seminary
John Stevens
National Director, Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches
Casey B. Hough
Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church of Camden
Russell Shubin
Director, Salem Media Group
Allan Coppedge
Retired Professor of Theology, Asbury Theological Seminary
Daniel DeWitt
Director of the Center for Biblical Apologetics & Public Christianity, Cedarville University
Charlotte Akin
Homemaker, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
David Schrock
Pastor for Preaching and Theology, Occoquan Bible Church
Don Buckley
Physician, Spanish Trail Family Physicians
E. Calvin Beisner
Founder & National Spokesman, Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation
Donald A. Balasa
Adjunct Faculty, Trinity International University
Donna Thoennes
Adjunct Professor & Homeschool Mom, Biola University
James A. Borland
Professor of New Testament & Theology, Liberty University
Eric C. Redmond
Assistant Professor of Bible, Moody Bible Institute
Grant Castleberry
Pastor of Discipleship, Providence Church of Frisco, Texas
Jose Abella
Lead Pastor, Providence Road Church
Phillip Bethancourt
Executive Vice President, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Adam W. Greenway
Dean, Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism, & Ministry, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Joy White
Homemaker & Assistant Professor of Women's Studies, Cedarville University
Gregory Wills
Dean, School of Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Katie McCoy
Assistant Professor of Theology in Women's Studies, Scarborough College at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Rhyne R. Putman
Associate Professor of Theology & Culture, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
Barry Joslin
Professor of Christian Theology, Boyce College
Rhonda Kelley
President's Wife, Adjunct Faculty, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
Peter Jones
Executive Director, TruthXchange
Bryan Baise
Assistant Professor of Philosophy & Apologetics, Boyce College
Kenneth Keathley
Senior Professor of Theology, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Jeff Struecker
Lead Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church
Rebecca Jones
Volunteer, TruthXchange
Evan Lenow
Associate Professor of Ethics, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Daniel Patterson
Vice President for Operations & Chief of Staff, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
David Talley
Professor of Old Testament, Biola University
Travis Wussow
Vice President for Public Policy, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Sean Perron
Chief of Staff, Association of Certified Biblical Counselors
Michael L. Brown
President, FIRE School of Ministry
Keith Whitfield
Assistant Professor & Dean, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Jeffrey Riley
Professor of Ethics, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
Dannah Gresh
Co-founder, Pure Freedom
Matt Damico
Associate Pastor of Worship, Kenwood Baptist Church
Colby Adams
Director of Communications, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Paul Felix
President, Los Angeles Bible Training School
Colin Smothers
Executive Director, Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
“Know that the LORD Himself is God; It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves…” –Psalm 100:3
Evangelical Christians at the dawn of the twenty-first century find themselves living in a period of historic transition. As Western culture has become increasingly post-Christian, it has embarked upon a massive revision of what it means to be a human being. By and large the spirit of our age no longer discerns or delights in the beauty of God’s design for human life. Many deny that God created human beings for his glory, and that his good purposes for us include our personal and physical design as male and female. It is common to think that human identity as male and female is not part of God’s beautiful plan, but is, rather, an expression of an individual’s autonomous preferences. The pathway to full and lasting joy through God’s good design for his creatures is thus replaced by the path of shortsighted alternatives that, sooner or later, ruin human life and dishonor God.
This secular spirit of our age presents a great challenge to the Christian church. Will the church of the Lord Jesus Christ lose her biblical conviction, clarity, and courage, and blend into the spirit of the age? Or will she hold fast to the word of life, draw courage from Jesus, and unashamedly proclaim his way as the way of life? Will she maintain her clear, counter-cultural witness to a world that seems bent on ruin?
We are persuaded that faithfulness in our generation means declaring once again the true story of the world and of our place in it—particularly as male and female. Christian Scripture teaches that there is but one God who alone is Creator and Lord of all. To him alone, every person owes glad-hearted thanksgiving, heart-felt praise, and total allegiance. This is the path not only of glorifying God, but of knowing ourselves. To forget our Creator is to forget who we are, for he made us for himself. And we cannot know ourselves truly without truly knowing him who made us. We did not make ourselves. We are not our own. Our true identity, as male and female persons, is given by God. It is not only foolish, but hopeless, to try to make ourselves what God did not create us to be.
We believe that God’s design for his creation and his way of salvation serve to bring him the greatest glory and bring us the greatest good. God’s good plan provides us with the greatest freedom. Jesus said he came that we might have life and have it in overflowing measure. He is for us and not against us. Therefore, in the hope of serving Christ’s church and witnessing publicly to the good purposes of God for human sexuality revealed in Christian Scripture, we offer the following affirmations and denials.
[ARTICLE 1]
WE AFFIRM that God has designed marriage to be a covenantal, sexual, procreative, lifelong union of one man and one woman, as husband and wife, and is meant to signify the covenant love between Christ and his bride the church.
WE DENY that God has designed marriage to be a homosexual, polygamous, or polyamorous relationship. We also deny that marriage is a mere human contract rather than a covenant made before God.
[ARTICLE 2]
WE AFFIRM that God’s revealed will for all people is chastity outside of marriage and fidelity within marriage.
WE DENY that any affections, desires, or commitments ever justify sexual intercourse before or outside marriage; nor do they justify any form of sexual immorality.
[ARTICLE 3]
WE AFFIRM that God created Adam and Eve, the first human beings, in his own image, equal before God as persons, and distinct as male and female.
WE DENY that the divinely ordained differences between male and female render them unequal in dignity or worth.
[ARTICLE 4]
WE AFFIRM that divinely ordained differences between male and female reflect God’s original creation design and are meant for human good and human flourishing.
WE DENY that such differences are a result of the Fall or are a tragedy to be overcome.
[ARTICLE 5]
WE AFFIRM that the differences between male and female reproductive structures are integral to God’s design for self-conception as male or female.
WE DENY that physical anomalies or psychological conditions nullify the God-appointed link between biological sex and self-conception as male or female.
[ARTICLE 6]
WE AFFIRM that those born with a physical disorder of sex development are created in the image of God and have dignity and worth equal to all other image-bearers. They are acknowledged by our Lord Jesus in his words about “eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb.” With all others they are welcome as faithful followers of Jesus Christ and should embrace their biological sex insofar as it may be known.
WE DENY that ambiguities related to a person’s biological sex render one incapable of living a fruitful life in joyful obedience to Christ.
[ARTICLE 7]
WE AFFIRM that self-conception as male or female should be defined by God’s holy purposes in creation and redemption as revealed in Scripture.
WE DENY that adopting a homosexual or transgender self-conception is consistent with God’s holy purposes in creation and redemption.
[ARTICLE 8]
WE AFFIRM that people who experience sexual attraction for the same sex may live a rich and fruitful life pleasing to God through faith in Jesus Christ, as they, like all Christians, walk in purity of life.
WE DENY that sexual attraction for the same sex is part of the natural goodness of God’s original creation, or that it puts a person outside the hope of the gospel.
[ARTICLE 9]
WE AFFIRM that sin distorts sexual desires by directing them away from the marriage covenant and toward sexual immorality— a distortion that includes both heterosexual and homosexual immorality.
WE DENY that an enduring pattern of desire for sexual immorality justifies sexually immoral behavior.
[ARTICLE 10]
WE AFFIRM that it is sinful to approve of homosexual immorality or transgenderism and that such approval constitutes an essential departure from Christian faithfulness and witness.
WE DENY that the approval of homosexual immorality or transgenderism is a matter of moral indifference about which otherwise faithful Christians should agree to disagree.
[ARTICLE 11]
WE AFFIRM our duty to speak the truth in love at all times, including when we speak to or about one another as male or female.
WE DENY any obligation to speak in such ways that dishonor God’s design of his image-bearers as male and female.
[ARTICLE 12]
WE AFFIRM that the grace of God in Christ gives both merciful pardon and transforming power, and that this pardon and power enable a follower of Jesus to put to death sinful desires and to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.
WE DENY that the grace of God in Christ is insufficient to forgive all sexual sins and to give power for holiness to every believer who feels drawn into sexual sin.
[ARTICLE 13]
WE AFFIRM that the grace of God in Christ enables sinners to forsake transgender self-conceptions and by divine forbearance to accept the God-ordained link between one’s biological sex and one’s self-conception as male or female.
WE DENY that the grace of God in Christ sanctions self-conceptions that are at odds with God’s revealed will.
[ARTICLE 14]
WE AFFIRM that Christ Jesus has come into the world to save sinners and that through Christ’s death and resurrection forgiveness of sins and eternal life are available to every person who repents of sin and trusts in Christ alone as Savior, Lord, and supreme treasure.
WE DENY hat the Lord’s arm is too short to save or that any sinner is beyond his reach.
[Scriptural References*]
Gen. 1: 26-28
Gen. 2: 15-25
Gen. 3: 1-24
Exod. 20:14
Exod. 20:17
Lev. 18:22
Lev. 20:13
Deut. 5:18
Deut. 5:21
Deut. 22:5
Judges. 19:22
2 Sam. 11:1 - 12:15
Job 31:1
Psalm 51: 1-19
Prov. 5: 1-23
Prov. 6: 20-35
Prov. 7: 1-27
Isa. 59:1
Mal. 2:14
Matt. 5:27–30
Matt. 19: 4-6
Matt. 19: 8-9
Matt. 19:12
Acts 15:20, 29
Rom. 1: 26–27
Rom. 1:32
1 Cor. 6: 9–11
1 Cor. 6: 18-20
1 Cor 7: 1-7
2 Cor. 5:17
Gal. 5:24
Eph. 4:15
Eph. 4: 20–24
Eph. 5: 31–32
Col. 3:5
1 Thess. 4:3-8
1 Tim. 1:9–10
1 Tim 1:15
2 Tim. 2:22
Titus 2:11-12
Heb. 13:4
James 1:14–15
1 Pet. 2:11
Jude 7
* Scripture texts are not a part of the original document but have been added subsequently for reference
[INITIAL SIGNATORIES]
Institutional affiliation for identification purposes only
Denny Burk
President, Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
John Piper
Founder & Teacher, Desiring God; Chancellor, Bethlehem College & Seminary
James Dobson
Founder & President, Family Talk
Russell Moore
President, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
J. I. Packer
Professor of Theology, Regent College
Wayne Grudem
Research Professor of Theology and Biblical Studies, Phoenix Seminary
R. Albert Mohler, Jr.
President, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Tony Perkins
President, Family Research Council
D. A. Carson
President & Co-Founder, The Gospel Coalition; Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
John MacArthur
Pastor, Grace Community Church; President, The Master's Seminary & College
Sam Allberry
Editor, The Gospel Coalition
R. C. Sproul
Founder & Chairman, Ligonier Ministries
Rosaria Butterfield
Author of "The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert"
Francis Chan
Author & Pastor, We Are Church
Marvin Olasky
Editor in Chief, World Magazine
Ligon Duncan
Chancellor & CEO, Reformed Theological Seminary
Steve Gaines
President, The Southern Baptist Convention; Pastor, Bellevue Baptist Church
Andrew T. Walker
Director of Policy Studies, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
H.B. Charles, Jr.
Pastor, Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Florida
Christopher Yuan
Speaker & Author, Moody Bible Institute
Dennis Rainey
Founder & Former President, FamilyLife, a Cru Ministry
Frank Page
President & CEO, Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee; Former President, Southern Baptist Convention
Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth
Author & Speaker, Revive Our Hearts
Daniel L. Akin
President, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Kevin DeYoung
Senior Pastor, Christ Covenant Church
Alistair Begg
Reverend, Parkside Church
Heath Lambert
Executive Director, Association of Certified Biblical Counselors
Jerry A. Johnson
President & CEO, National Religious Broadcasters
Mark Dever
Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church
Randy Alcorn
Director, Eternal Perspective Ministries
Karen Swallow Prior
Professor of English, Liberty University
Matt Chandler
Pastor, The Village Church
Fred Luter
Senior Pastor Franklin Avenue Baptist Church; Former President, Southern Baptist Convention
James MacDonald
Founder & Senior Pastor, Harvest Bible Chapel
James Merritt
Pastor, Cross Pointe Church; Former President, Southern Baptist Convention
Jack Graham
Pastor, Prestonwood Baptist Church
J. D. Greear
Pastor, The Summit Church
Darryl Delhousaye
President, Phoenix Seminary
Thomas White
President, Cedarville University
Bryant Wright
Senior Pastor, Johnson Ferry Baptist Church; Former SBC President
Don Sweeting
President, Colorado Christian University
Jeff Purswell
Director of Theology, Sovereign Grace Churches
Johnny Hunt
Pastor, First Baptist Church of Woodstock
Jason K. Allen
President, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Erick-Woods Erickson
Editor in Chief, The Resurgent
Mark L. Bailey
President & Senior Professor of Bible Exposition, Dallas Theological Seminary
K. Erik Thoennes
Professor & Chair of Theology, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University
Vaughan Roberts
Rector of St. Ebbe's Church, Oxford, UK
David French
Senior Writer, National Review
Paige Patterson
President, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
R. Kent Hughes
Visiting Professor of Practical Theology of Evangelism and Culture, Westminster Theological Seminary
Jeff Iorg
President, Gateway Seminary
Sam Storms
Lead Pastor for Preaching and Vision, Bridgeway Church
Richard Land
President, Southern Evangelical Seminary
Barbara Rainey
Co-Founder, FamilyLife, a Cru Ministry
Robert A. J. Gagnon
Scholar & Author of "The Bible and Homosexual Practice"
Samuel W. "Dub" Oliver
President, Union University
Ronnie Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church; Former President, Southern Baptist Convention
C. J. Mahaney
Senior Pastor, Sovereign Grace Church of Louisville
Jason G. Duesing
Provost, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary & College
Matt Carter
Pastor, The Austin Stone Church
Chuck Kelley
President, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
Burk Parsons
Copastor, St. Andrew's Chapel
Eric Teetsel
President, Family Policy Alliance of Kansas
Alastair Roberts
Scholar & Author of "Heirs Together: A Theology of the Sexes"
Kevin Ezell
President, North American Mission Board
Ray Ortlund
Pastor, Immanuel Church
O. S. Hawkins
President, GuideStone SBC
Thom S. Rainer
President & CEO, LifeWay Christian Resources
Michael Reeves
President & Professor of Theology, Union School of Theology, UK
Todd Wagner
Pastor, Watermark Community Church
John M. Frame
Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology & Philosophy, Reformed Theological Seminary
Randy Stinson
Senior Vice President for Academic Administration & Provost, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Mac Brunson
Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church of Jacksonville
Paul Nyquist
President, Moody Bible Institute
Thomas Schreiner
James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
H. Wayne House
Dean & Distinguished Research Professor of Theology, Law, & Culture, Faith International University & Seminary
J. P. Moreland
Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University
Miguel Nunez
Pastor, Iglesia Bautista Internacional
Bruce Ware
Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Michael Goeke
Associate Pastor, First Baptist Church of San Francisco
Joel Belz
Founder, World Magazine, World News Group
Michael Horton
J. Gresham Machen Professor of Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California
Jackie Hill Perry
Speaker, Writer, Humble Beast Recording Artist
Dick Lucas
Reverend Prebendary, Rector Emeritus, St Helen's Bishopsgate, UK
Afshin Ziafat
Lead Pastor, Providence Church
Stephen Strang
Founder & CEO, Charisma Media
Christiana Holcomb
Legal Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom
Jimmy Draper
President Emeritus, LifeWay; Former President, Southern Baptist Convention
Stephen J. Wellum
Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Anthony Kidd
Pastor of Preaching, Community of Faith Bible Church
James M. Hamilton, Jr.
Professor of Biblical Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Bryan Carter
Senior Pastor, Concord Church
Owen Strachan
Associate Professor of Christian Theology, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Chris Larson
President & CEO, Ligonier Ministries
Bruce Riley Ashford
Provost & Professor of Theology & Culture, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Candi Finch
Assistant Professor of Theology in Women's Studies, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Curtis Woods
Associate Executive Director, Kentucky Baptist Convention
Nathan Finn
Dean, Professor of Theological Studies, Union University
James Robison
Founder & President, LIFE Outreach International; Founder & Publisher, The Stream
C. Ben Mitchell
Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy, Union University
Darrell Bock
Senior Professor, Dallas Theological Seminary
William Philip
Senior Minister, The Tron Church, Glasgow, UK
David Mathis
Executive Editor, Desiring God
Ken Magnuson
Professor of Christian Ethics, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Daniel Heimbach
Senior Professor of Christian Ethics, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Hershael W. York
Victor and Louise Lester Professor of Christian Preaching, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Mary Mohler
Director, Seminary Wives Institute
Hunter Baker
Associate Professor, Union University
Dorothy Kelley Patterson
Professor of Theology in Women's Studies, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Jim Shaddix
W. A. Criswell Professor of Expository Preaching, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
John N. Oswalt
Visiting Distinguished Professor of Old Testament, Asbury Theological Seminary
Jack Deere
Author & Speaker, Grace Church of St. Louis
Juan R. Sanchez
Senior Pastor, High Pointe Baptist Church, Austin, Texas
Malcolm B. Yarnell, III
Research Professor of Systematic Theology, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Jonathan Leeman
Editorial Director, 9Marks
Mary A. Kassian
Author & Director, Girls Gone Wise
Mark Daniel Liederbach
Vice President & Professor of Theology, Ethics and Culture, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Matthew J. Hall
Dean of Boyce College & Senior VP of Academic Innovation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Micah Fries
Senior Pastor, Brainerd Baptist Church
Nathan Lino
Senior Pastor, Northeast Houston Baptist Church
Paul Weber
President & CEO, Family Policy Alliance
Bob Lepine
Vice President of Content, FamilyLife
Andy Naselli
Associate Professor of New Testament and Theology, Bethlehem College & Seminary
John Stevens
National Director, Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches
Casey B. Hough
Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church of Camden
Russell Shubin
Director, Salem Media Group
Allan Coppedge
Retired Professor of Theology, Asbury Theological Seminary
Daniel DeWitt
Director of the Center for Biblical Apologetics & Public Christianity, Cedarville University
Charlotte Akin
Homemaker, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
David Schrock
Pastor for Preaching and Theology, Occoquan Bible Church
Don Buckley
Physician, Spanish Trail Family Physicians
E. Calvin Beisner
Founder & National Spokesman, Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship of Creation
Donald A. Balasa
Adjunct Faculty, Trinity International University
Donna Thoennes
Adjunct Professor & Homeschool Mom, Biola University
James A. Borland
Professor of New Testament & Theology, Liberty University
Eric C. Redmond
Assistant Professor of Bible, Moody Bible Institute
Grant Castleberry
Pastor of Discipleship, Providence Church of Frisco, Texas
Jose Abella
Lead Pastor, Providence Road Church
Phillip Bethancourt
Executive Vice President, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Adam W. Greenway
Dean, Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism, & Ministry, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Joy White
Homemaker & Assistant Professor of Women's Studies, Cedarville University
Gregory Wills
Dean, School of Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Katie McCoy
Assistant Professor of Theology in Women's Studies, Scarborough College at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Rhyne R. Putman
Associate Professor of Theology & Culture, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
Barry Joslin
Professor of Christian Theology, Boyce College
Rhonda Kelley
President's Wife, Adjunct Faculty, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
Peter Jones
Executive Director, TruthXchange
Bryan Baise
Assistant Professor of Philosophy & Apologetics, Boyce College
Kenneth Keathley
Senior Professor of Theology, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Jeff Struecker
Lead Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church
Rebecca Jones
Volunteer, TruthXchange
Evan Lenow
Associate Professor of Ethics, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Daniel Patterson
Vice President for Operations & Chief of Staff, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
David Talley
Professor of Old Testament, Biola University
Travis Wussow
Vice President for Public Policy, Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission
Sean Perron
Chief of Staff, Association of Certified Biblical Counselors
Michael L. Brown
President, FIRE School of Ministry
Keith Whitfield
Assistant Professor & Dean, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary
Jeffrey Riley
Professor of Ethics, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary
Dannah Gresh
Co-founder, Pure Freedom
Matt Damico
Associate Pastor of Worship, Kenwood Baptist Church
Colby Adams
Director of Communications, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Paul Felix
President, Los Angeles Bible Training School
Colin Smothers
Executive Director, Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood