Journal: Eikon
Volume: EIKON 02:2 (Fall 2020)
Article: PCA Report Names Sin While Not Being Named by It
Author: Denny R. Burk

Eikon 2.2 (Fall 2020) p. 6

PCA Report Names Sin While Not Being Named by It

Denny Burk

The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) has been facing a great deal of internal controversy over the last couple of years because of the Revoice Conference, which was first hosted in 2018 by a PCA church in St. Louis. The following summer, the PCA General Assembly addressed the controversy with two crucial decisions. First, the General Assembly voted to affirm the Nashville Statement and to use the Nashville Statement in discipleship materials produced by the denomination.1 Second (and I believe more consequentially), the General Assembly voted to appoint a committee to draft a statement of belief on gender and sexuality. Bryan Chapell, Kevin DeYoung, and Tim Keller are among those who were tasked with drafting the report.

The committee has completed its work and issued its report on May 28, 2020.2 Their work now awaits consideration at the 2021 meeting of the General Assembly, where it will hopefully be approved by the denomination. The report aligns with the teaching of the Nashville Statement but roots its affirmations much more explicitly within the Reformed tradition.

The report is quite long, but the heart of it consists of twelve affirmations that set forth the consensus of the committee and hopefully of the entire denomination. So even if you are not able to read the entire document, you at least need to read the twelve statements. They address every major point of contention in the intramural debate among evangelicals about gender and sexuality.

Eikon 2.2 (Fall 2020) p. 7

Here are some of the most significant items that I noted in my reading of the twelve affirmations:

1. The Moral Status Of Same-Sex Attraction

“The experience of same-sex attraction is not morally neutral; the attraction is an expression of original or indwelling sin that must be repented of and put to death.” – Statement 4

This has been a major point of contention over the last several years among evangelicals. While all sides recognize that same-sex behavior is sinful, there has been disagreement about same-sex attraction. The Revoice/Spiritual Friendship side of the conversation typically treats same-sex attraction as a morally benign reality or as something to be sanctified. Heath Lambert and I wrote an entire book refuting that perspective.3 Many others have weighed in as well. With this statement, the PCA would be putting this issue to rest once and for all — at least in the PCA.

2. Defining Concupiscence

This may see...