An Open Letter to CTS by a Graduate
An Open Letter to Columbia Theological Seminary – PC(USA)
As a graduate of Columbia Theological Seminary, I am obliged to decry, as I have in other venues, the recent action of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America by which your denomination has voted to allow avowed, practicing homosexuals to be ordained as ministers and elders in a church of the Lord Jesus Christ, for by so doing it has usurped the authority not only of the Bible but also of the Lord Jesus to declare what is not sin or what is tolerable as sin and has publicly declared its authority, by human consensus, over that of Jesus Christ the Universal Lord and denied what is necessary for God’s forgiveness: acknowledgment and confession of sin, repentance, and determination to resist sin in obedience to his will.
I am obliged to decry further the PC(USA) for now lying to its congregants and to the world at large about sin and forgiveness, the nature of the church, and primarily about the lordship of Jesus Christ.
In a word, I decry the PC(USA)’s propagation of the Great Lie: that Jesus is not Lord, a position that incurs the judgment of the God who hates all liars (Revelation 2:2; 21:8).
The purpose of the institutional church, as an organization, is to propagate the Great Truth: that Jesus is Lord. The PC(USA), on the other hand, has opted to establish the parameters of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ and in so doing has arrogantly usurped, if only in one point, the authority of the Bible and specifically of the Lord Jesus to establish the source and nature of sin (cf. Mark 7:14-23) and the requirements for forgiveness and participation in the work of the Holy Spirit. That usurpation is nothing less than an act of heresy!
Moreover, the PC(USA) now officially defines homosexual practice as being without sin. If, then, its ministers now counsel against other sins while claiming themselves to be faithful ministers of God’s Word, they are guilty of hypocrisy.
The PC(USA) and concurring denominations have, consequently, in spirit and intention, broken with the Church spiritual and historical as it has been handed down through the centuries.
The PC(USA), by its recent ratification, has defamed and disgraced what it means to be Reformed and Presbyterian, has joined, in its way, the false prophets of the Old Testament and, categorically, the false prophets of the New Testament.
To those who say the above comments are an exaggeration, I say they are at best an understatement and a call for all true Presbyterians to engage publicly and vociferously in a New Reformation to redeem the name Presbyterian and to reassert the authority of the Bible and of the Living Lord Jesus.
With the prayer that essential aspects of institutional Protestant churches will be reclaimed for the sake of the perfecting of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ Universal and Militant,
Rob Roy McGregor (Class of 1957)
Anderson, South Carolina
June 25, 2011
Editor’s Comments
Dr. McGregor is a retired minister in Second Presbytery. He is the translator of John Calvin’s Sermons on Acts and Sermons on Genesis (1-11), recently published by Banner of Truth.
Dr. McGregor is also the one who is responsible for the motion that was adopted by the 2011 General Synod that condemns the PCUSA for allowing the ordination of those who are avowed, practicing homosexual. Below is a copy of the motion:
“WHEREAS the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America PC(USA) has taken action at its 220th General Assembly to ratify Amendment 10-A,
“And WHEREAS Amendment 10-A removes the constitutional requirement that all ministers, elders and deacons live in
“fidelity within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman or chastity in singleness.” (www.pcusa.org/news),
“And WHEREAS this action will allow the ordination of persons such as practicing homosexuals who do not live according to Biblical standards of sexual morality,
And WHEREAS by doing so the PC(USA) has blatantly usurped God’s authority given in His Holy Scriptures,
“And WHEREAS the PCUSA is propagating to its congregants the lie that homosexuality is acceptable in God’s sight, defying the truth of the Scriptures, which condemns homosexuality as sin,
“THEREFORE in humble acknowledgement of her own shortcomings, the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, at its 207th Synod meeting, condemns the action taken by the PC(USA) and implores the PC(USA) to confession, repentance and recantation over this recent action for the sake of the unity, peace, purity and prosperity of the Church of Jesus Christ Universal and Militant.”
Dr. McGregor would also like the readers of ARPTalk to know that his original motion read in the following manner:
“The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, at its 207th session, hereby goes on record as decrying the action of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (PCUSA) taken at its annual meeting in 2010 and ratified in 2011 to allow avowed, practicing homosexuals to be ordained as ministers and elders in a church of the Lord Jesus Christ, for by so doing it has usurped the authority not only of the Bible but also of the Lord Jesus to declare what is not sin or what is tolerable as sin and has publicly declared its authority, by human consensus, over that of Jesus Christ the universal Lord and denied what is necessary for God’s forgiveness: acknowledgment and confession of sin, repentance, and determination to resist sin in obedience to his will. We further decry the PCUSA for now lying to its congregants and to the world at large about sin and forgiveness, the nature of the church, and primarily about the lordship of Jesus Christ.
“In a word, the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church decries the PCUSA, along with their concurring Protestant denominations, for propagating the Great Lie: that Jesus is not Lord, a position that incurs the judgment of the God who hates all liars (Revelation. 2:2; 21:8).
“The Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church, in humble acknowledgement of its own shortcomings, calls the PCUSA and all denominations in sympathy with it to confession, repentance, and recantation for the sake of the peace, purity, and prosperity of the Church of Jesus Christ Universal and Militant.
Furthermore, Dr. McGregor adds the commentary below.
“A careful reading of the original motion shows that any Christian denomination, the PC(USA) in this particular case, that officially condones the practice of a declared and widely acknowledged sin (in this case, homosexuality) arrogantly usurps, if only in one point, the authority of the Bible and specifically of Jesus Christ (cf. Mark 7:14-23) to establish the source and nature of sin and the requirements for forgiveness. That usurpation is nothing less than an act of heresy!
“Moreover, denominations that concur with the PC(USA) in officially condoning that or other biblically affirmed sins and continue to define sin by human consensus and to counsel against other sins, while claiming themselves to be faithful ministers of God’s Word, are guilty of hypocrisy
“The PC(USA) and concurring denominations have, consequently, in spirit and intention, broken with the Church spiritual and historical as it has been handed down through the centuries. In so doing, they foster the Great Lie: “that Jesus is not Lord, a position that incurs the judgment of the God who hates all liars (Revelation. 2:2; 21:8).”
“That position is either stated or implied in Synod’s revision of the original motion, but the revision lacks some explanatory specifics.
“The PC(USA), by its action, has defamed and disgraced what it means to be Reformed and Presbyterian. The ARP Church and others that claim the heritage of the Protestant Reformation should not remain silent.
“To those who say those comments are an exaggeration, I say they are at best an understatement and a call for all true Presbyterians to engage in a New Reformation to reclaim the authority of the Bible and the Living Lord Jesus.
“With the prayer that essential aspects of institutional Protestant churches will be reclaimed for the sake of the perfecting of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ Universal and Militant,”
Dr. Rob Roy McGregor
