Methodist Church report claims God is calling them to hold ‘gay marriages’

Romans 1:28-32: “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

It is a sad sign of the truly apostate, godless age in which we have been called by God to live that churches are moving towards supporting the holding of same sex ‘marriages’.

The Quakers in Ireland last year ratified the holding of ‘marriages’ between two people of the same gender, despite the Bible calling such relationships an “abomination” (Leviticus 18:22), with the first such ‘union’ taking place in the Republic of Ireland earlier this year. This followed on from the Quakers in England supporting it a few years ago.

By the mercy of God, same sex ‘marriage’ remains illegal in Northern Ireland, so such moves by the Quakers have no effect here as yet.

The Church of Ireland, at its General Synod in 2017, narrowly rejected a motion to request public services of thanksgiving for same-sex relationships, with 176 against, 146 in favour and 24 abstaining.

The direction of travel is concerning to any true believer, and it is against this backdrop of apostasy that we see a report being brought to the Methodist Church in Britain’s Conference, running from 27 June to 4 July, which will support same sex marriage within the Methodist Church.

This abominable report has been brought by the Methodist Church’s ‘Marriage and Relationships Task Force’.

The Chair of the group is Rev Ken Howcroft (pictured, top), while other members we have been able to identify are Rev Ashley Cooper and ‘Rev’ Naomi Cooke (1 Timothy 2:12).

The 67 page report, which you can access yourself by clicking here, is Biblically illiterate, to put it generously. It is clearly written from a position of outright support for the introduction of sodomite ‘marriage’, with truly pathetic arguments proffered in favour of this outrageous abandonment of God’s Word.

Indeed they have the brass neck on them to claim that to hold sodomite ‘marriages’ in Methodist Churches is what God would want!

What rank apostasy this is.

This is the conclusion of the sorry, God-defying report.

It says: “We believe that, in awe and humility, the Methodist Church needs to recognise that it is being called by God to take the next steps in the development of its understanding of relationships and marriage. Those steps include enabling people of the same sex to commit themselves to each other in Christian marriage services.

“There is a strong case that, if marriage is what the Methodist Church says it is, and is as wonderful as it says it is, this Church cannot remain true to the God of justice and love by continuing to deny it to those same-sex couples who desire it so deeply.

“In recommending this move, the Task Group believes that we are responding to the promptings of the Spirit in the light of the gospel values and the trajectories of development that are recorded in the Scriptures overall. We believe that in taking this step, the Methodist Church will be being both scriptural and faithful.”

These individuals have the audacity to say they are “being called by God” to sanction the ‘marriage’ of individuals whose actions are described by God as “an abomination”.

They say they “cannot remain true” to God if they don’t do that and they are “responding to the prompting of the Spirit”.

What “Spirit” are they referring to? It is certainly not the Holy Spirit.

Indeed, to invoke His name is surely to be at grave risk of grieving the Holy Spirit, something we are told in Scripture will not be forgiven.

Mark 3:28-29 says: “Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme: But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation”.

What a frightening risk to take with their souls.

The report also claims they are being “scriptural and faithful” in legislating for that which God has cursed.

What sorry, deluded people they are.

Within the report, they have rejected numerous Scripture proofs used to clearly demonstrate that sodomy is a sin cursed by God.

These include the following passages.

Leviticus 18:22: “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.”

Leviticus 20:13: “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination”.

1 Corinthians 6:9-10: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”

1 Timothy 1:9-10: “Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine”.

Romans 1:26-27: “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.”

They really are very clear yet these clerical compromisers strive to twist, contort, distort and obscure the Bible in such a way as to overthrow these clear passages and cast doubt over the integrity of God’s Word.

And it is all to meet their own sordid end of facilitating that which God calls an “abomination” in their church, and having the temerity to claim it is done with God’s seal of approval.

We can only pray that God will open their blinded eyes and forgive them of their wicked sin.

To go into all the detail of the pathetic, abominable rejection of Scripture carried out in this report in relation to the passages above would take too long, but we will address some of it.

It is quite clear there are wilful omissions of further Bible passages which pour even more cement on the iron-clad certainty of the point that God has cursed sodomy.

They proffer the pathetic argument that God destroyed Sodom due to the inhospitality shown to the angels of the Lord who visited Lot. We’re not sure what you think, dear reader, but we would describe attempted sodomite gang rape as being rather worse than inhospitable!

Indeed, they conveniently neglect to mention this passage from Jude v 6-7, which says: “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”

Eternal fire fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah for “going after strange flesh”. Perhaps the Methodist Task Group missed that.

They overthrow everything contained within the Levitical law, dribbling that “it is hard to pick out some of them as still binding and dispense with the others”.

The very verse after the Leviticus 18:22 prohibition of sodomy puts a ban on bestiality. Do we dispense with that too? What a pathetic argument.

And the old chestnut about temple worship is used to wish away Romans 1:26-27.

Anyone seen those words or a reference to that in this passage? Nope, us neither.

They spew out this: “Paul may be thinking of ritual prostitution and excessive sexual acts committed in connection with pagan cults and temples”.

Where does this come from? The passage says that homosexual acts of any kind are “vile affections”. It doesn’t say they are vile when connected to idolatrous practices, it is a blanket term for same-sex acts.

The document also singularly fails to point out that God created a woman for Adam and ordained the union of man and woman.

Genesis 2:24: “Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.”

This was reinforced by Jesus, who said in Matthew 19:4-5: “Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh?”

This is but a very small snapshot of the Biblical ignorance and indeed Biblical rejection of each of the individuals involved in compiling this report.

Each one of them ought to be ashamed of themselves.

The report will be brought to the Methodist Conference and, if accepted, will be “submitted to the wider church for consultation during 2019-2020, with a final decision being made at the 2020 Conference”.

As a response to this shameful move by the Methodist Church, which would apply in England, Scotland and Wales but not in Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland, a grouping called Methodist Evangelicals Together called for a day of prayer and fasting, to be held on Friday past.

If they are true evangelicals, it is hard to imagine what they are still doing in a denomination which is even considering such a God-defying move, but they are at least to be commended for sticking their head above the parapet against the in vogue sin of the age – sodomy. It is not an easy thing to do – just ask Israel Folau.

While faithfulness to God is not easy, especially in this grievously sinful age in which we live, let us all strive every day to be faithful to God, to love that which He loves and hate that which He hates.

And let us all pray for a mighty outpouring of His Spirit in our day and generation.

Let us pray for a revival.

It is the only thing that will turn the tide of sodomy and all other dreadful sins which so debauch, corrupt and defile our land today.

We are promised that this will come if we earnestly seek it.

Let us all resolve even to do so, starting even from now.

2 Chronicles 7:14: “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”