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God
repents so why doesn’t the ECUSA?
Peter
Toon
Not once but often in the Bible we are told that God repents. Not that he
committed sin and then turned from it. Rather, that he intended a certain
action against his covenant people and then he turned away from that
action because of a change in them or because he decided to exercise mercy
and forgiveness, when they did not deserve such. In such repenting, we
believe that God maintained his holiness and righteousness wholly intact
and pure. The fact that God repents is a reflection of the dynamic
relation between his justice and grace for, as the Almighty, he is
simultaneously the Judge and the merciful One. [For texts see Strong’s
Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible.]
So, if God can and does change his mind and his intended action, why
cannot the ECUSA (which after all is much less than God) also repent, that
is, change its corporate and collective mind and then its action. Why
cannot this corporate body do a U-turn and seek to return to the narrow
way that leads unto Life?
In diocesan conventions and in the national convention the Bishops, clergy
and lay leaders are able (but only as inspired and assisted by the grace
and mercy of God) to change their collective mind both with respect to its
internal working paradigm and in relation to a series of innovations
introduced in recent times.
Romans 12:2 speaks of the renewing of the mind of the Body of Christ (“Do
not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your
mind…”) and once this Holy-Spirit assisted process is begun then
repentance – change of mind and of direction with appropriate emotions
exercised – can begin, and not merely for the introduction of same-sex
blessings, but also for other serious departures from the revealed will
and commandments of God. After all, the introduction of same-sex
blessings was the most recent of a series of clear departures by the ECUSA
from biblical and historic Christianity and Anglican Faith & Order.
Let us hear Revelation 2: 5, “Remember then from what you have fallen,
repent and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come and remove
your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”
It is difficult to think of such a Revival in modern times descending from
heaven upon a “liberal denomination” in a vast supermarket of religions
which is the U.S.A. and causing its leadership to heartily engage in a
U-turn towards that which has been previously rejected. But with God all
things are possible, even if not probable.
It is much easier to think of a liberal denomination such as the ECUSA
deciding for political and religious reasons to express regret that its
actions have caused offence to others in the Anglican Family, and to do so
without engaging in a real U-turn of repentance but rather by calling a
halt to further innovation (at least for the present time, until the
crisis is over) and seeking to be “nice” to everyone around.
However, Repentance – real change of mind and heart – rather than mere
regret is necessary by the ECUSA leadership because it has knowingly and
deliberately moved so far away from the revealed will of God for his
Church and has rejoiced in that departure and apostasy. (Let us also not
forget that everyone within the ECUSA is affected by this apostasy, even
those who protest against it, for it is a shared cancer within the one
body.)
The Rev’d Dr Peter Toon All Saints’ Eve, 2004
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