A Constitutional Amendment to the Book of Order approved.
This overture, copied
here, from the Presbytery of San Jose was approved by the Church Orders and Ministry
Committee. The General Assembly also approved this amendment to G-2.0104a in
our Form of Government by a vote of 329 YES to 275 NO. Please note this
amendment adds one sentence to G-2.0104a: “This includes repentance of sin
and diligent use of the means of grace.” None of the current language is
deleted.
The Presbytery of San
Jose overtures the 220th General Assembly (2012) to direct the Stated Clerk to
send the following proposed amendment to the presbyteries for their affirmative
or negative vote:
Shall G-2.0104a
of the Book of Order be
amended as follows: [Text to be added is shown as italic.]
“a. To those
called to exercise special functions in the church—deacons, ruling elders, and
teaching elders—God gives suitable gifts for their various duties. In addition
to possessing the necessary gifts and abilities, those who undertake particular
ministries should be persons of strong faith, dedicated discipleship, and love
of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Their manner of life should be a
demonstration of the Christian gospel in the church and in the world. This
includes repentance of sin and diligent use of the means of grace. They
must have the approval of God’s people and the concurring judgment of a council
of the church.
RATIONALE
Section G-2.0104 of
the Book of Order states:
a. To those called to exercise special functions
in the church—deacons, ruling elders, and teaching elders—God gives suitable
gifts for their various duties. In addition to possessing the necessary gifts
and abilities, those who undertake particular ministries should be persons of
strong faith, dedicated discipleship, and love of Jesus Christ as Savior and
Lord. Their manner of life should be a demonstration of the Christian gospel in
the church and in the world. They must have the approval of God’s people and the
concurring judgment of a council of the church; and
The Westminster Larger Catechism, 7.305
states:
Q.
195. What do we pray for in the sixth petition?
A.
In the sixth petition (which is, “And lead us not into temptation, but deliver
us from evil”), acknowledging that the most wise, righteous, and gracious God,
for divers holy and just ends, may so order things that we may be assaulted,
foiled, and for a time led captive by temptations; that Satan, the world, and
the flesh, are ready powerfully to draw us aside and ensnare us; and that we,
even after the pardon of our sins, by reason of our corruption, weakness, and
want of watchfulness, are not only subject to be tempted, and forward to expose
ourselves unto temptations, but also of ourselves unable and unwilling to
resist them, to recover out of them, and to improve them; and worthy to be left
under the power of them; we pray: that God would so overrule the world and all
in it, subdue the flesh, and restrain Satan, order all things, bestow and bless
all means of grace, and quicken us to watchfulness in the use of them, that we
and all his people may by his providence be kept from being tempted to sin; or,
if tempted, that by his Spirit we may be powerfully supported and enabled to
stand in the hour of temptation; or, when fallen, raised again and recovered
out of it, and have a sanctified use and improvement thereof; that our
sanctification and salvation may be perfected, Satan trodden under our feet,
and we fully freed from sin, temptation, and all evil forever. (The Book of
Confessions, The Larger Catechism, 7.305)
When a church member is found guilty of an
offense because of acting contrary to the Scriptures and/or the
Constitution of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), that person is censured and
the following is part of the public rebuke:
“We urge you to use diligently the means of
grace to the end that you may be more obedient to our Lord Jesus Christ” (Book
of Order, D-12.0102).
We respectfully overture for the above specified
amendment to G-2.0104a.
