Baptist church requires members to sign 'biblical sexuality' pledge: 'An exercise in clarity ... in a sexually confused world'

A Baptist church in Florida has created a statement affirming traditional marriage and the gender binary, and all congregants must affirm the statement by mid-March or forfeit their membership.

Last October, leaders of First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, developed a statement that recognizes exclusively traditional Christian beliefs regarding marriage and sexuality.

"As a member of First Baptist Church, I believe that God creates people in his image as either male or female, and that this creation is a fixed matter of human biology, not individual choice," the first half of the statement reads.

"I believe marriage is instituted by God, not government, is between one man and one woman, and is the only context for sexual desire and expression," the statement concludes, citing passages from Genesis, Matthew, Corinthians, and Romans to support that teaching.

First Baptist Church members have until March 19 to sign the statement. Those who refuse or who fail to do so will have their membership automatically revoked.

Though critics have accused the church and its leaders of so-called "anti-LGBTQ" bigotry on account of this statement, Senior Pastor Heath Lambert countered that the statement denounces all gender and sexual practices that do not conform to biblical truth. "This positive statement," Lambert later wrote, "equally forbids the range of human sinful sexual expression, including fornication, adultery, pornography, homosexuality, transgenderism, and others."

Lambert also asserted that the doctrines discussed in the statement are not new. "These are basic facts of life, and they are wonderful," he stated on a YouTube video. He added in writing that the statement "is an exercise in clarity so that our members might understand our most fundamental commitments in a sexually confused world."

Lambert and others hosted a question-and-answer session to address concerns regarding the statement. One woman who attended the meeting with "her partner" claimed that the statement erases the "existence" of "LGBTQ+ people."

"This church is no longer a religious place of worship welcome to all ..." the woman stated. "Forcing your members to sign a contract erasing our existence just adds to the mountains of resentment that LGBTQ+ people already have for the church at large. Is that what you want? To draw a larger wedge between God and queer people? To sanitize the world from us or eliminate our existence? This oath is disgusting and not what God would want."

The woman did state that she had been "raised Baptist," but did not clarify whether she was a member of First Baptist Church.

Lambert reiterated that sexual "revolutionaries" are not the "enemies" of Christians and that the church is called to witness the gospel to those who seek to thwart the church's mission. "It is the ultimate demonstration of hatefulness for Christians to know about sin, to know that sin will separate sinners from God forever, and yet refuse to call sinners to repentance," Lambert said. "On the other hand, it is the love of Christ to point out sin and call people to faith in Jesus."

Lambert also claimed that he and his fellow church leaders have received "a windfall of support from our own congregation as well as religious leaders around the country," and most people who attended the Q&A event supported the statement and Lambert's leadership regarding the culture and human sexuality.

"At First Baptist, we want to be a united church, a clear church," Lambert added, "and we want to be a church that shares the love of Jesus with lost people."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!