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     Statements by Church Bodies

    A Proposed Overture to the 27th General Assembly of the PCA to be held in Louisville, KY
     Adopted by the Philadelphia Presbytery
    on
    May 8, 1999

    Whereas the Word of God affirms the sanctity of human life from conception and prohibits the unjust taking of any human life in the Sixth Commandment,

    Whereas the Westminster Larger Catechism Q&A#99 declares, “That what is forbidden or commanded to ourselves, we are bound, according to our places to endeavor that it may be avoided or performed by others, according to the duty of their places. That in what is commanded to others, we are bound, according to our places and callings, to be helpful to them; and to take heed of partaking with others in what is forbidden to them.”

    Whereas the PCA at its Sixth General Assembly affirmed the statement, “We condemn the intentional killing of unborn children.” And, the Eighth General Assembly adopted the following: “Whereas, the General Assembly, as a Court of Jesus Christ, should speak with a united voice in affirming the sanctity of human life under the protection of the Sixth Commandment. Therefore be it resolved, that the Eighth General Assembly clarifies the action of the Seventh General Assembly and reaffirms the statement of the Sixth General Assembly on abortion: ‘that because Scripture clearly affirms the sanctity of human life and condemns its arbitrary destruction, we affirm that the intentional killing of an unborn child between conception and birth, for any reason at any time, is clearly a violation of the Sixth Commandment.’”

    Whereas the Sixth General Assembly gave several recommendations to the Church including:

    1. That presbyteries, sessions, and congregations be encouraged to utilize available resources so that the cruelty and sinfulness of abortion may be fully understood;

    2. That the Committee for Christian Education and Publication, under the auspices of the Stated Clerk, be directed to have this report published. . .and that this publication be sent to each church and pastor. . .;

    1. That we remind all Christians of their duty to show compassionate love and understanding to families in distress as a result of pregnancies, and to offer these families sympathetic counsel and help for physical needs where required. This duty is especially incumbent upon us as we minister to persons contemplating abortion;

    2. That all members of the Presbyterian Church in America be encouraged to seek to bring about substantial changes in existing legislation so that the human life of an unborn child be recognized and protected, and that special attention be given to informing our elected representatives at all levels of government of God’s Word pertaining to abortion and to lift up in prayer these ministers of God in civil affairs;

    1. That the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly on behalf of the Presbyterian Church in America, be directed to communicate to the President of the United States, the leaders of Congress, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, this report along with the following statement: “God declares in Sacred Scripture that civil government, no less than the Church, is a divine institution and owes its authority to God. The Bible is the supreme revelation of God’s will and teaches that the unborn child is a human person deserving the full protection of the Sixth commandment, ‘You shall not murder.’ We who love our nation, in the name of God who alone is sovereign, call upon you to renounce the sin of abortion, to repent of the complicity in the mass slaughter of innocent unborn children who are persons in the sight of God, and to reverse the ruinous direction of both law and practice in this area. The obedience to God which places us in subjection to your rightful authority, requires of us to proclaim the counsel of God as it bears upon that same God-given authority. We are and remain your humble and obedient servants”’

    Whereas there have been over 30 million abortions since the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision, and abortion is still legal in all forms in every state in our nation,

    Whereas the concerns of the Sixth and Eighth General Assemblies are even more vital today than when first delivered in view of the sheer number of abortions, and the pressure by our culture to normalize abortion, and the length of the struggle to correct this sin in our culture,

    Whereas there have been 17 General Assemblies since the Eighth General Assembly which has seen the growth of our church in hundreds of churches and pastors, as well as several Presidents, Supreme Court Justices, and Congressional leaders, most of whom have not been provided by our General Assembly with our Church’s resolutions on the evil of abortion and our Church’s excellent statement on the sanctity of life;

    Therefore Be it Resolved, that the Twenty Seventh General Assembly reaffirm with a united voice, the sanctity of human life under the protection of the Sixth Commandment and that the following actions be taken by the General Assembly through our Stated Clerk’s Office as soon as possible:

    1. A distribution of the Report of the Ad Interim Committee on Abortion adopted by the Sixth General Assembly to every Church begun in the PCA since the Eighth General Assembly, and to every pastor ordained and still serving in the PCA since that same time.

    2. A communication to all of our current officials in government in the same language and spirit of the recommendation #8 of the same Report, that says, “That the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly on behalf of the Presbyterian Church in America, be directed to communicate to the President of the United States, the leaders of Congress, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, this report along with the following statement: ‘God declares in Sacred Scripture that civil government, no less than the Church, is a divine institution and owes its authority to God. The Bible is the supreme revelation of God’s will and teaches that the unborn child is a human person deserving the full protection of the Sixth commandment, “You shall not murder.” We who love our nation, in the name of God who alone is sovereign, call upon you to renounce the sin of abortion, to repent of the complicity in the mass slaughter of innocent unborn children who are persons in the sight of God, and to reverse the ruinous direction of both law and practice in this area. The obedience to God which places us in subjection to your rightful authority, requires of us to proclaim the counsel of God as it bears upon that same God-given authority. We are and remain your humble and obedient servants’”

    3. That a procedure be established to see that actions #1 and #2 of this overture be carried out in subsequent years of the PCA as new churches, pastors and governmental administrations shall appear until the sin of legalized abortion in America will have ceased.

    4. That every Presbytery and every local congregation in the PCA be urged to establish a Sanctity of Life Committee to help implement the 10 recommendations of the Sixth General Assembly’s adopted Report.

    5. That the Stated Clerk include in his future annual reports to General Assembly and the regional churches and local churches and pastors information that will assist them in carrying out recommendations #5 and #6 of the Sixth General Assembly’s Report that say, “5. That we remind all Christians of their duty to show compassionate love and understanding to families in distress as a result of pregnancies, and to offer these families sympathetic counsel and help for physical needs where required. This duty is especially incumbent upon us as we minister to persons contemplating abortion; 6. That all members of the Presbyterian Church in America be encouraged to seek to bring about substantial changes in existing legislation so that the human life of an unborn child be recognized and protected, and that special attention be given to informing our elected representatives at all levels of government of God’s Word pertaining to abortion and to lift up in prayer these ministers of God in civil affairs.”

    6. That the General Assembly establish a Sanctity of Life Sub-Committee under the Christian Education and Publications Committee to assist the Stated Clerk in each of these functions.

    7. That all future General Assemblies be requested to pray specifically for the ending of abortion during the Report of the Stated Clerk.

    8. That our sister churches in NAPARC and the NAE and other allied missionary or ministry organizations be informed of the PCA’s resolve to stand biblically and faithfully for the sanctity of life, and urge them to take similar steps as our own as deemed appropriate for their circumstances.

    9. Finally, that a national PCA day of Prayer and Fasting for the ending of abortion in America be called for to be held at an appropriate day in the year A. D. 2000.

    Response to Overture 27 by the 27th General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America

    That Overture 27 from the Presbytery of Philadelphia, “Reaffirm the Sanctity of Life,” be answered with this substitute:

    Adopted as amended

     The 27th General Assembly of the PCA reaffirms with united voice the sanctity of human life under the protection of the Sixth Commandment. And to that end,
    1. The Stated Clerk is requested to do the following:
      1. Remind all the churches and presbyteries of the continuing availability of its published report on the sanctity of Human Life adopted by the Sixth General Assembly
      2. That his letter to the churches regarding the actions of the 27th General Assembly repeat recommendations 2, 3, 5, 6, and 8 urging our churches and presbyteries to seek God’s enablement and grace to implement them in light of the continued tragedy of abortion on demand in America.
      3. Appoint someone to lead the Assembly in prayer for this issue at this time
      4. Appoint a national PCA day of prayer and fasting for the ending of abortion to be held at an appropriate day in the year AD 2000, inviting NAE churches, our sister NAPARC churches and other approved PCA ministries and agencies to join with us.

    2. That each of the PCA Presbyteries be urged to establish a pro-life committee to address the recommendations of the Sixth General Assembly Report on the Sanctity of Human Life among it constituent particular churches.
    RE Robert Brown led the Assembly in prayer regarding the sanctity of life issue.



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