The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) has created a declaration upholding the biblical standpoint on sexuality.
The 15-page document was crafted by an international group of theologians and includes the organisation’s statements on a plethora of issues, intended to be a guide for the members of the WEA. It was presented at the WEA General Assembly. The assembly was hosted in the capital of South Korea by the 60,000-member SaRang Church in Seoul and facilitated the gathering of over 850 evangelicals from around the world.
The theme of the event was “The Gospel for Everyone by 2033”, and a number of the sessions held were dedicated to how this goal may manifest in only 8 years.
A spokesperson from the organisation has stated that it is aimed at outlining “how the Church ought to have direction for the future”.
The document’s introduction stated that the meeting takes place “at a pivotal moment in human history – marked by the aftershocks of a global pandemic, widespread economic uncertainty, intensifying conflicts across multiple regions, and the rapid emergence of artificial intelligence into the public sphere.” It also disclosed that churches globally have not been spared from these issues, with a number of them enduring “hardship, suffering and deepening social fragmentation”.
It then plainly states the standpoint of the WEA on these issues. “Therefore, we affirm that practising homosexuality is sin (Romans 1:26-27), contrary to God’s design for human sexuality. But we proclaim this truth not with condemnation, but in love – offering hope, healing, and freedom that is found in Christ alone (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).”
Another section of the declaration also acknowledges struggles in many societies with questions of identity, sexuality, and belonging. It went on to encourage evangelicals to “listen with humility, walk with compassion, and minister with biblical clarity and pastoral tenderness.”
“We desire to be a Church that speaks truth while embodying grace, always remembering our own need for mercy (Titus 3:3-7),” it continues.
In another section, the WEA affirms that humans are created “male and female, equal in dignity and worth”, and clarifies that marriage is a “sacred union” between one man and one woman.
It also addresses the practice of euthanasia, rejecting what it describes as “the culture of death that devalues the weak, the elderly, and the unborn” and clarifying “the sacredness of life from conception to natural death”.
The declaration later expresses the WEA’s dedication to “boldly resisting all ideological systems that suppress freedom of faith and distort biblical anthropology, even as we boldly share the truth in love and proclaim Christ with compassion, humility, and courage.”