In an effort to prayerful think through reasons why any evangelical or orthodox Presbyterian should remain in the Presbyterian Church (USA) I came across the 17th chapter of The Second Helvetic Confession. There are number of points that stood out to me, but I want to start with the following:
We know moreover, what kind of churches the churches in Galatia and Corinth were in the apostle’s time, in which the apostle found fault with many serious offenses; yet he calls them holy churches of Christ. (1 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:2)
This last part really stood out to me. Paul was on to something that we who suffer the weight of incivility in all public forums and spaces have lost sight of how to do in the Church. Love someone enough to offer a corrective without abandoning. Sadly, we live in an age of abandonment and that is especially true for the modern relationship. Once one party “checks out” they lose the right to speak to the matter than if they had stayed. All this to say I am deeply convicted this morning by what this nugget of wisdom from our Reformed history has said about proclaiming Christ in a time of division. I pray that it helps you discern how Christ sees the Church.
Rev. Shawn J. Smith 