Just this past Tuesday, I shared with a group of women Lesson 5 of the Horizon Bible Study Cloud of Witnesses. We studied the most recent addition to our Book of Confessions in 2016, the Confession of Belhar. Today, after the comments made by the President of the United States of America about the people from Haiti and African nations, we are challenged again and again by the words on the confession to act on our convictions as the church of Christ even when it is contrary to the believes of the people in authority:
Highlights of the Confession of Belhar
We believe
that unity is both a gift and an obligation for the church of Jesus Christ
that this unity must become visible so that the world may believe that separation, enmity and hatred between people and groups is sin which Christ has already conquered, and accordingly that anything which threatens this unity may have no place in the church and must be resisted (John 17:20-23)
Therefore, we reject any doctrine
which would legitimate forms of injustice and any doctrine which is unwilling to resist such an ideology in the name of the gospel.
We believe that, in obedience to Jesus Christ, its only head, the church is called to confess and to do all these things, even though the authorities and human laws might forbid them and punishment and suffering be the consequence (Eph. 4:15-16; Acts 5:29-33; 1 Peter 2:18-25; 1 Peter 3:15-18).
(for the complete Confession of Belhar: pcusa.org/belhar-text)
May God Bless us and help us to act with courage against all forms of hate and injustice.