“Know that the LORD Himself is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves…”

–Psalm 100:3

Preamble

Evangelical Christians at the dawn of the twenty-first century find themselves living in a period of historic transition. As Western culture has become increasingly post-Christian, it has embarked upon a massive revision of what it means to be a human being. By and large the spirit of our age no longer discerns or delights in the beauty of God’s design for human life. Many deny that God created human beings for his glory, and that his good purposes for us include our

personal and physical design as male and female. It is common to think that human identity as male and female is not part of God’s beautiful plan, but is, rather, an expression of an individual’s autonomous preferences. The pathway to full and lasting joy through God’s good design for his creatures is thus replaced by the path of shortsighted alternatives that, sooner or later, ruin human life and dishonor God.

This secular spirit of our age presents a great challenge to the Christian church. Will the church of the Lord Jesus Christ lose her biblical conviction, clarity, and courage, and blend into the spirit of the age? Or will she hold fast to the word of life, draw courage from Jesus, and unashamedly proclaim his way as the way of life? Will she maintain her clear, counter-cultural witness to a world that seems bent on ruin?

We are persuaded that faithfulness in our generation means declaring once again the true story of the world and of our place in it—particularly as male and female. Christian Scripture teaches that there is but one God who alone is Creator and Lord of all. To him alone, every person owes gladhearted thanksgiving, heart-felt praise, and total allegiance. This is the path not only of glorifying God, but of knowing ourselves. To forget our Creator is to forget who we are, for he made us for

himself. And we cannot know ourselves truly without truly knowing him who made us. We did not make ourselves. We are not our own. Our true identity, as male and female persons, is given by God. It is not only foolish, but hopeless, to try to make ourselves what God did not create us to be.

We believe that God’s design for his creation and his way of salvation serve to bring him the greatest glory and bring us the greatest good. God’s good plan provides us with the greatest freedom. Jesus said he came that we might have life and have it in overflowing measure. He is for us and not against us. Therefore, in the hope of serving Christ’s church and witnessing publicly to the good purposes of God for human sexuality revealed in Christian Scripture, we offer the following affirmations and denials.

Article 1

WE AFFIRM that God has designed marriage to be a covenantal, sexual, procreative, lifelong union of one man and one woman, as husband and wife, and is meant to signify the covenant love between Christ and his bride the church.

WE DENY that God has designed marriage to be a homosexual, polygamous, or polyamorous relationship. We also deny that marriage is a mere human contract rather than a covenant made before God.

Article 2

WE AFFIRM that God’s revealed will for all people is chastity outside of marriage and fidelity within marriage.

WE DENY that any affections, desires, or commitments ever justify sexual intercourse before or outside marriage; nor do they justify any form of sexual immorality.

Article 3

WE AFFIRM that God created Adam and Eve, the first human beings, in his own image, equal before God as persons, and distinct as male and female.

WE DENY that the divinely ordained differences between male and female render them unequal in dignity or worth.

Article 4

WE AFFIRM that divinely ordained differences between male and female reflect God’s original creation design and are meant for human good and human flourishing.

WE DENY that such differences are a result of the Fall or are a tragedy to be overcome.

Article 5

WE AFFIRM that the differences between male and female reproductive structures are integral to God’s design for self-conception as male or female.

WE DENY that physical anomalies or psychological conditions nullify the God-appointed link between biological sex and self-conception as male or female.

Article 6

WE AFFIRM that those born with a physical disorder of sex development are created in the image of God and have dignity and worth equal to all other image-bearers. They are acknowledged by our Lord Jesus in his words about “eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb.” With all others they are welcome as faithful followers of Jesus Christ and should embrace their biological sex insofar as it may be known.

WE DENY that ambiguities related to a person’s biological sex render one incapable of living a fruitful life in joyful obedience to Christ.

Article 7

WE AFFIRM that self-conception as male or female should be defined by God’s holy purposes in creation and redemption as revealed in Scripture.

WE DENY that adopting a homosexual or transgender self-conception is consistent with God’s holy purposes in creation and redemption.

Article 8

WE AFFIRM that people who experience sexual attraction for the same sex may live a rich and fruitful life pleasing to God through faith in Jesus Christ, as they, like all Christians, walk in purity of life.

WE DENY that sexual attraction for the same sex is part of the natural goodness of God’s original creation, or that it puts a person outside the hope of the gospel.

Article 9

WE AFFIRM that sin distorts sexual desires by directing them away from the marriage covenant and toward sexual immorality— a distortion that includes both heterosexual and homosexual immorality.

WE DENY that an enduring pattern of desire for sexual immorality justifies sexually immoral behavior.

Article 10

WE AFFIRM that it is sinful to approve of homosexual immorality or transgenderism and that such approval constitutes an essential departure from Christian faithfulness and witness. 

WE DENY that the approval of homosexual immorality or transgenderism is a matter of moral indifference about which otherwise faithful Christians should agree to disagree.

Article 11

WE AFFIRM our duty to speak the truth in love at all times, including when we speak to or about one another as male or female.

WE DENY any obligation to speak in such ways that dishonor God’s design of his imagebearers as male and female.

Article 12

WE AFFIRM that the grace of God in Christ gives both merciful pardon and transforming power, and that this pardon and power enable a follower of Jesus to put to death sinful desires and to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord.

WE DENY that the grace of God in Christ is insufficient to forgive all sexual sins and to give power for holiness to every believer who feels drawn into sexual sin.

Article 13

WE AFFIRM that the grace of God in Christ enables sinners to forsake transgender selfconceptions and by divine forbearance to accept the God-ordained link between one’s biological sex and one’s self-conception as male or female.

WE DENY that the grace of God in Christ sanctions self-conceptions that are at odds with God’s revealed will.

Article 14

WE AFFIRM that Christ Jesus has come into the world to save sinners and that through Christ’s death and resurrection forgiveness of sins and eternal life are available to every person who repents of sin and trusts in Christ alone as Savior, Lord, and supreme treasure.

WE DENY that the Lord’s arm is too short to save or that any sinner is beyond his reach.

https://cbmw.org/nashville-statement

Initial Signatories

Institutional affiliation for identification purposes only

Denny Burk

President, Council on Biblical

Manhood and Womanhood

John Piper

Founder & Teacher, Desiring God

Chancellor, Bethlehem Seminary and

College

James Dobson

Founder, Focus on the Family

Russell Moore

President, Ethics & Religious Liberty

Commission

J. I. Packer

Professor of Theology, Regent College

Wayne Grudem

Research Professor of Theology

and Biblical Studies, Phoenix

Seminary

R. Albert Mohler, Jr.

President, The Southern Baptist

Theological Seminary

Tony Perkins

President, Family Research Council

D. A. Carson

Research Professor of New

Testament, Trinity Evangelical

Divinity School

John MacArthur

Pastor, Grace Community Church

President, The Master’s Seminary and

College

Sam Allberry

Speaker & Apologist, Ravi Zacharias

International Ministries

R. C. Sproul

Founder & Chairman, Ligonier

Ministries

Rosaria Butterfield

Author of The Secret Thoughts of an

Unlikely Convert

Francis Chan

Author & Pastor, We Are Church

Marvin Olasky

Editor in Chief, World Magazine

Ligon Duncan

Chancellor & CEO, Reformed

Theological Seminary

Steve Gaines

President, The Southern Baptist

Convention

Pastor, Bellevue Baptist Church

Andrew T. Walker

Director of Policy Studies, Ethics

& Religious Liberty Commission

H. B. Charles, Jr.

Pastor, Shiloh Metropolitan Baptist

Church

Christopher Yuan

Speaker & Author, Moody Bible

Institute

Dennis Rainey

Founder & Former President,

FamilyLife

Frank Page

President & CEO, Southern Baptist

Convention Executive Committee

Former SBC President

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

Author & Speaker, Revive Our Hearts

Daniel L. Akin

President, Southeastern Baptist

Theological Seminary

Kevin DeYoung

Senior Pastor, Christ Covenant Church

Alistair Begg

Reverend, Parkside Church

Heath Lambert

Executive Director, Association of

Certified Biblical Counselors

Jerry A. Johnson

President & CEO, National Religious

Broadcasters

Mark Dever

Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church

Randy Alcorn

Director, Eternal Perspectives

Ministries

Karen Swallow Prior

Professor of English, Liberty

University

Matt Chandler

Pastor, The Village Church

Fred Luter

Senior Pastor, Franklin Avenue

Baptist Church

Former SBC President

James MacDonald

Founder and Senior Pastor, Harvest

Bible Chapel

Former SBC President

James Merritt

Pastor, Cross Pointe Church

Jack Graham

Pastor, Prestonwood Baptist

Church

J. D. Greear

Pastor, The Summit Church

Darryl Delhousaye

President, Phoenix Seminary

Thomas White

President, Cedarville University

Bryant Wright

Senior Pastor, Johnson Ferry Baptist

Church

Former SBC President

Don Sweeting

President, Colorado Christian

University

Jeff Purswell

Director of Theology, Sovereign

Grace Churches

Johnny Hunt

Pastor, FBC Woodstock

Former SBC President

Jason K. Allen

President, Midwestern Baptist

Theological Seminary

Erick-Woods Erickson

Editor in Chief, The Resurgent

Mark L. Bailey

President & Senior Professor of Bible

Exposition, Dallas Theological

Seminary

K. Erik Thoennes

Professor and Chair of Theology,

Talbot School of Theology, Biola

University

Vaughan Roberts

Rector of St. Ebbe’s Church (UK)

David French

Senior Writer, National Review

Paige Patterson

President, Southwestern Baptist

Theological Seminary

R. Kent Hughes

Visiting Professor of Practical

Theology, Evangelism and Culture,

Westminster Theological Seminary

Jeff Iorg

President, Gateway Seminary

Sam Storms

Lead Pastor for Preaching and Vision,

Bridgeway Church

Richard Land

President, Southern Evangelical

Seminary

Robert A. J. Gagnon

Scholar and Author of The Bible and

Homosexual Practice

Samuel W. "Dub" Oliver

President, Union University

Ronnie Floyd

Senior Pastor, Cross Church

Former President, Southern Baptist

Convention

C. J. Mahaney

Senior Pastor, Sovereign Grace

Church of Louisville

Jason G. Duesing

Provost, Midwestern Baptist

Theological Seminary & College

Matt Carter

Pastor of Preaching and Vision,

The Austin Stone Church

Chuck Kelley

President, New Orleans Baptist

Theological Seminary

Burk Parsons

Copastor, St. Andrew’s Chapel

Eric Teetsel

President, Family Policy Alliance

of Kansas

Alastair Roberts

Scholar & Author of Heirs Together:

A Theology of the Sexes

Kevin Ezell

President, North American Mission

Board

Ray Ortlund

Pastor, Immanuel Church

O. S. Hawkins

President, GuideStone SBC

Thom S. Rainer

President & CEO, LifeWay Christian

Resources

Michael Reeves

President and Professor of

Theology, Union School of

Theology (UK)

Todd Wagner

Pastor, Watermark Community

Church

John M. Frame

Professor Emeritus of Systematic

Theology and Philosophy, Reformed

Theological Seminary

Randy Stinson

Senior VP for Academic

Administration and Provost, The

Southern Baptist Theological

Seminary

Thomas Schreiner

Professor of New Testament

Interpretation, The Southern Baptist

Theological Seminary

H. Wayne House

Academic Dean and Distinguished

Research Professor, Faith International

University

J. P. Moreland

Distinguished Professor of

Philosophy, Talbot School of

Theology, Biola University

Bruce Ware

Professor of Christian Theology, The

Southern Baptist Theological

Seminary

Michael Goeke

Associate Pastor, FBC San Francisco

Joel Belz

Founder, World Magazine, World

News Group

Afshin Ziafat

Lead Pastor, Providence Church

Stephen Strang

Founder & CEO, Charisma Media

Christiana Holcomb

Legal Counsel, Alliance Defending

Freedom

Owen Strachan

Associate Professor of Christian

Theology, Midwestern Baptist

Theological Seminary

Anthony Kidd

Pastor of Preaching, Community of

Faith Bible Church

James M. Hamilton, Jr.

Professor of Biblical Theology,

The Southern Baptist Theological

Seminary

Bryan Carter

Senior Pastor, Concord Church

Chris Larson

President & CEO, Ligonier Ministries

Bruce Riley Ashford

Provost and Professor of Theology

& Culture, Southeastern Baptist

Theological Seminary

Candi Finch

Assistant Professor of Theology in

Women’s Studies, Southwestern

Baptist Theological Seminary

Curtis Woods

Associate Executive Director,

Kentucky Baptist Convention

Nathan Finn

Dean, School of Theology and

Missions, Union University

James Robison

Founder & President, LIFE Outreach

International

Founder & Publisher, The Stream

C. Ben Mitchell

Graves Professor of Moral Philosophy,

Union University

Darrell Bock

Senior Professor, Dallas

Theological Seminary

David Mathis

Executive Editor, Desiring God

Ken Magnuson

Professor of Christian Ethics, The

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Daniel Heimbach

Senior Professor of Christian

Ethics, Southeastern Baptist

Theological Seminary

Hershael W. York

Professor of Christian Preaching, The

Southern Baptist Theological

Seminary

Mary Mohler

Director, Seminary Wives Institute

Hunter Baker

Associate Professor, Union

University

Dorothy Kelley Patterson

Professor of Theology in Women’s

Studies, Southwestern Baptist

Theological Seminary

Jim Shaddix

Professor of Expository Preaching,

Southeastern Baptist Theological

Seminary

John N. Oswalt

Visiting Distinguished Professor of

Old Testament, Asbury

Theological Seminary

Jack Deere

Author and Speaker, Grace Church

Juan R. Sanchez

Senior Pastor, High Pointe Baptist

Church

Malcolm B. Yarnell III

Research Professor of Systematic

Theology, Southwestern Baptist

Theological Seminary

Jonathan Leeman

Editorial Director, 9Marks

Mary A. Kassian

Author, Director, Girls Gone Wise

Mark Daniel Liederbach

Professor & Vice President,

Southeastern Baptist Theological

Seminary

Matthew J. Hall

Dean of Boyce College & Senior VP

of Academic Innovation, The Southern

Baptist Theological Seminary

Micah Fries

Senior Pastor, Brainerd Baptist Church

Nathan Lino

Senior Pastor, Northeast Houston

Baptist Church

Paul Weber

President & CEO, Family Policy

Alliance

Bob Lepine

Vice President of Content, FamilyLife

Casey B. Hough

Senior Pastor, FBC Camden

Russell Shubin

Director, Salem Media Group

Allan Coppedge

Retired Professor of Theology, Asbury

Theological Seminary

Daniel DeWitt

Director of the Center for Biblical

Apologetics & Public Christianity,

Cedarville University

Charlotte Akin

Homemaker, Southeastern Baptist

Theological Seminary

Don Buckley

Physician, Spanish Trail Family

Physicians

David Schrock

Pastor for Preaching and Theology,

Occoquan Bible Church

E. Calvin Beisner

Founder & National Spokesman,

Cornwall Alliance for the Stewardship

of Creation

Donald A. Balasa

Adjunct Faculty, Trinity International

University

Donna Thoennes

Adjunct Professor and homeschool

mom, Biola University

James A. Borland

Professor of New Testament

& Theology, Liberty University

Eric C. Redmond

Assistant Professor of Bible, Moody

Bible Institute

Grant Castleberry

Pastor of Discipleship, Providence

Church

Jose Abella

Lead Pastor, Providence Road Church

Phillip Bethancourt

Executive Vice President, Ethics &

Religious Liberty Commission

Adam Greenway

Dean, Billy Graham School of

Missions, Evangelism, & Ministry,

The Southern Baptist Theological

Seminary

Joy White

Homemaker & Assistant Professor of

Women’s Studies, Cedarville

University

Gregory Wills

Dean, School of Theology, The

Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Katie McCoy

Assistant Professor of Theology in

Women’s Studies, Scarborough

College

Rhyne R. Putman

Associate Professor of Theology and

Culture, New Orleans Baptist

Theological Seminary

Barry Joslin

Professor of Christian Theology, Boyce

College

Rhonda Kelley

President’s Wife, Adjunct Faculty,

New Orleans Baptist Theological

Seminary

Peter Jones

Executive Director, TruthXchange

Bryan Baise

Assistant Professor of Philosophy &

Apologetics, Boyce College

Kenneth Keathley

Senior Professor of Theology,

Southeastern Baptist Theological

Seminary

Jeff Struecker

Pastor, Calvary Baptist Church

Rebecca Jones

Volunteer, truthXchange

Evan Lenow

Associate Professor of Ethics,

Southwestern Baptist Theological

Seminary

Daniel Patterson

Vice President for Operations and

Chief of Staff, Ethics & Religious

Liberty Commission

David Talley

Professor of Old Testament, Biola

University

Travis Wussow

VP for Public Policy, Ethics &

Religious Liberty Commission

Sean Perron

Chief of Staff, The Association of

Certified Biblical Counselors

Michael L. Brown

President, FIRE School of Ministry

Keith Whitfield

Assistant Professor & Dean,

Southeastern Baptist Theological

Seminary

Jeffrey Riley

Professor of Ethics, New Orleans

Baptist Theological Seminary

Dannah Gresh

Co-founder, Pure Freedom

Matt Damico

Associate Pastor of Worship,

Kenwood Baptist Church

Colby Adams

Director of Communications, The

Southern Baptist Theological

Seminary

Paul Felix

President, Los Angeles Bible Training

School

Colin Smothers

Executive Director, Council on

Biblical Manhood and

Womanhood