The Nashville Statement

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Article I

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 II

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 III

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 IV

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 V

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 VI

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 VII

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 VIII

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 IX

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 X

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 XI

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 image-bearers as male and female.

Article XII

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 XIII

WE AFFIRM that the grace of God in Christ enables sinners to forsake transgender self-conceptions 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 XIV

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.

Download the Statement

Initial Signatories

Denny Burk
President, Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood

John Piper
Founder & Teacher, Desiring God; Chancellor, Bethlehem College & Seminary

James Dobson
Founder & President, Family Talk

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
President & Co-Founder, The Gospel Coalition; Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

John MacArthur
Pastor, Grace Community Church; President, The Master’s Seminary & College

Sam Allberry
Editor, The Gospel Coalition

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 of Jacksonville, Florida

Christopher Yuan
Speaker & Author, Moody Bible Institute

Dennis Rainey
Founder & Former President, FamilyLife, a Cru Ministry

Frank Page
President & CEO, Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee; Former President, Southern Baptist Convention

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

+ More Signers

Jerry A. Johnson
President & CEO, National Religious Broadcasters

Mark Dever
Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church

Randy Alcorn
Director, Eternal Perspective Ministries

Karen Swallow Prior
Professor of English, Liberty University

Matt Chandler
Pastor, The Village Church

Fred Luter
Senior Pastor Franklin Avenue Baptist Church; Former President, Southern Baptist Convention

James Merritt
Pastor, Cross Pointe Church; Former President, Southern Baptist Convention

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, First Baptist Church of Woodstock

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 & Chair of Theology, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University

Vaughan Roberts
Rector of St. Ebbe’s Church, Oxford, UK

David French
Senior Writer, National Review

Paige Patterson
President, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

R. Kent Hughes
Visiting Professor of Practical Theology of 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

Barbara Rainey
Co-Founder, FamilyLife, a Cru Ministry

Robert A. J. Gagnon
Scholar & 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, 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 & Professor of Theology, Union School of Theology, UK

Todd Wagner
Pastor, Watermark Community Church

John M. Frame
Professor Emeritus of Systematic Theology & Philosophy, Reformed Theological Seminary

Randy Stinson
Senior Vice President for Academic Administration & Provost, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Mac Brunson
Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church of Jacksonville

Paul Nyquist
President, Moody Bible Institute

Thomas Schreiner
James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

H. Wayne House
Dean & Distinguished Research Professor of Theology, Law, & Culture, Faith International University & Seminary

J. P. Moreland
Distinguished Professor of Philosophy, Talbot School of Theology, Biola University

Miguel Nunez
Pastor, Iglesia Bautista Internacional

Bruce Ware
Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

Michael Goeke
Associate Pastor, First Baptist Church of San Francisco

Joel Belz
Founder, World Magazine, World News Group

Michael Horton
J. Gresham Machen Professor of Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California

Jackie Hill Perry
Speaker, Writer, Humble Beast Recording Artist

Dick Lucas
Reverend Prebendary, Rector Emeritus, St Helen’s Bishopsgate, UKAfshin ZiafatLead Pastor, Providence Church

Stephen Strang
Founder & CEO, Charisma Media

Christiana Holcomb
Legal Counsel, Alliance Defending Freedom

Jimmy Draper
President Emeritus, LifeWay; Former President, Southern Baptist Convention

Stephen J. Wellum
Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern 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

Owen Strachan
Associate Professor of Christian Theology, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary

Chris Larson
President & CEO, Ligonier Ministries

Bruce Riley Ashford
Provost & 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