FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)--When the church's view of the family is awry, the Gospel is being falsely presented, theologian Russell Moore said during Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's third annual Baptist Distinctives Conference.The family is a "Gospel issue," Moore said in his presentation, titled "Have Baptists Changed or Has Culture?: The Baptist View of the Family." Moore is dean of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary's school of theology in Louisville, Ky.
"In God's mind, first and foremost, there is Christ and the church, a one-flesh union, so that everything that is true of Jesus now belongs to His church," Moore said, noting that the relationship between a man and his wife is a picture of Christ's relationship with His bride, the church.
Thus, the Gospel –- Christ's love for and salvation of His church -– is falsely portrayed when the traditional family is not respected, ...