A Reassessment
of Same-Sex Attraction
in Light of James, Hebrews,
and the Natural-Unnatural Distinction

The following is the Introduction and Summary of a 14-page paper written by two EPC Teaching Elders addressing the issue of same-sex attraction and ordination. The two authors are Weston Blaha, pastor of Grace Fellowship (EPC) in Marshall, Tex., and John Foster, pastor of Faith Presbyterian Church in Germantown, Tenn. To read the full paper, click this link.

Introduction: Why?

Perhaps you’ll receive this paper in an email from a pastor or fellow elder. Perhaps you’ll come across it via a blog, website, or social media post. You might receive it angrily or with a sense of happy relief. However this paper gets to you, you’ll inevitably ask the same question the authors did: Why? Why has this issue come up? Why is the EPC talking about this — again? How did the denomination get here?

In 2022, Memorial Presbyterian Church in St. Louis began exploring the possibility of membership in the EPC. Memorial’s pastor is Teaching Elder Greg Johnson. Johnson and Memorial Presbyterian were members of the Presbyterian Church in America until 2022, when the church left the denomination to become independent. Memorial’s exit was prompted by drawn-out debate and disciplinary proceedings between Memorial, TE Johnson, and the PCA.

At the heart of these proceedings is TE Johnson’s own sexuality, as well as his public teaching on the subject. TE Johnson has publicly and repeatedly professed himself as a same-sex attracted man. Johnson claims to be celibate, but his confession raised serious questions in the PCA about Johnson’s fitness for ordination and gospel ministry. Unfortunately, before those concerns could be adjudicated at a Presbytery or General Assembly level, Johnson and Memorial left the PCA.

The roots of the current controversy in the EPC reach back at least to December 2022, when denominational guidance was given regarding the reception and examination of candidates and churches associated with same-sex attraction ministry. As the possibility of Johnson’s entrance into the EPC grew, the 2024 EPC General Assembly appointed an Ad-Interim Committee on SSA (same-sex attraction) and Ordination to study the relevant practical and theological issues.

So far, the Committee has proposed changes and revisions to the EPC’s Book of Government, Position Paper on Human Sexuality, as well as portions of the Pastoral Letter on Human Sexuality. As of this writing in early 2026, the Committee has published several drafts of its work. Members of the Committee have traveled to Presbytery meetings across the country to solicit feedback and have provided an online portal for the same purpose. The final report and recommendations of the Committee are slated to come before the General Assembly in June of 2026. It remains to be seen what changes the Committee will make before final publication and how the General Assembly of the EPC will vote on the final draft.

So why this paper? The authors believe that both Scripture and Reformed Tradition speak clearly to the issue of unnatural sinful desire as it relates to an individual’s fitness for ordination in the church. The paper does not explicitly agree with nor dissent from the work of the Committee. Rather, it proposes to add to an ongoing discussion in the EPC. The paper argues that the biblical category of concupiscence — defined as disordered desire arising from original sin — provides a crucial but frequently neglected framework that informs the ongoing discussion of unnatural sinful desire and ordination.

By examining James’s account of temptation (James 1:13-15), Hebrews’ claim regarding Christ’s testing (Hebrews 4:15), and the biblical distinction between “natural” and “unnatural” desires (Romans 1:26-27), this study contends that all sin proceeds from disordered desire, yet not all desires are morally equivalent. Same-sex attraction represents not merely the abuse of a good desire but the presence of an intrinsically disordered inclination that is fundamentally distinct from heterosexual lust. Anticipated objections are addressed and evaluated. Brothers and sisters, we offer this paper not as a final word, but in hopes of serving our shared desire for biblical clarity and pastoral faithfulness as the EPC considers these important questions.

Summary of Argument

This document presents an expanded, non-technical summary of a theological paper addressing unnatural sinful desire, temptation, and ordination. It is written for Ruling Elders and Deacons who are charged with guarding doctrine, shepherding Christ’s people, and discerning fitness for church office. The goal is clarity, not controversy, and pastoral faithfulness rather than polemics.

What Is the Actual Question Before the Church?

The central question is often framed incorrectly. The issue is not whether a person who experiences same-sex attraction may be a genuine Christian. Scripture is clear that salvation rests entirely on union with Christ by grace alone through faith alone. Many believers continue to struggle with deep, entrenched sins and desires even after conversion. The real question concerns suitability for church office. Ordination is not a personal right or an affirmation of identity; it is a public trust. Elders and Deacons are called to model, teach, and represent God’s design for creation, redemption, and holiness. The church must therefore ask not only whether a person is sincere or self-controlled, but whether the shape of their life coheres with what the office itself is meant to signify.

James on Desire and the Nature of Temptation (James 1:13–15)

James teaches that God does not tempt His people. Instead, temptation arises when God’s good and holy tests encounter disordered desires within us. Desire is not morally neutral raw material; it is the internal source from which sin is conceived. Sin does not begin with action but with inward movement of the heart. This means that temptation is already evidence of sin’s presence, even if it has not yet resulted in outward behavior. Scripture consistently locates moral responsibility not merely in what we do, but in what we desire. This is why coveting is condemned before action, and why Jesus locates adultery in the heart.

Christ’s Testing and the Absence of Disordered Desire (Hebrews 4:15)

Hebrews teaches that Christ was tested in every way we are, yet without sin. This does not mean that Jesus experienced every form of inward temptation common to fallen humanity. Rather, He experienced real testing without the presence of sinful desire. Unlike us, Christ did not possess a fallen nature. His testing came entirely from outside, not from internal corruption. This confirms James’s moral logic: temptation becomes sinful only when testing passes through disordered desire. Christ endured the full weight of testing precisely because He did not have such desires.

All Sin Arises from Disordered Desire, But Not All Desires Are the Same

Scripture teaches that all people share a fallen nature and that all sin arises from disordered desire. However, Scripture also distinguishes between different kinds of desires. Some desires are distortions of good gifts, while others are directed toward objects that God never designed or approved. The Bible evaluates desire according to its object, its orientation, and its intended end. This allows Scripture to speak carefully without flattening all desires into moral sameness.

Heterosexual Lust and Same-Sex Attraction Are Not Morally Identical

Heterosexual lust involves desire for a good and creationally ordered object pursued in a sinful way, time, or context. Scripture regularly calls for such desire to be disciplined, purified, and rightly ordered. Same-sex attraction, by contrast, involves desire directed toward an object Scripture identifies as contrary to creation order (See Romans 1 below). This categorical distinction should not be conflated with intensity or frequency, but distinguished by its kind. Scripture never presents same-sex desire as something that can be fulfilled rightly under any covenantal condition.

Romans 1 and the Meaning of ‘Against Nature’

When Paul describes same-sex desire as “against nature,” he is not appealing to cultural custom or majority practice. He is appealing to creation itself. “Nature” refers to God’s design, purpose, and ordering of the world. Paul’s language of “exchange” shows that the problem is not excess desire but misdirected desire at the level of object. This distinction guards against the claim that “all lust is the same.” Scripture does not support that flattening.

Why This Matters for Church Office

Church officers are called to live lives that visibly align with the truths they represent. Elders, in particular, embody Christ’s relationship to His church and God’s design for household order. Because of this representational role, Scripture holds officers to standards that go beyond basic Christian discipleship. An enduring pattern of desire that contradicts the church’s doctrine of creation and marriage raises questions about fitness for office, even when behavior is restrained. This distinction does not deny the reality of ongoing sanctification, but it does take seriously the public nature of ordained vocation.

Conclusion

The church must hold together two biblical truths: sinners are saved by grace alone, and church office is a sacred trust that requires visible coherence with God’s revealed will. Same-sex attraction, when understood through Scripture’s teaching on desire, nature, and holiness, cannot be treated as morally neutral for the purposes of ordination. Upholding this distinction is not an act of exclusion, but an exercise of faithful discernment rooted in love for Christ and His church.