An open letter to Christians who stand by gay marriage/civil partnerships, etc:
In your own words can you please explain to me why it’s important not to define marriage in the same way that the Bible states it – between one man and one woman? Also, does it matter what the Bible says on this subject and where do the limits begin for where the Bible becomes important? Basically, if the Bible is wrong in what it says about some things, who are we to determine if it is wrong in others? Who determines what is accurate in the Bible and what isn’t? Our desires? Our ‘hearts’? Our feelings? Does God have the right to tell us what is right or wrong about anything in our lives? I suppose if you don’t believe that He exists you can do whatever you want but for those who call themselves Christians and who say they believe in the Bible enough to surrender control of their lives over to Christ, at what point do you stop trusting in what He has said in scripture (where you get the information that led you to trust in Him to begin with) and say “no – I can’t believe in that”?
Don’t get me wrong – this isn’t about judging people. God does that – His law does that. We’re called to love everyone and we do. I do. But we are also called to be holy as God is holy. God’s view on homosexuality isn’t just an “old testament” view – read Romans 1:16-31, 1 Cor 6:9-10, 1 Tim 1:8-11 . But God offers deliverance from it as He does from all sins: 1 Cor 6:9-10 doesn’t just end at the condemnation:”Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God”, but the next verse shows that He forgives these things upon repentance of them and trust in Him for salvation: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. ~ 1 Cor 6:12”.
The scripture that I see as to why this is an issue for us as Christians is Hebrews 13:4: “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” God will handle those who are sexually immoral before Him, but we are to hold marriage to be a high honor, holy and pure before God. Jesus used it as a symbol of Himself and the Church (universal church of Christ to include all Christians, not members of one specific church).
We’re called to love all but not support that which God despises. I don’t want to fall into the category at the end of Romans 1: “Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. ~ Romans 1:31”.
We, as God’s creation, on God’s planet, breathing God’s air, eating God’s food, and enjoying God’s blessings are under every obligation to listen to what God says about what He wants us to do. God is absolutely sovereign in all of His decisions and plans. His law is perfect because HE is perfect and it is us, because of our sin nature, who are at odds with Him, not Him with us. In light of that, I love my homosexual friends but I’m not going to disobey the God who died in my place through supporting them in their sin. I don’t have different rules for individual sins, but the same rule for all. I’m not going to support people who go to NAMBLA parades, or stand up for the rights of a man to cheat on his wife. I will love them and be broken for their sin, pray for them, and tell them about Jesus, but I won’t support them in their sin.
Even though Christians believe homosexuality is wrong because of the bible, to make it illegal in America would be an establishment of religion, would it not?
Christians believe that homosexual behavior is wrong because God has told us it is. We learn this through the Bible, where God tells us about ourselves, our history, Himself, His nature, and His love for us in that He took the punishment for those of us whom He has chosen to save. Being a Christian isn’t about belonging to a social group but it is a life altering change where you reject your allegiance to yourself and all others and submit yourself to the authority of the God who has given His life to save you. To turn your back on part of His laws when it’s socially convenient but embrace the others is to reject Him as He is and is tantamount to rejecting Him in His entirety and replacing Him with an wooden idol.
Back to your question, who is it who is calling for homosexual behavior to be made illegal in America? First, understand that God does not follow the law of the land. If a law is put in place tomorrow that makes Christianity illegal, will that make God cease to exist? If He is who He says He is, and whom He has revealed Himself to be, no. God laughs at the plans and laws of men (Psalm 2).
Second, we are merely defending the marriage covenant itself. God has used this as an example of the relationship between Jesus and His Church on numerous occasions, and has stated time and again how it is to be held in high honor (Hebrews 13:4). If people who engage in homosexual behavior want to join in public civil unions, and if insurance policies and the US Tax code want to honor those unions, then so be it, but don’t force religious organizations and churches to perform those ceremonies, nor force children to be taught homosexual sex as preferred nor safe at any level. I have no problem with them having equal rights, but don’t call their union “marriage”. That is the term that’s used by God to define a covenant which is shared between the man, who represents Jesus, the woman, who represents the Church, and God Himself who binds all three together. This is a hill upon which many true Christians will be willing to die to defend as it speaks to the nature of God Himself and our relationship with Him.
Third, is it your impression that we should strip all laws which are found in the Bible from American law? If so, then we should remove laws on bestiality, rape, murder, theft, adultery, crimes of passion, and crimes of dishonor and treason. We should also then remove all references which support those laws which include anything related to honor, respect, and trust and any reference to seeking wisdom from God or trusting in His providence. Just because something is in the Bible does not make it an establishment of religion to support it. An establishment of religion, in the sense used in the first amendment, is to make one religion, sect, or order, higher than another. All should have the same right to worship in America, but none should be higher in preference than another. This was to combat the King of England who made a specific sect of the church in England the “religion” of the land – demanding that all worship under that banner. Defending marriage is doing none of this.