I am going to take a detour today and write about a topic that is getting lots of press these days. Marriage. The citizens of North Carolina will go to the polls on May 8th to vote on a constitutional amendment that defines marriage between a man and a woman as the only legal union recognized by the state. The outcome of the vote is in little doubt. The latest polls show that the measure will pass with about 60% in favor of the amendment, but only God knows the result right now.
The question that I want us to consider is this... what if the outcome was reversed? What if the amendment was to legalize gay marriage and it passed with 60% of the vote? What would that change in your life? How would I react to that? (my guess is that one day it will pass and gay marriage will be the law of the land, so what then?) As a Christian, how do I respond to a law that is in direct conflict to God's word? That is the question that Christians face everyday, all around the world.
We must understand that something being legal does not make that thing right and something being illegal, does not make that thing wrong in certain circumstances. As a Christian, I am to live under that laws of the land. Romans 13:1-7 makes it clear that we are to respect governing authorities and abide by the laws where we live. That is easy for a Christian when the laws that exist do not violate God's law, but when they do... what then? Does God's word give us insight into our conduct when man's law violates God's law? Do we have examples that give us principles that enable us to respond appropriately?
Thankfully, God did not leave us to our own devices. Acts 4 contains the story of Peter and John being charged to stop speaking about Jesus. Their response is clear...But Peter and John answered them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. Obedience to God is required when a law is in direct conflict with His will. Peter and John remained respectful of the authorities, but understood that submission to civil authorities ended when that authority was in opposition to God. They continued to be obedient to other laws of the land; only the laws that conflicted with God's laws were disobeyed. In other words, general civil disobedience is not found in the scriptures.
Another example of this disobedience is found in the book of Daniel. Daniel and his three friends disobeyed the specific laws that conflicted with God's will. They would not bow down to the statue. They would not discontinue the practice of prayer. Even in their disobedience, they continued to show respect and be law abiding citizens. They disobeyed the law that was in conflict with God's law, but continued to live in obedience to the civil authorities.
So, what does that have to do with gay marriage and the Christian. If an amendment ever passes that legalizes Gay marriage, the Christian must continue to abide by the laws of the land and be in subjection the civil authorities. Consider this, in some parts of the country, prostitution is legal. Does that mean that the Christian then approves of prostitution? Of course not! Does that mean that in those areas of the country the Christian can ignore all the laws? Of course not! The Bible makes it clear that God's design for marriage is that it be between a man and a woman. When man decides that marriage is to be between same sex couples, then that law is in direct conflict with God's teaching and the Christian will speak out against it and will not abide by it; the same way that the Christian speaks out against prostitution and does not abide by that law.
We are called to live lives filled with love for our fellow person. We are to live at peace with everyone, as much as it depends on us. I have many homosexual friends that I love dearly and would do anything for. One thing I would not do for them is let them think that God approves of their "lifestyle" choice. He does not. There are dozens of scriptures that deal with the sin (breaking God's law) of homosexuality. Romans 1:18-32 is a good example of these scriptures. I do not deny that same sex attraction exists any more than I would deny that some people are attracted to sex with children or some are attracted to drugs and alcohol abuse. The desire to do something does not justify the act of doing it.
As people, we have many things that attempt to draw us away from God, but we make the choice. I choose and when I choose to ignore God's will, I choose to sin. That is what we owe to our fellow person. We owe them the truth and we must in a loving and kind way tell them the truth found in His word. What they do with it is between them and God.
Regardless of the outcome of the vote on May 8th, God's word doesn't change. What is right does not change. If same sex marriage is wrong before the vote, then it is wrong after the vote. A society that changes it's plan does not change His plan. Christians that live under the laws of a land are to conduct themselves as Jesus did when He lived under the laws of Rome. He knew that Caesar was not god, but He obeyed the laws of the land and directed His disciples to do the same. He told the truth and confronted sin. That is our example. Let's live by it.
No comments:
Post a Comment