CYPRESSWOOD CHURCH OF CHRIST

February 1, 2004

 

KEEP ON PRAYING FOR:

Our congregation                                                     The Stolte’s in Germany

 

Our nation, military and leaders                               various friends, co-workers and relatives

 

Our college students                                                 David and Leon in the Navy

 

 

COMING UP:

Feb. 25 - Mel Gibson’s movie “The Passion of Christ” released

May 6   - The National Day of Prayer

 

 

 

CULTURE WARS: MARRIAGE

 

“’Haven’t you read,’ he replied, ‘that at the beginning the Creator made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’’” (Matthew 19:4-5).

 

We have been in what is known as a culture war for a number of decades.  Keep in mind that it is the Judeo-Christian ethic or worldview verses any number of other worldviews, both religious and secular.  Recent court decisions have heightened the culture war.  In the late nineties, a number of writers questioned the “regime” of the court system, basically saying that the unelected judges now rule and legislate from the bench, especially in opinions that politicians could not pass because many Americans would be opposed to them.  Such areas include various Christian symbols and phrases such as “under God” and the Ten Commandments, abortion from the 1973 Supreme Court decision, and now homosexual marriage.  The homosexual movement has come out of the closest demanding equal rights in all areas.  How should we view this situation?  It would be helpful to understand some of the reasoning behind this movement.

 

The homosexual movement has demanded equal treatment in health care, employment, and now marriage.  They have argued that this is an issue like that of the civil rights movement of the sixties.  How did they come to that conclusion?  First of all they have stated that one is born a homosexual and cannot change.  If this is true, then they are correct and deserve equality.  To support this view, they have sought to find a homosexual “gene” to prove that they are born that way.  Hence, they have opposed Christian groups who advocate that homosexuals can change.  Several decades ago they lobbied the psychiatric associations to take homosexuality out of there lists of mental illnesses.  All of this is based on the premise that they are born that way.  A number of parents of homosexuals have come to the same conclusions.  A number of “Christian” homosexuals and other theologians who support them now read scripture with the idea that the Bible says nothing bad about homosexuality, that those ideas came out of a prejudice mindset, and that any number of Biblical characters were homosexual to some extent, such as David, Jonathan, and Paul. 

 

From an Bible believing perspective, we see things differently.  First of all, we understand that all have sinned (Romans 3:23), so that no matter what sins we have committed, we all are guilty.  Second, we believe that all sin, no matter what sin it is, is a choice.  We choose to sin.  We choose to lie, to steal, to murder.  We were not born “that way” despite some theologies to the contrary.  Third, we understand that scripture clearly states that homosexuality is a sin (see Leviticus 18:22; Roman 1:27).  We understand that the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah was in part do to the sin of homosexuality (see Genesis 19:4-5) and Ezekiel adds other sins including “detestable things” (16:49-50).  Fourth, we understand that homosexuals can change, what we call repentance (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).  Paul listed a number of sins including “homosexual offenders” and then said, “And that is what some of you were.” 

 

Based on the above, here are some conclusions.  One, it is not a civil rights issue.  We cannot change the color of our skins nor place of our birth.  A Texan will always be a Texan and a Scotsman from Scotland no matter where they live.  But homosexuals can change, and have.  There are organizations who have encouraged homosexuals to change; they have, and have married and borne children.  That is because homosexual is a choice.  People are not born in sin, they choose to sin.  Second, homosexual marriage is against both scripture and nature.  One of the debates in the homosexual movement has been homosexuals in the military.  I have no doubt that homosexuals are brave and can serve with distinction in the short term.  But it ignores history.  The Romans refused to have homosexuals from Crete in their legions because of the disruption to the legions they caused.  Greece advocated homosexuality and it became a dominant lifestyle, especially among the philosophers.  However, Greece self-destructed, a least in part to this lifestyle.  Rome fared no better in its later history.  Today, homosexuality is one of the most destructive lifestyles there is.  The average life expectancy is forty-two.  Various sexually transmitted diseases are rising in the homosexual community.  Homosexual abuse of partners is also high.

 

Marriage was created by God for a number of reasons.  One is companionship (Genesis 2:18).  Some who study marriage have even suggested, with strong evidence, that wives civilize the male.  Two, marriage is intended to spread the human race.  “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28).  There are other reasons for the benefits of a man and woman marrying each other, and not only for them but for the children as well.  Homosexuality does not accomplish either.  Homosexuals have been known to have had multiple partners and few stay together for more than a couple of years.  Homosexual adoption is another means to prove that marriage is necessary for homosexuals.  What some fail to see in raising children is that both a man and a woman provide ingredients to the child’s raising.  It would include everything from nurturing to a positive use of strength, from pride to sympathy. 

 

As Christians, we are to seek the best for others and that includes homosexuals.  Like them, we are sinners.  We can show them their Savior, Jesus Christ.  Our approach should never be judgmental.  It is said that some think that name-calling and violence is the “Christian” way.  I want to be clear, those attitudes and those people are wrong!  We need to be praying for those who are homosexual that their hearts will be open to the good news of Jesus Christ and the grace of God.

 

Finally, we come back to the courts.  We need to pray for judges to make wise and morally right decisions.  However, the court system has become the battleground in the culture wars.  Conservative judges who want to uphold the Constitution and the law are labeled extremists, Neanderthals, and racists, even when they are minorities.  How long will God put up with the support of sin from a nation?  I’m not a prophet so I cannot answer that but I do know that God’s patience is not eternal.  Please pray, and please make an effort to see who we are electing to public office and the judiciary. 

 

                                                                                                               George B. Mearns