A Response to the Supreme Court's Decision
The day has come that many in the church have feared would happen. The Supreme Court ruled on Friday that the Constitution of the United States of America guarantees a right to same-sex marriage. So now what? I agree with the words of Mark Galli as he wrote, "The temptation is to go off and sulk in our holy corner. Or to dig in our heels and fight harder Or to lash out in anger Or to despair. We can do better." What should be our response as the people of God?
First, we need to humble ourselves and pray.
Nehemiah 1:4-7 (NASB)
When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
I said, "I beseech You, O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,
let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father's house have sinned. "We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses.
Daniel 9:4-10 (NASB)
I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, "Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,
we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances.
"Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land.
"Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You.
"Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.
"To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him;
nor have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His teachings which He set before us through His servants the prophets.
Let me be clear, we are not Israel, nor does the church ever supplant Israel. However, we would be wise to hear the words of these prayers and identify our individual and nationalistic sin and repent from them. We also need to be in prayer for our leaders, remembering they are there in those positions by the hand of God.
Secondly, we must worship. Never thin this took God by surprise, as if He did not see it coming. God is still on His throne, He is still sovereign, He is still God and nothing can or will change that fact.
Third, we must rejoice. "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice." "Give thanks to God in all circumstances." These are directives designed for moments like this. We do not rejoice in the decision of the judges, we rejoice that the war was won at Calvary! The resurrection is affirmed and salvation is available to mankind!
Fourth, there is no better time than right now to be certain you know the gospel and are actively sharing it with love. We are sinners, no greater or less than anyone else. We need Jesus just as much today as anyone else. For those of us who know Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, we must be actively sharing the Gospel with our sphere of influence.
Last, we need to be firm in our resolve. The resolve to love the sinner, accepting them where they are in order to lead them to Christ. We must never condone the sin, nor do we condemn the individual. Many will, and are starting to, realize the sexual revolution does not offer hope, love, joy or lasting peace. Church, we need to be ready to answer to the need in loving grace each time that person's life intersects with ours.
God defined marriage before there was any government.
Genesis 2:24 (NASB)
For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.
First, we need to humble ourselves and pray.
Nehemiah 1:4-7 (NASB)
When I heard these words, I sat down and wept and mourned for days; and I was fasting and praying before the God of heaven.
I said, "I beseech You, O LORD God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who preserves the covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,
let Your ear now be attentive and Your eyes open to hear the prayer of Your servant which I am praying before You now, day and night, on behalf of the sons of Israel Your servants, confessing the sins of the sons of Israel which we have sinned against You; I and my father's house have sinned. "We have acted very corruptly against You and have not kept the commandments, nor the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses.
Daniel 9:4-10 (NASB)
I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed and said, "Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments,
we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances.
"Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land.
"Righteousness belongs to You, O Lord, but to us open shame, as it is this day—to the men of Judah, the inhabitants of Jerusalem and all Israel, those who are nearby and those who are far away in all the countries to which You have driven them, because of their unfaithful deeds which they have committed against You.
"Open shame belongs to us, O Lord, to our kings, our princes and our fathers, because we have sinned against You.
"To the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against Him;
nor have we obeyed the voice of the LORD our God, to walk in His teachings which He set before us through His servants the prophets.
Let me be clear, we are not Israel, nor does the church ever supplant Israel. However, we would be wise to hear the words of these prayers and identify our individual and nationalistic sin and repent from them. We also need to be in prayer for our leaders, remembering they are there in those positions by the hand of God.
Secondly, we must worship. Never thin this took God by surprise, as if He did not see it coming. God is still on His throne, He is still sovereign, He is still God and nothing can or will change that fact.
Third, we must rejoice. "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice." "Give thanks to God in all circumstances." These are directives designed for moments like this. We do not rejoice in the decision of the judges, we rejoice that the war was won at Calvary! The resurrection is affirmed and salvation is available to mankind!
Fourth, there is no better time than right now to be certain you know the gospel and are actively sharing it with love. We are sinners, no greater or less than anyone else. We need Jesus just as much today as anyone else. For those of us who know Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, we must be actively sharing the Gospel with our sphere of influence.
Last, we need to be firm in our resolve. The resolve to love the sinner, accepting them where they are in order to lead them to Christ. We must never condone the sin, nor do we condemn the individual. Many will, and are starting to, realize the sexual revolution does not offer hope, love, joy or lasting peace. Church, we need to be ready to answer to the need in loving grace each time that person's life intersects with ours.
God defined marriage before there was any government.
Genesis 2:24 (NASB)
For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh.
Matthew 19:4-5 (NASB)
And He answered and said, "Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh'?
No human authority has any right or business changing the God-given definition. This ruling does not change Scripture. "The Bible stands like a rock undaunted mid the raging storms of time. Its pages burn with the truth eternal and they glow with a light sublime. The Bible stands though the hills may tumble, it will surely stand though the earth shall crumble. I will plant my feet on its firm foundation, for the Bible stands."
Comments
Post a Comment