The sky is not falling. Now that we have that out of the way I would like to explain to all of you why the Supreme Court’s ruling last week legalizing same sex marriage is not the end of the world. In short, we have for far too long forgotten the fact that we are not of this world. As children of God we must understand that as foreigners in a broken and fallen world, things that are abhorrent to us are praised here. We must also realize that the concept that we are living in a Christian country is no longer the case. The separation between them and us is growing and I say let it happen. People are not drawn to Christianity because it looks like the rest of the world. The lost are drawn to Christianity when it is completely different from the culture that has deceived them and which has given them a false bill of sale. The more we are able to differentiate ourselves from the rest of the world, the more appealing the Gospel becomes when the promises of the world are shown to be hollow.
Not only am I not surprised that the Supreme Court ruled that marriage is no longer just between a man and a woman, I am surprised it took this long.
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. – 1 Corinthians 1:18
Everything that is pure and holy in the eyes of God is foolishness in the eyes of the world. The fact that sin is permitted and endorsed in our country is yet another example of this. The reality is that our culture is trying to fill the space that believers have filled with God with a temporary joy that is fleeting and temporal. Those of you who are angry at this ruling should actually feel sadness for our lost neighbors. Our culture is so engrossed with sex because that is the only thing that makes up for the fact that they have rejected the Father and thus the Father has rejected them. Being dead in their sin and having turned their backs on the opportunity to find salvation was their choice and now they have to figure out how to find happiness while they can. Simply put, if a nonbeliever chooses to marry someone of the same sex, who are we to say that they can’t.
It isn’t my responsibility to judge outsiders, but it certainly is your responsibility to judge those inside the church who are sinning. – 1 Corinthians 5:12
I have said this on multiple occasions; we are not to judge those outside of the Church (The big C church) of God. People who don’t believe they need a Savior don’t know that they are sick. When we tell people about the Grace of God, we don’t initially tell them that they are sinners if we wish to be effective at evangelizing. The wonder and love of God is what draws the lost to God, not their brokenness. We tell people of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and then we pray that the Holy Spirit will soften their hearts enough to make them realize that they are in fact sinners in need of a Savior. For the vast majority of people in our culture, this will not happen. All we can do is speak and hope that those we are talking to have ears to listen. Expecting the lost to understand that sexual immorality is a sin is no more possible than expecting a toddler to understand complex physics. The nonbeliever does not sin only when it can affect their freedom (if a sin could land them in jail such as theft or murder). Now that the culture has shifted away from a Christian worldview these types of cases will become the order of the day. Even more concerning to those who are nominal Christians (cultural Christians who believe in Jesus but have not repented of their sins) the day is fast approaching when just being Christian will become difficult. Then we will truly see who is saved and who isn’t.
The legalization of same sex marriage is just the first step in the long path to the secularization of the United States and the road will be fraught with peril for those who are Children of God. As the worldly pros of being a Christian are outweighed by the hate and anger directed towards us, all of the semi-Christians will fall like chaff leaving a purer form of Christianity. An orthodox and biblically minded Christianity will emerge that will be so completely counter to the way the world is as to be a shining beacon to the lost. I think that this is a good thing for all of us who are looking at the heresy that has infected American Christendom. When simply being a Christian will bring the possibility of job loss or lost business, nominal Christians will find it easier to just admit that they never wanted God in the first place, only what God gave them. Those who are left will know that they are truly children of God and will shine to the rest of the world. They will know us by our love for God and for one another even in the face of scorn and persecution. For someone who is lost and searching for purpose and meaning in their lives, this strangeness will be more compelling than a culturally infected gospel.
Worry not child of God, ultimately the most comforting thing that you should rely on is that Jesus Christ is alive. That is right, the God of the Universe who is sovereign over all things knows what is happening and has chosen to allow it to happen. Have faith that God knows that He is doing and that He has things under control. As a Christian, we must have faith in this and must understand that the testing of our faith is very likely coming. The ways of this world is looking less and less like the ways of God. The good news is that our strangeness will be a light in the darkness. This change will be a purifying force in Christianity and one that I personally welcome. Let the lost revel in their sin as they have always done. Let us continue to make war on our own sin and live in a way that brings glory to God and makes the Gospel of Jesus Christ all but irresistible when the lies of the world becomes evident.
