Gay Marriage

I received a bulletin from one of my high school friends on my MySpace profile the other day that was simply titled "Gay Marriage". Basically it was originated by someone else (far removed from me or my friend) who was trying to use MySpace networking to get the names of 300 people who give their approval for gay marriage. Part of the rationale given for people to add their own names to the list and then pass it on was so that this pro-gay marriage petition would be completed before an opposing one.... Quite frankly, I really don't care about the initial reason for sending it out or even this specific issue. Don't get me wrong, I am committed and convinced of the truth of human sexuality and it's proper expression (only in marriage between husband and wife), but this was not the primary reason for my concern in this situation.

You see, the person who sent it to me (sent it to all of the contacts on her friend’s list) and I went to the same high school. She dated my best friend, went to a prayer group that we started, and other Christian activities. She claimed to be a Christian at that time, and she still claims “Christian – other” as her religion.¹ So, it was not the social and political issue surrounding same sex marriage that concerned me, but it is the status of her soul. I will simply copy the text of the e-mail that I sent her, and I hope that my concern comes through as genuine and that it is evident that I am concerned for her soul, and not in making a political stand or argument (even though those two things that are valid to do).

So here is the response that I sent to my friend today:

I haven't been on MySpace to do much for a long time, but I saw this bulletin that you forwarded, and I must say that I'm a bit...well, saddened by it.

Do I support gay marriage (I don't think that calling it "gay marriage" is even a fair title because gay people have always been able to get married just like anyone else - with the same rules, so I would argue that a better and fairer descriptive title would be "same sex marriage", but...I digress)?

Why do I oppose government sanctioned unions between same sex couples? Well, there are many reasons, but I will tell you two reason - 1 Social and 1 Biblical.

Socially: Basically when you cut it down to it, if we sanction this type of union in our society, there will be no legal way to "prefer" a man & woman couple over a same sex couple in the case of adoption. When all things are equal, what this does is that it ends up making the state the means of depriving a child of a mother or father. What I mean by that is that if you have a committed same sex couple who adopt a child, there would not be (most likely) a consistent parent of the opposite sex to instruct, care for, and otherwise mold a child. I think that kids need their mommies just as much as they need their daddies. And even though there has never been a society that has ever matched up to this calling perfectly, I think that it would be disastrous for us to

Biblically: God finds all sin (and any sin) detestable. However, homosexuality is distinctly contemptible in God's eyes because it seems to be a (sort of) reaction of God to continuous rebellion and unbelief that He "gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper," (Romans 1:28). So endorsing or approving of same sex marriage would be to put my stamp of approval on an activity that God has specifically deemed as detestable. (Leviticus 20:13) I will not and cannot support this idea because this type of a lifestyle (just like lying, fornication, adultery, pride, etc) is the evidence of an n unsaved and condemned person.

However, Sonya, it is not about the political or social ramifications that cause me to be concerned about this issue and anyone who supports it (that's you). The Bible is clear that no unrighteous person will go to heaven. Some of the traits of the righteous is that they will not be "fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers," (1 Corinthians 6:9,10). It is for this reason, that of the eternal soul and destiny of the unsaved and the all-important aspect of God's own glory that I make my concerns known.

And I know that you have heard this, but this is the reason that Christ came into the world...to save and cleanse all of us. It is not enough to simply acknowledge in your mind that Jesus is Lord and that God raised Him from the dead while your life does not reflect His desires and thoughts (this is a progressive change in the mind and heart of a Christian, but it is evident). And it doesn’t matter if a person is a homosexual or a heterosexual living in unrepentant sexual (or other) sin…the result is the same. That result is eternal damnation by God. And if we really care about our homosexual friends, yours or mine (yes I have homosexual friends too), the loving and caring response is not to endorse their sin and look the other way, but it is to use the law of the Lord to show them their sin and then proclaim the glorious and transforming gospel of Jesus Christ who can set them free from sin and transform them into new creatures.

This gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God to bring people salvation. It is by this transforming work of God that enables Paul to write to the Corinthians and say that, yes, certain types of people (fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, thieves, the covetous, drunkards, revilers, swindlers) will not inherit the kingdom of God (because they have not been forgiven of their sins), but “Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11) God is able to save all people from their sin, but they must repent of it and trust in Christ.

Sonya, we haven’t seen each other for about a decade, and I don’t know where your life has taken you. I know that in high school, you went to church activities, attended prayer-type meetings, as well as other things. However, I also know that 10 years can do a lot to change people’s hearts, minds, and desires. Basically, I don’t know if you’re saved or not – only God truly knows for sure. I’m not around you enough to even see the fruits of your life that we (Christians) are supposed to use in order to make some conclusions as to the spiritual state of any person claiming to be saved.

I will close my comments with one final thought, and that will be in the form of a question. Do you consider yourself to be a good person? I am asking that honestly, and I only ask that you answer it honestly before you read the next line.

Most likely you (like virtually everyone else) answered this question with a “yes” and you thought of various supporting reasons. If you did answer yes, please take a few minutes to visit http://www.needgod.com/004.shtml and look at what is presented (it’s in the form of a quiz).

Finally, I would love to hear from you with any thoughts concerning these ideas, but most specifically about the gospel.

May God grant you grace and faith,
EJ

The issue here is the gospel, plain and simple. If one is truly a Christian, it will be evident in that person’s life. Can some (or even many) Christians be wrong on some social or economic issues of the day? Absolutely! However, when something as basic as marriage and the sin of same sex relationships are concerned, we are not wrong. As Christians we still need to watch our attitude and our tone, but our stance that it is sinful, and therefore wrong, is not.

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¹ http://www.myspace.com/sma001