Gay Marriage
It is amazing the lengths that people will go to in order to
legitimize their behavior, especially when it comes to the issue of “Gay
Marriage.” Despite the fact that when the issue comes to a vote it has largely
been rejected, proponents of the issue will try to find some court to say there
is a constitutional right to it. Supporters of “Gay Marriage” have numerous
ways to try and show their support. The most recent example involves people
putting up a pink “=” sign with a red background on their Facebook pages. For
years homosexuals have tried to equate their “struggle” with the struggle that
African Americans faced for centuries in this country, as if behavior and
racial ethnicity is the same thing. But, the most interesting “defense” of “Gay
Marriage” is when people will try to pull out all these examples from the Bible
that seemingly go against the idea of marriage being between one man and one
woman. They will talk about examples of polygamy, under aged brides,
concubines, arranged marriages, men owning their wives and even the high
divorce rates among Christian couples, as if to say that those who rely on the
Bible as their authority to support “traditional marriage” are being undermined
by it.
However, there are a couple of things wrong with this argument. First,
the Bible’s recognition of these historical facts does not mean it is what God
intended for mankind. All these examples arose after sin had entered the world
and man was operating apart from God and His will for them. In many ways it
shows His ability to work in the midst of man’s sinfulness in order to work His
plan of redemption through Jesus Christ. Secondly, and most importantly, is
that to use these examples from the Bible actually undermines the proponents of
“Gay Marriage.” Why, you ask? It undermines their argument because it makes it
seem that they are saying, “Since there are so many terrible examples of
‘marriages’ in the Bible, then we should allow one more terrible example of
marriage to be accepted.” Therefore, the argument for “Gay Marriage” is
weakened by their use of the Bible in this circumstance. Furthermore, even with
all these flawed examples, there is still one constant in them all; in each
case the parties involved were male and female. Never once were there same sex
relationships. “Therefore a man
shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall
become one flesh (Genesis 2:24).”
Two Words
We have all done something that has burdened us so much, and
for so long, that we believe that God couldn’t possibly forgive us. Take the
case of Stewart, who had been responsible for the death of 18-year old Susan in
an auto accident. Stewart was drunk driving on New Year’s Eve when he plowed
into Susan’s car, killing her instantly. He was arrested and convicted of
manslaughter and drunk driving. Susan’s family had sued Stewart and won a civil
suit. Rather than take the $1.5 million they originally wanted, they settled
for $936. Each Friday, the day Susan died, Stewart was to make out a check in
her name and mail it to the family; one dollar a week for 18 years, one for
each year of Susan’s life. This was to ensure that Stewart would remember what
he had done. The odd punishment
eventually took its toll on Stewart as he was “haunted by Susan’s death and
tormented by the payments.” How many Christians are tormented by some sin
they’ve committed? Stewart’s story reminds me of what Peter must have endured,
albeit for a shorter time period, after he denied knowing Jesus Christ three
times just prior to the Lord’s death. But, what did the angel say for the
ladies to go and do after Jesus rose from the dead?
“Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of
Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where
they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that
He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you
(Mark 16:6-7).” Those two little words, “and Peter,” show the love of God and
His forgiveness. Peter was singled out to be told about the risen Lord. No
doubt this was done to restore Peter’s faith and heal the pain his sin was
causing him. Peter would not have ever been able to get on with his life
without God forgiving him. How much worse would it be for Stewart with his
weekly reminder of his greatest failure? How could Stewart have a personal
relationship with that family with the guilt and punishment between them? It is
no different with us and God if we don’t realize that our sins are forgiven.
Ask yourself if there is even the smallest hint of guilt between Jesus Christ
and you? Is there some vague sense of not being pleasing in His sight due to
your sins? If you answered, “Yes,” then you won’t be able to move on in your
relationship with Him until you accept fully and finally that all your sins,
past, present and future, have been paid in full by Christ’s death on the
cross. Unless you realize that you are eternally forgiven and rest in the truth
that Jesus Christ paid for all your sins, you’ll be so busy trying to pay off
your debt, atone for your sins, that you’ll never grow as a Christian and enjoy
the personal relationship that Christ has provided for you.
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