This week, we have been looking at a section of a letter
in the Bible called the book of Genesis. Wednesday, we discovered that because
it is not good for man to be alone in his uniqueness; because it is not good
for a woman to be alone in her uniqueness; a man shall leave his father and
mother and be joined to his wife and they shall become one flesh. We discovered
the timeless truth is that in the beginning, God created marriage to engage one
man and one woman in a lifelong commitment that reveals and reflects God’s love
for us…and it was very good!!
We talked about the reality that God created the
institution of marriage and has a divine design for marriage. And that divine
design for marriage is that a man and woman cut the cord, so to speak, from
their parents and join together in a covenant commitment that involves one man
and one woman for one lifetime and become one flesh.
Now this phrase “one flesh” is not just talking about the
physical aspect of sex. God has a
divine design for marriage in that marriage has been divinely designed by God
to be a picture on earth of the intimacy that we will have for all eternity
with Christ. Marriage was designed by God to be a word picture to the world of
the vulnerability, the transparency, and the intimacy that followers of Jesus
will experience for all eternity with Him.
Today, I would like to talk about
the move in our culture today to change the definition of marriage to include
same sex marriage. I am often asked by people what my thoughts are on this
issue and how we should respond to those who want to change marriage to include
same sex marriages. So I would like for us to address what the Bible says about
this issue and how followers of Jesus should engage this issue.
First and foremost, I believe
that God has called us to talk about what we are for, not what we are against.
And what followers of Jesus should be for is the desire that people experience
the blessings of marriage as God designed it, which is that God created marriage to engage one man and one woman in a lifelong
commitment that reveals and reflects God’s love for us…and it is very good!!
Second, I believe that all too often, we expect
non-Christians to act like Christians before they become Christians, while at
the same time allowing Christians to act like non-Christians. So, instead of
spending all of our time trying to convince non-Christians that they are wrong,
I believe we need to spend our time as followers of Jesus supporting and
encouraging one another to have healthy and vibrant marriages that reveal and
reflect Christ to the world around us.
What non-Christians need to hear from us first and
foremost is not our position on gay marriage. What non-Christians need to hear
first and foremost is the claims of Christ and the message of the gospel. And
for all of you single ticket Christians out there that spend all your time and
energy on this issue, here is a question for you to consider: What would happen
if you spent as much time loving, serving, investing and inviting those who are
far from God to explore faith as you do opposing gay marriage?
You see, the harsh reality is that your opinion on gay
marriage is not going to change people. It is God, through the claims of Christ
and the message of the gospel that changes people. The most important question
isn’t “what do you think about gay marriage?” The most important question is
“Who is Jesus?”.
Now for some of you, right about now you are pushing back
at what I just said. And if we were able to have a conversation, the
conversation might sound something like this: “But Dave, what about the
government trying to pass laws about gay marriage? Shouldn’t we engage in the
debate? Shouldn’t we oppose the government on this issue?”
If we were able to have that conversation, here would be
my response: I believe that we should take advantage to participate in all the
freedoms that we have been blessed with here in the United States, including
the rights that we have to express our freedoms and be a part of the political
process by voting.
And if the government and the people choose to pass laws
that promote civil unions in order that people have equal access and rights
when it comes to certain financial benefits and issues that is the government’s
and people’s prerogative. The government can choose to call them civil unions;
the government can choose to call them whatever they want to call them, but
please do not call them marriage, because that is not how God has defined
marriage and that has not been how humanity has defined marriage for thousands
of years.
Now by saying what I just said, I am not making a
political statement. Instead, as a pastor, I am simply the mailman who is
proclaiming the mail. And that mail the God wrote makes it abundantly clear
that God created and designed marriage for a specific purpose. And as a pastor,
I will choose to spend my time and use the freedoms that God has blessed us
with by talking about what God is for, which is that God created marriage to engage one man and one woman in a
lifelong commitment that reveals and reflects God’s love for us…and it is very
good.
I will choose to spend my time loving and serving people
and creating environments where people can experience healthy and vibrant
marriage relationships. And I will not put my hope in government or in the
kingdoms of this world. I will put my hope in my relationship with Jesus and I
will focus on living a life that reveals and reflects Jesus to those who are
far from Him, because that is the mission that I have been given.
And if you are a follower of Jesus that is the mission
you have been given….
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