By Heath Rainwater
The Vine Christian Ministries
Since the church has been given this corner from which to speak, I can’t waste the opportunity to give truth a voice in our town and this world. I would prefer to simply speak the truth in love without offending anyone, but in the end anyone who is offended by Jesus is likely to be offended by me.
Our world is fickle and changes rapidly. What started as small and subtle changes in our attitudes and values have spilled over into our laws, policies and practices. The result is a large and growing gulf between the loud (though often minority) voice of public opinion and the never-changing voice of God. American society is gradually turning its nose from the very Biblical truths, values and practices that formed the bedrock of our great nation. Remove the foundation and the house will crumble. Woven into the very fabric and tradition of our society are the Biblical truths concerning the institution of marriage. The assault that is being launched today on marriage is really just an escalation of the rebellion against God. Marriage is and can only be between a man and a woman. I must go further to add that all gay and lesbian relationships not only defy nature, but also stand in opposition to will and word of God.
Is homosexuality wrong? According to God it is. He sees it as vile and as defying nature and his will. There are many places the Bible addresses homosexuality. In Genesis 19:1-11 God destroys Sodom and Gomorrah because it was overrun with sin which was characterized by the men of the city lusting after and wanting to sleep with men (angels) who God had sent to deliver Lot and his family from this vile place. In Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13 we clearly read that homosexuality is an abomination to God and is mentioned in the same sinful context as bestiality. In Romans 1:24-32 Paul identifies homosexuality as sin branching out of vile lusts as a consequence of not glorifying God as God in our lives. And in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 Paul writes that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God. He names many different types of unrighteousness including thievery, drunkenness, adultery and homosexuality.
I’d be depressed if it ended here, because I know that I sin. But even though every one of us has sinned, we are made righteous by Jesus Christ (Romans 3: 22-24). When we confess and turn from our sins, the blood of Jesus washes away our unrighteousness. No work. Just grace. Our work is to believe on Jesus. And if you invite Christ to live in you he will make you new. If you’ve ever thought you cannot change, that is not true. Christ will start a change in you that will cause the old things to pass away including all of the sinful habits that once had you in bondage. You will find victory and be able to walk in the freedom that is found in Christ.
Crazy thing about God – he loves us just the way we are. He pursues us relentlessly with his powerful, perfect and unconditional love. He loves us even if we never decide that he is worthy of our love. His love was manifested when he sent his son to suffer the shame, guilt, weight and punishment of our sins…your sins and mine. But Jesus did not endure the cross so we would continue in sin, but so that we would be delivered from the bondage and penalty of it. Will God still love us if we sin? Absolutely. But if we refuse to confess and repent of our sins we reject his love. We reject Christ and his blood that washes away our guilt (I John 1:7-10). God is just and all sin will be punished. If we reject Christ’s atonement of our sin, we will have to face the judgment for it. The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our lord (Romans 6:23).
Now since it is true that homosexuality violates the will of God then it follows that gay marriage also violates God’s will. We can give our legislators the power to make laws, but we are still one nation under God. They are not granted the right to establish any law that violates God’s law. It is not really a matter of whether gay marriage is right or wrong, but really a question of whether we will stand for what is right and true in the face of mounting opposition. I’ve decided that I will stand. I believe that if our voices were to unite, we could take back the reins of this country and once again allow God to be God in this nation. If God is for us, who can be against us? He will prosper us, protect us and restore our families. If God is your God, every nation will have to call you blessed.
