Season for the Reason: Loving Sinners, Hating Sin and Obeying God Rather Than Men

Note:   This blog deals with some ongoing questions that continue to be part of a national conversation in America, particularly in light of its distinctly Judeo-Christian heritage and a Constitution that maintains the ideals of a separation of church and state. There has long been a struggle in defining rights and ensuring equal rights for all groups of people, particularly in regard to sexual minorities. In light of the Supreme Court of the United States of America's recent ruling regarding the expansion of marriage to include same sex couples, there have arisen questions from people of religious faith who have objections on religious grounds over how to implement this ruling, particularly for those who because of their jobs directly offer services for weddings.
           This blog is an attempt to discuss a Christian viewpoint on these topics and how best to respond in love to all people, while maintaining the Truth of The Bible always and ultimately obeying God over men. And again, this has arisen out of real discussions and questions that have been raised to me from various people. I know Christians and the church have often failed in addressing these issues well and in a Godly, loving manner. I hope that this blog will be both of those things, while also firmly stating the Truth of The Bible.
 


           First of all, let me re-emphasize, as I've said before, that in dealing with all people, Christians are commanded to love one another and I always want to make sure that I am loving to all people. (Romans 12:15-18, John 13:34-35) I would never want to shun any homosexual couples. However, I would contend that it is their behavior that is shunned. As a follower of Christ, I am instructed in Jude 1:21-23 to reach out with mercy to those who doubt and help save them by snatching them out of the fire and also show mercy with fear. Why fear? The verse goes on to say that I am commanded to hate even the garment stained by the flesh. In other words, while I am always commanded to love all people, I must also be wary of sin and hate sin because it drives me away from my real life in Christ and instead pushes me back toward the old life enslaved by the devil. God hates sin too for this reason- it drives people away from Him. Because of God’s great love for us, He must hate sin because He doesn’t want anything to separate us from His indescribably awesome love. (see 1 Peter 1:13-16, Colossians 3:1-4, Romans 6 and a number of other Bible passages for more on this point.)
          The question has been brought to the forefront particularly in the case of Kim Davis, a Kentucky clerk has refused to issue licenses for same sex marriage unions and was subsequently jailed for not carrying out the duties of her job. (I will briefly say on this point that I think she should look to the words of Christ in Matthew 5:38-42 and choose to issue the licenses, even if it does go against her beliefs and certainly it goes against God's plan for marriage. [see Jesus' words on that in Matthew 19- He clearly defines it as the union of one man and one woman for life- solely bound to each other in the eyes of God and man until death do them part.] I think Christians are sometimes called to let themselves be taken advantage of and to give up our rights. Certainly, Jesus directly calls us to do that in Luke 9:23 in order to follow Him- deny ourselves, die to ourselves daily and take up our cross and follow Him. I think it's also important to note that rendering such services doesn't make her complicit in approving or partaking in the sin of homosexuality. I think of it as a Christian sales associate working at a grocery store and selling customers beer and wine. If the customer chooses to go get drunk on these products, I don't think the Christian sales associate is held accountable by God for inducing the drunkenness of the customer [something that God does condemn as sin- see Ephesians 5:18, among others. However, note that drinking itself is not condemned as sin in The Bible.]- that is a sin that will weigh on their conscience, not the Christian's.)
            To look at an example that is often offered for comparison, what if it were a photographer (of any race other than African-American) refusing to give service to a black person and/or refusing to photograph an interracial marriage (i.e. refusing to do the work on the basis of race)? I think this would be a false equivalency. I fully agree that religion and The Bible (wrongfully, I must add) has been used to justify this racist hatred. (Something 1 John 4:20-21 clearly says is wrong.) I agree that a black person cannot change the color of his skin and a homosexual person cannot change their homosexual tendencies. (Although, just to point out, as Jesus says in Matthew 19:26- “With man this is impossible but with God all things are possible.” God is certainly capable of changing a person’s homosexual tendencies- however, I will also say that it seems that it is rare that He does that, though there are some that would attest to this. 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 speaks to Corinthians who used to be homosexual offenders but were washed by the blood of Christ and changed. However, I don’t know if this means that God supernaturally removed their sinful tendencies altogether. I think what for sure happened is that He changed their heart and desires so that they desired God’s will- and then they rejected the allure of homosexual relations and sought the fulfillment of all their needs in Christ’s sufficiency. [Philippians 3:8 and many other verses speak to this.]) And yes- I realize this can sound rather cruel if not carefully worded, but keep in mind that we are all tainted with Adam’s sin- and we all struggle with sinful tendencies, though they may not all be sexual in nature. [So I am not trying to say anything negative about homosexual people and hold their sin up as worse than any others. James 2:10 says all sins are equally bad- when we commit one, it’s the same as doing all of them.] And certainly homosexual people struggle with other sins as well- their sexuality is not the totality of their personhood. This would also be true for people born with kleptomaniac tendencies or those born with an inclination toward drunkenness through Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and other such things- the choice is always theirs as to how they will respond. The secular world may certainly disagree, but I believe Jesus Christ is powerful enough to change the desires of people to give in to these sinful desires and instead to help them choose to deny them and follow His commands instead. [2 Corinthians 5:14-21 speaks to this point very well.] Psalms 37:4 says that if we delight ourselves in The Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart. And as we delight ourselves more and more in Jesus alone, we will find that our desires are conformed to His and that we desire Him and His will- His standards of righteous living- above all else. Psalms 84:10 “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”)
           Here is another example to consider. What would a Jewish or Muslim caterer say to the question of serving pork at a wedding? The objection the Jewish or Muslim caterer would have against serving pork (as well as their objections to giving their services to a gay marriage, for that matter) is the same that a Christian caterer would have against giving his or her services to a gay marriage. The issue is not with the people; the issue is with what the people are doing. In one case, it’s serving pork- in another case, it’s uniting a man and a man or a woman and a woman as a couple, bound as one in an institute established and ordained by God- and one that He clearly sets down to us as being strictly reserved for a man and a woman. (Matthew 19, Genesis 2:24)
However, despite this, as I said earlier, I still think it might be good for a Christian if they decided to partake and offer their services in an attempt to be a witness to the gay couple and demonstrate the love of Christ. This is of course a call that each Christian would have to make on their own conscience though. (see Romans 14- it should also be considered as to whether this would be seen as a stumbling block to a brother or sister weaker in their faith in Christ.) The concern for many Christian business owners is that they would not want to be seen as giving tacit approval to a union diametrically opposed to God’s design for marriage. It is sad and unfortunate that this gets translated by some as to mean an outright hatred for gay people. [Let me be quick to concede that I am sure that is very much the case on the part of some. And to those who call themselves followers of Christ yet hate people with homosexual tendencies, I would offer rebuke as a brother in The Lord and direct them to reread 1 John 4 and John 13:35 and Ephesians 4:15 and ask them to seek The Holy Spirit’s leading in that- as hating people is as much of a sin as homosexuality is- and that must be addressed too.] As a Christ follower, I love all people but I cannot and do not condone all that they do. That is the dilemma Christian caterers, photographers, etc. are facing in this issue.
         Of course, a non-Christian would not find this a compelling argument that applies to them- the reason being that, (and indeed, the reason non-Christian gay people would find the Christian’s position offensive and discriminatory) because in their mindset, there is nothing wrong with following on their natural desires. However, a Christian would of course disagree- and therein lies the point of contention. Of course, one does not have to be a Christian in order to respect the beliefs of Christians and people of other faiths, certainly. However, most non-Christian gay people would most likely be prone to discard any Biblical reasons since they do not believe in Christ and do not follow Him- thus, His rules in The Bible would not be a valid reason for them. I would hope that people on both sides (both Christians and non-Christian gays) would be able to reason calmly with each other and make a real effort to understand each other’s viewpoint and feelings in the matter.
I think the question for America that will eventually come is deciding whether or not marriage is a God ordained institution or simply a manmade construct. In the case of the latter, the government would dictate the matter. However, at this point, there is still a partnership of sorts between the government and the church in the matter of marriage. (Though certainly one does not have to go through the church for a marriage license.) But thankfully, that is not for me to decide. I have already stated my view that marriage is an institution established by God and ordained by Him and that is where I will stand on it. Others are welcome to draw their own conclusions of course- and that may eventually become the solution (which is already in place to some degree, with certain churches that affirm gay marriage performing ceremonies and some state governments acknowledging it, and of course the recent ruling from the Supreme Court.) As far as the legal rights that go with it, while I don’t agree with its validity as marriage as defined by God, I honestly don’t have a problem with the government providing for legal benefits to gay couples.)
           For everyone reading this, I hope you know that anything I say about Jesus and about my belief in Him and The Bible is all meant to come only out of a heart of love, concern, respect and kindness. I will fully admit that I have certainly failed on that at times, but I hope that those desires come across above all. I do not expect to convert anyone to anything, but I certainly do want to let people know about Jesus and His love for all and His standards for living that I have found to be better than anything else in the world- and His offer of forgiveness and salvation open to all through faith. This is something everyone must choose for themselves; I don’t believe in forcing anything upon anyone and I don’t believe God does either. I do believe that He rewards the sincere seeker of Him though. (Jeremiah 29:13) If anyone reading this ever wants to talk further about having a relationship with Christ, I am always glad to correspond further on that.
           Thank you for bearing with this lengthy document. I apologize for what may seem to be belaboring the point, but it’s a rather complex issue that deserves to be considered carefully, though I know I can always stand to study and learn more on it myself. I want to reiterate that we must be loving and respecting to our gay/lesbian and any other kind of queer friends (along with all people of any sexual persuasion or identity.) I have some gay friends myself as well and I certainly respect their rights too. All of us as human beings must come together as God’s creation and learn to learn from each other- and find a way to respect both the rights of people of faith and people of different faiths and/or no faith- and the rights of gay/lesbian/queer/transgender and all other variations people. I certainly pray that we will do just that and as Romans 12:18 commands, if possible, as much as it depends on us, live peaceably with all. May God bless you richly. Grace, love and peace to all.