SCOTUS Ruling on Marriage

SCOTUS ruled today legalizing marriage between any gender combinations.  As a pastor, I have been asked to respond to this decision of the court.  As I had already made the decision to stop officiating for "Civil Weddings" because of the general decline of our society's view on the sanctity of marriage.  This ruling, therefore, has no real impact on how I will function as a minister of the gospel.  This decision only confirms my previous decision.  Following is my response:

First, I feel it appropriate to begin by expressing that having homosexual desires only becomes a sin when you begin to dwell on it in your heart or fulfill those desires with action.  We are all tempted to sin, all having been born with a sin nature, so to condemn someone because they suffer with temptation in any form would be to condemn us all.  We should rather respond compassionately, offering God's love, grace, encouragement, and support in battling against sin, regardless of it's form.  I address this further below.

Second, we live in a secular society which has abandoned the Judeo/Christian morals upon which our nation was founded, and so while this is disturbing to those of us who still live by those principles, it should neither surprise nor shock us.  It should sadden us, causing us to fear the coming judgement we know approaches for our nation (see Romans chapter one).  According to the Bible the sin of homosexuality is being allowed in our society is a judgement of God on mankind's rejection of Him, and the approval of that sin by individuals and society results in God's direct judgement (ibid).  The answer to Homosexuality in our society is not attacking homosexuals, but revival in the lives of believers and an outbreak of evangelistic fervor in our nation!

Third, we should look on this decision as an opportunity to share God's loving intent for marriage and relationships in our broken culture, and through that the grace He offers to all people, including those who are suffering this judgement of homosexual desires.  If we believe God's Word is true, and I do, then we should respond with compassion on those who are experiencing God's judgement for our societal sin of rejecting God, not strike out with hate toward them.  This does not mean we should view or express that the sin is in any way acceptable to God or in society, but rather we should prayerfully petition our Lord for His saving and cleansing work in their lives, just as we do for all other sin in all other sinners’ lives.

Forth, I believe that this ruling has made "marriage" nothing more than a legal contract with no moral foundation, and therefore we, as God fearing and loving believers, must reject the government’s authority to endorse or provide approval for the joining of two people together in holy matrimony.  Government has lost any semblance of the right to have a part in the joining of two people in holy matrimony.  I believe the proper decision of our government, if they desired to create a means for LGBT unions, should have been to create "Civil Unions/contracts", as that is all they are anyway, being devoid of any form the traditional understanding of marriage.  Though even this form of tacit approval of the practice of a homosexual lifestyle is morally corrupt, and only makes plain the the depths to which our society has fallen.

To illustrate what I believe is a proper course of action for believers from this point forward, I will share the path which I am currently taking in joining two believers in a marriage covenant.  Although I believe the government has forfeited its moral authority to speak to the union of a man and woman in marriage, we are commanded to render unto Caesar (government) what is Caesar's.  This means that if the government requires a government document joining two people together in marriage for legal reasons, I encourage all believers to obey the law.  This said, I do not believe that as a church we should require a state marriage certificate to consider a couple married.  We should consider a marriage "real" from this point forward only when it is performed in the sight of God.  This may be done with a state marriage certificate only if it is undertaken with Biblical understanding of the covenant nature of the marriage.  If a couple desires to have a state certificate and have me officiate, they will have to get "married" by a state official separately, and I will officiate their Marriage Covenant Ceremony.  I will be doing this for a godly young couple July 4th.

Finally, we need to fall on our knees before our Holy God, YHWH, look at our own hearts and ask the question, "What sin might I have in my life that could be contributing to God's judgment on our nation?"  We need to look to our own hearts first, repenting of our own sin, and only then are we able to point out the sin of others, sharing God's grace with other broken and sinful people.  When we do point out the sin of others, it should never be approached from a place of condemnation, but from a place of loving compassion, with the goal of redemption in God's grace, through faith.

Let's keep our eyes on the cross.