One thing that's clear to me as a Christian who
opposes gay marriage is that very few secular people - and sadly, by no means
all Christians - really understand why Christians take the position we do.
That's why there is so much being said that doesn't really
reflect what Christians think. Some say we hate or we judge. Others say we are
against love. Some think we're threatened by homosexuals. Some think we object
too vociferously because we secretly want to join their ranks. Some even claim
we don't think God loves gay people.
None of that is true, but maybe it's understandable that you
jump to those conclusions if you're not familiar with the Bible or with the
details of Christian doctrine.
What I want to do here is lay out an explanation for the
basis of Christian opposition to gay marriage. The intent here is not to
convince you if you don't agree, although I'd be glad if I did. If you come
away from this feeling that you better understand the Christian position, but
still disagreeing with it, then I've accomplished my goal.
First, a few caveats: This explanation is going to reflect
my particular denominational bent, which is Pentecostal. I don't think the
substance of what I say will differ in a substantive way from any
Bible-believing denomination, but I recognize, for instance, that Baptists or
Lutherans may not put as much emphasis on the supernatural as I do. Noted. I
still think they would mostly endorse the substance of how I'm going to explain
this. Also, my target audience here is people with a genuine interest in understanding.
The fire-breathing ideologue who is simply spoiling for a fight about anything
and everything is going to do what he or she always does. That's not my
problem.
Finally, I understand that some of you don't believe in God
or in anything spiritual, and for you, all of this is absurd on its face.
You're still welcome to gain an understanding if you'd like, even though I
recognize you will not accept the basic premise behind any of it.
With that said, let's start by establishing a basic point
about the Bible. The Christian (present company included) believes that the
entire Bible is the inspired Word of God. The various writers wrote under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so we don't believe it was merely "written
by men," and we also believe that God has protected His Word over the
course of centuries with new translations to reflect modern language - by
choosing godly men and women to lead those translation processes.
That's why, when we cite the Bible, we treat it as
authoritative.
Also, since every writer of the Bible was under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, it doesn't matter when people argue that
"Jesus never said anything" about this or that. Just because an issue
isn't specifically referenced in the red-letter words of Jesus (although the
definition of marriage as between a man and a woman actually is, which we'll
get to shortly) doesn't mean Scriputure had nothing authoritative to say on the
matter.
Now, let's establish beyond any doubt what Scripture says
about homosexual sex. I have five passages for you, starting with Romans
1:24-28:
24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the
lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who
exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature
rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. 26 For this reason God
gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use
for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use
of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing
what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which
was due.
This passage clearly establishes that God intended a natural
order for how we would receive and engage in the gift of sexual activity, and
it likewise establishes that homosexual sex is outside that established order.
It also establishes that there is a penalty for this. Loving Christian people
want to see gay people spared of the pain of that penalty.
Next, let's look at Mark 10:2-9:
2 The Pharisees came and asked Him, “Is it lawful for a man
to divorce his wife?” testing Him.
3 And He answered and said to them, “What did Moses command
you?”
4 They said, “Moses permitted a man to write a certificate
of divorce, and to dismiss her.”
5 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Because of the
hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept. 6 But from the beginning of
the creation, God ‘made them male and female.’7 ‘For this reason a man shall
leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, 8 and the two shall
become one flesh’; so then they are no longer two, but one flesh. 9 Therefore
what God has joined together, let not man separate.”
Jesus is answering a question from the Pharisees about
divorce - one of their typically pathetic attempts to trap him - and in the
course of answering, Jesus lays out God's clear plan for marriage, affirming
that it is indeed between a man and a woman. There are people who argue
implausibly that Jesus only phrased it this way because, in that day and age,
He couldn't have conceived of gay marriage. That's transparent nonsense. As the
Son of God, Jesus knew everything that would ever happen. And Jesus introduced
lots of concepts into His teaching that were radical in His day. If He had been
OK with gay marriage, this was the perfect opportunity to say so. Instead, he
affirmed that marriage is between a man and a woman.
Next, let's look at Leviticus 20:10-18:
10 ‘The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he
who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the
adulteress, shall surely be put to death. 11 The man who lies with his father’s
wife has uncovered his father’s nakedness; both of them shall surely be put to
death. Their blood shall be upon them. 12 If a man lies with his
daughter-in-law, both of them shall surely be put to death. They have committed
perversion. Their blood shall be upon them. 13 If a man lies with a male as he lies
with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be
put to death. Their blood shall be upon them. 14 If a man marries a woman and
her mother, it is wickedness. They shall be burned with fire, both he and they,
that there may be no wickedness among you. 15 If a man mates with an animal, he
shall surely be put to death, and you shall kill the animal. 16 If a woman
approaches any animal and mates with it, you shall kill the woman and the
animal. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood is upon them. 17 ‘If a
man takes his sister, his father’s daughter or his mother’s daughter, and sees
her nakedness and she sees his nakedness, it is a wicked thing. And they shall
be cut off in the sight of their people. He has uncovered his sister’s
nakedness. He shall bear his guilt. 18 If a man lies with a woman during her
sickness and uncovers her nakedness, he has exposed her flow, and she has
uncovered the flow of her blood. Both of them shall be cut off from their
people.
Now I realize many will focus on the "put to
death" aspect of this, and that's where you have to understand the
difference between moral law and ceremonial law. A lot of people cite
prohibitions against things like eating shellfish as evidence that Leviticus is
just full of random nonsense. No. Those are laws specifically for the
Israelites about remaining ceremonial clean for entering the Temple and
offering sacrifices to God. Those are ceremonial laws.
The death penalty proscribed for these sins is likewise a
penalty under ceremonial law, but make no mistake, God views the actions
described as moral sins, and the reason I included so many other examples is to
establish that there is such a thing as sexual morality, and there are limits
to it. God intends sex to be enjoyed within marriage between a man and a woman
who are not closely related to each other, and He is very stern with those who
engage in sexual immorality - as defined in great detail in this passage.
That's because God establishes that when you unite with someone physically, you
also unite with them spiritually - and He only wants you to unite spiritually
with one person. Your spouse. Of the opposite sex. Taking on the spiritual
iniquity of others with whom you were never intended to unite is a very dangerous
game, and God is trying to warn you against doing so.
Next, 1 Timothy 1:8-11:
8 But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully,
9 knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the
lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and
profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, 10
for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and
if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 according to
the glorious gospel of the blessed God which was committed to my trust.
Just to be clear, sodomites are those who engage in sodomy
(referenced in other translations as those who practice homosexuality) and
fornicators are those who engage in sex outside of marriage.
Finally, James 1:14-15:
14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own
desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin;
and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
I included that last passage not just to show that desires
of the flesh are sinful, but also to show that sin has ultimate spiritual
consequence, which is torment in your life and ultimately death.
Now, I know that's a lot of Scripture, so let me pull it
together. Every one of us is born into sin. For the homosexual who says,
"I was born this way," I will not argue. We were all born with sinful
urges of our flesh. Some struggle with anger. Some struggle with heterosexual
lust. Some struggle with gluttony or addiction to alcohol. And some struggle
with homosexual urges. These are our desires. They come from the flesh and they
war against the spirit.
God's desire for each person is that they will repent of
those desires and surrender to Him so that He can deliver them from these urges
by the power of Christ. The Christian who loves as God loves certainly does not
a hate another human being for having sinful desires of the flesh. We have them
too. We need the power of Christ to be delivered from them. But crucially, we
recognize that these urges are sinful and we want to be delivered from them so
we can be in a right relationship with God, and receive the fullness of His
blessings in our lives.
I understand why some Christians struggle with this. They
know a gay person, or maybe have a gay family member, and they want that person
to be happy. It's enticing to accept the "love is love" argument and
to believe that surely God wants that gay person to be in a loving relationship.
But that argument wrongly conflates love with sex. There are
a lot of different kinds of love. Hopefully you love a lot of people, but you
only have sex with one person - the one to whom you're married. If you want a
gay person to know love in a romantic/sexual relationship, good, so do I. So I
will pray that this person is delivered from those urges through the blood of
Jesus so that he or she can find the mate of the opposite sex that God always
intended for them to come together with.
For a Christian to encourage a gay person in the
consummation of a gay "marriage" is to encourage their permanent
indulgence in a lust of the flesh that Scripture clearly tells us God finds
detestable, and to suffer all the spiritual consequences that come with that.
It would be like encouraging you to go hiking down a path where we know a
deadly wild animal is waiting to devour you. Far from hating you, we're loving
you by warning you of the consequences and urging you to repent - which
literally means to turn back and change directions.
That's why the Christian baker doesn't want to bake that
wedding cake, and why the Christian adoption agency doesn't want to process
those papers, and why the Christian church won't perform the ceremony. And
that's why so many people like me won't be cloaking our Facebook profile
pictures in the rainbow colors. What we want for you is something better than
your flesh is leading you to, and we're praying for you to receive it. We're
not going to encourage you to follow the desire of your flesh instead of the
light God wants to put in your spirit.
I hope that by reading this, some of you gained a better
understanding of the Christian position on gay marriage, and why a
Bible-believing Christian can never accept it. If you did - even if you still
disagree - I did my job.
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