Law is the expression of the mind and will of a sovereign power. As God is the Creator, Lord, and King of heaven and earth, He is sovereign over all of His creatures. God’s law, which is based in His own holy nature, is the expression of God’s will for all mankind. God reveals His law in Holy Scripture so that man will know what is righteous and good.
The Debate over “Same-Sex Marriage,” June 21, 2006, Vision Forum Ministries, Used by Permission.
When in his God-ordained role of civil magistrate (Rom. 13:1-6) man is called upon to make positive law for the governance of the body politic, the laws he enacts ought to be based on the commands and principles of God’s law. If the law is not based on the righteousness revealed in biblical law, then the law is not only unjust, it is also a usurpation of God’s sovereignty by man. No man or institution has authority to legislate anything that is contrary to God’s law. The state is not the creator of law, but the custodian of God’s law for the civil sphere. As God’s servant, the duty of the state is to interpret and apply biblical law to the circumstances of its own day within the sphere of its own jurisdiction (Deut. 1:16-17; 16:18-20; 2 Chron. 19:6-7).
The Debate over “Same-Sex Marriage,” June 21, 2006, Vision Forum Ministries, Used by Permission.
Marriage is not a human invention, it is the creation of God; it did not originate in the mind of man, but in the mind of God. This being the case, man cannot change the definition or purpose of marriage to suit himself. The redefinition of marriage is the negation of marriage.
The Debate over “Same-Sex Marriage,” June 21, 2006, Vision Forum Ministries, Used by Permission.
Homosexual behavior is contrary to the Creator’s design (Gen. 1:27-28), and therefore is entirely unnatural (Rom. 1:26-27). Homosexual acts are not good; they neither conform to the standard of good (righteousness) revealed in God’s law, and they are not good ( beneficial) for an individual or for society. According to Scripture, homosexual activity is sinful and an abomination (Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Rom. 1:26-27; 1 Cor. 6:9; 1 Tim. 1:9-10). The rise and acceptance of homosexual relationships is a sign of moral degradation, is due to man?s suppression of the knowledge of God in his pursuit of idolatry, and is a revelation of God’s wrath (Rom. 1:18-32; Gen. 19:1-11).
The Debate over “Same-Sex Marriage,” June 21, 2006, Vision Forum Ministries, Used by Permission.
Those who believe that marriage is an evolving concept and that “same-sex marriage” is based on man’s new understanding of the nature of homosexual orientation fundamentally assert that “marriage” itself is a meaningless notion. If the concept of marriage has no fixed reference point beyond the evolving (constantly changing) mind of man, then no idea of marriage can have any permanence or claim to be the right view of marriage since, according to evolutionary dogma, man may yet progress to new understandings of marriage in the future. The logic of evolutionary thought also leads to the possibility that the idea of “same-sex marriage” will be rejected in the future as an ignoble phase of human development for which man should be ashamed. If it might be renounced in the future, on what ethical grounds can it be wrong to oppose it today?
The Debate over “Same-Sex Marriage,” June 21, 2006, Vision Forum Ministries, Used by Permission.
If there is no higher law than the will of the state, then the state becomes man’s ultimate sovereign, against whose will there is no appeal. The legalization of “same-sex marriage” by the state would be a definitive rejection of the sovereignty of God and would constitute a claim of divinity by the state – whoever is the ultimate source of law in a society is the God of that society (cf. Isa. 33:22). The debate over “same-sex marriage” is not simply a debate over what our marriage law will be, but more so, over who will be our God: the triune God of the Bible or the state?
The Debate over “Same-Sex Marriage,” June 21, 2006, Vision Forum Ministries, Used by Permission.
Because Christians believe that the Bible is the inspired and infallible Word of God, their opposition [to homosexuality] is rooted in a commitment to the absolute authority of the Bible to define the institution of marriage and to judge the moral nature of homosexual acts (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Therefore, their rejection of homosexuality and “homosexual marriage” is based on the objective, propositional revelation of Scripture that teaches that these things are sinful because they are contrary to the will of God. The true Christian does not condemn sodomy and “same-sex marriage” because of fear or hate, but because his faith in God’s revelation requires him to do so.
The Debate over “Same-Sex Marriage,” June 21, 2006, Vision Forum Ministries, Used by Permission.
The Christian is motivated by love – his love for God and for his neighbor. The whole duty of Christian ethics is summarized by the command to love. But what is love? According to Jesus, love is keeping the commandments of God (Matt. 7:12; 22:36-40). The moral law of God shows us how to love God and our neighbor (Rom. 13:8-10). Christians believe that the laws of God against homosexual acts are given not only to reveal God’s righteousness but also for man’s own good (Deut. 10:13). The prohibitions in Scripture against homosexual acts are there not only because this behavior dishonors God, but also because it is destructive to man individually and in community. A man of love will act, to the degree to which he is able, to protect his neighbor (understood in both the singular and collective sense) from the degradation, danger, and destruction that is associated with homosexual practice (Lev. 19:17-18). The facts reveal that homosexuality is more of a death-style than a life-style. Can true Christian love ignore this reality?
The Debate over “Same-Sex Marriage,” June 21, 2006, Vision Forum Ministries, Used by Permission.
Evangelicals [often] do not appeal to Scripture in the public debate, but base their arguments on reason and “natural law.” By so doing they surrender the only real authority and power they have (Isa. 8:10; Eph. 6:17; Heb. 4:12) and are forced to stand on the same ground as their opponents. Not only does this method disarm the Christian, it is also disingenuous. The leading reason why Christians reject homosexual behavior is because the Bible teaches them to do so. In refusing to stand up and say this, especially since their opponents know that their chief objection is based on the Bible, they appear to be dishonest and ashamed of their faith. It is much better to be bold and forthright in defending biblical morality by using the Bible! Even if their enemies reject their arguments, Christians cannot help but gain a measure of respect for their honesty and courage.
The Debate over “Same-Sex Marriage,” June 21, 2006, Vision Forum Ministries, Used by Permission.
Christians seem blind to the hypocrisy of treating homosexual conduct so seriously and adultery and divorce so lightly. Evangelicals cry out that they must defend “traditional marriage” against the danger of “gay marriage.” But the greatest threat to traditional marriage is not from without but from within; from the rampant adultery and divorce that is found in heterosexual marriages. Churches preach against “gay marriage” (and rightly so), but tolerate adultery, divorce, and adulterous remarriage within their own memberships. The divorce rate among Christians is a disgrace. The church is so morally compromised by adultery and sexual sin (e.g., addiction to pornography and fornication) among its heterosexuals that it has lost its power to confront the plague of homosexuality.
The Debate over “Same-Sex Marriage,” June 21, 2006, Vision Forum Ministries, Used by Permission.