Sermon - June 28, 2015 - How should Christians Respond to the Supreme Court Ruling.

The Supreme Court ruled that same sex marriage bans are un-Constitutional this week. If you look at the news or social media you see arguments for and against the decision. People are either celebrating or condemning and many are calling anyone who says they believe in Biblical marriage a bigot.

The question before us today, is how should a Christ follower respond to the Supreme Courts decision?

Every word we say, every look on our faces, everything we type on Facebook, everything we do will be scrutinized to see if there is cause to call us hateful. How should we respond?

The first thing we need to do is understand where our beliefs come from. Why do we say Biblical marriage is between one man and one woman?

Genesis 2:22-24

“22 Then the Lord God made the rib He had taken from the man into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 And the man said:

This one, at last, is bone of my bone
and flesh of my flesh;
this one will be called “woman,”
for she was taken from man.

24 This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.”

From the very beginning, a man and woman were to be joined and become one flesh.

Jesus references this verse and gives his own commentary on it.

Matthew 19:4-6

“4 “Haven’t you read,” He replied, “that He who created them in the beginning made them male and female,” 5 and He also said:

“For this reason a man will leave
his father and mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two will become one flesh?

6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, what God has joined together, man must not separate.”

Leviticus 18:22

“You are not to sleep with a man as with a woman; it is detestable.”

God created us a certain way and that is how it is supposed to be. If you read your Bible you will find many different verses that talk about marriage. Proverbs talks about it being a blessing for a man to have a wife of noble character, Ephesians talks about a wife submitting and a husband loving his wife, Malachi mentioned the marriage covenant, and 1 Corinthians mentions that a man should have his own wife and vise versa.

The Bible is clear, marriage is between one man and one woman. There is no other option.

Now we need to remember that we live in a sinful world and society does accept and celebrate things that are not Biblical. Abortion is legal, but is against what the Bible teaches. People practice other religions such as Islam, Hindu, and Buddhism which is legal, but as we know they are not the path to God.

Abortion is legal and it is against our beliefs, how should a follow of Christ respond? Are we supposed to attack those who have had an abortion. Absolutely not. Are we supposed to picket in front of the clinics with horrific pictures. No. Actions like these do not reflect Biblical teaching.

We know that these other false religions are not the path to God. Are we supposed to attack them or burn their places of worship down? No.

If we don't respond negatively to these worldly things that are against Biblical teaching how are we supposed to respond to society accepting same sex marriage?

The first thing we need to always do is pray.

1 Thessalonians 5:16

“Pray constantly.”

We need to pray. We to are sinners and we will respond in sinful ways. So we need to pray. I for one have been very selective on how I respond to others comments and even attacks. I pray about them and respond by choosing words very carefully. I want nothing that comes out of my mouth to interfere with the gospel. We also need to pray for God to move in others hearts. We cannot change their ways and our words will only inflame others if the Holy Spirit has not been working on them. Pray Constantly!

We need to remember that we are here on earth for two things. Love God and Love Others.

Matthew 22:37-40

“37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

1 John 4:7-8

“7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

We are to love everyone regardless of who they are and what they are doing. Remember Jesus died for every single person who has ever or will ever live. God wants none to perish, but all to have everlasting life. So, to have the opportunity to share that amazing message of Grace that we have been given we need to show love.

At times this can be very hard, especially right now. It seems if you are not accepting and celebrating same sex marriage you are a hateful bigot. Regardless of what happens we need to show love.

Matthew 5:39

“39 But I tell you, don’t resist an evildoer. On the contrary, if anyone slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.”

If you are attacked turn the other check, do not respond in kind. Hate breeds more hate and we don't want any part of it. It hurts your witness and the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. Respond in love instead.

Matthew 5:44

“44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,”

Now I am not saying the LGBT group is our enemy in a traditional way. They just stand for something that we disagree with and that is un-Biblical. So following the teachings of our Lord Jesus we need to love them and pray for them. That does not mean we invite them to hold their marriage ceremonies in the church, it does not mean that I will be performing any same sex marriages, but it does mean that we treat them as we want to be treated.

We want to be accepted, we accept them, not their actions but them.

We want to be heard, we listen to them.

We want society to recognize our rights, we accept that they have rights.

Most importantly we pray for our enemies, we need to hit our knees every night in prayer. We pray for God to help us show love, we pray that God allows us to share the Gospel, we pray that the Holy Spirit opens their hearts, and pray that Revival comes.

Our responsibility is to stay true to what the Bible teaches and to love and pray for those that disagree with its teachings.

One thing that may help to love others even when they are living in sin is to remember that our sin is no better or worse then theirs.

1 Corinthians 5:9-10

“9 Don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be deceived: No sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, or anyone practicing homosexuality, 10 no thieves, greedy people, drunkards, verbally abusive people, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom.”

Sin is sin and if you are living in sin you will not inherit God's Kingdom.

Do you struggle with alcohol, drugs, porn, homosexuality, greed, stealing, lying, adultery, and the list goes on. All sin, except for one, are equal. Everything we are talking about today is no worse then the sin in any of our lives.

Romans 3:23

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

Every single person alive today has fallen short of God's standard. Let me be clear that includes me, and everyone here. We are all sinners.

Romans 10:9-10

“9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.”

Jesus is the only way for us to move past our sin, and belief that He is your Lord and Savior is the first step.

We are all equal without Jesus, we are lost.

We are all equal with Jesus, we are saved.

Sin is sin, but Grace is Grace.

My sin is no better than your sin and your sin is no better than than those in the world.

We are all sinners and we all need a savior. If our sin is equal we need to show the same love to the homosexual as we do the drunk and the same love we would like to receive. If they walk in the doors of this church we need to welcome them in. At the same time they need to understand that we preach the entire Word of God here and their will be times that they will not like what is being said.

Now some will tell us we are not to judge.

Matthew 7:1

“Do not judge, so that you won't be judged.”

That is only part of it.

Matthew 7:1-5

““Do not judge, so that you won’t be judged. 2 For with the judgment you use, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye but don’t notice the log in your own eye? 4 Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and look, there’s a log in your eye? 5 Hypocrite! First take the log out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”

Jesus was not telling us not to judge, He was telling us not to judge hypocritically. We are not to judge as people who think we are better than others. Remember we are all sinners and hence all of us fall short of God's standard. We are no better than anyone else. That being said, if we know a brother or sister is sinning it is our Christian duty to lovingly and respectfully confront them about it. Our goal is to help them to realize their mistake in hopes of them repenting of their sin. Love not hate.

Now we need to remember the words of Peter when he was told not to teach in Jesus' name.

Acts 5:29

“But Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than men.”

God has given us the definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman and that is what it is. The Supreme Court, society around us, or anyone else cannot change that definition. We need to follow God not man.

While we love everyone regardless of their sin we need to fight for our freedoms and fight for what is right.

Ephesians 6:10-13

“10 Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil. 12 For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. 13 This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand.”

This is a battle that will only be won through prayer and revival. We won't win anything by fighting with those who disagree with us. We need to pray, love, share God's grace, and prepare for revival.

1 Peter 2:11-12

“11 Dear friends, I urge you as strangers and temporary residents to abstain from fleshly desires that war against you. 12 Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that in a case where they speak against you as those who do what is evil, they will, by observing your good works, glorify God on the day of visitation.”

Remember we are temporary residents in this sinful world. Things are going to be hard, act honorably, act how God wants you to act, and let your actions glorify God.

My heart is heavy as this once great nation is in trouble. I wonder how our religious liberties are going to be impacted. I fear how this court ruling will impact our kids and future generations. Religious schools are already in the cross hairs, will churches be next?

I encourage each of you to hold strong to Biblical teaching, Pray for God's intervention, Pray for Revival, Pray for salvations, Pray for our political leaders, and remember in every action to show love especially to those you disagree with. 

Thanks for reading and God Bless,

Robert