Now What?

Thus far I have resisted addressing the recent SCOTUS ruling that came down on Friday. It’s not that I don’t have opinions on the matter (we all know that’s not true), nor do I think they are not worth sharing (because I think one of my jobs as pastor is to respond to cultural issues), but because I wanted to take some time to formulate the best response on the issue. Despite some people online implying that pastor’s who didn’t address the issue this past Lord’s Day are wishy-washy and you should look for new churches, I didn’t want to interrupt the momentum our church was working on with our series on prayer. Plus, just a week and a half ago I posted my entry on gay marriage that cost me my regular column in the Hudson Valley News. So, my position is hardly surprising. But now that the Lord’s Day is over, I’ve felt it important to respond now, and ask the question, now what?

Let’s start with a few foundational truths we all know:

God is in control. Our sovereign God was not surprised by this event, nor was He attempting damage control in some board room in anticipation of a press conference following the announcement.
Just because SCOTUS rules on something does not make it true, it simply makes it legal. When SCOTUS ruled in Dredd Scott vs. Sandford that African-Americans could not be American Citizens and therefore not have standing in Federal Court to sue for their freedom, it did not make it morally right. In Roe vs. Wade, SCOTUS determined that privacy laws under the due process clause of the 14th amendment allowed women to have abortions. Both of these positions were morally wrong. Just because SCOTUS rules does not make it true.
Despite the left’s intention that opening the doors for same-sex marriage would not lead to other forms of marriage, like polygamy, this very thing is beginning to already be addressed. The slippery slope had begun despite all attempts to argue otherwise.
While business is usual for churches, the claims from the left that churches would continue to be free to do their own thing is already being challenged in the public square. The next step is potentially removing tax exempt statuses from churches.
It seems clear that despite claims to otherwise, the intention is not just equalization among people regarding marriage, but moral acceptance of said positions as well.

Now, where do we go from here? Despite the unique argumentation upon which the SCOTUS majority legislated their position (dignity in the 14th amendment which is not a usual basis for the interpretation of law, and the disavowal of tradition and history which is a common basis for the interpretation of law), there’s probably not much that the church can do on a political level. 57% of Americans approved of this decision. Even within Christendom the cheers go on for “equal rights.” Yet, there is a serious issue with a country that approves en masse something that God disapproves of.

In some ways, like Dredd Scott and Roe v. Wade, we see here one of the single biggest institutionalization of something for which God’s Word is opposed to. Slavery, while described and regulated in the Bible due to historical context, was something to which the church was moving out of (1 Corinthians 7:21). Abortion, or the murder of children in the womb, is clearly opposed by precept and the warp and woof of Scripture. And finally, there can be little doubt that Scripture describes homosexuality as sin. God has already identified His judgment against those who call evil good and good evil (Isaiah 5:20).

Hence the church cannot rightly rejoice in this ruling, because by judicial fiat the US government has now made legal something outside of the will of God. While we can acknowledge that in a sinful state this is something that is bound to happen, we still need not rejoice along with everyone else. Yet, what we should do differently?

Not much really. There are two major things we should do, which is exactly what the church has been doing since the very beginning:

Love all people, no matter their sinfulness and provide for them the hope of the Gospel that God has promised to all of us who are sinners.
Continue to teach and practice the truth. Just because something is acceptable in popular opinion doesn’t mean that we should hesitate from identifying sin and offering the solution: Jesus Christ.

So friends, it’s business as usual. We will continue as a church to preach that all people are sinners and are under just condemnation. God does not excuse sin just because it is politically popular or because of majority position. God does not excuse sin, but He does forgive sin. So while we will preach condemnation for all sinners, liars, cheats, adulterers, and homosexuals, we will also preach forgiveness and peace in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

This SCOTUS decision, in the end, isn’t the important decision. The only important decision is the decision that God made in sending His Son to die for sinners and rise again for eternal life. Pray for sinners, love sinners, teach the Gospel to sinners. That’s the answer to the SCOTUS decision.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 29th, 2015 at 12:05 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.