We must not be cowed into silence in speaking about further societal consequences and about the future of religious liberty, two major issues embedded in this controversy.  But, again, we should not place our faith in any human political or legal structure as our ultimate protector or savior.  Jesus said that his kingdom was “not of this world”—neither is ours. The mission of the church continues.  The church cannot be either dismissed or destroyed.  It remains God’s vehicle of redemption, worked out through his people. That mission will endure until he returns.

Update:

Two summers ago another Supreme Court decision regarding same sex marriage moved the historic, orthodox Christian view of traditional marriage further to the sidelines.  Today, June 26, 2015, that view has been taken off the field.  Marriage has now been redefined in our country.  Two years ago John Freeman wrote the following, and what he said then remains highly relevant today. Then, as now, we remain firm in our belief that our Sovereign Lord will still use what feels like a defeat (and is) for his glory, as he continues to draw all peoples to himself. 

As the Supreme Court struck down the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act and the referendum of Proposition 8 in California, it certainly seems that the tide of our culture will continue to steadily move in the direction of the acceptance of gay marriage.  So, what now?  How are followers of Jesus Christ, and the church, to think about and respond to the recent decision by the Supreme Court? It is crucial that the church as an institution, and individual believers, respond well. John Freeman, president of Harvest USA, a ministry devoted to those struggling with sexual sin, thinks that the best response of the church now is to do the following six things:

I think the best response of the church now is to do the following six things:

1. We should not lash out in anger or be afraid

A fight or flight response is normal when overwhelming events occur.  But both these instinctual responses are unhelpful and unproductive.  My wife has often told me, “John, when you speak or react out of fear or anger . . . bad things come out of your mouth.”  She is usually right.  Admittedly, we may legitimately fear where this decision will next take our nation; and we may legitimately be angry over how God’s design for the institution and function of marriage as it has historically benefited society is being hijacked.  But we need to keep this in mind:  As believers, our true citizenship is in heaven.  We must think and act like those whose world has been impacted but not devastated.

I think a more productive response would be that of grief.  We need to be grieved at what happened, grieved at the state of the culture, and grieved at how blind people are to the truth of God’s Word and its continuing relevancy for all of human society. We see in the New Testament two ways God responds to those who resolutely turn away from his Word.  We see Jesus weeping over Jerusalem and her refusal to turn to him as their shepherd (Matthew 23:37-39), and we see in Romans 1 that God, at times, “gives over” (allows) people and society to do what they want to do. Both these pictures are poignant displays of what is wrong with the world:  that mankind has torn itself away from God’s shepherding hand and rebelliously set out on its own path. The prodigal son is in all of us.

But just grieve?  Doesn’t seem very productive or helpful.  It feels so powerless!  Yes, it can feel that way, but we need to remind ourselves that the “weakness” of the church is how the power of God is best displayed. It is in that weakness, the weakness of grieving over those who refuse to be shepherded by Christ, that compassion is worked out in our hearts, leading us to love the shepherd-less and for the world to see that we love them.

One way we do this is by not lashing out at the LGBT community.  They are not our enemy.  The tendency is to see significant political and legal changes such as this as coming from a monolithic force bent on overturning everything.  The reality is a bit more complicated.  The LGBT community is wide and diverse, and includes those who are secular and those who are religious (even those who claim to be evangelical). It is when the church fails to see this complexity that it has responded to change in terrible and hurtful ways, from when Jerry Falwell twisted Ellen Degeneres’ name to when the church mischaracterizes the gay community in order to have a recognizable “target” to oppose.

For the church to live out the gospel, for it to be the witness to the truth and mercy of Christ, we must not see “them” as the enemy, but rather as men and women who, while throwing off God’s law and calling it freedom, nevertheless are made in God’s image and need to know the real freedom of submitting to God’s will.  We need to recognize that there are names and faces attached to this issue, real people, many of them our neighbors or colleagues. An “us” vs. “them” mentality is fear-based; it does violence to the gospel, and to us, and it refuses to recognize the humanity that must shape this issue.   When we think like this, we fail to recognize that, at one time, we, too, were “them,” people who did not follow the gospel, living for self and following the ways of the world (take note of Ephesians 2).

But we were shown mercy, not because there was anything intrinsically good inside of us, but because God in Christ loved us and showed us mercy.

Another reason not to be angry or afraid is because. . .

2. We need to remind ourselves that God is still on the throne . . . neither slumbering nor sleeping

Although decided in the private chambers of the Supreme Court, this has not happened out of God’s sight.  He is the God who knows all and sees all. This is beyond our rational understanding, but by faith we believe that God remains in control over all things, even over the decisions made by man and society that veer away from his wisdom. To respond with anger or abject fear is to forget this.

Why God has allowed the societal acceptance of homosexuality and the (increasing) legalization of same-sex marriage to be so prominent today will remain a mystery at some level. Why he has allowed it to split churches, denominations and families must also be trusted to his providence. We only know what Scripture does tell us:  that this is a broken world, a world where his image-bearers are in rebellion against him and his intentional design for creation.  So, in one sense, we should not be surprised. There is nothing new under the sun here. Has there ever been a human society outside of the garden that has not trended in this direction?

We must, as his followers, trust in Him at all times, especially when it seems that ungodliness has the upper hand in our society. The courage of faith is when we trust him, especially so in turbulent and darkened times.  To continue to follow God when the world thinks we are foolish and it would just be easier to capitulate is to ask God for more faith! He will give it. Remember that faith, even as small as that of a mustard seed, can withstand much adversity and be a force for change (see Luke 17: 5-6, in the context of vs. 3-4).

It is by that courage, a courage rooted in God still being a control, a faith that refuses to bend to the latest worldly trends, that moves us to. . .

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