Thoughts on Gay Rights!
First of all, the church should not panic. The Supreme Court can do many things, but the Supreme Court cannot get Jesus back in that tomb. Jesus of Nazareth is still alive. He is still calling the universe toward his kingdom. How should you respond to the success of the gay agenda? Should you accept the recent trend toward tolerance? Or should you side with those who exclude homosexuals with hostility and disdain? In reality, the Bible calls for a balance between what some people think are two opposing reactions--condemnation and compassion. Really, the two together are essential elements of biblical love, and that's something the homosexual lifestyle desperately needs.
God's condemnation of homosexuality is abundantly clear--He opposes it in every age.
- In the patriarchs (Genesis 19:1-28) - In the Law of Moses (Leviticus 18:22; 20:13) - In the Prophets (Ezekiel 16:46-50) - In the New Testament (Romans 1:18-27; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Jude 7-8)
Why does God condemn homosexuality? Because it overturns God's fundamental design for human relationships--a design that pictures the complementary relationship between a man and a woman (Genesis 2:18-25; Matthew 19:4-6; Ephesians 5:22-33).
Sir John Bagot Glubb, a highly honored British general and historian better known as Glubb Pasha, wrote about the collapsed empires of the past. In his book The Fate of Empires and the Search for Survival, he described a common pattern fitting the history of some fallen empires. They went through a cycle of stages as they started, expanded, matured, declined and collapsed.
He generalized about empires having seven stages of development, identifying these successive ages as follows:
- The age of outburst (or pioneers). 2. The age of conquests. 3. The age of commerce. 4. The age of affluence. 5. The age of intellect. 6. The age of decadence. 7. The age of decline and collapse.
Not surprising, number (6) on the list, seems like it is working its way into the fabric of America at this time. Sir John Bagot Glubb discovered this about all fallen empires: “We see rampant sexual immorality, an aversion to marriage in favor of “living together” and an increased divorce rate all combine to undermine family stability. This happened among the upper class in the late Roman Republic and early Empire. The first-century writer Seneca once complained about Roman upper-class women: “They divorce in order to re-marry. They marry in order to divorce.”
Along with Glubb another historian addressing the decline of empires states, “The birthrate declines, and abortion and infanticide both increase as family size is deliberately limited. The historian W.H. McNeill has referred to the “biological suicide of the Roman upper classes” as one reason for Rome's decline. Homosexuality becomes publicly acceptable and spreads, as was the case among the ancient Greeks before Rome conquered them.
God's compassion of homosexuality is abundantly clear—His Grace is sufficient for them.
However, no matter what the sin is, whether homosexuality or anything else, God has provided forgiveness, salvation, and the hope of eternal life to those who repent and embrace the Gospel and make Jesus Christ the center of their lives. Our response to this new Gay Right’s Law should be a Gospel response--confront it with the truth of Scripture that offers grace and mercy to all sinners, and point them to the hope of salvation through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Stay faithful to the Lord as you respond to any form of sin by honoring His Word, and leave the results to Him.
God's plan for many in the Gay Movement is that they come to salvation. There were former homosexuals in the Corinthian church back in Paul's day, just as there are many former homosexuals’ today in churches around the world and in faithful churches around the country. With regenerated hearts, they sit in biblical churches throughout the country praising their Savior, along with former fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, thieves, coveters, drunkards, revilers, and swindlers. Remember, such were some of you too (1 Cor. 6:9-11).