Gay Marriage and Legislated Morality
The President’s recent endorsement of gay marriage has many
people asking questions about the government’s role in the perceived
legislation of morality. Is the
government legislating morality if it defends the traditional understanding of
marriage between a man and a woman?
Many Christians are asking themselves if they should even care about how
the government defines marriage. Christians
seem to fall into two camps of thought on the issue. On the one side, Christians incorrectly push for a United
States of God, in which Old Testament Law should be the legislated norm, and on
the other side, Christians in rejection of the first position become purely
apathetic to the government’s stance on moral issues. I heartily reject the United States of God position, but
would like to deal with the growing apathetic Christian position. The general Christian reasoning for not
caring about the government’s legislation on marriage goes like this:
The
government is not a Christian institution and governs Christians and non-Christians
alike. If the
government wants to
legalize gay marriage Christians should not
be concerned because it is impossible
to hold the government to the same standards
that Christians live by.
Furthermore, we are not
accountable for the government’s
actions or the actions of others participating in gay marriage. In
addition,
many Christians add to this line of thinking a popular misconception of the separation
of
church and state, coming to the conclusion that Christians should not encourage
the government to
enforce the definition of marriage. To do so would be to
legislate morality on those that cannot keep it.
In the following article I would like to challenge the
popular misconception that Christians should not push for the government to legislate
in favor of marriage being between a man and a woman. I think there are several important Biblical ideals that
teach us about the interplay between Christians and the governmental authorities
we are in subjection to, and it is these ideals that I will turn to next. As a side note, there is a mountain of
Biblical evidence and imagery that support marriage being between a man and a
woman. If you would like to hash out some of the Biblical evidence please
contact me, but for the purposes of this article I take marriage to be between
a man and a woman as foundational to Christian thought.
Romans 13:1-7 is a classic passage on interplay between
Christians and government. Paul
mandates that Christians be in subjection to the governing authorities (Romans
13:1). In addition, he reminds the
reader the governing authorities were put in place by God (Romans 13:1). There is no authority outside what God
ordains. Government is supposed to
be a minister of God for good as well as a punisher of evil (Romans 13:4). Governments are intended to be a good,
God ordained authority in our world that restrains evil. We often do not rejoice over God’s
provision and protection through government, but we should. This however, does not mean that
governments cannot err. In fact,
throughout the Old Testament God punished the nations when they used their
authority in a sinful way. A prime
example can be seen in Isaiah 10:1-19.
God is pouring out wrath on Israel for their sinful behavior and lack of
justice. God’s instrument for
pouring out wrath is Assyria. Yet
Assyria is boasting in their own strength as if it came from within instead of
giving Glory to God. God is going
to punish Assyria for their prideful and arrogant heart (Isaiah 10:12) as well
as their evil deeds. So what does
this have to do with the government and gay marriage? We must remember that God is the one who gives authority to
the government and He will call them to account for the way they have used
their authority. If the government
rules in ways that are contrary to God’s standards for man it will face God’s
judgment. The government is
accountable to God for its legislation of moral issues, including gay marriage.
If the government is accountable to God, do Christians have
a responsibility to urge the government to act in ways that promote a moral
lifestyle? I would respond with
two metaphors from the Sermon on the Mount; “you are the salt of the earth” (Matthew
5:13) and “you are the light of the world” (Matthew 5:14-16). After Christ has pronounced blessing
and described the character of those that are members of the Kingdom of Heaven
in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1-2) he describes citizens in God’s kingdom in
relation to this world as salt and light.
By their nature Christians must shine forth a life that is concerned
with God’s standards and urge others toward the same. We must object to the way the government is devaluing
marriage and destroying this ancient common grace of God. John the Baptist provides a prime
example of the light Christians must shine forth concerning the standards of
God. Matthew 14:1-12 describes the
sordid scene that resulted in John’s death. John confronted Herod the tetrarch about his adulterous
relationship with his brother’s wife and it got him killed. While we cannot force the government to
make decisions in line with God’s standards, nor should we, we must be the salt
and light of the Gospel that is warning them that they are legislating and
acting in ways that are against God’s standards while maintaining the utmost
respect for the government’s God given authority. The government and individual’s obedience to God must be
voluntary, but our warning over sin must be clear. To do anything less is to not be salt and light. Jesus promises that those who are part
of his kingdom will be persecuted, but we are counted as blessed when we are
persecuted for righteousness (Matthew 5:10-12). Christians must be the moral light on the issue of gay
marriage and urge the government to act in ways that encourage God’s moral
standards.
I have established that the Government is accountable to God
for using its authority in sinful ways.
In addition, I have shown the Christians responsibility in this world is
to be salt and light. We must warn
people of the sin they are engaging in and point them toward God’s
standards. Finally we must develop
a proper understanding of the separation of church and state. The separation of church and state was
never intended to eradicate all moral thought from the life of government, nor was
it intended to totally alienate any religion from the decisions of the
government. The separation of
church and state was originally designed to keep the government from supporting
and mandating any particular religion or religious practice. In fact, many of the original promoters
of this ideal where early evangelical Christians who were facing persecution
from government sponsored religious institutions in early America. Liberals have Christians to thank for
the ideal of the separation of church and state. The founding principal for the separation of church and
state is that every man should be able to worship or not worship whatever his
conscious permits. For us today this
means that we should not hope that the government of the United States becomes
a theocracy legislating and enforcing adherence to Christianity and its
religious practices as a requirement for citizenship. Instead, we should look forward to the coming of the Kingdom
of God when Christ returns to reign and place all nations under his righteous
rule. However for the here and now,
we must hope and urge the government to use its God given authority to restrain
evil and promote good that is in accordance with God’s standards. Romans 1:18-20 reminds us that God has
written on the hearts of all men knowledge of Himself and His standards, and
many choose to reject what has been written in their hearts. When we advocate for the moral
standards of God, we are promoting what has already been written on the hearts
of men.
Marriage between a man and a woman is the fundamental,
foundational building block of all human society. In addition, marriage is a major theme of the Bible that
begins in chapter 1 of Genesis and ends with the marriage feast of the Lamb in
Revelation 19. God cares profusely
about marriage. To promote a Godly understanding of marriage is good for our
nation and our world. Christians
must be salt and light on this subject even though we endure the persecution of
the world for it; to be a citizen of the Kingdom of Heaven demands it. We are living in a society that has
denied God’s sovereign rule, and God has given our society over to their
passions. Romans 1:18-32 gives us
a road map to foundational reasons marriage is being attacked at a national
level in our country. If we really
want to promote marriage in this country, we need to take the log out of our
own eye (Matthew 7:1-5).
Christians roughly have as many problems (divorce, adultery, abuse) with
marriage, or slightly better, as non-Christians. If you really want to defend God’s standard of marriage then
be radical and love your family, pour into them, and see them as your primary
ministry. Then you can humbly
approach the world in love and urge them to follow your example as you follow
Christ.
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