Today, the Supreme Court of the United States handed down its decision on the constitutionality of the federal Defense of Marriage Act. In a 5 to 4 decision, the Court ruled the law was unconstitutional. The decision now opens the door for the federal recognition of same sex marriages. There are going to be lots of commentary of the next several hours, days and weeks, so I will add little here about the merits of the decision. Much smarter folks than I will do a far better job of it. My concern is more about what does this mean for the individual Christian.
My first reaction is to ask those who are in utter shock by this, “did you really expect anything less?” I do not wish to sound trite or accusatory here. But in truth, there have been many, including those of us here at DefCon, who have tried to sound the alarm that trying to win moral victories through questionable alliances with worldly organizations was wrong. For the church to be unequally yolked with government bureaucrats and false religious systems was to deny God had any power or sovereignty over the situation. It was, in essence, a refusal to believe in the power of His word alone. Yet, American churches and Christians around the country have made repeated compromises in hopes of moral victories. With each new fight, we were willing to acquiesce a little ground each time in hopes of gaining at least some victory. Now the ground beneath us has been eroded away. Are you really that surprised?
My second thought is this, for years many Christians have warned about the growth of seeker friendly churches, the acceptance of false teachers into the Christian fold and the erosion of the true gospel message. Repeatedly those Christians have been told to be silent by the Evangelical church at large. We have been accused of being divisive, judgmental and down-right mean. We were told that we needed to accept a wider tent concept of Christianity. “Doctrine divides!” has been the battle cry of those who believed that it was wrong to hold to a biblical standard of how to define what the church actually is. As a result, more goats have invaded the pews and the true message of the gospel has been supplanted with self help messages that only reaffirm the unregenerate sinner’s belief they are actually good at heart. With no message that people are wretched sinners in need of a righteous Savior, are you really surprised at today’s decision?
My final thought is this, Christians, you have been commanded by the Captain of our salvation to proclaim the glorious message of the gospel. Have you been doing this? Or have you believed that such a command did no apply to you? Did you leave it to your pastor alone, or have you been willing to step out in faith to proclaim the truth the Jesus Christ came to save sinners? I ask this because that is the only real answer to the situation we currently face. Our nation is embracing a pagan and sinful ideology that utterly rejects the Lordship of our Savior. No amount of political machinations can change the a human heart bent on this course. As we have seen in a very short time, a political victory established with installment of DOMA has now been ripped from our hands. So, was it ever a real victory? Or was it merely a speed bump that slowed things down for a brief moment in time? I would say it was clearly the latter.
The heart of man is desperately wicked, forever tainted by the stain of sin. Therefore, all efforts to bring man under the submission of moral law, which is a noble effort as society benefits from it, is bound to ultimately fail. Man will always reject the law of God because he is bound in chains to his sinful flesh. He will always reject God’s authority in favor of his own. Thus, while we as Christians can and should seek to establish a nation that is founded on godly principles, we should never place our hope in that. It is only the preaching of the gospel to lost souls, preaching that is covered in serious study of the Word and intense prayer, preaching that trusts in the sovereign, supernatural working of the Holy Spirit, that frees man from the bondage of sin. That is what we are called to today.
Christian, if you are staring at the TV right now, wringing your hands over this decision, remember this, God is still God and He is still on His throne. You have not been called to rescue a nation from bad politics. You have been commanded to preach the gospel to a lost and dying people. There are souls today that are rejoicing over this decision because it frees them to further pursue the sins of the flesh. Other rejoice because they see it as another nail in the coffin of Christian principles. Even more will just see it as a necessary change to everyone’s personal morality. Yet, none fully realize they are in rebellion against their Lord and King. They do not comprehend the wrath and judgment to come. My question to you is, do you care more about this decision because it makes your life more difficult, or because it reveals the heart of a people in desperate need of salvation in Jesus Christ? Let us be busy about our Father’s business. Let us be preaching the gospel.
Christ Alone Wyoming 
Chris, well done.
Don’t we know that in the last days perilous times will come? (2 Tim 3:1)
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Chris,
I appreciate the timely post.
For me, the frustration is that a non-elected body has overruled what a majority of people want (in the California decision). Still, we know God is sovereign.
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Thank you, Chris. Could not have said it any better. I appreciate your words. God IS still sovereign. America continues her decline but it has not surprised our God.
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Excellent piece of writing Chris. Christians should not be too shocked or upset over this, however, they should be brokenhearted over the fact that multitudes will go deeper into sin and depravity. We are pilgrims here, this world is not our home. We live in a world that is fallen, cursed by sin. The only thing that matters, that has any meaning at all, are the multitudes of souls that are in darkness, dead in trespasses and sins. All any of us have is today, let’s not waste a most precious thing…time; none of us knows how much time is left.
” Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men” 2 Cor. 5:11
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Much wisdom in your post Chris. God bless. -Jim
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This popped into my mind while I was reading news stories about this:
Psalm 2:1-6
Why do the nations rage, And the peoples meditate a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against Jehovah, and against his anointed, saying, Let us break their bonds asunder, And cast away their cords from us. He that sitteth in the heavens will laugh: The Lord will have them in derision. Then will he speak unto them in his wrath, And vex them in his sore displeasure: Yet I have set my king Upon my holy hill of Zion.
Christ alone is our refuge and ever present help in times of trouble. The Word of God sure and will stand, no matter how the pagans rage.
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It goes beyond Psm. 2 and John 15:18. In essence they have labeled and libeled Jesus and all His current disciples as “enemies of human decency”. That is the language of the SCOTUS majority opinion.
It is , in essence, by using such language, committing a hate crime to end a hate crime, such irony.
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Gay ‘marriage’ and abortion cliff notes (abortion bill, prop 8, etc)
Conservative christendom, full of pride and hypocrisy, was emboldened by her political allies to fight in the flesh for key social issues. She and the world exchanged blows as they battled back and forth. Even with the strength of her evangelicals, catholics, and mormons joining hands together she couldn’t best the world. Now the world rejoices in its alleged victory, erroneously thinking it has defeated Christ and His kingdom, not realizing its triumph was merely over american jesus and his kingdom.
There is no hope in the world or in christendom. The only hope is to keep your eyes on the real Jesus who is seated at the right hand of God the Father and shun the ways of american jesus who is seated at the right hand of worldly political powers. The early followers of Jesus didn’t spend much time trying to legislate holiness in rome or else where. Instead they preached ‘Christ crucified’ with great spiritual authority and power and it pierced the hearts of the most depraved men. If this lost generation (world and christendom) is to escape hell-fire nothing else will do.
1 Corinthians 1:20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
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Surely the question really is this: are gay people, like white people, or black people, or Muslim people, or left-handed people, human beings? Because if they are human beings, then they have the same rights as other human beings. But if they’re not, then they don’t. What do you think the answer to that question is?
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Wellwisher, There is no such thing as a gay person, nor a homosexual person. There are people who practice and love the sin of fornication with folks of the same gender. The difference between them and the others you mentioned is that most of the others were made by God that way (Muslims being the exception). Marriage is defined by God as that covenant relationship between a man and a woman; any other arrangement is not marriage, no matter what man says.
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@Manfred
Except that, it is. I refer you to the SCOTUS ruling above, and its implications, if you aren’t sure. You personally may not regard it as marriage, but other people do, and it really isn’t any of your business to regulate what those consenting adults do or what they choose to call it, any more than it’s their business to pry into your bedroom. I’m not asking you to find it attractive or welcome, but if you want to prevent it, find enough like-minded Americans to elect a Government to overturn it. If you can’t do that, accept that you’re (increasingly) on the losing side on this one.
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Wellwisher – SCOTUS is made up mere men. Marriage was created and defined by God. Man cannot change that. He may think he can, but that does make it so. You jump to conclusions in claiming I want to regulate what people do in their bedrooms – stick to the topic or post elsewhere. God will win, no matter what the kingdoms of this world do.
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Fair enough, although I have a hunch that some of the holders of the extreme Christian viewpoints I’ve seen on DefCon since 2008 would indeed like to regulate that, if only they had the chance. But my point about what they call it stands. You think one thing, I think another; clearly a SCOTUS majority agrees with me, and not with you. All men are created equal and have creator-endowed inalienable rights like the pursuit of happiness (I paraphrase). If calling it marriage adds to their happiness, get out of their way. Your own beliefs and freedoms are unaffected.
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Wellwisher, the issue is not what sinful men and sinful governments want, the issue is what has God declared. Should every governing body in the known world claim that same sex unions are marriages, God has still declared it to be a sin. Those of us here at DefCon are more concerned with the souls of men and women bound for Hell. It matters not whether it is homosexuality (in or outside “marriage”) or heterosexuality outside the confines of marriage. All of it is sin in the eyes of God. No amount of legislation can change that. Therefore, Christians are commanded to preach the truth of God’s word, that any sin before God will bring His righteous judgment. Yet, Christ in His mercy died on the cross to receive that punishment on Himself in the place of sinners and rose from the grave defeating death. Now sinners everywhere, of every stripe, are commanded to turn from their sin and trust solely in the finished work of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. Therefore, I care not whether “history” is on our side. I care only to warn people of the judgment to come and there is salvation in Christ alone.
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wellwisher, do you consider yourself to be a good person?
http://www.livingwaters.com/good/001b.shtml
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Manfred and Fleebabylon, Wellwisher has been here before. He is merely a troll and has no intention of listening. He was here previously under the name of Fifth Horseman and was previously banned by The Pilgrim. We have long sought to engage him but he refuses to listen all the while building more and more strawmen to pad his arguments.
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