Last Monday undoubtedly came as a shock to many when the White House announced that President Trump “was proud to embrace gay rights.” This allows for the continuation of an Executive Order implemented by President Obama which created new workplace protections for those in our society identifying as part of the LGBT community. Despite warnings from Liberals claiming “he wants to go back”on the Supreme Court’s decision regarding homosexual marriage and the President’s own campaign rhetoric stating he would “consider appointing Supreme Court justices who would favor reversing the decision,” gay marriage appears to have become the status quo. Judge Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s nominee to fill the vacant Supreme Court seat left by the late Judge Antonin Scalia, is not expected to question the Court ruling on Obergefell v. Hodges nor Roe v. Wade.
It appears as though America has allowed gay marriage to become the status quo, not just within the halls of the Courts, but our culture as a whole. Many in the realm of the public sphere, Christians included, are saying, “Why does it matter? Let everyone love who they want,” or “The Courts have ruled,” as if standing up for God’s Word is no longer a worthwhile cause. Fear of rejection by the majority should not override our willingness to stand firm on the foundations the Lord set for society when He prohibited homosexuality. There are two extremes we, as Christians, must avoid when approaching this issue. This sense of defeatist apathy is one. We must also be careful not to come across as angry and unapproachable. This approach takes many forms, but one of the most prominent examples was that of the now defunct Westboro Baptist Church picketing at the funerals of soldiers.
The problem with the first method is it speaks to God’s unconditional, unfailing love with little of His unyielding, unchanging truth. The second method’s flaw lies in its ability to hammer home God’s truth while neglecting the knowledge of His love through the hammer Jesus endured on the Cross. The truth is, homosexuality is a sin and God hates sin. The truth is all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God so, we all deserve Hell. Left to our own devices, we would have no ground to stand on which to oppose homosexuality for we are just as sinfully guilty as any homosexual individual; however, praise God, we are not left to our own devices. God sent His Son to pay the penalty for sin on the Cross because of His love for us. He hated our sin and demanded payment for it, but loved us so much that He graciously provided us a divine pardon.
The Lord, in return for this saving grace, has called us to proclaim His Gospel to the Earth. We are not to wallop the wicked with a message of wrath or coddle the complacent with a message of compassion. Instead, we should seek a balance between the two so that we may point others to Jesus Christ, the bridge between the gap between Hedonism and Holiness. The Gospel must retain both our pity and His perfection. This, of course, will take some measure of courage amidst a culture crying out for the toleration of various sins. We should have no problem rising to this challenge here in the Home of the Brave.
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” – Romans 3:23-26
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