Same-Sex Marriage Legalization

Earlier this week, the United States supreme court ordered that all states within the union now legalize same-sex marriages.  This week, I want to address this issue.

I’ll talk about how the Bible is explicitly against same-sex marriages later, but for now I want to spend some time talking about why I think this shouldn’t be a big deal for the contemporary Christian.

First, we have to realize that there is a difference between legal and ethical laws.  There is a commonwealth in the United States that makes it illegal to buy a bicycle on Sundays, but tricycles are fine.  In certain countries, non-consensual sex between married persons isn’t rape.  In the first case, buying a bicycle or tricycle on a Sunday is not really an ethical question (but obeying a law of government is), and in the latter, I’d (hopefully) think that you’d consider rape in any circumstance as wrong.

So legal and ethical laws don’t always align, but in an American’s pleasantly homogenous and relatively safe experience, we often assume that laws made and enforced by a governing authority are the same.  And that’s not entirely incorrect.

In America, we believe that murder is an objectionable offense; same as theft, rape, sexual assault, and child molestation.  We also believe that people should have the right to speak their mind, to participate in the country’s political arena, and to make a decent living.  How we go about enforcing and monitoring these processes I’ll leave to more informed minds than mine, but the point is that the majority of the laws (I feel) pretty much align with the rights that should be recognized and protected in every individual.  So what about same-sex marriage?

Well, the Bible doesn’t 1) Outline the conduct and behavior of people in a same-sex union, and 2) is directly opposed to same-sex romantic relationships.  So if anyone uses the Bible as their standard of morality, then they can safely assume that same-sex marriages are ethically wrong.  But that doesn’t mean they are legally wrong.

Christians live in a dual existence—we live in the world but we are not of the world.  While the laws in America may have changed to accommodate those who do not wish to follow the Bible, the laws of the Bible itself has not changed.  Same-sex unions are legally permissible but morally illegal.

This brings me to the next point: just because people call themselves Christians doesn’t mean that someone IS a Christian.  I can buy a gun and a set of handcuffs, and then run around telling everyone that I’m a cop, but that doesn’t make me a police officer.  Same thing with being a Christian, and I feel that we can all agree on this: just because you own a Bible, go to church on Sunday, and call yourself a Christian, doesn’t mean that you are a Christian.  Sorry ‘bout that. 

Despite personal statements to one’s religious affiliation, saying that you are a Christian doesn’t make you one, and I think willfully going against what the Bible directly says would certainly be a blatant black mark against any statement you could make to the contrary.  But this doesn’t help the majority of the Christian population: What can the contemporary Christian do with people who have a union recognized by the state as a marriage?  1 Corinthians 5:12 says:

“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church?  Are you not to judge those inside?”

If you’re not a Christian, then I can’t hold you to the same standards as one.  That’s like trying to give a red card from soccer to someone who’s playing golf: those rules just don’t apply.

What’s more is that the verse after 1 Corinthians 5:13 gives us detail on how to react to people doing things contrary to God’s laws, and who is responsible for enforcing them.

“God will judge those outside.  Expel the wicked person from among you.”

Someone’s doing something contrary to God’s directives?  Let God handle it.  Someone calling themselves a Christian but doing decidedly un-Christ-like things? Expel them.  Of course, there is a difference between a wicked person and someone deeply mistaken, and there is a method and a process that needs to be done before disfellowshipping someone, but my main point remains true: people who don’t belong to Christ can’t be held accountable to God’s laws, and people making direct efforts to go against God’s laws shouldn’t continue communing with God’s Church.

Tomorrow I’ll go back to talking about how awesome Ruth is, but in an effort to stay relevant I had to address this issue.

See you tomorrow.