Justifying Gay Marriage Biblically?

How does a Christian church justify (Biblically) performing a marriage ceremony for homosexuals? What is their interpretation of Scripture?

The biblical justification offered by those who perform such marriages often falls under the category of “common grace”. What is that? Simply put: That is the belief that there are some things God gives to all people, believer or unbeliever. (e.g. Matthew 5:45 says “the rain falls on the just and the unjust.”)

So to justify it as “common grace“, they would say something like, “Even people who have no regard for God at all have the 'right' to get married (heterosexual, homosexual, doesn‘t matter), because that is a ‘common grace’ available to every human being.”

Whether you agree or disagree with the fundamental issue isn‘t the aim of this answer because it wasn‘t the aim of the question. This is a "Biblical justification" given from those who care to justify it biblically.

The other answer given is: “The Bible doesn’t say homosexuality is sinful.” I know this is a sensitive and very culturally relevant topic today, and this particular issue has been debated and discussed incessantly. So I would encourage you to read Romans 1:18-32 for yourself. What does the Bible straightforwardly say about it?

Lifting the Gay Marriage Ban is Just Part of the Story

Pay attention. You are watching the Bible’s message happen right in front of you, and you may not even realize it.

We heard one more line in the story of the Bible proclaimed this week in the lifting of the ban on same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania.

If you can put any strong opinions about this hotly debated topic on the shelf for 2 minutes, you can see it.

Can we take a look back at recent history? Even just looking at how things have accelerated in these last 2 generations. What have we seen?

Instead of embracing the truth that we were created by God and for God, evolutionists have, in the name of science, embraced and promoted a “God-less origin-of-man story” to completely crowd out even the option of a “God-driven origin story” in public schools. Remember when that was the hot topic? Seems like it was just yesterday it was all over the news. In short, we can say, REJECTING GOD.

Creation isn’t science. Evolution is science. We don’t need a story about God to explain how we got here. The Bible’s story is foolishness, the intelligent people understand that there is no God behind this all. In short, we can say: PROCLAIMING MAN’S WISDOM.

Evicting God resulted in a worship void. We were made to worship, and we will worship something. It can be man (athletes, musicians, politicians, myself) or even animals. There is little regard for saving a human baby (just abort the blob of tissue, after all, you have the right to do whatever you want with your body), but mention some endangered species or malnourished cat and everyone is ready to write a sad song and run a 5K for them. In short we can say: EXALTING MAN AND ANIMAL.

And as I said earlier, there has been much rejoicing this week over lifting the ban on same-sex marriage in Pennsylvania. It’s Marriage Equality. No one should tell anyone who they can love and marry. If two women want to marry, or two men want to marry, I have no business objecting to that. In short: HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVITY.

And we have not only accepted homosexuality as an “alternative lifestyle”, we have evolved into such forward-thinking people that we applaud the courage of those who have stepped out to declare their same-sex love. People like Ellen Degeneres, Ellen Page, Jason Collins, and Michael Sam are the real heroes. Let’s give them a standing ovation for their incredible courage, so long as it doesn’t interrupt any congratulatory calls from the man holding the highest office of our nation. In short, let’s say: HEARTY APPROVAL.

So, at the risk of oversimplifying things, we see a story of REJECTING GOD, PROCLAIMING MAN’S WISDOM, EXALTING MAN AND ANIMAL, HOMOSEXUAL UNION, and HEARTY APPROVAL.

And God told this story almost 2000 years ago in Romans 1:18-32:

Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

Rom 1:19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.

Rom 1:20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Rom 1:21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

REJECTING GOD.

Rom 1:22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,

PROCLAIMING MAN’S WISDOM.

Rom 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Rom 1:24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,

Rom 1:25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.

EXALTING MAN AND ANIMAL.

Rom 1:26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature;

Rom 1:27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

Rom 1:28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVITY.

Rom 1:29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,

Rom 1:30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,

Rom 1:31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

Rom 1:32 Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

          HEARTY APPROVAL.

(Emphasis added on Scriptural references.)

Keep your eye on the news. And your other eye on the Bible. It’s almost as if God saw this coming.

p.s. - as always, comments welcome below, whether you agree or disagree...

Marriage and Sexuality: Is there such a thing as "right" and "wrong"?

Grieved. I can’t get it out of my mind. I read an article Monday morning, and I can’t stop thinking about it.

If you want to read the rest of this blog, you may want to pause and read this article so you know what I am talking about.

http://www.greeleygazette.com/press/?p=11517

At this point, the accusations are loaded, ready to fire. “Jeff is condemning homosexuality." I hear that type of language a lot. I don’t even know what that means. I have not the power condemn anybody. God is the judge. All I can do is relay the message of the Bible. I don’t make it up, I just broadcast it.

I have friends that are homosexual, just as I have friends that are liars, thieves, gluttons, self-centered, gossips… name something the Bible says is sin, and I am sure I have a friend who fits that category. And so do you. In fact, the worst sinner I have ever met is Jeff Miller, and if not for the grace of God, I would still be on a crash-and-burn path of destruction. Far from perfect, I am not yet the person I want to be, but I thank God I am not who I was ($1 to Pat Kelly).

My concern is where the line is being redrawn. God, who created marriage and sexuality, has established the lines long ago. One man, one woman, one lifetime. (See Matthew 19:4-6 for Jesus‘ commentary on marriage, which should not be regarded lightly.)

And in the midst of the homosexual marriage legal battle (with passionate advocates on both side), underneath the clamor of redefining marriage, the line is being redrawn again. Where is the line? God says, “One man, one woman, one lifetime. Anything beyond My drawn line is not in my plan.” And America says, “Let’s move the line to include homosexual marriage as part of the plan.” And the APA perks up with, “Before that line is drawn, let’s move it to include pedophilia as a valid sexual orientation.”

So what is right? What is wrong? Who has the authority to draw/move the line between right and wrong? Is there even a line anymore?

I think the line America has drawn echoes the line drawn in the days of Israel in the book of Judges, the very last verse of the book: In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

In other words, “There is no authority. I am the authority.”

Post your comments below.

p.s. - Disagreeing with someone’s beliefs does not mean you hate them. That goes both ways, for the record.