The Defense of God’s design for
natural marriage – along with the God-given, constitutional freedom of conscience
to decline participation in and, thereby, endorsement of, its unnatural and
sin-based counterfeit, so-called ‘gay marriage’ – is now among America’s
premier civil-rights struggles.
As Christians, we are called to
stand our ground, in love, against all wickedness (not selective wrongdoings). We do so not because we are righteous – for we
are not – but because of Christ’s righteousness in us. As Christ followers, we are to follow Jesus; we
are to stand for His truths. And when we
do face persecution (for righteousness sake), He will ultimately honor our
faithfulness for His own glory and purpose.
I know this firsthand! I’ve taken
a stand against sinful ‘same-sex marriage’ and have experienced ridicule … both
in and out of the Church. But I’m not
alone.
The cases are piling up. I’ve written past blogs on bakers,
photographers, florists, inn keepers, magistrates, county clerks and other
people involved in various vocations surrounding marriage who have suffered
persecution for merely declining to become complicit in sin. Christians are being financially ruined and
even facing jail time for refusing to lend their time, talents, gifts and
abilities to sanction unnatural marriage rituals.
Listen: All good things come from
God the Father, and all wickedness comes from the father of lies. If Jehovah God designed Biblical marriage (between
one man and one woman) and natural human sexuality (for the purpose of procreation)
as He did, then we are left with Satan as the counterfeit designer who fabricated
counter-biblical ‘gay marriage’ and perverted God’s perfect purposes for human
sexuality.
As faithful Christians we cannot,
indeed we must not, endorse or participate in that which God calls evil. “Woe to
those who call evil good and good evil.” (Isaiah 5:20). We must reject sin.
There have been a number of good and
well-intentioned folks who, rather than participating in these pagan ‘gay
marriage’ rituals, have either resigned employment or, if business owners,
closed their doors altogether. This is
admirable. But when (not if) you are
placed in such a situation that compels you to choose between obedience to
God’s just laws or man’s unjust laws, that you not only refuse to obey the
unjust laws, but refuse to quit. Stand
your ground! Do not resign your post. Force the government to overtly persecute you
– to take punitive action against you for your righteous stand … even if you
face chains. Pray for courage, and God
will provide it.
The Apostle Paul set the example
when, while chained to a wall in a Roman prison, he wrote the following to the
church in Philippi: “Now I want you to
know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to
advance the Gospel. As a result, it has
become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am
in chains for Christ. And because of my
chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and
dare all the more to proclaim the Gospel without fear.” (Philippians
1:12-14)
Not only did Paul supernaturally
face anti-Christian persecution without fear, he faced it with great joy. “Yes,
and I will continue to rejoice, for I know that through your prayers and God’s
provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ what has happened to me will turn out
for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and
hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that
now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is
gain.” (Philippians 1:18-21)
Mat Staver, chairman and founder of
Liberty Counsel, one of America’s fastest-growing civil-rights law firms, has
said, “If the government wants to impose an intolerant agenda on people of
faith and trample their religious convictions, then let it happen in public for
all to see. I cannot believe the
American people will long tolerate this intolerant agenda.” He went on to say, “Where would the civil-rights
movement be if Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. voluntarily went home when he faced
opposition? Where would we be today if
Rosa Parks had voluntarily moved to the back of the bus? The quest for religious freedom was the reason
America was born. We cannot voluntarily
give up this unalienable right.”
As Paul concluded, “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a
manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ … without being frightened in any way by
those who oppose you. This is a sign to
them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved – and that by God.
For it has been granted to you on behalf
of Christ not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for Him.”
(Philippians 1:27-29)
Rev.
Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.
Chaplain
(Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army
Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel
No comments:
Post a Comment