The issue of homosexuality has been front cover news for several years now. Many liberals have equaled the rights of homosexuals to get married w/ the great civil rights movement. On the other hand, many Christians are ready to take arms and literally fight so that the government does not give homosexuals the right to get married legally, as if a prohibition against homosexual’s right to get married (a marriage that’s governed by the state) is going to change any homosexual.
What position should we take, as Christians?
I am, and will remain to be a person who is for the separation of church and state. Certainly, the liberals are after the rights of the church, and they will never shut up until every church recognizes, blesses and ordains homosexual marriages. At the same time, instead of focusing on reaching people and presenting the Gospel of Jesus which changes lives and hearts of man, many in the church have assumed a governmental LAW or prohibition can change our nation, or protect it from the anger of God. Another problem is that many Christians believe homosexuality to be the deadliest of sins, while ignoring and believing adultery, pornography, fornication, and other sexual sins are sins that the grace of God covers and forgives.
On the issue of homosexual marriage, I agree with CS Lewis who, commenting on the issue of homosexuality in Britain, says, “My own view is that the Churches should frankly recognize that the majority of the British people are not Christians and, therefore, cannot be expected to live Christian lives. There ought to be two distinct kinds of marriage: one governed by the State with rules enforced on all citizens, the other governed by the Church with rules enforced by her on her own members. The distinction ought to be quite sharp, so that a man knows which couples are married in a Christian sense and which are not.”
Tomorrow, if through a ruling of the Supreme Court of the United States, or through the people’s vote, homosexual marriage that’s governed by the state is approved, I will not be looking to migrate to another country. Honestly, it’ll probably mean that we wont be hearing the word “homosexuality” in the news for a while. A governmental approval of a homosexual marriage will not affect how I, as a minister, will view a homosexual marriage. Certainly, if I as a citizen is given a choice to vote – I will vote against it. Yes, I would rather live in a nation with that is not the law. Nevertheless, I know when truth is voted upon, it often looses.
THREE DIFFICULTIES WITH THIS DISCUSSION:
1. The first problem & difficulty in this whole discussion is that one can never be certain where the liberal agenda will stop. Will they stop just w/ the state recognizing gay marriage? Probably not. Their next step will most likely be this: since the state recognizes gay marriage, the church must recognize and bless gay marriage, or close. And that will be the day when, we as Christians, will need to prepare ourselves for persecution. It probably wont be the type of persecution our parents and grandparents faced in communist soviet union (gulags, Siberia, torture, and prison camps), but it’ll certainly involve a lot of public humiliation, social media, protests, and other forms of intimidation. Not sure which form of persecution will be tougher to withstand.
2. The 2nd problem is the massive number of Christians, denominations, and ministers who have accepted homosexuality as normal, non-sinful. I drove by a church recently, which had a big rainbow sign with the words “God is still speaking,” as if to say “God has just spoken, and has changed His mind: homosexuality is no longer a sin.”
This problem will make the persecution against Bible believing Christians even more difficult, and its already happening. Just recently, a church in London took down their pastor and did not allow him to preach, because he spoke out against the sin of homosexuality.
Yes, God does still speak. And He speaks primarily through His written word. And if you think he is saying something that’s contradictory to the written word of God, that “he” is not God, but a demon.
3. The third difficulty with this discussion is that in standing against homosexuality, Christians are often portrayed as people who hate and do not welcome homosexuals. And that is wrong. As a church, we welcome people from all backgrounds, all races, and all nationalities. Adulterers, gossipers, welfare cheaters, homosexuals, murderers, thieves, luke-warm Christians, liars, prideful, Pharisees, hypocrites – everyone of us are guilty, were dead in our sin & in need of a Savior; yet, there is room at the cross for everyone of us. At the cross, we are redeemed, justified, sanctified, changed, and given a new heart & new desires. Certainly, sanctification is a much longer process than most of us want to recognize, and that process can be long and painful for anyone, including an adulterer, a porn addict or a homosexual. But He who begins a work in us will bring it to completion on the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:16).
In conclusion,
1. Let the state do what it will; if I have a chance, I will vote against it. But, I should not be at all surprised if sin is justified, made popular, and homosexual marriage is allowed. Our society has already done that w/ adultery, divorce & pornography.
2. Lets love all people, including homosexuals, porn addicts, & hypocrites, and lead them to Jesus. That is THE ONLY way they can change and receive a new heart & new desires; not through a law or prohibition.
3. As a Christian man, the best thing I can do to support marriage is to love & be faithful to my wife and children.
4. The marriages blessed and sanctioned in the church need to have a clear, visible difference between a typical, governmental marriage, even if both of these marriages are between a man and a woman. The level or respect, self-denial, love, faithfulness & forgiveness needs to be so high, that no young person would dare to wish to get married outside the church, after seeing the difference between the 2 types of marriages. And honestly, this is where the church has really dropped it.
My only wish is that Christians would fight for their own marriages, as much as they fight against homosexuality.
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If you would like to do some more reading on this, here are a couple of great articles:
“New Study on Homosexual Parents from the University of Texas” http://www.frc.org/issuebrief/new-study-on-homosexual-parents-tops-all-previous-research
“Gay is not the new black” http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/07/19/gay-is-not-the-new-black/
“An open Letter to the church from a lesbian”
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/justintaylor/2013/03/21/an-open-letter-to-the-church-from-a-lesbian
Backstage Conversations 
I thank you for being for the separation of church and state.
Not sure what liberals you are talking to but most of us are not coming to force your church or any other church to change their views. And if someone comes up to you to tell you that your church has to change its stance then they are just wrong. Your church should change its views because it wants to, not because someone else wants to.
Your second point i would like to point out that they are a different sect then yours, each one promotes something different from yours and ignores other parts different from yours otherwise it would be the same sect.
Why did you have to group homosexuals, pedophiles and murders together? This to me seems that you are just poisoning the well by supplying this list.
Well said Mr. Korets.