If you haven’t heard of Kim Davis and her stand against the Obergefell SCOTUS ruling, stop reading this, open up your preferred search engine, and enlighten yourself. Most people know the basic facts of what has happened thus far, thus it seems more prudent to address two things of primary importance. Homosexuality and the abundant societal approval of sexual deviancy, is a gospel issue. This is the most important take away I can hope to give you and my primary cause for writing. Secondly, I would also wish to propose that civil disobedience is perfectly in order for those in this position currently and any who may be in the future.
How is this a gospel issue?
Through the course of all redemptive history, homosexuality has been viewed as a sinful practice. The current trajectory of our culture and the liberal Christian not only denies this outright – but will not even bother to listen to qualified scholars who stand opposed to the likes of Matthew Vines, Rob Bell, and any other Domino that falls woefully in line to the second great sexual revolution.
Secondly, it is a denial of the scripture’s clear testimony toward sin. The only way someone can dismiss scripture’s claim to homosexuality being a sin is due to willful rejection and suppression of the truth. In other words, they must come up with unique insight to the text that has been denied to men for thousands of years, blatantly twist the scriptures, ignore the social, political, and historical context of Christ, and deny the authority of scripture. If scripture is errant, is no longer binding on any man – or so they would have one think.
Thirdly, scripture clearly teaches the final destination of all those who are sexually immoral. This includes the effeminate, homosexuals, adulterers, and any other person who seeks the blessed union of sexual activity outside of the confines God has placed upon them. Yet this is clearly the outcome of any who are outside of the love of Christ Jesus. The point being: if a Christian diminishes the sinfulness of this act, supports it, or simply refuses to acknowledge the sinfulness of it, they can’t properly point to the repentance and faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. No man can enter the presence of his Savior without either of these things.
Finally, and likely the most important reason why this is a gospel issue, is due to it eradicating the proper notion of marriage and the picture of the gospel it brings. Ephesians 5:32 uses this illustration to display the grandness of God in salvation through Jesus Christ, referring to the church as His bride. In this same manner, husbands are to lay down their lives for their wives – but if the union of a man and woman displays the gospel, what then does the union of the same sex display? At the most simple level, any union outside of that of a man and his wife, is a clear distortion of this picture of the gospel. Nowhere else in scripture, nor in any other relationship, do we see this same illustration used to depict the gospel. If this portrayal, being a weaker representation of the actual gospel, is attacked – how clearly does this evidence the greater disdain toward that same gospel?
Source: http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnnnext/dam/assets/150903174608-kim-davis-mug-large-169.jpg
Why Kim Davis is not only correct in her civil disobedience – but it is good.
It would do Christians well to have a semblance of an idea to what it means for Kim Davis to do her job properly. She is not bound in judgment more strict than God’s – thus, she is bound in whatever sphere of office, civil or not, to God. If she finds something unconscionable – she is perfectly within her duty to uphold that conviction. It is far better to be jailed and rewarded than free in these states and condemned. You can call it whatever you wish, but the plain truth is that many have not only rejected, but scorned their Maker, and thus have hatred toward the very action of those who have not done likewise. Regardless of how you feel of her past sins – you have yet to refute the principle of scripture in refusing to support same sex marriage.
We fear not man; we fear God. As one who is elected as a child of God and placed in that office, she is to be obedient to man’s law wherein there is no conflict of God’s. Thus, when conflict arises – she is fully free, whether legally permissible or not, to act accordingly. That is her job. If more Christians were willing to be jailed for the ideals plainly evidenced in scripture, people might actually take the gospel call to repentance seriously. We may come to see that day; if the divide has not been seen clearly thus far, that day will inevitably separate the sheep from the goats.
A Gospel Plea
The unfortunate thing in all of this is simply that we have bound ourselves in believing the lie that we are able to be arbiter of truth and morality. The burden of proof is upon man to disprove these claims the Lord has made; thus far, they’ve done nothing but deny or reject them… Denial and rejection does not disprove a truth claim, nor diminish it.
The ultimate authority over every man – whether they recognize it or not – is bound within the framework of God’s glory in salvation and judgment. All of creation falls under His jurisdiction; rebellion to God’s most holy law is that which man is judged for. Again, you may feel she is obliged to support “equality,” but she is not. Nor truthfully are you. Each man is judged in accordance to all that God has revealed, and no man may say he is ignorant on that day. Thus, all men are obliged to submit joyfully to God’s ideals and trust in His provision of grace.
It is in light of the promise of judgment that we must come back to the gospel. If it is a gospel issue, then the gospel must always be preached within telling of the scripture’s clear condemnation of homosexual activity. In the end, love does win – yet it is not the love this age espouses. As my good friend Matt said the day Obergefell was approved, “Love won 2,000 years ago” as Christ bore the cross to Golgotha, died in our place to suffer the wrath of God, and defeated death in the resurrection – attainting the forgiveness of sins for those whom are His own. Yet we must be able to ask the legitimate question: how can we be forgiven for sin if we deny the very standard of God that reveals the sinfulness of mankind?
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