New Yorkers Celebrate the Gay Marriage Law
New York has become the sixth state in the nation to legalize gay marriage. Gay activists are calling this the biggest victory for homosexual rights in American History. As the United States, with strong influence from the media, pop culture and the President, seek to pave the way for gay marriage in America, we can see that society is taking a sharp turn from God and His Word. The Bible is clear that homosexuality is a sin, (but of course this does not mean a gay person cannot be a Christian, as all people are sinners). God invented marriage in the Garden of Eden and intended it for a man and a woman. Jesus Christ made this clear when He explained: “And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” (Matthew 19:4-6). So how should Christians view this landmark law being passed in New York? Is it time for protests? To move to a different state? On the contrary, the Bible shows that it is time for Christians to stay put and stand for Biblical beliefs even more.
God provides all human beings with freedom of conscience: we can choose our own behaviors and whether we want to follow God’s ways, or the ways of the world. And just like an individual, a nation is responsible for its own choices. Christian believers should understand that God empowers governments and instructs us to submit to their decisions. So even when their actions are ungodly, God is still in control of the ultimate destiny of us all. In ancient Israel, God’s original government was one where HE served as King. He raised up judges who administered his law to the 12 tribes, but their actual King was the Lord Himself. Until the days of Samuel, when Israel decided that they wanted a human king to reign over them. Samuel, the last Judge, was supposed to have his sons take over the task for him. But the people had different ideas. The Book of 1 Samuel details how the people addressed the prophet to let them know their desire for “change” in government:
8:5 And said unto him, Behold, thou art old, and thy sons walk not in thy ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
8:6 But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.
8:7 And the LORD said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, that I should not reign over them.
Samuel, whom God had appointed to administer the law, was disappointed when the people decided they wanted a human king as their ruler. But God explained the reality of the situation: the people were not rejecting Samuel or his sons, they were truly rejecting God. The Lord in His divine providence, allows for “democracy.” The people of a nation can choose their government. But they also have to live with the consequences when they choose sin. Samuel warned the people that if they received the King they wanted, there would be dire ramifications once he came into power:
8:10 And Samuel told all the words of the LORD unto the people that asked of him a king.
8:11 And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots.
8:12 And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots.
8:13 And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers.
8:14 And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your oliveyards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants.
8:15 And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants.
8:16 And he will take your menservants, and your maidservants, and your goodliest young men, and your asses, and put them to his work.
8:17 He will take the tenth of your sheep: and ye shall be his servants.
8:18 And ye shall cry out in that day because of your king which ye shall have chosen you; and the LORD will not hear you in that day.
The new government they desired was going to be oppressive! The people would soon see many of their sons enlisted in the military for various wars. Their daughters would be working to support the government. They would be taxed heavily to support the administration and everyone would be overworked. Samuel closed his warning by telling the people that in the end they would suffer so badly that they would cry out to God for relief from the same King they were asking for. And so it is today. The desire for a government based on fallen, sinful human standards has indeed been embroiled in numerous military conflicts, raised taxes to no end and put the American public in possibly the worst financial crisis ever as cronies and corporate sponsors of the President pull in record profits. All in rejection of godly principles. If people today continue to choose what “feels right” but is against God’s laws and ways, then we will continue to reap the effects of our errors.
New York Governor Cuomo celebrates his victory.
And where are the “conservative” Republican state senators on this issue? As the New York Times reported, although they initially were opposed to the new measure, New York governor Andrew Cuomo did not go to Republican Senators to make his case – instead he went to their wealthiest donors in a closed-door meeting. Once he was able to get billionaire financiers and hedge fund managers to go back to the Republicans, they were won over. So in the end, money, and the love of it, took precedence over morals and “conservative principles.” As the Times stated:
But, behind the scenes, it was really about a Republican Party reckoning with a profoundly changing power dynamic, where Wall Street donors and gay-rights advocates demonstrated more might and muscle than a Roman Catholic hierarchy and an ineffective opposition.
The Warning
Many Christian groups and churches have warned society time and time again that homosexuality is a sin in the Bible and that gay marriage is against God’s Word. And the response has been very similar to what Israel said to Samuel in the face of his warnings about their future king:
8:19 Nevertheless the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel; and they said, Nay; but we will have a king over us;
8:20 That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.
In their desire to be like the world, the ancient Israelites at that time did not even care about the disaster that awaited them. They had fallen so deep into rebellion, that they were no longer listening to God or His servant. America is unfortunately following that same pattern. The beauty of God’s love is that He lets us choose. But the downside is that we can, and often do, choose wrongly. And while the celebrations take place all over the nation for this new law, very little is being said about the pandemic of HIV that is affecting gay men in urban areas, where 1 in 5 are infected with HIV and that figure (from the Center for Disease Control) rises to a staggering 30% of African American gay men. There are serious consequences that again, the people are ignoring in the desire for what they think is “right”. So as Christians, we know this has happened before. And like Samuel, we should not leave the country, fight against gay people or start a revolution. In response to the selection of Saul as King, Samuel, did his best to advise the King of what would be the best decisions based on God’s Word. And as predicted, Saul did not listen, and the people indeed suffered mightily under the new King they so desired. Yet until he died, Samuel remained in Israel, preaching God’s Word and pleading with the King and the people to repent.
And so we should continue to stand for God. To preach His Word truthfully and accurately, and not compromise Biblical standards for the world’s view of what is “good”. So Christians in the face of this new law should spread the Gospel and the love of Jesus Christ with all people. There is no need to look to politicians to solve our problems. While we can support a certain law or public official, they will never erase the most serious problem facing the world: sin in people’s hearts. Only Jesus Christ can do that. And just as people can freely choose to reject God, through the power of the Gospel, they can also choose to come back and God will freely forgive them for all of their sins, be their King and love them as one of His own. Let’s pray that will take place.
First off, I’m not gay nor will I ever be gay just saying but here’s my take. In the garden of eden, yes “god” created adam and eve, I know. But no where does it say they were “married”. Yes they were told to populate the world. Ok so since it says that yall assume it means that all men have to be married to a women and vice verse. It doe’s not say anywhere that it’s a sin to be homosexual. Do you know who made that up, the Church. I know many of yall will disagree with me, but who are you to judge them.
People need to learn to be open to others and not discriminate others.
Matthew 7:1-2 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Yeah that means no one is perfect or ever will be.
When 2 people have intercourse, they are considered married in the eyes of God. This is the reason why premarital sex is a sin. So yes in the eyes of God, Adam and Eve were married.
Homosexuality is condemned STRONGLY in the bible… Check this out: http://bible.org/article/homosexuality-christian-perspective
Funny how people always want to quote Matthew 7:1-2. However, you are quoting it out of context. These verses is not talking about speaking out against sin, which all Christians are obliged to do, but about judging other people IN A HYPOCRITICAL MANNER. What do verse 3 through 5 say?
Matthew 7
Judging Others
1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
It’s clear these verses talk about hypocritical judgment, not about speaking out against sin.
Romans 3:23. Pride is just as much a sin as homosexuality, only by the grace of God are we saved, through the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Yes we are all sinners, doesn’t mean that we should not speak out against sin. How else can people get saved? We Christians are not here to judge, but we are here to tell you about the One who will! God loves you! But you need to be saved from your sins and regenerated by the Spirit! If you reject the love of God, nothing but wrath remains!
Do not be deceived. Practicing homosexuals will not inherit the kingdom of God!
I don’t know which version of the bible your reading from but the NIV version Romans 3:23 does not mention pride or homosexuality. So you adding your own ideals to the bible is also a sin. I’m sorry but putting your words in place of “gods” words is a worse sin then homosexuality. And who are you to say who will or will not inherit the kingdom of god. So fix yourself before you try to fix others.
Do you know who owns the copyrights to the NIV bible? The same guy who owns the copyrights to the Satanist Bible……..Just look up Acts 8:37 in your NIV bible compared to a KJV.
The bible is the bible, theres no right or wrong version to “god’s word”. Wanna know why, because Man changed it when they made the original version.
Even if you decide to ignore what God says about homosexuality in 1 Corinthians 6, the whole idea of “populating the earth” that He intended required the seed of a man & the womb of a woman. So you can’t say that there’s no difference between a heterosexual and homosexual marriage… one was designed with the specific intent of reproduction, & the other is a clear perversion of that design.
That doesn’t mean homosexuals are evil & I can’t rightfully condemn anyone, I’m not God. All I can do is use His Word as a basis for my moral beliefs, rather than watering them down to be “politically correct.” Also, you can’t pick and choose verses to support your argument, while completely ignoring other verses that clearly condemn it. God didn’t contradict Himself, and if His Word is true, then one of you is clearly wrong.
1 Corinthians 6:9: “Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders”
Romans 1: 26-27: “Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.”