Over the last several days, there have been countless articles and posts regarding the SCOTUS decision and the new reality that was ushered in by the legalization of same-sex marriage across all fifty states. My goal through this post is not to add to the flood of opinions. Instead, this post is a response to the many in my church community who are honestly struggling to gain perspective in the midst of this decision. How should the church respond? More specifically, how should my church respond?
There are three things that I believe that we need to keep in mind in light of the SCOTUS decision.
One, this is not a time for fear.
In the blink of an eye, the biblical standard that the church has stood upon became countercultural. As that happened, we, as the church, became a countercultural movement in many of our communities. We are often viewed as begets. We are often believed to hate those who are different than us. We are viewed as hating those who are simply expressing their genuine love for each other. So, as the church, what are we to do?
It is not the time to fear.
The church has been here before, and not only has it survived, it has thrived. The church thrives as a countercultural movement. The church was birthed as a countercultural movement, and historically the church has grown exponentially when it is not the majority culture.
Not only that, God and his gospel have not changed! In the midst of a culture that is changing, our God is unchanging!
Therefore, this is not a time for fear.
Two, this is not a time for hate.
We have all heard, “Love the sinner. Hate the sin.” Right? Well, that saying is true, but we must be careful. Often, in our attempt to lob our hate grenades at the sin, there are many casualties.
Here is a reality that I have to remind myself: Getting mad at non-Christians when they fail to behave like Christians leads to continual discouragement. We should not be shocked when lost people behave as though they are lost. Instead, we should get on our knees and pray that they would see the beauty of Christ, that they would be transformed, and that they would begin to walk in the Spirit. No legislation will change the hearts of the men and women in our communities… Only the Spirit can do that through the work of Christ.
So, how do we hate the sin and not wound the sinner? First, we attack sin with prayer. Second, we realize that loving the truth of God calls us to love the lost. Third, we avoid the temptation to withdrawal and retreat. Instead, we engage with the good news of Jesus Christ. Forth, we avoid the temptation to tear other Christians down. Instead, we speak truth in love (Eph 4:15) so that the world will know that we are His through our love for each other (John 13:35).
The reality is that there will be a fall-out from this sexual revolution. People are going to get hurt, lost, and confused. They are going to encounter brokenness, and they are going to experience emptiness. Where are they to go when that happens? My hope is that we are a place where they can come to see the good news of Jesus and how He brings restoration and healing. My hope is that we never forget that Jesus came for the sick, broken, and lost. And this is impossible to accomplish through hate.
This is not a time for hate.
Three, this is not a time for conformity.
We are going to feel a pressure that we may have never felt before as the church. We are going to feel a pressure to conform in order to promote unity.
Now, for many of us, the temptation will not be give up or denounce what we believe the Bible teaches about marriage and sexuality, rather to avoid the topic all together. In order to uphold unity, our temptation may be to avoid certain truths or Scriptures in our teaching.
Hear me, this temptation is often not entirely selfish, and is often based on our heart to avoid any and all obstacles to the gospel. But, I believe that we are missing one of the most distinct and most beautiful aspects of the gospel when we give into the temptation to conform. The message of Jesus gives us the unique ability as the church to both stand on the truth of God and to love people whole-heartedly. In fact, not only does the gospel give us the ability to do this, it demands that we do this.
We must fight our temptation to sacrifice truth for love, or to sacrifice love for truth. Instead, we whole-heartedly hold to both simultaneously.
So now more than ever, we stand in confidence in the truth of God. Now more than ever, we hold to the truths of Scripture. Now more than ever, we share the truths of God in love to those in our communities. Now more than ever, we share the gospel of Jesus Christ.
It is not a time for fear, hate, or conformity. Instead, it is a time for us to stand on the hope, love, and truth that we have in Jesus Christ.