Foundational Assumptions
Last week, the Senate passed the Respect For Marriage Act which makes it illegal for two people to be prevented from entering into marriage on the basis of their gender. In other words, should this bill pass the House of Representatives it will codify homosexual marriage into federal law. Justifiably, there has been a tremendous amount of response from both sides of the aisle regarding this issue. President Joe Biden was entirely in favor of this bill. His statement after it passed through the Senate opens by saying:
“With today’s bipartisan Senate passage of the Respect for Marriage Act, the United States is on the brink of reaffirming a fundamental truth: love is love, and Americans should have the right to marry the person they love.”1
Biden’s words are loaded with language demonstrating the worldview of our President and by extension the majority of the party he represents. First of all, his statement interweaves love and truth as being closely related to one another. I concur, at least on the basic premise, that love and truth are connected for they interweave in God’s character. He is a God of both truth and love. Therefore, any revelation of truth or definition of love must come from Him. Of course, Biden gives no nod to the necessity of divine revelation nor a whiff of willingness to submit to it. However, this brings us precisely to the point. Joe Biden believes human beings have the right to define marriage according to their own desires. His statement leaves no doubt about that reality.
Man Vs. God
Biden demonstrates his allegiance to the will of man as being ultimate when he states Americans should have the right to marry the person they love. Clearly put, you as a person decide what marriage means for you, then go ahead and act on it. No parameters are placed around this issue. There are zero references to marriage being a divine institution. Here is the take-home point, the left believes that individuals do not have an obligation to submit to God but are free to go their own course.2 Biden does so in a way which illustrates for us a vital principle . . . you will either submit to God or be ruled by unending chaos and calamity.
It is so clear in his statement precisely because there are absolutely no boundaries left to prevent marriage from becoming anything. If you are free to “marry” the person you “love” and that applies in all circumstances, then how is the door closed on polygamy? Oh wait, it isn’t as evidenced by the recent remarks of a New York judge.3 How could the possibility of incest be taken off the table? What about the case of a fifty-year-old desirous of marrying a five-year-old, or even perhaps three of them? Then again, why could a man not marry a dog under such a view? No, Biden’s view gives evidence of a clear unmistakable reality. Whenever you abandon God you reject the only foundation for stability and truth. Once marriage and the family are left for individuals to define, then you shall have nearly as many different definitions as there are people in this world. Congratulations, the rails are off the track and we are going over the cliff at full speed. Such a situation gives us as believers much to think about in terms of both the future and our foundational belief system.
Faithfulness Amidst Chaos
Make no mistake, the fallout from the passing of this bill will be utterly significant for churches and believers. Truly, Dr. Al Mohler stated it well:
“Once you agree that the crucial issue is striking the right balance between ‘LGBTQ rights’ and religious freedom, nothing will stop the advance of LGBTQ rights and the retreat of religious liberty.”4
The onslaught of “rights” as defined by man encroaches upon the true rights given to us by God. As a society allows mankind to define what is a true “right” it will value less the rights God’s Word gives to us. One prime example at the moment is the illusionary “right to choose” of the left is overwhelming the “right to life” of the baby thus leading to abortion maintaining legal status even though it is murder. Likewise, the “right” of a man to marry a man will be the driving force that pushes religious liberty backward in this nation.
Even more foundationally neither nations, individuals, nor governing authorities have any authority to define marriage, truth, or love. However, we are left with the question, how do we as the people of God live faithfully in the midst of this secular idolatry? Joshua 24:14-15 summarizes the matter:
“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” -Joshua 24:14-15
We as believers must be dedicated to the true and living God with an even greater passion than ever before. They may attack us, ridicule us, slander us, and perhaps even turn out the lights in our buildings, but we will fight every inch of the way with the truth of God’s Word for the glory of His name. When all is said and done Christ Jesus shall win the victory and we will play our part in this era to which He has called us to proclaim the glories of His Gospel to this generation. Christ reigns, not civil rulers who believe they can redefine marriage on a whim. Let us march forward with confidence in that fact!
Sources
1 https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2022/11/29/statement-from-president-joe-biden-on-bipartisan-senate-passage-of-the-respect-for-marriage-act/
2 Such could be foundationally said of all unbelievers living in rebellion against God.
3 https://thechristianmanifesto.org/924/the-slippery-slope-of-the-lgbtq-revolution/
4 https://wng.org/opinions/a-massive-victory-for-the-moral-revolutionaries-1669814507
Leave a Reply