There is probably a lot that needs to be said about yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling on marriage. It is a ruling that has many far reaching effects beyond the actual ruling that was made. In one sense it is a narrow ruling only on a few facts and most of them technical ones that the average citizen will not understand (I know it is somewhat strange and foreign to me!).
I will have a lot more to say about it in the days to come, no doubt. It is a bad ruling for our culture, our nation, because it just shows how far we are adrift from God and His plans and purposes we truly are. The basic building block of society is marriage. It was before the law, before government, and before the church ever came into existence. As I say when I stand before a couple to do their wedding (I said it just last Saturday):
“We are not gathered here today in order to observe a social convention devised by human wisdom for the mutual comfort and happiness of men and women. Nor do we assemble here to participate in a mere tradition which has come down to us from ages past and which we have deemed worthy of preserving among ourselves.
We are gathered in this place in order to acknowledge, celebrate, and solemnize the divine institution of marriage, which is ordained by the Creator and Savior of the world, sealed and governed by His authority, and entered into by His people with humble obedience and heartfelt rejoicing for the wondrous provision of the Lord for their mutual happiness and completion.”
However, this can, and prayerfully will be good for the church, if it causes us to wake up and realize that we are failing in our mission to take the gospel to the nation and nations! An acquaintance of mine wrote this (and correctly I believe) after the ruling by SCOTUS. “These threats may bring about in the church a much-needed change of mindset. It’s time we recognized we are no longer the “moral majority” and embrace our identity as the “missional minority.”
The SCOTUS may rule, legislatures may pass laws, people may live in utter disregard to our Lord . . . but some things never change: His word, His truth, and His reign. I cannot wait to worship again this Sunday, as we exalt the power and authority of King Jesus!!
Filed under: Denying Truth, Ethics, Government, Politics | Leave a comment »
On July 4, 1776 our nation was born with the signing of the Declaration of Independence from Great Britain. I wonder, how long it has been since you read this document? Have you ever read it? I understand from talking to some high schoolers that it is mentioned in class, and the opening words are sometimes read, but that there is no requirement in their history classes to read the document. This is sad! Is it any wonder that patriotism is waning in our great nation?
I really do try and reserve this blog for Biblical, theological and ethical issues rather than political. It is no surprise to those who know me that I am a conservative politically as I am theologically. However, I have found myself of late reading books such as Thornton’s The Pulpit of the American Revolution. The pastors of that era were vigilant for freedom and preached sermons about “the Christian duty of resistance to tyrants” and “the true principles of government”. Theologically I may have differed with some of these preachers, but as to liberty I would wholeheartedly agree!!
It has been reported in the 
It used to be that the constitution was the “law of the land,” the ultimate “decider” of all that is legal and the rights that are protected in our land. But no more!! In just two months there have been more direct attacks on the constitution than in the past 20 years combined. Buried in the pages and pages of the “Stimulus package” (which stimulates the size of government and its control and not much else) and the president’s budget proposal are attacks on our basic freedoms.
Here I Stand . . . I Can Do Nothing Else 