Reflections on the Supreme Court’s Decision on Same-Sex Marriage

This past week the Supreme Court announced that gay couples deserved equal treatment with respect to marriage. The reactions to this decision have been varied and filled with emotion. A friend and colleague, Brian Miller tweeted, “We find joy in State rulings. We find despair in State rulings. It has never been & will never be the Kingdom of primary citizenship.”

That is a very important notion to remember. Dr. Tim Tennent, President of Asbury Theological Seminary echoed a similar sentiment in a June 29th Tweet and a June 28th blog post, when he said, “We may no longer expect the state to uphold Christian morality. But we have every right to expect the church to do so.”

As Christians we must understand that we take our lead from Scripture first and foremost. We do not look to the culture to define any moral position for us.
By the same token, we should not be surprised when a civil authority does not uphold our morals for us. Why would we expect such a thing? Throughout history, the Church has been grateful when the civil authorities created laws which coincide with biblical positions, but it has never expected it. The Church through the ages has always looked to Scripture for its moral mandates.

The early church understood they lived in a world that often was hostile to Christian virtues and morals. In Roman society, it was acceptable to expose infants to the elements as a way of discarding unwanted or disabled children. The church, in many instances took these children in and cared for them.

I am reminded of a portion of The Epistle of Mathetes to Diognetus (A.D. 130) in which an anonymous disciple tries to explain (in Chapter 5) the manner of life of Christians. He describes the Christian manner of life like this:

As citizens, they share in all things with others, and yet endure all things as if foreigners. Every foreign land is to them as their native country, and every land of their birth as a land of strangers. They marry, as do all [others]; they beget children; but they do not destroy their offspring. They have a common table, but not a common bed. They are in the flesh, but they do not live after the flesh. They pass their days on earth, but they are citizens of heaven. They obey the prescribed laws, and at the same time surpass the laws by their lives. They love all men, and are persecuted by all. They are unknown and condemned; they are put to death, and restored to life. They are poor, yet make many rich; they are in lack of all things, and yet abound in all; they are dishonoured, and yet in their very dishonour are glorified.

In the current situation it is important to understand a few important things:

1. The state does not speak for the church
People in non-western countries know this intuitively. They don’t expect the state to prop up their Christian convictions with legislation. In the west there are still many vestiges of civil religion and for the most part that is what Christians depend on. When those vestiges are threatened, angry rhetoric fills social media and the public square. This happens because we expect the state to do what the church should do in its witness. In many nations, the witness of the church is not supported by the state, the church bears witness by itself. When the Church takes its responsibility seriously to bear witness to the truth of Scripture it is fulfilling its mission in the world.

In the U. S. we have tended to let the state bear witness so we would not have to. Then when the state refuses to prop up our notions of morality, we rant and rave about decline of values in America. I wonder what would happen if instead of unleashing angry rhetoric we simply and effectively lived out our values.

2. Nothing changes about the mission of the church.
Ed Stetzer, president of Life Way Research said it this way, “Gay marriage is now legal. The sky has not fallen, churches have not been padlocked, and we must live on mission.” In reality, the decision changes nothing about the mission of the church. We are still to make disciples of Jesus Christ. That is important to remember.
I remember seeing an interview with a Chinese online entrepreneur. He was asked, don’t you worry about that the government’s internet restrictions will hurt your business? He said he chose to focus on the things he could do and not on the things he couldn’t do.

The same sentiment exists in churches all over the world who are persecuted for their faith. In the face of persecution, the church is still the church and the church bears witness to Jesus Christ who is the Lord of the world. The Supreme Court’s decision does not prevent us from doing what God has called us to do, bearing witness to Jesus Christ.

3. The Law of the land is not necessarily the moral vision of the NT
The Early church understood this better than we do. In the Roman empire there were many acceptable practices that the early church found unethical. Whether it was same sex relationships, the exposure of infants, slavery, prostitution, or gladiatorial games. The church found itself in a society that accepted practices which flew in the face of their moral understandings. Yet, as the church lived out its commitment to the moral vision of Scripture, they bore witness to a different way of life and had a profound impact on society. And the same thing can happen today. What if we expended the same amount energy on making our marriages and relationship better as we expended decrying the fact that the state doesn’t support our moral vision?

As Christians we cannot expect the state to uphold our moral values, so we should not be surprised when the state creates laws that are in conflict with the moral principles we hold. In a fallen, world it is vitally important that we as Christians live out a New Testament morality. We don’t do it, not to transform society, we do it because we have made Jesus Christ the Lord of our lives. And just maybe, by doing that we will make a difference even in a fallen world.

Pastor Alan