Homosexual Marriages

Many Christians are upset about the ruling by the supreme court of the United States that homosexual marriages are now legal in all states. Perhaps many Christians are upset because they do not understand the Biblical principle of marriage. Adam and Eve did not go down to the local court house and get a marriage license and then seek out a pastor to marry them. That is not the way that a Biblical marriage works. That is the way that a legal marriage works. Man requires witnesses, licenses, and officiators, God does not. A few years ago, I wrote an article about the Biblical definition of marriage. That article can be read here. In short, a Biblical marriage takes place at consummation. This is when two people are joined in a way that can never be undone. A signed marriage license can be ripped up and tossed out in the garbage. However, when two people lay with each other, they become one in ways that science can still not fully explain. Anyone who has ever contracted an incurable, sexually transmitted disease can attest to the fact that sexual intimacy truly joins people together forever in a way that a piece of paper never can. God does not require a license nor does He recognize it.

Jesus Christ stated “Mar 10:9 What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” So called “traditional” marriage ceremonies are not performed under the authority of God. They are performed under the authority of the state. The Pastor even states this during the ceremony. The officiator of the wedding will say something along the lines of “By the power vested in me by the state of _____, I pronounce you husband and wife.” The power to officiate these weddings comes from the state and not from God. There is no script in the Bible for officiating weddings, and God has not given man the authority to declare whether two people are married or not.

The decision handed down by the supreme court of the United States has nothing to do with Biblical marriage but has everything to do with legal marriage. Keeping a homosexual couple from obtaining a marriage license and becoming legally married, will not keep them from becoming married in the eyes of God. Nor will it keep them from committing sin. Many Christians will not like this, but the Biblical definition for homosexual marriage is the same as the Biblical definition for heterosexual marriage. The difference is that one is a sin, and the other is not. Nevertheless, both are still marriages. The fact that the Biblical definition of marriage is the same for both heterosexual and homosexual marriages is what makes the homosexual marriage a sin. Two people of the same sex obtaining a marriage license and taking part in a ceremony is not a sin. The sin comes when they engage in sexual intimacy. Attempting to keep homosexuals from getting married accomplishes nothing except for building their resentment towards Christianity and God. No matter how right a person’s views are, he or she should not attempt to force his or her views on anyone else. God gives each of us free will.

We are each free to follow God or lead a life of sin. God will never force Himself on anyone. In fact, the Bible is full of examples of God delivering people up to their own lusts. God allowed this decision by the court to take place. This is but one more example of God taking another step away from a nation which has abandoned Him. This nation, including Christians, has little regard for the commandments of God. Perhaps we need to get our own actions in-line with the commandments of God before we start casting stones at those who do not even believe in God and have no desire to follow Him. Perhaps if Christians did a better job of following God’s commandments, then non-believers would see something in us worth emulating rather than something to despise. Many Christians do not even know the 10 commandments and, as a result, do not do a very good job of obeying them. Some feel that at least some of the commandments have been changed. The Catholic Church even has a different set of commandments than what is written in the Bible. Here are the 10 commandments of God as per the King James Bible along with something to consider concerning each one:



1. Exo 20:3 Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

Consider: Many self-described Christians use horoscopes, fortune tellers, palm readers, Ouija boards, and engage in rituals associated with other gods like yoga, Christmas, Easter and Halloween among others.

2. Exo 20:4 Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: Exo 20:5 Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; Exo 20:6 And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

Consider: Many self-described Christians venerate the cross, pray the rosary and pray to the Virgin Mary and also to so-called images of Christ.

3. Exo 20:7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Consider: How often do we hear the name of God taken in vain. How often do we hear self-described Christians use the word “holy” followed by any number of things that are certainly not holy.

4. Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: Exo 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Consider: Anyone can look at a calendar and figure out that the seventh day of the week is Saturday. However, most Christians choose to reject the Lord’s Sabbath and choose to keep Sunday as their man-made Sabbath. Even then, they fail to apply the principles of this commandment to that day.

5. Exo 20:12 Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.

Consider: Many Christian children today have little respect for their parents because their parents have not taught them based upon Biblical principles.

6. Exo 20:13 Thou shalt not kill.

Consider the words of Christ: Mat 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: Mat 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Mat 5:23 Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Mat 5:24 Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

7. Exo 20:14 Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Consider: Christians often do not have a Biblical understanding of marriage; therefore, they do not even realize when they have committed adultery. Christians often have sexual partners before having a legal marriage. Each of those sexual partners is a Biblical marriage. Each additional sexual partner is then an act of adultery. Furthermore, the words of Christ tell us that lustful thoughts are also adultery.

Mat 5:27 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: Mat 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Christ also tells us that divorce is often the cause of adultery. However, divorce is rarely even taught against in many churches today.

Mat 5:31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: Mat 5:32 But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

8. Exo 20:15 Thou shalt not steal.

Consider: Usury is a form of theft. How many Christians have interest bearing accounts? How many Christians commit theft while still remaining within the bounds of man-made laws through trickery, deception and unscrupulous acts such as pyramid schemes, and other unethical business practices?

9. Exo 20:16 Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Consider: How many of us have never told a lie?

10.Exo 20:17 Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's.

Consider: Covetousness often leads to a need to “keep up with the Joneses”, and also often leads people into debt.

As Christians, we must focus on ensuring that we are following the commandments of God. We must forget about attempting to force Christianity on people who do not care about God. We must forget about trying to force others to stop sinning. We have enough trouble keeping ourselves from sin without worrying about what the secular world is doing. We must encourage one another. We must do what we can to remove temptations for others, whenever possible, by living simpler lives and by dressing ourselves and our children modestly. We must promote truth and reject lies and deceit. We must stop Christian children from being taught lies such as evolution which will lead them away from God. We must educate ourselves in sound science which does indeed support the Biblical creation account. Then we can counter the onslaught of anti-Biblical teaching that permeates our society. We must learn to ignore the weekly issues that the media promotes in an effort to inflame the public. We must not allow ourselves to be carried away by every wind of doctrine that passes by. We must study our Bibles so that we become grounded in the Bible and understand Biblical principles such as marriage. Finally, we must endeavor to embody the example that Christ left for us to follow. Judgment begins at the house of God.

1Pe 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 1Pe 4:18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?