“Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
(Matthew 5:10)
For two thousand years,
Christians have been persecuted in many places all over the world for teaching
and practicing their faith. This is not
new. And news sources are telling us of
places where Muslim radicals are giving Christian believers an ultimatum today which
amounts to “Convert or die!” Many are
dying for their faith. Strangely
however, a similar ultimatum is about to be presented to Christians in the
United States. Changes in the law are
mandating that believers violate their consciences and their faith or suffer a
variety of consequences. The truth is
that the First Amendment to our Constitution was adopted some 225 years ago to
prevent such a situation by guaranteeing the “free exercise” of religion. Unfortunately the political events of recent
years have worked tonegate that guarantee and will soon force Christians to
choose between obeying God and obeying the government. Is there not a way to reverse the course of
the ship of state and avoid the imminent collision of religion and government?
The issue that is producing this
conflict is the proposal by progressives to re-define marriage to include the
union of homosexual “lovers.” Marriage
has always had a logical and needful definition making two people of the
opposite sex into one legally for many reasons, and nations of all times and
places have historically recognized this traditional and rational
definition. The viewpoint of
civilization has been consistent about what marriage is. But in recent years, when laws that
reaffirmed the traditional definition of marriage were adopted by the people of
certain states, they were called by opponents in the media “bans on same-sex
marriage.” This label of course was
misleading. You might as well speak of a
“ban on the jackalope.” Of course, there
is no such thing as the jackalope, and so there cannot be a ban on the
species. A list of animals native to a
certain region cannot be said to ban the jackalope if that mythical creature is
not on the list! Likewise there is no
such thing in our society as same-sex “marriage,” and so a law defining marriage
in the time-honored way ought not reasonably to be called a “ban” on faulty
definitions. The effect of these laws is
to discard false definitions by affirming the right one, but labeling them as
bans on homosexual marriage gives the impression that they bring a form of
persecution to a segment of the population.
The laws simply fortify the right definition of marriage against the
attacks of the irrational. They do not
take away anybody’s rights. Contrary to the
misleading propaganda, it is not the homosexual community that is being
persecuted.
When the law calls for the
acceptance of these “marriages,” those whose religion prevents them from
recognizing or accepting them will suffer persecution. Already Christian business-owners have been
run out of business for refusing to cater “gay weddings.” How will the revision of civil-rights laws to
cover the interests of same-sex couples affect consistent Christians? Will there be fines, penalties, or jail time
for those who refuse to recognize same-sex marriages as marriages or
participate in same-sex weddings? Will the
changes in the law bring churches into legal trouble that teach and practice
the Bible? The Bible condemns homosexual
activity as sinful, just as it condemns heterosexual acts committed out of
wedlock.
“Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of
their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: who changed
the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than
the Creator, who is blessed for ever.
Amen.
“For this cause God gave them up unto vile affection: for even their
women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: and
likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their
lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and
receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.”
(Paul’s Epistle to
the Romans, Chapter one, verses 24 through 27)
Bible-believing Christians cannot
go against the teaching of scripture, no matter what the government tells them
to do, or not to do. Look up Acts 5:29. The Christians have no choice.
Will ministers who decline to
perform same-sex marriage ceremonies be denied the right to perform other
weddings? Will churches with policies
against homosexual activity or same-sex marriage lose tax-exemption or
incorporation? How many churches in the
United States will fold under the burdens the new anti-Christian public policy
will bring upon them?
Somewhere this week ISIS will
demand that a Christian renounce his faith, or die. Someday soon Christians in our country will
be told to abandon their religion or suffer serious consequences. “Progressive” activists don’t seem to
understand that a person with religious convictions cannot just change! In order to accept same-sex marriage, the
Christian must reject the divine origin and authority of scripture. In order to do that, he must reject the teachings
of Jesus Christ, his Lord and Savior. He
must recant his faith in order to make the change. And a Christian cannot do that.
True believers in Christ will not
shrink from suffering for Him, but do Americans want to make them suffer? Is it the will of the people that large
numbers of decent citizens suffer for their faith in the Land of the Free? Some think that the trouble caused for
Christiansby progressive politics is a matter of unintended consequences,
collateral damage. Others suppose that
the suppression of Biblical Christianity is actually a goal of powerful progressives,
and that believers are in the cross-hairs of their sites. Whatever the truth is about why this is
happening, the ugly face of religious persecution is coming quickly to America,
disguised as tolerance and equality, and only Americans can stop it.
“If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him
glorify God on this behalf.”
(First Peter 4:16)
Dr. Rick Flanders
Revival Ministries
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