The Battle for Marriage...What It Really Means

By Pastor Gough, 16-May-2012 15:39:00

Let's get this straight at the outset: no opinion of any President, no referendum of the people of any state, and not even a proposed amendment to the United State Constitution are able to define marriage that in anyway usurps the one given by the Creator of marriage and found in the first two chapters of Genesis:
"So God created man in his own image. In the image of God he created him; male and female he created them" (Genesis 1:27).
"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh" (Genesis 2:24).
Our Lord Jesus reiterated those words, and added His own postscript:
"At the beginning the Creator 'made them male and female...So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate" (Matthew 19:4-6).
Clearly the divinely-stated pattern of marriage involves one man and one woman for all of life. The changing norms of culture do not alter this most basic of all societal institutions. It is utterly blasphemous to try and reinterpret (or worse to reject outright) that which God has ordained to be. Its violation requires repentance and asking for mercy from a holy and righteous God.
Our President recently said that his position on gay and lesbian marriages has "evolved" to the point where he believes that these couples should have the right to wed. To his discredit, he even cited Bible verses (far out of context, I might add) to support his views.
More fundamental to the point is that this is not really a matter of gay marriage. Rather the issue is a thinly-veiled disguise designed to promote a lifestyle that stands diametrically opposed to the Word of God. Anyone who is able to use Scripture to support homosexual behavior is guilty of placing one's own slanted interpretation over the crystal clear declaration of what God has said (read 2 Peter 1:20).
For example, in the Lord's most stunning condemnation of sin found anywhere in the New Testament, Paul seems to single out homosexual practices:
"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it known to them...men are without excuse...Therefore God gave them over in the sinful impulses of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another...God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion" (Romans 1:18-27).
There isn't any way that one can interpret this passage, apart from a preconceived personal bias, to mean anything other than God's extreme displeasure at sexual perversion of any kind. That Paul makes mention of homosexual behaviors in particular does not isolate them from other sexual sins, but the observation is noteworthy in light of the present discussion.
The debate over "alternative lifestyles" has raged in our culture for several decades. Politicians, the media, and an increasingly liberalized clergy have succeeded in persuading a large segment of the population that the gay and lesbian lifestyle is acceptable. In fact, for those so inclined, it is considered "normal." What's more, transgenders and bisexuals have allied themselves to the cause and created a strong political lobby.
We are informed by some that this is a "civil rights" issue. It is not! Fundamentally it was, is, and will remain a biblical one. Social norms come and go...God's Word abides forever. He is the Lord...we are not...and He does not change! If I were an African-American, I would be deeply offended by those who balance the crusade for gay rights with the Blacks' centuries-long battle to be recognized as racially-equal. Any parallels between the two causes are contrived.
It breaks my heart that a number of my fellow-pastors and their churches, rather than standing strongly and unashamed on God's revealed truth, are instead now labeling themselves as "affirming" and "inclusive" to gays, to the point of marrying them in once-sacred sanctuaries and ordaining them to ministerial posts. In the name of "love," they have sacrificed truth. The two must operate in harmony. Truth at the expense of love becomes legalism; but love at the expense of truth becomes license.
The President has been so bold as to state his position. As Bible-believing Christ-followers, we must be assured of our own, and not cower from doing the same.

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Christian Athletes as Role Models: Is It a Holy Alliance?

By Pastor Gough, 09-May-2012 23:29:00

What follows is in response to Michael Horton's recent article, posted on the Washington Area Coalition of Men's Ministry website (see http://www.wacmm.org/muscular-christianity-by-michael-horton.html?utm_source).
I appreciate Michael Horton's piece on "Muscular Christianity" and trust that it will help to begin the process of clarifying the relationship between sports and Christianity. It seems that whenever an athlete mentions the Lord in a post-game interview or lays claim to being a Christian, both the media and the Christian community sit up and take notice. This carries with it the potential for creating both positive and negative effects upon the cause of Christ.
A number of more qualified individuals than I have debated and written about this issue for several years. In 2000, when I initiated an academic program leading to a degree in Sports Ministry at the college where I taught, admittedly I began looking for Christian athletes to serve as "role models." My search resulted in both blessings and disappointments. Not every athlete who professes faith in Jesus Christ is necessarily ready to be paraded about as a "Christian poster child" any more than is the average church member.
Admittedly, my "spiritual juices" get stirred when I hear of an athlete's relationship with Christ. Tim Tebow, Jeremy Lin, and other lesser knowns who "play for Jesus" have energized many of us to be bolder in sharing our own faith in the gym or around the water cooler. But for every Tebow or Lin, whose testimonies appear to be clear, there are lesser mature athletes whose off-the-field (as well as sometimes on-the-field) behaviors result in "mixed messages," especially to younger aspiring athletes who look up to them. I have actually had to apologize to my students for holding up a particular athlete after discovering that he has fathered children out of wedlock with different women while, at the same time, openly sharing his "faith in Christ."
Let's face it, even Christians tend to be "hero worshipers," and it is often the "athlete" part and not the "Christian" part that appeals to us. Name recognition, especially in sports, can be a big drawing card. But we need to ask, "What is the message that crowd will take with them when they leave?" More often than not, or so it seems, that message is a confused one.
We need to pray for any and every athlete who comes out for Christ, but they need to be discipled before being "turned loose" on the public. The lure of fame and all of its perks is a hard-to-risk temptation for them, and if a Christian athlete should fall, the media is all over it and those who admire them are disillusioned. To indiscriminately place Christian sports personalities on the covers of Christian magazines only increases their vulnerability. I am a supporter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, but I fear that ministry is not always as discerning as it needs to be in who they feature in their publications. We need to remember that our Lord's Great Commission is that we make disciples (Matthew 28:19) and not just decisions, and I'm not sure that the great majority of professing Christian athletes are ready for that role.
As for us, as hard as it is to do at times, our eyes need to remain fixed on Jesus...and Him alone (Hebrews 12:2). All men--even the most Godly of Christian athletes--have feet of clay. Jesus alone is our consistent example. To paraphrase Paul, it should not be "I am of Tebow" or "I am of Lin" (or any other man), but "I am of Christ." I am grateful for those who are able to use their athletic platform to make Christ known, but I have learned to tread carefully in pointing others to them, knowing that all of them are flawed...just like I am.
Perhaps the best advice in this regard is found in Paul's words: "Follow my example, as (or only to the extent that) I follow the example of Christ" (1 Corinthians 11:1).

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