Yes or No? Reflections on the Marriage Plebiscite
The High Court has now ruled that the postal plebiscite on marriage can proceed, so how should Christians vote? Let’s unpack some of the issues in this debate.
Firstly we must acknowledge that Christians have been at fault in singling out same sex relationships for special criticism. We have spoken harshly of homosexuality as the most disgusting sin while going soft on other sins perhaps closer to home (eg heterosexual sin, anger, pride, greed, judging). This does not reflect Biblical truth, which teaches us that ALL have sinned and equally fall short of God’s standards. ALL of us are saved by God’s grace alone. Yet we have been guilty of speaking without grace about (or to) same-sex attracted people.
Secondly, many Christians have erred in the opposite extreme, claiming that same-sex relationships are now permissible for Christians. However the Bible is very clear that any sex apart from a heterosexual marriage relationship is wrong in God’s eyes. God’s word clearly sets out the way of Christ for anyone who would follow him. Marriage is an exclusive union between a man and a woman and Christians should marry only Christians. This marriage relationship is the only proper place for sex. As Christians we strive to obey our good and loving Creator, and we also experience the need for our Saviour’s grace and forgiveness as we aim to walk in his ways. So regardless of how our society decides to define marriage, it is the Bible which clearly outlines God’s ways for Christians.
As God is good and infallible we also know that his ways for humankind are the best way for anyone to live. Yet the overwhelming majority in our society do not know God or desire to follow his ways. Of course many non-Christians embrace Biblical marriage as a good, moral and helpful way to live. Yet morality and faithfulness in marriage will not save them from hell. Only faith in Jesus can do that. When we are only heard advocating Christian morality for all society and expecting people to agree with and submit to this morality before they even know the Lord Jesus, we run the very real danger of miscommunicating the gospel. As anyone attempting to communicate the gospel to a non-Christian knows, the most common Australian secular view is that what gets us right with God is ‘being good’. Living in a faithful heterosexual marriage is often seen as earning points with God. Yet the gospel tells us that we’ll never be good enough. Only faith in the saving death of Jesus in our place can make us right with God. There is often anger against the Christian message in our society because we have forced morality on people without them first knowing Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. We know how hard Biblical living is for us Christians – and we have understood the gospel and are indwelt by God’s Spirit! Imagine how foreign the Christian expectation is for those who are not yet followers of Jesus. We need to focus on preaching the gospel of truth and grace to our society, not on imposing Christian lifestyle on those who have no reason or ability yet to please God.
How then do we stand for something we value, while at the same time seeking to communicate the gospel of grace to those who live and think differently from us?(see 1 Peter 2:10-12) This is a question every Christian in this world must consider daily, whether we live in a democratic society or not.
Let us firstly remember our true goal. For Christians, the heart of any debate is that people need above all to know Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. Deut 32, our sermon passage last week, showed that God actually allowed his own people Israel to follow their false gods. He then exposed the emptiness of these idols in order that they would return to him. Notice God did not prevent even his own people from making bad social decisions, let alone the Gentile nations around them, and many suffered the consequences. Yes, Biblical marriage is best for society, but the main game here is that people know Jesus, not that they live moral lives, for morality can never save us. (continued next week) Rick