For those of us who hold a Biblical worldview, the mix of sadness, grief and anger over the redefining of marriage by the Supreme Court has been profound and is certainly appropriate. These emotions are much different than the trivial feelings caused by the sting of “losing.” They are more akin to the deep grief associated with death. We mourn because we know what has actually happened—and what is coming. Through this ruling, America took one step closer toward the death of our God-given destiny and greatness. As respected Pastor and Revivalist John Kilpatrick points out in a recent video, we are now an apostate nation. [1]
Although Dutch Sheets Ministries has never endorsed a candidate or political party, I did issue a warning regarding the Supreme Court during the election of 2008. While I had concerns about both major party candidates, now-President Obama’s stand on abortion and other moral and legal issues led me to believe his Supreme Court appointments could cause great damage. I warned, in fact, that the true spoils of the election, regardless of who won, would be the shaping of the Supreme Court for many years to come. Sadly, this has proven to be true. Though President Obama has done much personally to take the nation in directions I disagree with and mourn over, I believe what has just happened through the Court will prove to be the most destructive part of his legacy. We have just experienced this generation’s “Roe v. Wade.”
In an article published by The Daily Signal, Canadian Dawn Stefanowicz gives us a shocking but eye-opening report of the true fallout, based on what occurred when Canada went down this path. Lance Wallnau of The Lance Learning Experience also points out clearly what is coming. [2, 3]
But as disheartening as this ruling was, and as appropriate as it is to grieve, it does us no good at this point to vent and rage. The real questions are: “What happens now?” and “Where do we go from here?” As we ponder this, here are five thoughts to consider.
1) The Bible is still God’s standard.
A watered-down gospel and a largely Bible-less church have given way to a generation of Americans who believe there is no true standard for life and morality. Relativism (no absolutes) and humanism (self-rule, as opposed to God’s) have taken over our nation, including much of the church. When our nation embraced this philosophy, the Bible became merely a historical book of “suggestions,” and the Constitution became nothing more than a historical document of old “ideas.” Both became “outdated” sets of values, appropriate for generations past, but not relevant for today. Therefore, we needed to create our own guidelines, beliefs and boundaries, which, of course, would always need to be evolving.
The problem with all of this is that in reality, a changing standard is no standard. This has led to mooring-less chaos, unbridled sin, lawlessness, and rebellion. As occurred in Israel’s early history, most Americans are now doing what is right in their own eyes (Judg. 21:25). America is adrift in the devastating sea of self-desire, self-adulation and self-rule.
But the beauty and strength of absolute truth is that it will always be true—and relevant. One always knows what to expect when dealing with absolutes; boundaries never change, solutions always work. Like a strong foundation, truth can be trusted. Relativism, on the other hand, makes life one long experiment. True Christianity believes the truth and absolutes we need are found in God’s Word, the Bible. And the Bible still teaches that marriage is between one man and one woman (Gen. 1:27-28; 2:21-24; Matt. 19:4-5). It also states that any form of sex outside of that relationship—adultery, heterosexual sex, homosexual sex, incest, bestiality, etc.—is sin. This is how the Scriptures have always read, how they will read 10,000 years from now, and for those of us with a biblical worldview, this is what we will always believe. (For a great summary of biblical passages related to the many facets of this decision, you may want to read the statement from Dallas Theological Seminary.)[4]
