Today I was thinking about a sermon I heard back on the 4th of July. The pastor indicated that as Christians we shouldn't complain about our leaders, instead we should support our government leaders and pray for them. While I do agree we should support them as best we can and definitely we should pray for them, at what point do we quit supporting them? America was founded as a Christian nation, but there's no denying the Declaration of Independence was an act of treason against the English crown.
Thinking about this has led me to some conclusions about the true responsibility of a Christian. While we are citizens of the nation in which we live, our real citizenship isn't America or Germany or South Africa or China, it's Heaven.
While we can and must maintain participation in the community of humanity in order to provide witness to everyone for Christ, we needn't concern ourselves so much with the laws of the land that get passed (homosexual marriage for instance), though we should continue to effect the process so government coincides with biblical teaching when possible. Rather, we should concern ourselves more with winning our lawmakers and judges to Christ and electing Christian lawmakers/judges and they'll be in the position to pass and maintain godly laws for us all.
Yes, homosexuality is certainly is a sin and shouldn't be condoned, but you cant legislate morality. Jesus said anger is tantamount to murder - should we make anger illegal? The argument that homosexuality is a "worse" sin than anger, or lust, or sticking your tongue out at your mother (disrespecting one's parents) doesn't wash in God's eyes and it shouldn't wash in ours either. Sin is sin, period.
By the same token there should be laws passed expressly giving ministers the right to deny marrying anyone he or she so chooses, for any reason he or she chooses. This is necessary not to keep the homosexual from getting married so much as protect the minister's legal ability to not condone the unbiblical act of a homosexual union. If the minister marries them he is, in effect saying "I believe this to be good in the sight of God." This puts the pastor in the untenable position of going to jail for not marrying them or giving up his ministry. Any other option would be going against the God he vowed to serve. The law hasn't gone down this path quite yet in the U.S., but it has in Canada and several other countries; it's only a matter of time.
The thing I have a problem with regarding homosexuality is the attitude within that community that regards the public school system as a legitimate indoctrination camp whereby they can force their moral agenda onto the children of America and stifle any opposing viewpoint by screaming "separation of church and state!" which isn't even a law much less part of the Constitution like they love to claim.
Thinking about this has led me to some conclusions about the true responsibility of a Christian. While we are citizens of the nation in which we live, our real citizenship isn't America or Germany or South Africa or China, it's Heaven.
While we can and must maintain participation in the community of humanity in order to provide witness to everyone for Christ, we needn't concern ourselves so much with the laws of the land that get passed (homosexual marriage for instance), though we should continue to effect the process so government coincides with biblical teaching when possible. Rather, we should concern ourselves more with winning our lawmakers and judges to Christ and electing Christian lawmakers/judges and they'll be in the position to pass and maintain godly laws for us all.
Yes, homosexuality is certainly is a sin and shouldn't be condoned, but you cant legislate morality. Jesus said anger is tantamount to murder - should we make anger illegal? The argument that homosexuality is a "worse" sin than anger, or lust, or sticking your tongue out at your mother (disrespecting one's parents) doesn't wash in God's eyes and it shouldn't wash in ours either. Sin is sin, period.
By the same token there should be laws passed expressly giving ministers the right to deny marrying anyone he or she so chooses, for any reason he or she chooses. This is necessary not to keep the homosexual from getting married so much as protect the minister's legal ability to not condone the unbiblical act of a homosexual union. If the minister marries them he is, in effect saying "I believe this to be good in the sight of God." This puts the pastor in the untenable position of going to jail for not marrying them or giving up his ministry. Any other option would be going against the God he vowed to serve. The law hasn't gone down this path quite yet in the U.S., but it has in Canada and several other countries; it's only a matter of time.
The thing I have a problem with regarding homosexuality is the attitude within that community that regards the public school system as a legitimate indoctrination camp whereby they can force their moral agenda onto the children of America and stifle any opposing viewpoint by screaming "separation of church and state!" which isn't even a law much less part of the Constitution like they love to claim.
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