For the purposes of
this post I would like to stress just one point. I have read several
articles in which opinions from within the pale of Christianity are offered
either for or against same-sex marriage. On the supportive side are sentiments
that express Jesus' love for people who were on the "outside." In
fact, similar notions were hinted at by President Obama, who self-identified as
a Christian in making his remarks. I concur that Jesus' love for those whom the
religious leaders deemed unrighteous is evident in numerous ways, from the
sitting at table with "tax collectors and sinners," to expressing
deep approval for a "sinful woman" who was unabashedly offering
worship at his feet. Time after time he stepped into the midst of sinners and
affirmed their humanity and worth. But we should not mistake his willingness to
love such people as approval for their sin. He says to the sinful woman spoken
of above, "Your sins are forgiven." To the thieving Zacchaeus he
announces that "salvation has come to your house." To the woman
caught in adultery he assures and warns: "Neither do I condemn you, go and
sin no more."
Jesus declared that he
came to heal the unrighteous. He preached about sin and the need for
repentance. He promised that he would shed his blood for the remission of sins.
In these, and numerous other ways, he made his mission clear: he had come to be
the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. One gets the
impression from advocates for same-sex marriage, however, that the only thing
that needs to be done by the church in the name of Jesus is to welcome people
in the door with open arms. The expectation of repentance is never expressed.
Such indifference to sin is not honoring of the person and work of Jesus nor of
the gospel that he preached. Homosexuals are not any more sinful than others,
but neither are they any less sinful. We all need, through the power of Christ,
to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus that we might be saved.
