When I was in High School I never would have imagined that the United States would be discussing the issues that are being discussed today. I didn’t pay close attention to politics, but I don’t think I am alone in this. I wish that I could just turn away and not pay attention, but these issues have come to the fore and could greatly affect believers very soon.
Homosexuality: The Hot Button Issue That’s Leading The Way
If there’s one single issue out there that is spearheading the destruction of religious liberties it is the issue of homosexuality. Albert Mohler puts it very well when he frames this as a battle between erotic liberty and religious liberty.
“Erotic liberty has been elevated as a right more fundamental than religious liberty. Erotic liberty, foreign to the founders of this nation, now marginalizes, subverts, and neutralizes religious liberty – a liberty highly prized by the builders of this nation and its constitutional order. We must remember that the framers of the Constitution did not believe they were creating rights within the Constitution, but rather acknowledging rights given to all humanity by “nature and nature’s God.””
The article gives incredible insight into the hostile takeover and domination of religious liberty that the the advocates of erotic liberty are participating in. (I will use the term “erotic liberty” throughout the rest of the post. It just seems fitting.) The horrifying thought is that it seems that, in a very real sense, they are winning.
Erotic Liberty Marches On
Many people reading this will blow off what I have just written. But with proof of what I am saying coming more quickly it is only those who are completely blind that can do so with any sort of intellectual honesty. Here are just a few things from the news to prove what I am saying.
On two different occasions, that I know of, there have been tremendous victories of erotic liberty over religious liberty as bakers have been punished for refusing to bake same-sex wedding cakes. Why would they refuse to bake same-sex wedding cakes? Both people cite their convictions from Scripture to be the reason that this is so. They believed homosexuality to be wrong and did not want to participate in any way shape or form in the wedding. They do not want their name tied to that union in any way shape or form. They would rather not make money that day than go against their convictions.
Not only is this something that they believe is written in Scripture, this is what the Church has believed that Scripture has taught for thousands of years. It’s not like this came out of the blue. This is the teaching on homosexuality found in the historic Christian faith, but these bakers had to face the wrath of erotic liberty’s march on religious liberty. One lady lost her bakery in the matter. And another person was forced to make the cakes and undergo sensitivity training after it was over.
This is not the only thing that is going on. Vaguely written anti-discrimination laws are popping up all over the country. They are vague enough to be a real problem for religious liberty. In Houston they laws were vague enough that the mayor thought it was acceptable to subpoena some of the pastor’s sermons to make sure that the content was up to snuff.
This, personally, scares me. I have dedicated my life to teach and preach God’s Word. The problem is that I am young in the ministry. There is a lot of time left for things to go downhill for folks in my profession.
Someday, I am going to be preaching about what marriage is in Genesis 2. The marriage given there is used as the standard for what all marriages are to be like later. When I preach that in a few years will I face new anti-discrimination laws that are vague enough to have me fined or taken to prison for a bit? When I get to passages about Sodom and Gomorrah and the destruction that comes from God because of homosexuality and other sins (Genesis 19; Ezekiel 16:49; Jude 1:7), will I face vague anti-discrimination laws that allow for someone to review my sermon and give me a court date? When I teach on marriage from Jesus’ discussions on marriage, will I face the wrath of erotic liberty as I teach that only one man and one woman can be married (Matthew 19 as Jesus references Genesis 2). When I begin preaching in Romans and find Paul teaching about homosexuality as sin in the very first chapter, will I be hauled away for saying what is there (Romans 1:18-32)? When I am preaching through the Book of Ephesians and discuss Paul’s understanding of marriage as quoted from Genesis 2, will I face penalties for doing so? If a baker gets in trouble for not baking a cake what kind of trouble will I be in for simply reading 1 Corinthians 6:9-11 or 1 Timothy 1:8-11?
In Arkansas, my home, an attempt has been made to keep things like this from happening. To my knowledge, it has been met with much harsh criticism. To be honest, I’m not sure how long it will last. What I know is that these events are signalling the victory of erotic liberty over religious liberty.
As a side note, in normal everyday occurrences there is no one who should be discriminated against, this includes homosexuals. But the problem has become a problem of whose rights is it okay to violate. Many Christians, myself included, do not believe that your Christianity gets left at the door of the church when you leave. It affects everything that you say and do. And here the choice is a tough one to make. And in their tough choice they have decided that they did not want their name tied to a homosexual union because of what they read in Scripture. It would be wrong to discriminate on a normal every day occurrence. That is a confusing side note that I hope people will think through.
A Dire Warning
A few years ago I watched a video of Paul Washer discussion persecution that he believed was coming to America. Apparently I remembered it because as I was thinking through these issues it came to my mind. Here it is.
In what seems to me to be a rather accurate way of discussing current events even though this is from around 5 years ago. Now, this is not what I hope will happen. I hope that things slow down a bit, but it is a warning to us. We need to be prepared. We need to be prepared for the worst.
Preparation
Things seem to be working toward what Paul Washer discussed a few years ago. This is terrifying news. But it does allow us time to think about what we need to do with our lives in the mean time. Here are a few thoughts of my own.
- Love people. Without being loving toward people our preaching will seem like bullying people with the Bible.
- Love God and love people enough to tell them the truth. It is not enough to simply come beside people and help them. They need God’s Word delivered to them. It is His life giving Word and without it they will perish.
- Learn and think about God’s Sovereignty. God is in control of all things. He does all that He pleases. And God is working all things for good. If Christians don’t know this then this world can become an incredibly scary place. But if they do know it they will be able to walk through the incredibly scary waters that may soon come.
- Treasure Christ enough to do what is right no matter what the cost. This may be the most important piece of advice that I could ever give anyone. If you love the world, the praise of the world, and the culture more than Christ then you will not lose your life for His sake. But if you do treasure Him above all things then you can face the oncoming wrath of erotic liberty and its march to dominate religious freedom.
R. Dwain Minor
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