Monday, July 28th Virginia's district judges overturned Virginia's voter-approved gay-marriage ban. Virginia has now joined other States in which district judges have overturned voter-approved bans on gay marriage. After Virginia's ruling North Carolina's Attorney General was interviewed and said he was watching Virginia closely and will no longer defend a voter-approved same-sex marriage ban in North Carolina. NC Attorney General's statement makes it very likely that within the next three-six months North Carolina will also overturn their gay marriage ban.
We are seeing a movement of states and judges overturning voter approved gay marriage bans and it does not appear as if the tide is going to slow. Below are six principles which churches should implement if they are living in a State where same-sex marriage is legal or if they live in a State (NC) where the Attorney General will no longer defend a voter approved ban.
1) PRAY: Please do not skip over this point. Nothing of eternal significance ever happens apart from prayer. Paul writes to the church at Thessalonica encouraging them to pray without ceasing. We must be people of prayer. We must hit our knees every morning, afternoon, and evening for our cities, states and country. There is an attack on traditional Christian values and nothing will ultimately stop the attack except for prayer. We need God to step in and the only way He will step in is if we ask. Let us commit to praying for our city, state, and Nation.
2) DO NOT WORRY: It is easy to become worried when you watch the news these days. Everything appears to be coming apart at the seams. Paul instructs us not to worry about anything, but in everything make our requests known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. We must remember that regardless of how a judge vote's; God is still on His throne. God is not surprised about the events in our world. He reigns supreme over them and in the end He will be victorious and receive glory. We must remember our God is the living God, nothing takes Him by surprise, He is working everything out for our good and His glory and because of this we do not need to fear when the world appears to be going to Hell.
3) BE BOLD: Christians need to be bold in the face of adversity. In our day and age the battle is over marriage. Christians must be engaging in the battle for marriage. We must be engaged in the battle from our pulpits, our classrooms, our blogs, our social media, and engaged in the battle with our representatives in Washington. We must be writing our Attorney General and encouraging him/her to continue to support a voter-approved ban on gay marriage. Politicians only understand votes, which will get him/her re-elected. We must be writing, emailing, and calling our representatives encouraging them to support a voter-approved ban on gay marriage.
4) CHURCH CONSTITUTION: Pastors, Elders, Deacon, and Church Committees must make sure their church constitution is clear on where they stand on marriage. Churches need to spell out in their constitution whom they will/will not marry. Churches must ensure that every member of their church has signed the church constitution and knows where the church stands on the issue of homosexual marriage. In a court of law a church constitution is viewed as a legal document and will protect churches from being sued or forced by the government to perform a marriage ceremony which goes against their conscience.
5) SERVE HOMOSEXUALS IN LOVE: I realize a lot of people in my generation will read this point and laugh. How can you serve homosexual and tell them that what they are doing is wrong? Christians are called to speak the truth in boldness and love. We are called to love the sinner and hate the sin. The most loving thing we can do as followers of Christ is to implore active homosexuals to turn from their sins to Christ. We must serve them and invite them into our house to share a meal and get to know them and in love we are to share the truth of the Gospel. Society tells us to preach love with no context of truth; but, as Christians, we must share the truth of God's Word and His holiness and use both as the framework of our love. Voter-approved bans and other political actions will never change the heart of a person. An individual needs Christ to have a heart change and the only way to have Christ is to hear about Him from other Christians.
6) PRAY: I know, I know, I am repeating myself, but please understand prayer is the most important activity we can be involved in as a Christian. Nothing of eternal significance ever happens apart from prayer. We must be people of prayer. We must hit our needs every morning, afternoon, and evenings for our cities, States, and Nation. There is an attack on traditional Christian values and nothing will ultimately stop the attack except for God and He will only move if we ask. Let us commit to praying for our cities, States, and Nation.
In conclusion, we are seeing a massive cultural shift in society as judges and attorney generals overturn voter-approved bans on gay marriage. We are living in a scary time, but if we commit to prayer, don't worry, be bold, have a clear church constitution, and serve homosexuals we will see the light of the Gospel shine through and transform hearts. God is not finished with America and it is time for the church to step forward and implement these six principles if they are living in a State which has over-turned a gay marriage ban or they fear the gay marriage ban in their State will be overturned.
We are seeing a movement of states and judges overturning voter approved gay marriage bans and it does not appear as if the tide is going to slow. Below are six principles which churches should implement if they are living in a State where same-sex marriage is legal or if they live in a State (NC) where the Attorney General will no longer defend a voter approved ban.
1) PRAY: Please do not skip over this point. Nothing of eternal significance ever happens apart from prayer. Paul writes to the church at Thessalonica encouraging them to pray without ceasing. We must be people of prayer. We must hit our knees every morning, afternoon, and evening for our cities, states and country. There is an attack on traditional Christian values and nothing will ultimately stop the attack except for prayer. We need God to step in and the only way He will step in is if we ask. Let us commit to praying for our city, state, and Nation.
2) DO NOT WORRY: It is easy to become worried when you watch the news these days. Everything appears to be coming apart at the seams. Paul instructs us not to worry about anything, but in everything make our requests known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. We must remember that regardless of how a judge vote's; God is still on His throne. God is not surprised about the events in our world. He reigns supreme over them and in the end He will be victorious and receive glory. We must remember our God is the living God, nothing takes Him by surprise, He is working everything out for our good and His glory and because of this we do not need to fear when the world appears to be going to Hell.
3) BE BOLD: Christians need to be bold in the face of adversity. In our day and age the battle is over marriage. Christians must be engaging in the battle for marriage. We must be engaged in the battle from our pulpits, our classrooms, our blogs, our social media, and engaged in the battle with our representatives in Washington. We must be writing our Attorney General and encouraging him/her to continue to support a voter-approved ban on gay marriage. Politicians only understand votes, which will get him/her re-elected. We must be writing, emailing, and calling our representatives encouraging them to support a voter-approved ban on gay marriage.
4) CHURCH CONSTITUTION: Pastors, Elders, Deacon, and Church Committees must make sure their church constitution is clear on where they stand on marriage. Churches need to spell out in their constitution whom they will/will not marry. Churches must ensure that every member of their church has signed the church constitution and knows where the church stands on the issue of homosexual marriage. In a court of law a church constitution is viewed as a legal document and will protect churches from being sued or forced by the government to perform a marriage ceremony which goes against their conscience.
5) SERVE HOMOSEXUALS IN LOVE: I realize a lot of people in my generation will read this point and laugh. How can you serve homosexual and tell them that what they are doing is wrong? Christians are called to speak the truth in boldness and love. We are called to love the sinner and hate the sin. The most loving thing we can do as followers of Christ is to implore active homosexuals to turn from their sins to Christ. We must serve them and invite them into our house to share a meal and get to know them and in love we are to share the truth of the Gospel. Society tells us to preach love with no context of truth; but, as Christians, we must share the truth of God's Word and His holiness and use both as the framework of our love. Voter-approved bans and other political actions will never change the heart of a person. An individual needs Christ to have a heart change and the only way to have Christ is to hear about Him from other Christians.
6) PRAY: I know, I know, I am repeating myself, but please understand prayer is the most important activity we can be involved in as a Christian. Nothing of eternal significance ever happens apart from prayer. We must be people of prayer. We must hit our needs every morning, afternoon, and evenings for our cities, States, and Nation. There is an attack on traditional Christian values and nothing will ultimately stop the attack except for God and He will only move if we ask. Let us commit to praying for our cities, States, and Nation.
In conclusion, we are seeing a massive cultural shift in society as judges and attorney generals overturn voter-approved bans on gay marriage. We are living in a scary time, but if we commit to prayer, don't worry, be bold, have a clear church constitution, and serve homosexuals we will see the light of the Gospel shine through and transform hearts. God is not finished with America and it is time for the church to step forward and implement these six principles if they are living in a State which has over-turned a gay marriage ban or they fear the gay marriage ban in their State will be overturned.
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