The following interviews consider important sides of the same-sex marriage discussion from a Christian perspective.
Table of Contents
- Same-Sex Marriage and the Biblical View of Marriage
- How Did Jesus Address Homosexuality?
- Christians and the Acceptance of Same-Sex Marriage
- Christian Parents' Response if a Child Chooses a Homosexual Lifestyle
Why Can't Same-Sex Marriage Be Included in the Biblical View of Marriage?
Interview with Daniel Akin
The following is a transcript of the video above, edited for readability.
The Bible really is pretty clear when it comes to a definition of marriage. God established in the beginning that it was not good that a man would be alone. He said he would make him a helper who would perfectly compliment him, and he brought to the man a woman. So a biblical definition of marriage is really pretty simple. It is a covenantal relationship entered into by a man and a woman whereby they pledged love, loyalty and fidelity in a public ceremony for life. That is what the biblical definition of marriage is.
So our culture can attempt to redefine it all they want, whether it be in terms of same sex marriage, or and it's coming, polygamous relationships. But the Bible is clear. God's intent from the beginning was a covenantal, monogamous, heterosexual relationship between a man and a woman. So of course, immediately connected to that is our whole idea of sex. I love to tell folks, the Bible teaches very clear like in the Song of Solomon, sex is a good gift from a great God. But that good gift is also a powerful gift and a dangerous gift and for it to be maximally enjoyed, which is God's intent for us, it needs to take place within the covenant of marriage between a man and a woman.
So any type of sexual behavior outside that covenant, the Bible calls sexual immorality and the Bible calls it sin. So that would include premarital sex, that would include extramarital sex like adultery, that would include unnatural sex like homosexuality, lesbianism, bestiality and other type things that we really don't need to talk about.
When I deal with this issue, I like to make it clear that God deems heterosexual sin just as sinful as homosexual sin. So sometimes Christians may even be guilty of going after very aggressively those who are committing sexual sin of a homosexual nature. I would want to quickly add that sexual sin of a heterosexual nature is just as heinous and just as wrong. In fact, when it's heterosexual sin that is adultery, I think God is greatly grieved because you have shattered not only a covenant between a man and a woman, but you've also shattered the glorious picture of Christ and his church, which Ephesians 5 tells us the marriage of a man and a woman is to exemplify and provide a model for.
(Article first published December 12, 2013)
How Did Jesus Address Homosexuality?
Interview with Alistair Begg
Christianity.com: How did Jesus address homosexuality? - Alistair Begg from christianitydotcom on GodTube.
(The following is a transcript of the video above, edited for readability)
First of all, I'm not a fan of "look at all the words that Jesus said in red." I'm not a fan of red letter bibles because it creates the notion that there are parts that we need to pay more attention to and parts that we shouldn't. But we'll leave that aside for now. The fact is that Jesus didn't address every issue that is there for us to tackle ethically, or emotionally, and any other way. The real question is, did Jesus take seriously his Bible?
When Jesus was asked questions in relationship to marriage, what did he use as his basis for response? And the answer is that he used the Torah, he used the early books of Moses, he used Genesis, and he didn't argue about anything on the strength of even the contemporary circumstances of his day. But he says, "This is how this was from the beginning." And the reason it was this way from the beginning is because of who God is, and because of the authority that God possesses, and therefore what God has put together, let not man put asunder. This is something that God has manufactured. So that the issue of marriage, people say, "Well, there's no marriage service in the Bible." No, there isn't a marriage service in the Bible, but the principle is so directly contrary to the contemporary approach.
Now, for this reason, a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. In other words, this is how it goes. Someone who is single is identified in the community as no longer being single, he is then united to his wife. That union with his wife, which is intellectual, and emotional, and physical and everything, bears progeny, bears fruit, bears children in the economy of God, and the culture looks on and says, "Oh, I understand what this is." And for us to turn that upside down and to turn it on its head, whether as a result of heterosexual profligacy, or homosexual agendas, is a violation of what God has said.
And part of the problem of evangelicalism is that now the evangelical church wants to make a big fuss about homosexuality, but it hasn't been prepared to make the big fuss it should have been making about heterosexual sin. That doesn't mean that we can trade one against the other, but the fact of the matter is that it is just as bad for the amount of fornication and craziness to be sort of inculcated within the framework of evangelicalism, as in the sight of God, it's just as bad.
(Article first published August 5, 2013)
How Do Christians Deal with the Rising Acceptance of Same-Sex Marriage?
Christianity.com: How do Christians deal with the rising acceptance of same-sex marriage? - Rena Lindevaldsen from christianitydotcom2 on GodTube.
The following is a transcript of the video above, edited for readability.
You certainly see popular opinion polls every day right now, and more and more public officials coming out supporting same-sex marriage. And so, it seems to be a foregone conclusion. And certainly I've talked to some Christians who think we just need to give up or we need to compromise. And the twofold response to that for me is one, I don't have a right to compromise. I'm called here to fight and defend God's standards, God's truth, we all are as Christians, and until the end, you have to fight for that. And so, you can't give up, you can't compromise. I don't have the right to say, "Well, maybe we'll compromise and give civil unions or domestic partnerships." I can't compromise on something that God has said is unbiblical. I don't have that authority to say "It's okay. Put a stamp of approval on same sex relationships" when God has said it hasn't.
And so as Christians, I think all we can do is in love try to reach out to those struggling with homosexuality. Be very involved in politics, to try to put people in place who understand the biblical definition of marriage. Understand why marriage is important to society, to understand the harm that's been caused in other states and other nations where same-sex marriage has been adopted, and to continue to fight this battle. But even if all of America adopt same-sex marriage, we can't allow ourselves to be silenced and continue to proclaim the truth about what the biblical standard of marriage is to those who are finding themselves in that lifestyle.
(Article published July 30, 2013)
How Should a Christian Parent Respond if a Child Decides to Live a Homosexual Lifestyle?
Christianity.com: How should a Christian parent respond if a child decides to live a homosexual lifestyle? Rena Lindevaldsen from christianitydotcom2 on GodTube.
The following is a transcript of the video above, edited for readability.
I deal a lot in this area with people struggling with homosexuality and the litigation that I've done, and I get a lot of emails from people, Christian families who their children have now suddenly proclaimed to them that they're have same sex attractions, are involved in homosexuality and they're struggling with how to respond to that because they know it's a sin. And we have that balance that we would do with anything else that our children are engaging in that is wrong conduct.
Yeah. On the one hand, they have to know it's wrong. You can't condone something that the Bible clearly says is sinful conduct. But on the other hand, we can't shun them simply because they're engaged in that sinful conduct. Certainly, if they're repentant, you're going to keep them there. You're going to help them and walk alongside them to overcome this. Even if they're staunchly involved in homosexuality, you can't cut off the line of communication. I've seen too many people that that's happened to them, and it actually pushes them further into that lifestyle. And what happens is they have no lifeline, and all they've got is the homosexual gay community who's there and is their friend and is loving to them. And when they might be thinking and having second thoughts about this, they feel like I can't reach back out to my family because they've told me to go away and never come back. And so, it's a fine balance and there's no right answer in every situation, but we've got to realize we represent truth and light, and we have to be there and available for them to reach out to when that time comes that they want to come back and turn back to God.
(Article first published September 24, 2014)
Further Reading:
What Does the Bible Say about Homosexuality?
Can a Person Who Practices Homosexuality Be a Christian?
How Should Christians Respond to Homosexuality?
“Mom, Dad… I’m Gay.” A Christian Parent’s Response
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