Over the past several years, I’ve written quite a lot on marriage. I’ve done so because I believe that marriage is a divine institution established by God between one man and one woman for life. Today the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of gay marriage. The gay community is going to view this as a decision that justifies their view that they are right in their own eyes and that the law of the land favors what they want with their own lives. Here’s the thing– there’s a fundamental difference between being right in the eyes of the law and being right in the eyes of the Lord God, the ultimate Judge.
The Lord God created man in His image and likeness. Man is a sinner by nature and choice. At no point in the history of mankind has a country legalized gay marriage until fairly recently. Some people will now say they can be “gay’ and “Christian” because the law justifies their view. We’ve seen this particular brand of theology already and it’s already been responded to time and time again.
How should Christians respond to the SCOTUS decision? We should respond to this and every other challenge to the biblical definition of marriage by preaching the Word of God and declaring forth God’s vision for marriage between one man and one woman for life. We’ve increasingly seen how the cultural views of traditional biblical values are eroding. Nothing about the decision of the SCOTUS today is surprising. Given their trajectory and how they view and handle the Constitution as a “living document” rather than as the rule of law that they are to uphold, the Supreme Court has truthfully today usurped its Constitutional rights, responsibilities, and privileges.
Christians are called to obey the laws of the land (Romans 13) but supremely to obey God and submit to His law. Governments and nations are filled with leaders who are sinners by nature and choice. These leaders, whether politically elected officials or people chosen for their position by those who are elected are all ultimately accountable to the Lord God Almighty. God is the One who can drive a government official or anyone out of their mind for a season as He did with Nebuchadnezzar. What is needed now more than ever in our country and world are people like Daniel and Joseph — men and women who will refuse to bow the knee to a culture obsessed with consciously violating God’s law and spurning His Word.
The Church is the only institution redeemed through the blood of the Lamb of God Jesus Christ who bled, died, and rose so the Church could be holy and blameless in His sight. The Church has a responsibility in the world to be holy and to proclaim not their opinions but the Word of God. Make no mistake about it friends, things are about to change in our country. The future of marriage in our country has changed. We’ll continue to see this decision bear ungodly fruit for decades to come. What we need more than ever is not to convince people of our position but to remain faithful to the Bible and the gospel of Jesus Christ. That is why Jesus called us to love the Lord with all of our heart, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor. Loving our neighbor comes from the fruit of a heart that has been changed by the gospel.
Some people will cry out and say we’ll there goes our culture. Our God is not surprised by the decision that happened today. Our God is in the heavens and His counsel is perfect and just. Man’s wisdom is foolishness next to the wisdom of God. God uses the foolishness of preaching to bring men and women who are wise in their own eyes to behold the beauty of God in Christ.
Christians have a superior Word in the Bible from our God who never changes. As Christians, we have a mission field literally right outside our front door. Our job is not to convince people of our position. Our job as Christians is to faithfully preach the Word and the gospel. The Lord uses our preaching and our testimony to open people’s eyes and bring them to saving faith. He uses our words and our work to testify to Himself and to expose false teaching and thinking.
Gay marriage is not the start of our country’s downward spiral on this issue. The Lord knows the end from the beginning. He is the rightful ruler and creator of all. Those on the Supreme Court who voted against the traditional definition of marriage will be held accountable on the last day for their faithlessness to God. In the meantime, let’s be faithful to Him and declare His Word. Let’s love our neighbor because we truly love God. He will use ordinary you as you are faithful to Him. It may not look like you want and you may not get results, but the answer isn’t to change people’s mind about gay marriage. The answer is to preach the Word faithfully and declare forth that Jesus died in the place of sinners and for their sin so their heart of stone would be replaced with a new heart, with a new identity in Christ, and new affections for the glory of the Risen Christ. The gospel is the only hope for our country and for the world. Let’s truly believe the gospel is good news and proclaim it and live by it to the glory of our Risen Savior Jesus Christ.
Dave Jenkins is happily married to his wife, Sarah. He is a writer, editor, and speaker living in beautiful Southern Oregon. Dave is a lover of Christ, His people, the Church, and sound theology. He serves as the Executive Director of Servants of Grace Ministries, the Executive Editor of Theology for Life Magazine, the Host and Producer of Equipping You in Grace Podcast, and is a contributor to and producer of Contending for the Word. He is the author of The Word Explored: The Problem of Biblical Illiteracy and What To Do About It (House to House, 2021), The Word Matters: Defending Biblical Authority Against the Spirit of the Age (G3 Press, 2022), and Contentment: The Journey of a Lifetime (Theology for Life, 2024). You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, or read his newsletter. Dave loves to spend time with his wife, going to movies, eating at a nice restaurant, or going out for a round of golf with a good friend. He is also a voracious reader, in particular of Reformed theology, and the Puritans. You will often find him when he’s not busy with ministry reading a pile of the latest books from a wide variety of Christian publishers. Dave received his M.A.R. and M.Div through Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.
