Scripture Reading: Mark 6:17-29
All "Marriages" Are Not Equal
Intro.
1. The gospel call goes out to every sinner, saving some, Acts 10:34-35.
2. God’s people must rise up and challenge the destruction of marriage that is taking place before our eyes. (Morally and legally)
a. President Obama has announced the Justice Dept will not defend DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act: Federal gov’t defines marriage as a “legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife”).[i]
b. WA State Referendum 71 (2009) confirmed Senate Bill 5688 extending the rights and obligations of domestic partners in WA.[ii]
c. WA now legally recognizes SSM contracted in other states.[iii]
3. Will not stop here (pushing for SSM here; consistency will have to include others):
a. Polygamy (polygyny): Plural wives (Mormonism, Islam).[iv]
b. Gov’t approves adulterous remarriages (Matt 19:9; Mk 6:17-18).
c. More and more brethren do, too! (Rom 7:2-3; 1 Cor 7:10-11)
4. Proponents of SSM say there is “no difference” between heterosexual and homosexual marriages; Bible says there are many.
I. BIBLE REVEALS GREAT AND INSURMOUNTABLE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN GOD-ARRANGED AND APPROVED MARRIAGE VS. MAN ARRANGED AND ENDORSED SSM.
A. One is Properly Designated Marriage; the other is an Abomination.
1. Male and female / man and wife: Gen 1:27; 2:18-25.
2. Homosexual relations: Gen 13:13; 19:4-7, 13; Lev 18:22; 20:13.
B. One Honors God and Marriage as He Gave it, while the Other Dishonors God and Defiles Marriage, Heb 13:4.
1. Natural, completing each, Gen 1:27; 2:22-23.
2. SSM (homosexual relations) is against nature, Rom 1:26-27.
C. One Safeguards Moral Purity while the Other Flaunts Sin, 1 Cor 7:2-3.
1. Marriage prevents fornication, Prov 5:15-20; 6:27-29.
2. SSM proliferates fornication, 1 Cor 6:9-10; 1 Ths 4:3-7.
D. One Provides a Balanced, Godly Environment for Rearing Children; the other Brings Sinful Imbalance along with Cries of Discrimination and Pleas for “Acceptance” and “Equality”.
1. Marriage is the framework for home/children, Psa 128:1-4.
2. SSM is, by definition, is out of balance, providing neither an example of God’s order in the home (father and mother) nor a moral foundation for future generations. Prov 14:34
E. One has been the Bedrock of Society for Millennia, while the other is Society’s Undoing.
1. From Adam and Eve, Noah and wife, to current day; the family is the basis from cultural, education, business, etc. flourish.
2. Physiological and psychological (mental health) disorders, etc., Rom 1:27. [v] (HIV and AIDS, disease, suicide is 6 times greater)
F. One is the Pure Expression of True Love; the other Expresses Love’s Counterfeit.
1. Bible love is pure, righteous and rejoices in truth, 1 Cor 13:4-8.
-Christ’s love for the church depicted in marital love, Eph 5:25-29.
2. SSM is not “love”, but the expression of selfish interests disguised as love. Self-seeking, self-fulfilling, self-interested, cf. 2 Tim 3:1-5.
Conclusion
1. Some will say we are intolerant for presenting this lesson; “Hate mongering with hate speech”. (Those who don’t want to be judged quickly do so.)
2. Was John the Baptist hatemonger? Was Paul? (Mk 6:17-18; Rom 1:24-27; 1 Cor 6:9)
3. We cannot call evil good and tolerant sin! Isa 5:20-23
4. Christians must stand up for godly marriages; not distorted and ungodly counterfeits that deceive and destroy souls.
[i] ‘‘Defense of Marriage Act’’ (Sept 21, 1996): ‘In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, or of any ruling, regulation, or interpretation of the various administrative bureaus and agencies of the United States, the word ‘marriage’ means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word ‘spouse’ refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife.’.
[ii] “…in 2009, the (WA, jrp) legislature expanded domestic partnerships once again in the “everything but marriage” bill, which provides the same state rights, responsibilities, and obligations as married spouses, while specifying that domestic partnerships are not marriages.
“Governor Christine Gregoire signed the expanded domestic partnership bill into law on May 18, 2009. However, the law did not go into effect as scheduled because of Referendum 71, an attempt to overturn the law. Referendum 71 qualified for the November 2009 ballot and asked voters to approve or reject the law that the legislature passed. Washington State voters made history by approving Referendum 71 by a margin of 53 percent to 47 percent, becoming the first state to vote in favor of equality.” (“Marriage Equality”, http://tinyurl.com/48ysfos)
[iii] “A couple who is validly married in another jurisdiction, when they come to Washington state, they'll be recognized as having a domestic partnership here,” said Rep. Laurie Jenkins (D-Tacoma), the bill’s primary sponsor.” (Alex Silverman, “Legislature OKs out-of-state gay marriages”, http://tinyurl.com/3f2cc3j)
[iv] Increasingly common, esp. Muslim enclaves in NY, Paris, London. (Rose McDermott, “Polygamy: More Common Than You Think”, Wall Street Journal, A13, 01Apr11). http://tinyurl.com/3jpdddc
[v] “Recent studies show homosexuals have a substantially greater risk of suffering from a psychiatric problems (sic) than do heterosexuals. We see higher rates of suicide, depression, bulimia, antisocial personality disorder, and substance abuse.” (N.E. Whitehead, Ph.D., “Homosexuality and Mental Health Problems”) http://tinyurl.com/o96upa