We Have Won!

Traditional marriage has suffered a flurry of defeats in the past few years. Several more states, including Washington, New Jersey, and Colorado now allow "gay marriage." This has opened up some high-profile lawsuits: a florist in Seattle has been sued for refusing to sell flowers for a gay wedding, and a photographer in Colorado is being sued for refusing to take photos at a gay wedding.

The Defense of Marriage Act (one of the few laudable accomplishments from President Clinton's regrettable administration) has been all but completely done away with. Phil Robertson (of the uber-popular Duck Dynasty reality show) has been ostracized for anti-gay comments he recently made. A man is legally marrying a woman in a state that does not recognize his out-of-state marriage to another man. (Whaaat?!? I'm sure the liberals are hoping he's not claiming that he's been "cured" of his gay tendencies.) The media and school curriculums continue trying to convince us that same-sex families are just as "normal" as traditional ones. And just recently, an activist judge has ruled Utah's ban on "gay marriage" unconstitutional, ushering in a flood of marriage applications.

As Christians, we are clearly losing the battle for true marriage. So how can I claim that we've won?

The answer is simple: Jesus won the battle against sin and death when He gave Himself as a perfect sacrifice on the cross. The Bible promises us that when He returns, He will do so as a conquering King, who will carry out judgment against all the sinners of this world. So, we do not need to hang our heads in defeat. This world was lost when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, but Christ declared to Pontius Pilate, "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence" (John 18:36).

God's kingdom on this earth is the collection of born-again followers of Jesus Christ. Our duty is to continue to strive to lead individuals to repentance, and while that does include standing up against our culture's embrace of sins like sodomy, promiscuity, and greed, the end-goal is saving souls.

To this end, I will devote my next few posts to presenting logical arguments defending the Biblical view of traditional marriage. The results I leave up to God.

"These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (John 16:33).