I appreciate and support 100% the church’s opposition to the sin of homosexual marriage. Homosexuality in all of its forms is a sin and God does not recognize so- called homosexual marriages. This battle, however, was lost long before the issue of homosexual marriage in the church was even dreamed of.
The unstoppable downward spiral There has been a downward moral spiral in the church as it pertains to both gender roles and marriage. This downward spiral, resulting in the current debate on homosexual marriages, has in no way bottomed out. The impotence of the modern protestant church in the face of this moral freefall has its origins in the same unwillingness to deal with the sins that kick-started this decadent digression. What the church now wants is for the slide to stop without her having to repent and return to the moral standards of the Bible. The church wants to back up this degradation one notch – homosexual sins. God, however, will have none of this. Instead, the church will have to return to God’s original, literal, scriptural standard of gender roles and marriage in the heterosexual population. The church wants a little sin, just not this much sin, to be tolerated in her congregations. This, however, is not possible. The degradation of gender roles and marriage knows no arbitrary stopping point. Once begun, it digresses into total and absolute depravity, as is now evident--not only in the world but in the protestant church itself.
The Nine Heterosexual Gender Sins of the Protestant Church 1. Ignoring Biblical gender distinctions in the ministry of the church. Gender-specific passages such as I Timothy 2:11-14 are being set aside. With the loss of obedience to these gender-specific passages, the church should not be surprised that other disobedience soon followed. 2. The abandonment of the prohibition against marrying non-Christians and the acceptance of “marriage-altar conversions.” It is unheard of for a son or daughter of a prominent family in the church to be refused the use of the church for a wedding because of a questionable testimony of the fiancé. A simple assertion by the bride or groom that their fiancé was/is/has become a Christian is enough. If not, then a sudden “conversion” takes place. The concept that this brand new Christian is not spiritually mature enough to marry is not even discussed. 3. The acceptance of divorce and remarriage. Even if a church takes a brave stand on this issue, it is superseded by a universal decision that “shuffling” of these couples is acceptable. You can divorce, remarry, join a sister church, go through divorce recovery and be back in your own church or a similar one within a year or two. 4. The loss of gender roles in appearance is completely accepted. You will not find anyone preaching on this in the protestant church today. Despite the clear teachings of the Bible on gender-specific appearance in terms of hair, dress and lifestyle, there is silence from the pulpit. 5. The failure to exercise church discipline for pre-marital and extra-marital sex by heterosexuals makes the Protestant church’s obsession with the sin of homosexual promiscuity hypocritical. 6. The move from divorce prevention to divorce recovery has included the avoidance of any reference to divorce and remarriage as sin – either from the pulpit or in the small group Bible study class. Rather than a stern warning that the violation of the marriage covenant is a grievous sin that will be met with church discipline, a couple can be assured that no matter the sin, they will be invited to a “divorce recovery class,” where they can meet and date other divorcees and eventually marry one of them. 7. Serial monogamy is commonplace in today’s church. It is not the rule but certainly not uncommon to find men and women in the church on their second, third or even fourth marriage. 8. Celibate homosexuality is now openly discussed as an alternative to the homosexual lifestyle. Is there any wonder, in the face of these compromises, that the condoning of celibate homosexuality is now becoming commonplace in the protestant church? 9. This will, of course, lead ultimately to acceptance of monogamous homosexual marriages. It will be very difficult for a pastor to allow open disobedience in a host of Biblical passages concerning heterosexual appearance, conduct and marriage and, then, hold homosexuals to passages from the same Bible, often the same chapter.
Homosexuals can rightly argue that the heterosexual church discriminates against them by selectively enforcing Biblical sexual and marriage bans. The church has only itself to blame for this sorry state. The word of God does not discriminate in terms of the hierarchy of sexual sins as practiced in the modern protestant church. Passages such as 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 lump homosexual and heterosexual sins together. “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.” In passages such as this, God does not lower the bar of homosexual depravity but raises the bar of heterosexual depravity.
What does the protestant church have to say to the homosexual couple who come for pre-marital counseling? The church may protest that “homosexual marriage is against God’s teaching on the gender roles of the Bible.” But then when they reply… “You ignore the heterosexual gender restrictions placed on leaders in the church in I Timothy 2:11 – 15;” “You ignore the heterosexual gender roles of marriage as commanded in Ephesians 5:22 – 25;” “You ignore gender roles in terms of appearance and dress as commanded in I Corinthians 11:14 & 15 and Deuteronomy 22:5;” Yet “you enforce the gender restrictions for homosexuals in Romans chapter one.”
The church may protest that “homosexuality is against the Word of God in that it is sin” But then they reply… “You marry non-Christians to Christians as forbidden in II Corinthians 6:14 & 15;” “You marry those who are living together as forbidden in I Corinthians 6:9 and Hebrews 13:4;” “You marry those who are promiscuous” – again, I Corinthians 6:9 and Hebrews 13:4 are clear on this issue “You marry those who are divorced and remarried multiple times, even though this is forbidden by Jesus in Mark 10:11 & 12 and Luke 16:18;” “You marry all sorts of people who are violating the injunctions of God, who are actively living in sin, why can’t you marry us?” The same passages in Romans 1 and I Corinthians 6 which forbid homosexual behavior also forbid heterosexual behavior, yet you condemn us while turning a blind eye to them.
The protestant church will have to repent and conform to the clear Biblical teaching concerning the gender roles of leadership in the church and leadership in marriage if it is going to make a gender argument against homosexual marriages. The protestant church will have to repent and stop warehousing marriages of heterosexuals, no matter their current or past sins or include homosexuals in with the long list of unbiblical and sinful marriages it performs every year.
The monogamous homosexual couple can argue that, in terms of both partners and practice, they have been more faithful to one another than many heterosexuals in the church-- both at the time of their marriage and during the time since their marriage. They have a compelling argument of prejudicial behavior, based on the fact that the church is selectively enforcing the prohibition concerning their behavior while, not only turning a blind eye to heterosexual sins but allowing those sinners to hold prominent positions in the church.
I have refused to marry couples because of promiscuity-- because they were living together, because I was not convinced of the salvation of one or the other, because they refused to put “obey” in the marriage vows, because they refused to say they would never divorce under any circumstance—but, in every case, within a week they were able to find an evangelical protestant church in which to be married.
Let me assure you that the militant homosexual movement is more than aware of the heterosexual hypocrisy of most protestant churches and is well positioned to challenge the selectiveness of their decisions on marriages in both the court of law and the court of human opinion. The protestant church is not going to be able to ignore both scriptural and church constitutional prohibitions concerning heterosexual roles and marriages based solely on the social and/or financial standing of the couple and, then, ban homosexual marriages using the Biblical authority the church herself so freely ignores.
Grace Community International affirms all Biblical standards and prohibitions concerning gender roles in marriage and in the church – be they heterosexual or homosexual. Grace Community International condemns as sin homosexuality, so-called celibate homosexuality, so-called homosexual marriages and any form or manifestation of homosexual behavior. Grace Community International stands firmly against all pre-marital and marital sin, whether heterosexual or homosexual. Heterosexual divorce is a sin, heterosexual divorce and remarriage is a sin. Heterosexual promiscuity is a sin, the rebellion against heterosexual roles in the family and in the church is a sin. All disobedience to the commands of God concerning heterosexual conduct, roles and behavior is a sin. No person involved in homosexual or heterosexual sin may be a member of GCI. Our position on this is firm and unwavering. The Marriage Covenant Seminar is a proactive ministry--to re-establish the proper gender roles in marriage, to prevent divorce and to call married couples to the standards of God. The Family Discipleship Seminar calls parents to honor their marriage vows, to honor the standards of the family as given by God and to submit to the gender roles in regard to ministries within the church, again, as established by the Word of God. We do not seek to free husbands and wives, mothers, and fathers from the commands of God but, instead, to call them into conformity to His holy, eternal, inerrant, written Word.
When the church upholds all Biblical injunctions concerning marriage (all of them, not just those pertaining to homosexuals) then it will be able to once again re-take the moral/Scriptural high ground. Until then, the church simply appears vindictive, prejudicial and arbitrary in its standards. The application for the church is not to reconsider its stand concerning the depraved sin of homosexuality--celibate or active-- but to repent of its indifference to the heterosexual sins of which it has become complacent.
Application: 1. Publicly reject all forms of sexual sin – both homosexual and heterosexual. 2. Instead of simply talking about your church’s stand on the Biblical teachings of gender as it pertains to homosexuality, include those teachings, as well, on heterosexuality and gender. Heterosexual distinctions are required in terms of appearance, behavior, roles and authority – both in the family and in the church. 3. Move your church to proactivity in terms of gender roles, marriage and family. Instead of concentrating on recovery, concentrate on prevention. 4. Demand a written statement by any ministry which you support or co-labor with that they a. Do not condone homosexual marriage; b. Do not condone nor accept the practice of “celibate homosexuality;” c. That anyone who is found to be a celibate homosexual or participating in homosexual or heterosexual sin will immediately be removed from fellowship/membership of the organization or ministry.
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