What Did Jesus Do?
Jesus Came to Save Sinners, Not to Excuse Sin
The saying is trustworthy and
deserving of full acceptance,
that Christ came into the world
to save sinners…
1
Timothy 1:15
On May 8 voters in North Carolina approved, by about a 3-2 margin, an
amendment to the state’s constitution limiting marriage between one man and one
woman as the only domestic union legally recognized: “Constitutional amendment to
provide that marriage between one man and one woman is the only domestic legal
union that shall be valid or recognized in this State.” There was no little acrimony in the public
debate leading up to the referendum, and no lack of anger, disappointment,
outrage, cries of hatemongering and intolerance, and predictions of untold
suffering with its passage. I must
confess that I was not a fan of Amendment One, neither was I an opponent of
it. The thing is, marriage is
fundamentally a sacred union, established by God as a creation ordinance, and
not a civil union. And God’s creation
ordinance of marriage is limited to the covenant between one man and one woman,
regardless of what state constitutions, or public opinion, have to say about
it.
Without getting into the
business of what a state chooses to recognize as legal, the bottom line for me
is what God has to say about what is acceptable and what is sin. So-called common-law marriage is just a way
of trying to legitimize fornication by means of extended cohabitation, be it
casual or committed. So-called same-sex
marriages are not, nor have they ever been, holy in any biblically sacred
sense, whether or not a state recognizes them as legal, or even the
overwhelming majority of the public approves of them or says that they are
somehow Christian.
Some folks around here, in the
aftermath of the Amendment One vote, have said they are now “ashamed” to call North
Carolina home. Others have said they don’t want to live here
anymore. I read one Facebook post that
said the sponsors of Amendment One are not Christians. Whether or not they are is more than I can
say. But I do know that proponents of
so-called gay marriage, which is in clear and incontrovertible
opposition to God’s Word, cannot be Christian in any meaningful sense.
I will also say this, if the
intent of Amendment One is to hurt rather than help people, it is an unfortunate
piece of legislation, and un-Christian.
I say, unfortunate and un-Christian, because I fear many
may believe that by punishing someone the kingdom
of God
is advanced.
Take a look at the Gospels. Did
Jesus come for the purpose of punishing sinners, or did he come to overcome
sin, and so win the Father’s pardon for guilty sinners? As Paul wrote to his young protégé, Timothy,
there’s no disputing that Christ came to save sinners. But salvation in no way involves the
excusing, much less the approval of, any sin.
Amendment One having been
passed in North Carolina, I
believe it is the call of the Church in this state to love those who may be
hurt or harmed by it. The tough work of
finding ways to be caring and compassionate towards sinners, while still
calling sin “sin” and treating it as such, is to take up the cross and follow
Christ daily. It is neither easy nor
popular, but it is the way of Jesus.
S.D.G.
Jim
Marion,
NC
PS 37.4
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