By Scott Tibbs, April 1, 2013
There has been a sea change in the issue of homosexual marriage, and many Christians are wondering how we got to the point where a culture that was once heavily influenced by Biblical teaching is now about to put a state sanction on something clearly prohibited by Scripture. It should not be a surprise that that this is happening, though it is a surprise that it has happened so quickly. This battle was lost two generations ago, and state recognition of homosexual marriage has been inevitable for quite some time.
We lost the battle over homosexual marriage when we accepted no-fault divorce and extramarital sex as normal or at least not worthy of condemnation. Sexuality is a gift from God and was designed for a specific context - the lifelong monogamous marriage of one man and one woman. Once we abandon God's designated context for sexuality, homosexual marriage was inevitable.
The church's moral standing to preach against homosexual practice has been severely damaged by her failure to stand against the tide of no-fault divorce and extramarital sex. In 1980, 18.4% of children were born out of wedlock. In 2010, 40.8% of children were born without a married mother and father - an increase of over 100% in just thirty years. It is not a surprise that today's young people, immersed in the "hook up" culture (formerly known as "one night stands") and getting almost no admonition against it from the church, would see nothing wrong with same-sex marriage.
When you throw in the fact that America has been saturated pornography since the advent of the VCR and the church's failure to teach against it, this final abandonment of Biblical sexual morality is not surprising. Consumption of pornography has gotten exponentially worse since the Internet became ubiquitous - it is estimated that 30% of all Internet traffic is for "adult" material. This will get worse as it becomes easier to hide with smartphones and mobile devices, and foolish parents who do not think about the dangers of giving their small child an iPod Touch.
Every single step of the way down this slope of rebellion against God's designated plan for sexuality, Christians have failed to stand against it. Christians have failed to stand for sexual morality because the church - all denominations - has failed to preach and teach on Biblical sexual standards. The eventual nationwide state recognition of same-sex marriage falls directly at the feet of the universal church for her failure to call sinners to repent and believe, and be washed in the blood of Jesus Christ.
The only hope we have of reversing this trend is a spiritual revival, and it must start with the church. Pastors and elders need to be faithful in calling their congregations to repent, and be willing to risk being forced from their positions for taking a stand on God's truth. Christians need to pray for the Holy Spirit to convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment. Christians need to repent and confess the sexual sins in our own lives and devote ourselves to sexual purity, trusting in the Holy Spirit to give us the power to kill our sin.
May God be merciful on our nation, as He was with Nineveh.
