As the Supreme Court prepares to hear two cases about same-sex marriage, I wanted to weigh in on the subject of gay marriage and the attempt in many states to add a marriage amendment to their constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman. Many Christians and conservatives (I consider myself both) want to define marriage “biblically.” That is, based on the Bible’s definition of marriage, they want it to become the law of the land that two men (or two women) cannot be “married.” They want to ban same-sex marriage through the Defense of Marriage Act, or at least not allow such unions to be called “marriage.”
Marriage Amendment
I could be in favor of an amendment to the constitution defining marriage “biblically” IF we really defined it according to what the Bible says. If we are going to define marriage biblically, we should go all the way.
So the Bible says that marriage is between one man and one woman. Fine.
But it also says that marriage is between one man and one woman for life. So divorce is out. Anyone who has divorced and remarried cannot be defined as “married.”
Also, the marriage bed should be kept pure, so there can be no sexual activity outside of marriage., either before, during, or after marriage. Anyone who slept around before marriage or who had an affair also cannot be defined as “married.”
And depending on how rigorous we want to apply the definition, we might be able to say that anyone who has looked at another person lustfully has already committed adultery with them in their heart, and so they have technically had an affair also, and so they cannot be biblically defined as “married.”
When we take the entire Bible to define marriage (instead of just a few obscure passages, marriage is defined as “The union between a man and a woman for their entire life, with absolutely no sexual activity or thoughts outside of this union forever.”
If we are going to vote in a “biblical” marriage amendment, that is what it should be.
But no one in their right mind would vote for such an amendment.
Which is exactly the point.
Gay Marriage
Look. I believe that when God created humanity, He intended marriage to be between one man and one woman. This was His ideal. This is what He wanted. Anything that does not fall within this ideal is missing the mark, which is the definition of “sin.”
So sure, homosexual activity is missing the mark of God’s ideal.
But so is divorce.
So is premarital sex.
So is having an affair.
So is pornography.
So is hiring a prostitute.
So is lusting after another person in your heart.
All of these activities miss the mark of God’s ideal.
And the truth is that the Bible talks way more about these other behaviors than it does about homosexuality. The Bible mentions homosexuality six times at most, three times in the Old Testament and three times in the New Testament, and a couple of these are debatable depending on how the words are translated. But the Bible mentions divorce, and lust, and prostitution, and sexual activity outside of marriage hundreds of times.
Love and Forgiveness of God
But more than all this, God extends grace and forgiveness to all these areas that miss the mark of his ideal.
Does God love and forgive those who engage in prostitution? Of course!
Does God love and forgive those addicted to pornography? Of course!
Does God love and forgive those who have an affair? Of course!
Does God love and forgive those who have premarital sex? Of course!
Does God love and forgive those who get divorced? Of course!
So does God love and forgive those who are homosexual? The answer is simple: Of course!
Who are we to decide that one way of missing the mark is worse than all the others, especially when God seems more concerned about the ways which we ignore and overlook?
Look. If we are going to come up with a “biblical definition of marriage” we better make sure it is truly biblical.
And if we are not ready to truly define marriage biblically, then maybe we should just shut up and sit down and focus on the areas in our own life where we are missing the mark of God’s ideals.
The truth is that we have no business trying to impose our falsely fabricated morality on other people by claiming it is “biblical” when (1) it is not biblical and (2) when we don’t follow it ourselves.
So could I support a marriage amendment? Not really. Even if we defined marriage “biblically” such an amendment would never go anywhere because nearly all Christians are guilty of not having a biblical marriage. And furthermore, who are we to impose our biblical morality on others through the rule of law? Jesus never did this, and neither should we.
We are Ambassadors
We function in this world the same way Jesus functioned.
We are ambassadors in a foreign nation, and we help others live according to the rules of our kingdom not by trying to impose our rules upon them, but simply by living among them and showing them a different way. A way of love, generosity, service, kindness, and peace. We do not condemn the activities of those around us, for they are living according to the morality and laws of their kingdom. That is fine for them. It is not our way, but we have no right to insist that our way becomes everybody’s way.
If we want to win people over to our way of living, we do it by the lives we live, not by trying to get this foreign government we live under to adopt the ways and rules of the Kingdom we represent.
And this means hanging out with them, going to their parties, and being friends with the people of this foreign kingdom. We must love and accept them just as they are. This was the way of Jesus, and it must be our way as well.
Linda Marie Montgomery-Ezell on Facebook says
Absolutely agree!
David L. Hoopingarner on Facebook says
Very good and well said, Jeremy!!
Jason Palmer on Facebook says
I really enjoyed reading this!!! Very good!
Mary B. Fleischman Ross on Facebook says
Excellent Jeremy.
John Q says
How about if we stop redefining words. Marriage, for all my life (and before) has meant a man and woman, being husband and wife. If words stop meaning what they mean, communication becomes impossible. The homosexual community has already redefined one work, giving new meaning to the phrase in the song Deck the Halls, “Don we now, our Gay apparel” Gay used to mean happy and festive, now it just means homosexual.
Jeremy Myers says
Well, I hear what you are saying, but this is one of the difficulties of speaking a living language… words change over time. Have you ever tried to read a 1611 King James Bible? It is nearly impossible to read.
John Q says
Yes, the King James English is difficult to read. But the words in it, for the most part still mean what they meant at the time. In the 70’s, the word gay seems to have stopped meaning happy and festive and now just means homosexual. It didn’t change over time, it changed because one group decided that they didn’t like what they were being called and decided to change the meaning of a word to fit their agenda
John says
The Christmas carol is one thing, but I know people who have a given name or a surname of “Gay,” which is really too bad for them. Men whose first name is Gaylord were frequently given a nickname of “Gay,” without anyone thinking anything about it.
Atwas911 says
Where in the bible does it say ONE woman?
Wasn’t multiple wives a normal thing then?
Wasn’t rape also an informal wedding?
Atwas911 says
Also, Adam’s first wive was Lilith. Not Eve.
Even the very first man supported divorce.
Jeremy Myers says
Eh… what? No. where did you get that idea?
Atwas911 says
You should read up on the history of Lilith. She was politically edited out of the Bible after the King James “scrap and rewrite”. Most people unless from a Jewish background are never told of Lilith. But it’s an interesting story if you find the political edits of biblical texts to be a topic you find amusing. Basically she was dominate sexually and was not submissive to Adam so she was either banished or left the garden willingly.
Jeremy Myers says
Genesis 2:24 is singular “wife.” Yes, some practiced polygamy, but this was not commanded or condoned by God. They practiced all sorts of things which people today consider inappropriate. Like that rape thing you mention. This was to protect the women from being killed or forced into prostitution.
Collin says
I disagree with the idea here simply because..
All of the other stuff you mentioned can be stopped and repented for once a man and a woman get married.. In the case of a homosexual couple getting married, unless they plan on not having sexual relations throughout their entire marriage, then they’re going to continue doing what God despises over and over again.
The same applies to for example, if a man had an issue with pornography prior to marriage.. then maybe he stopped for a while when he found a woman he loved, but once they got married fell back into the addiction and never stopped. I think he would be in the same boat as the homosexual couple that continuously practices sexual relations.
Having some sort of affection for the opposite sex isn’t what the bible warns against, it’s the actual sexual act. So, while I understand where you’re coming from.. the person opposing gay marriage isn’t stepping outside their bounds as a Christian. While actually, Christians standing firm against it, and not giving in, could help some prospective Christian homosexual individuals who are on the fence of whether or not they should want to commit in such a way.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” -Jesus
collin says
sorry that’s supposed to say ‘..affection for the ‘same’ sex..’
Jeremy Myers says
Collin,
Yes, I hear what you say and see what you mean. I do not have good answers to your questions, but I do know this: that all Christians throughout time and around the world live in a constant state of sin. Sure, we may sin less in some areas as we mature, but the Holy Spirit is always working on us in new ways. So I believe this is true of homosexual couples as well.
Regardless, it is not the place of Christians to make a law to condemn homosexuality for all people. Why not make a law condemning gluttony for obese people? Or greed for rich people? Or lust and adultery for married people? These sins get much more attention in Scripture than homosexuality.
Jason says
1st. Thanks for your posts. 2nd. Living in homosexual sin is just that, living it day in and day out with NO intention of reaching out to Jesus not only for forgiveness, but also for a renewing of their soul. I am not trying not to unjustly judge because I have plenty of planks in my own eye, yet I want and believe Jesus will heal me from them. There’s a lot more I would like to say, but don’t have the time now. I pray that we can love everyone like God first loved us. Let us know Him and make Him known. Through gentleness and respect. Thanks
brentnz says
I agree with what you have written from the biblical perspective and would like to take it further in the sense that that we are all sinners whether fornicators liars homosexuals the difference is that if we decide to follow Jesus we not only repent of our sin but we turn away from continuing to sin Remenber the woman caught in adultery Jesus said go and sin no more that applys to all of us that have accepted Jesus.But unless we die to our desires we cant live for him.brentnz