The Argument Against Gay Marriage

There is a prevailing argument today that gay people should be free to love whoever they choose, and that they should be allowed to live their lives in freedom and, ultimately, with the respect of others. Gays believe that they should have the same rights and privileges of all Americans, including the ability to marry their partners. With the ongoing discussion of the rights of gay people being presented as a societal human rights issue, there comes a point where we have to look at this subject for what it really is–not as a matter of human rights, but as a matter of right and wrong.

“Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness, who substitute bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who are wise in their own opinion and clever in their own sight” (Isaiah 5:20-21).

The act of homosexuality is a matter of choice amongst consenting adults. From a faith perspective, it is important to note that homosexuality is a committed sin just like any other committed sin–the same as adultery, sex before marriage (fornication), theft, or lying. All sins like these are covered and redeemed by the saving blood of Jesus Christ.

Is it right for two men to marry each other? Is it right for two women to marry each other? There is no middle ground on this question–it is either “yes” or “no”–but many people in the church and in society have declared themselves as neutral over this issue. Note Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary’s definition of marriage:

The act of marrying, or the state of being married; legal union of a man and a woman for life, as husband and wife; wedlock; matrimony.

This definition is the biblical principle that God had intended for marriage.

The Bible has no standing in today’s American law, yet many of today’s existing laws drill down to biblical principles, especially those of six of the Ten Commandments:

• Honor your father and your mother (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16)

• Do not murder (Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17)

• Do not commit adultery (Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18)

• Do not steal (Exodus 20:15; Deuteronomy 5:19)

• Do not give false testimony against your neighbor (Exodus 20:16; Deuteronomy 5:20)

• Do not covet your neighbor’s house (Exodus 20:17; Deuteronomy 5:21

It is these biblical principles that are being undermined when arguments are presented in favor of the practice of homosexuality and gay marriage. Those who are in favor of gay marriage will argue or contend that no one can impose Scripture or biblical rules upon them. The argument of “freedom of religion” that comes from the First Amendment of The United States Constitution is also interpreted as “freedom from religion.”

Amendment 1 – Freedom of Religion, Press.
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.”

Since every part of existing American law can be argued from the Bible, the opposing view has to discredit the Bible and Christians who oppose gay marriage as people who…
1. hate them and their cause
2. fight against their right to marry
3. are insensitive to their feelings as human beings who only love others

The arguments expressed are a protest of the prejudice against a group of people who should be given their rights as American citizens.

A section of The Declaration of Independence declares “we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”  In the pursuit of happiness, who has established the boundaries of morality? God has already established those standards. Even in liberty, there are still boundaries that must be acknowledged.

“‘Everything is permissible for me’, but not everything is helpful. ‘Everything is permissible for me,’ but I will not be brought under the control of anything. ‘Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods,’ but God will do away with both of them. The body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. God raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power.  Do you not know that your bodies are the members of Christ? So should I take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Absolutely not! Do you not know that anyone joined to a prostitute is one body with her? For it says, The two will become one flesh. But anyone joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. Flee from sexual immorality! ‘Every sin a person can commit is outside the body,’ but the person who is sexually immoral sins against his own body. Do you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body (1 Corinthians 6:12-20)

Some things are “self-evident” because it is deemed to be natural. A man and a woman in marriage is normal and natural because that was God’s intent (Genesis 2:24).

How is the Bible discredited? There are verses in the Old Testament that are deemed to be outdated by today’s standards:
Leviticus 20:13-26
Deuteronomy 25:5-10
Genesis 38:8
Matthew 22:24
Those who oppose the foundation of Scripture will state that we should no longer see the Bible as relevant to today’s reality in that values have changed since the Bible was written, and, as a result, that the cultural institution of marriage has changed with it. To those who are in favor of gay marriage, their conclusion is that it should be allowed and accepted as part of that evolutionary process. The flaw to this argument is that while God has, over the progression of time and humanity, declared changes as to how we are to view matters such as food or even property rights within families, God had never declared in His Word that it was acceptable for two men to lie with one another or two women to do the same. Also, keep in mind that there will be ongoing challenges of the consistency of what believers practice in comparison to what God’s Word declares as truth.

The real reason for believers in Jesus Christ to oppose gay marriage is because the Word of God speaks against it.  There are many verses that affirm this statement, but note these two:

“Do not covet your neighbor’s house. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife, his male or female slave, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor” (Exodus 20:17).  In this commandment, the key word is “wife.”  God gives specific reference to the value of a marriage relationship in that no one from the outside should desire the wife of a husband or anything associated with them or their household.

“This is why a man leaves his father and mother and bonds with his wife, and they become one flesh.  Both the man and his wife were naked, yet felt no shame” (Genesis 2:24).  God’s Word gives very specific mention of a man and woman uniting as husband and wife, where the two can become one flesh and create children. This is self-evident because it is natural. In this sense, a man cannot naturally unite and bond to another man, nor can a woman unite or bond to another woman. Our culture today is twisting the original intent of marriage for the benefit of creating acceptance of the gay lifestyle.

Trusting in the Lord allows for victory. We are called to discipline our bodies (1 Corinthians 9:27). We are to discipline ourselves spiritually to disable any passions or lustful desires. The natural desire of a man is attraction to a woman and for a woman to be attracted to a man. The gay lifestyle is rooted in an unnatural passion that is also addressed in Scripture:

“This is why God delivered them over to degrading passions. For even their females exchanged natural sexual intercourse for what is unnatural. The males in the same way also left natural sexual intercourse with females and were inflamed in their lust for one another. Males committed shameless acts with males and received in their own persons the appropriate penalty for their perversion. And because they did not think it worthwhile to have God in their knowledge, God delivered them over to a worthless mind to do what is morally wrong. They are filled with all unrighteousness, (sexual immorality), evil, greed, and wickedness. They are full of envy, murder, disputes, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, (unforgiving), and unmerciful. Although they know full well God’s just sentence—that those who practice such things deserve to die—they not only do them, but even applaud others who practice them” (Romans 1:26-32).

Note that homosexuality is noted here as sin just as the other sins listed:

“Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit God’s kingdom? Do not be deceived: no sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals, thieves, greedy people, drunkards, revilers, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom. Some of you were like this; but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

Yes, the gay lifestyle is a choice, but anyone who is in the bondage of any sin can be liberated by the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within you from believing in Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. He redeems us from all of our sins and enables us with the ability to refrain from sin.

Our purpose, as believers in Jesus Christ, is to encourage all people in sin to be elevated to a life in Christ. We are to emulate God in loving all people and yet, hate sin and sinful behavior. Our prayer is that all believers have the courage to speak the truth to our friends, family members, and loved ones about how they can be set free from sin and the gay lifestyle. Thanks to the Lord for the words and guidance through the Holy Spirit as we prayfully minister to those in need.