By Melvin L. Otey
On May 9, 2012, Barack Obama became the first sitting American President to publicly endorse same-sex marriages when he made the following pronouncement: “At a certain point, I’ve just concluded that, for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples should be able to get married.” Some have celebrated his pronouncement, while others have decried it. Interestingly, many on both sides, including our President, self-identify as Christians.
While the matter of same-sex unions is a contentious political issue today, it is not merely a political matter for those who believe in the Bible. Notwithstanding the political labels one might otherwise assume, and no matter where one might otherwise place himself on the scale of liberalism and conservatism, this is a profoundly spiritual and moral matter. Disciples of Christ are bound to stand where He stands on this issue, as they are bound to stand with Him on all issues (Matthew 10:32-33; Luke 11:23).
The relevant inquiry for Christians, even politically active Christians, then, does not concern the thinking of political figures and parties regarding same-sex marriages. Rather, we must be concerned about Jesus’ thinking on the matter, and we must embrace His thinking as our own. If He were President, would He support homosexual unions? There can be no serious question that he would not support it because…
…Jesus Would Respect God’s Design for Marriage
God’s design for marriage is unmistakable. In the beginning, God made the first man, Adam, from the dust of the ground, and the first woman, Eve, from his rib (Genesis 2:7, 21-22). They were designed differently with the express intention that they would be a corresponding, complementary pair, and God brought them together in the first marriage (Genesis 2:20-24). He then blessed them and bid them, “Be fruitful, and multiply,” with the expectation that they would jointly rear children to know and respect Him (Genesis 1:27-28; Malachi 2:15).
No matter how hard they might try, two members of the same sex can never conform to this divine arrangement. It is impossible for them to correspond, complement one another, and procreate as God intends men and women to do in marriage. Consequently, homoerotic unions are an obvious adulteration of God’s divine design, and, lest anyone underestimate the significance of such a deviation, God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah because of the inhabitants’ homoerotic behavior (Genesis 19:1-25; Jude 7).
During His earthly ministry, Jesus affirmed the enduring validity of God’s design and fully expected others to conform to it (Matthew 19:4-6). Some who support gay marriage claim that Jesus never spoke against homosexuality, but this is not entirely accurate. He sanctioned God’s judgment and destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah on at least two occasions during His earthly ministry (Matthew 10:15, 11:23-24), and this further evinces His support of God’s original design for marriage. If Jesus were President, He would not support homosexual unions because He would respect God’s design for marriage.
…Jesus Would Reiterate God’s Disapproval of Fornication
When God’s design for marriage is followed, sexual intercourse is intimate, holy, and beautiful (Hebrews 13:4). When His design is ignored, physical intimacy becomes “dirty,” scandalous and shameful, something to hide. In short, it becomes sinful. Therefore, God condemns all sexual conduct involving a person who is not married to his or her partner according to His design. The Bible generally labels all such activity, whether heterosexual or homosexual, “fornication” or “sexual immorality.”
[Field]God has consistently and unequivocally condemned fornication in all its forms, including the homosexual variety. During the Mosaic era, He described homoeroticism as an “abomination,” or a disgusting thing, worthy of death (Leviticus 18:22, 18:29, 20:13). In the Christian age, the period in which we currently live, the apostle Paul explained that the “effeminate” and “abusers of themselves with mankind,” terms denoting the passive and active male parties to homoerotic activity, respectively, will not inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). God has never condoned homosexuality.
Jesus agrees with His Father on everything. He and the Father are one (John 10:30, 17:11, 17:22), and He came into the world specifically to do the Father’s will (John 6:38). Therefore, He always approves what God approves and condemns what God condemns. During His earthly ministry, for example, He affirmed the accuracy of the Mosaic Law (John 5:46-47), which included denunciations of same-sex relations, and He consistently reproved fornicators (see, e.g., John 4:16-18, 8:1-11; Matthew 5:27-28, 31-32; Mark 10:11-12), which necessarily included a reproof of active homosexuals. If He were President, Jesus would not support homosexual unions because He would reiterate God’s condemnation of all fornication.
…Jesus Reject Man’s Defense of Homosexuality
Despite the clear, consistent opposition of God and Jesus against homosexuality, some who are sensitive to Christian principles waver in affirmatively opposing same-sex unions when faced with the argument that some people are “born that way.” God would not create people as homosexual beings and subsequently condemn them for being exactly as He made them, or so the argument goes. This is probably the most popular new argument offered in favor of accepting same-sex relationships.
As an initial matter, there are at least two fundamental fallacies with this argument. First, even a cursory look at the anatomical design of the sexes confirms that homosexuality is unnatural. Simply put, the parts don’t fit. Second, people do not engage in sexual activity of any kind until long after birth, so no one can be “born homosexual.” Some may have prurient interests in members of the same sex, just as some have other unwholesome interests, and these might arise from a variety of factors. Still, there is no license to act on these deviant desires. God expects us to control ourselves and avoid fornication (1 Thessalonians 4:3; Colossians 3:5; Romans 13:13).
More importantly, though, Jesus rejected the contention that homosexuality is natural through His inspired spokesmen nearly two thousand years ago. Paul, who was specially chosen by Christ to speak on His behalf (Acts 9:10-16; Galatians 1:12) and inspired by the Holy Spirit to do so (1 Corinthians 7:40), described homosexuality as, among other things, “unnatural” (Romans 1:24-26). Men have invested heavily and unsuccessfully in trying to prove that same-sex unions are a consequence of genetics, but God told us long ago that the behavior is the product of a reprobate, or depraved, mind (Romans 1:28). If Jesus were President, He would not support gay marriage because He would reject this defense of homoerotic behavior.
Concluding Observations
Christ would never support homosexuality, in general, and same-sex unions, in particular, because, in the end, He will condemn the unrighteous, which includes unrepentant homosexuals (Matthew 25:31-46; 1 Corinthians 6:9). In today’s climate, many would quickly label Him “homophobic” and characterize His doctrine as “hate speech.” The truth, though, is that He loves everyone, whether sinner or saint (John 3:16, 15:13; 1 John 3:16, 4:10; 1 Peter 3:18; Romans 5:8), but love never precluded Him from accurately labeling sin. Instead, it moved Him to tell people what they lacked spiritually and challenge them to change for their own eternal good (e.g., Mark 10:17-21, 6:34; Matthew 23).
Gay marriage is a “hot button” political and social issue in our nation, and there are influential, entrenched voices on either side of the discussion. The current President of the United States recently made his feelings about homosexual unions quite clear. Interestingly, another president, Dan Cathy, of the Chick-Fil-A restaurant chain, subsequently spoke out in favor of marriage according to God’s design, and he became the object of both great esteem and great scorn. Ultimately, though, popularity and politics are not proper bases for determining where to stand.
For those who accept Jesus as Lord and Christ, His position is the one that matters. We can know for certain that, if He were President of the United States, He would not take away individuals’ freedom of choice, but He would never lend His influence and shape His policies to endorse something that is contrary to divine design, worthy of eternal condemnation, and the product of depraved thinking. Were He our political leader, Jesus would not condone sinful conduct, no matter how popular or common it became.
