Last week several news media reported:
“Three gay men from Thailand have tied the knot in what is thought to be the world’s first three-way same-sex marriage. The happy newlyweds …took the plunge on Valentine’s Day after exchanging their vows in a fairy-tale ceremony at their home in Uthai Thani Province, Thailand. The three blushing grooms are thought to be the world’s only wedded male threesome and have since become internet sensations after photos from their big day went viral.” – DailyMail.com
Several Scriptures came to mind when I read that story:
Judges 21:25 reads, “In those days there was no king in Israel; every man did what was right in his own eyes.” (KJV) When there is no respect for God’s Word, no ultimate authority, then man becomes his own god. The Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoevsky summarized the end result, “When there is no God, anything goes.” It should be obvious to every believer that the ultimate goal of the evil one is not just to expand the marriage standard to include gays, but the elimination of any standard at all as well as the destruction of the family.
Galatians 6:7 warns, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please the flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.”
The Bible teaches that God is loving, forgiving and patient. But God is not a wimp. He is a God of justice and capable of wrath. “His Spirit does not always strive with men”. There will be a judgment day someday when those who have scoffed at God will call for the mountains and the rocks to fall on them in an attempt to hide from the wrath to come. Right and wrong are not determined by the will of man or a decree from a Supreme Court of man, but by our Creator – and He will not be mocked.
Matthew 24:37-39 “As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.”
The people of Noah’s day had no idea they were on the verge of destruction. They were cavalierly carrying on business as usual. They regarded marriage as a human institution to be defined on their own terms. They scoffed at the preaching of Noah. Then came the flood and all except Noah and his family of eight perished. Just as that destructive flood was a day of rescue for Noah, the coming of the Son of Man will be a day of salvation for those who trust and obey Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 14:8 “…If the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?”
It is time for preachers and Christian leaders to sound a clear warning to their flock that it appears we are on the verge of something dramatic – either the coming of the Lord or a severe judgment from God. As Anne Graham Lotz cautioned, “If God doesn’t judge us soon, He’s going to have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.” Preachers who have tried to fly under the radar and avoid being labeled “haters” and “legalists” so their church can have a positive image in the community, need to become bold and courageous. “Speak the truth in love” but for heaven’s sake, speak the truth!
Dietrich Bonhoeffer warned, “First they came for the communists, but I was not a communist so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Socialists and the Trade Unionists, but I was neither, so I did not speak out. Then they came for the Jews, but I was not a Jew so I did not speak out. And when they came for me, there was no one left to speak out for me.”
This past Sunday I preached at the Shepherd of The Hills church in Porter Ranch, California. Dudley Rutherford is the preacher of this congregation that now numbers over 7000 in worship each week. In 2008 Dudley helped lead California in the passing of proposition 8 – a constitutional amendment affirming that marriage was to be between a man and a woman. Eight million people voted in favor of that amendment but it was tragically overturned by one gay judge several months later.
After church this past Sunday morning a couple introduced themselves as being a part of Shepherd of the Hills church for the past four years. They said, “What drew us to this church was the way Pastor Dudley’s heart grieves for America and his boldness in preaching. He’s not afraid to stand for Biblical truth and to call our country to repentance.”
May his tribe increase.
