Grace and Gay Marriage

Billy Graham's son, Franklin Graham, who now runs his father's organization, made some frank statements about gay marriage just a few days before the US Supreme Court made its decision approving same-sex marriage. This is what he said:

“President Barack Obama was right about one thing in the speech he gave at a Gay Pride event he hosted in the White House yesterday. He said, ‘There has been an incredible shift in attitudes across the country.’ That’s true – but it is definitely not a shift for the good of America. The shift in attitudes he refers to is the moral decline we are seeing manifest daily around us. Accepting wrong as right – accepting sin as something to be proud of. Yes, that’s definitely a shift. Should we be surprised that he thanked the LGBT community for all that they had helped him accomplish during his time as president? He said, ‘A lot of what we’ve accomplished over these last six and a half years has been because of you.’ He also noted there were two states where gay marriage was legal when he took office, but now there are 37. The President is leading this nation on a sinful course, and God will judge him and us as a nation if we don’t repent.”

Of course since the ruling, far more hateful and venomous things have been said about gays by other Christians and their leaders -- words I need not repeat here.

I think as believers, we really should consider whether pouring out more and more condemnation against gay people; a) accomplishes anything but making some of us feel "more righteous" or; b) is really effective at all in reaching them or causing them to "turn straight" and get married "traditionally", if that's a primary goal of evangelism. If you think they might be "scared" into stopping their behavior, well, good luck with that. 

 Why is it such a revelation that sinners, in other words all of us before we come to Christ, not only commit sin, but are going to live "according to the flesh" until and unless their lives are transformed by Christ? As for Obama, Graham calls him evil, but what about his predecessor; misrepresenting facts, lying his way into a war costing thousands of lives and trillions of dollars and almost bankrupting the country? Was there no "evil" in any of that?

Do you think Jesus would be "speaking out" on issues like this? He never spoke out about the adultery (gay or straight) in the Roman Empire or the Jewish ruling class, did He? Don't you think that among the thousands who were healed and blessed by Him, there weren't probably a large number of gay people? We know there certainly were a lot of prostitutes and sleazy tax collectors. 

But He didn't condemn them. Those he did condemn were religious leaders and money-changers, for their hypocrisy, self-righteousness and greed. Remember that we were all born to a life "in the flesh" and as Romans 3:10 says,"There is none righteous, no, not one". We are supposed to be Grace people, not judges. Keep in mind it's not condemnation that changes people, but, according to Romans 2:4, the goodness of God and the power of His love.

So what about the "sinfulness" of gays if or after they have become Christians? The same principles apply. They are no different than drug addicts, alcoholics, prostitutes, womanizing husbands, criminals in prison or any other human being, a.k.a. sinner, who as a believer is in the hands of Jesus and the Holy Spirit, will now be led by God.

And to those who believe they're standing up for Biblical Marriage in their opposition to the Supreme Court's approval of same-sex marriage: What form of Biblical Marriage are you defending? Is it what was referred to in Exodus 21:10 --"If he take him another wife; her food, her raiment, and her duty of marriage, shall he not diminish"? Or is it the form of marriage practiced by David, who had many wives and seduced the wife of another man, made her pregnant and then had him sent to battle to be killed? Is it Solomon's definition, under which he had 700 WIVES? Be careful what you might be standing on. It may not be as solid as you think.

It's also interesting Franklin Graham has no trouble being more magnanimous when it comes to racial issues and the current controversy over the Confederate flag.

“My great-great-grandfathers fought for the South under the Confederate flag during the Civil War – both were wounded at Gettysburg and lost limbs,” he said. “Growing up, many people in the South flew the Confederate flag, but I believe that it’s time for this flag to be set aside as a part of our history. We are all Americans, and we need unity today more than ever.”

The evangelist concluded: “Through faith in Christ we can have love and reconciliation with one another – regardless of race. Jesus Christ can change the human heart and take away the prejudice, racism, and hatred that lies within.”

Words of grace. They are not meant to be used selectively. If they apply to race, should they not also apply to this issue?

Christianity and Politics

I am a Christian – far, far from a perfect human being, and, I would like to hope, I am not a self-righteous person, even though it may seem that way to some people who by their actions sometimes give the rest of us a bad name. I'm talking about strident, politically partisan Christians.

Some of these people make us feel embarrassed to admit we believe. In fact, a big reason non-partisan Christians don’t speak out more is because many people think all evangelicals are marching in lock-step with one political party (primarily the Republicans in the U.S.) and we don’t want to be lumped in with them. But the truth is many of us are different and view our faith differently, especially when it relates to politics.

I used to be more conservative and sympathetic to the U.S. Republican Party and the Conservative parties in Canada and the U.K. That was back in the ’80’s, during the Reagan-Thatcher-Mulroney era. But I am no longer, especially not since these parties came to represent the Super-rich and the Far Right.

I  now lean more to the Democratic or Liberal parties. To many Christians this would be unthinkable, mainly because of their stands on abortion and gay rights, but I believe there are more than just those issues to consider. I find the emphasis on these moralistic matters almost elevates them to the level of unforgivable, irreconcilable sins; which is anti-biblical. Shouldn't we be just as concerned with inequity in society and the treatment of the poor, or about rampant materialism? And I really question whether Jesus would have been actively partisan in relation to those "hot-button"issues.

When He was here, He never organized politically against the Romans who ruled Judea with an iron fist, nor did He march outside Herod’s palace to try to free John the Baptist (who was His cousin, after all) after he was arrested. In fact, He said the Jews should pay their Roman taxes without complaint. 

The people He hung out with were prostitutes, tax collectors (the equivalent of loan sharks in First Century Israel) and the poor; not so-called “job-creators” (the rich) or the military most current Republicans would rather fraternize with.  The people He criticized, and with considerable venom, were the ultra-religious Pharisees, who went around trying to enforce religious rules and impose a heavy moral code on the people.

I believe if He were in our midst today He would not join any party, and would condemn policies to make the poor poorer, the rich richer, or impose Pharisaic rules on the rest of us.

Jesus responded to the world by doing His Father’s work – healing the sick (for free), feeding the poor (as in the miracle of the loaves and fishes) and spreading peace and grace to as many people as possible.  Never, before praying for anyone, did He ask anyone how depraved a sinner they were, or whether they had paid their tithes, or if they supported the King, the Sanhedrin or the Romans, or any part of the power structure.

Some might point out Jesus said persistent sinners should pluck out their eyes or cut off their hands, but that was only to let us know how far we would have to go to adhere to the Mosaic law's perfect standards, which He knew we could never achieve on our own.

New Testament Christianity exalts the way of truth, grace and the spirit -- not self-righteousness and rigid religious law. An honest reading of the epistles of Paul makes this abundantly clear.

Some Christians on the Right have talked about resorting to their guns or of facing martyrdom for their cause against “secular socialists”. There is also a strong streak of “Dominionism” – which advocates creating an orthodox, Christianized government based on Old Testament law, that in its' most extreme form would punish homosexuality or teenage rebellion by banishing the "condemned" to "special camps", or worse.

Thankfully there are still a few positive Christian leaders preaching grace and the fact that God is good, and so is His Son. 

Most contemporary American Christians seem to have fallen into the same kind of trap many of Jesus’ followers fell into when He was on Earth; believing that it is up to them to establish a literal Kingdom of God here -- without waiting for God to do it, losing sight of His true message of grace, favour and peace.

Jesus and Grace

Being a Christian can be frustrating. Those who most loudly claim to be Christ's followers can seem strident, mean-spirited and unkind. Most of them are committed to one worldview, a type of politics that excludes everyone but them. Their God seems petty, angry and untrustworthy. You never know if He's going to pour out His wrath on you or dole out some kind of mysterious blessing that could be interpreted 16 different ways.

But God is not who most people think He is. He is not mad at them or waiting to send them into eternal punishment. The tragic deaths of infants or of millions in natural disasters are not His will. He loves everyone -- and that includes criminals, corrupt politicians and Darth Vader-like corporate sharks, cheaters and slanderers, gay and transgender people, blasphemers, strippers, hookers, guys who surf porn and men and women just trying to get by who might bend the rules now and then. 

He is not the Punisher. He is not the Condemner. He is not the Ultimate Naysayer. He is not the Chief Hater of gays, adulterers or abortion doctors. He does not hate divorced people or people living common law. He does not hate people who smoke pot or crack or snort cocaine.

That doesn’t mean he's cool or OK with all that, but He loves all sinners. He knows we don't have much of a choice about doing things wrong, because we're lost. Until He's invited into someone's life, He's largely on the outside looking in, trying to influence people on the edges, and it's been that way since the beginning. He used the bloodline of a family –  Abraham's – and then a tribe and a nation – Israel – to spread His message and eventually pave the way for His Son to come so He could save us -- not condemn us and throw us into hell.

Jesus put it this way -- “For if anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not condemn him, because I did not come to condemn the world but to save it.” (John 12:47)

In the next verse, He says people will be judged, based on whether they accept or reject Him. But then how many have really heard the message of grace that He brought?

In the book of James, it says – “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow” (James 1:17)

And in Hebrews, it says –“He that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him” (Heb. 11:6)

God rewards, He doesn’t punish. 

God loves, He doesn’t hate. 

God is a giver, not a taker. 

And He’s not bipolar. He doesn’t withhold things from us. He doesn’t only heal or bless people if it’s “His will”, or if He just happens to be in the right mood or feels like it that day, or if you have accumulated just the right collection of good deeds that week, month, year or decade. He is always on our side.

Addressing all the false and confusing beliefs about God, Jesus said – 

"There isn't a person among you who would give his son a stone if he asked for bread, is there? Or if he asks for a fish, he wouldn’t give him a snake, would he? So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who keep on asking him! (Matt. 7: 9-11, International Standard Version)

God is good. All the time. And He wants to give us good things. 

He’s not religious. He wants to have relationships with people and communicate with them on the inside, at the level of the heart.

Religion and Christian denominations have tried to confine God with cathedrals, monasteries and stained-glass windows; with orders, hierarchies, liturgies and rites. They have set up barriers between us and God, not to make Him accessible, but to keep Him far away in Heaven, way beyond us. And their teachings are aimed at trying to get us to save ourselves through good works, which is not what Jesus taught.

Jesus said the Kingdom is within us. And that the Kingdom is righteousness (being right with God and accepted by Him), peace and joy in the Holy Spirit, whom God sent to teach, guide and comfort every believer.

Most of us have also looked at God the Father the wrong way for a long, long time. He is not some Holy Old Man with flowing white hair and a long beard waiting up beyond the clouds to zap us with thunder and lightning bolts. No, a thousand, a million times no.

And God may not be completely apolitical, but if Jesus were here now he wouldn't go around organizing anti-gay marriage rallies or barricading abortion clinics or burning issues of Hustler magazine. All that just pours oil on the fires of hatred and makes Christians look like lunatics who want to set up some kind of ultra-religious state.

If you want to see what God would do here on earth, look at Jesus, who said --

“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)

When you read the New Testament, you don’t see Jesus organizing protest rallies against the Romans or King Herod or the various immoral establishments around Jerusalem.  

If there was a situation where He might have done something like that, it might have been to protest against John the Baptist being thrown into prison, but He didn’t do that. In fact John the Baptist got beheaded for doing that kind of thing, for speaking out against Herod marrying his brother’s widow. But you don’t see Jesus and the disciples marching outside the palace, chanting “Free the Baptist! Free the Baptist!” 

Instead, Jesus was focused on doing His Father’s work. Healing the sick, the blind, the deaf and the lame. Healing all who came to him, unless people didn't believe in Him. (See Mathew 13:58)  

And he wasn’t particular. He ministered to prostitutes, tax collectors (considered much lower than any used-car salesmen or telemarketing supervisors today), Roman soldiers and thieves (such as the man on the cross beside Him) – never condemning them or calling them out as wicked sinners. And He gave all of it for free.

But even better than all of this – in fact far better -- is that He paid the price to remove the final barrier between us and God. Even though He Himself had never done anything wrong, He  allowed Himself to take on everything that was wrong with us -- all our sin and all the baggage that went with it; including sickness, disease, mental instability and any curse known to humanity. Through His death and Resurrection He took it away and got rid of it, forever.

He also left us a fantastic inheritance – the power to live in Him – free from sin, sickness or disease. We just have to learn to receive it and walk in it. And it all operates by faith through His Grace – unmerited favour from God that we don’t deserve.

I know, it all sounds way too good to be true. In fact most people think that it can’t really be true. It’s too simple, too pie-in-the-sky, too easy. But it is true and available to anyone who will believe.

Now who am I, writing this, you may ask. Just an ex-sinner, a former lost person who is still far from perfect and has to ask for forgiveness from his wife, his co-workers and many others in his life far more often than he would like to. But someone who is getting to know more about God's grace and favour all the time, and who's found that to be the true centre of the gospel. An alive and liberating force. A life flow with spiritual roots -- nothing like rigid religious living. And if more people knew that was God's message, organized Christianity might not be quite as organized, but it would have a much more powerful influence on this world.