Five Reasons to Be Encouraged by Last Week's Supreme Court Decisions

As I am sure you know by now, last week the Supreme Court of the United States ruled in favor of gay marriage in two landmark cases, The United States vs. Windsor, which struck down key provisions of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and Hollingsworth vs. Perry which allowed the lower court’s decision blocking a voter approved amendment to the California State Constitution (Prop 8) defining marriage as being between one man and one woman to stand and the reaction from the “evangelical” media has been swift and loud and strong, typically with a tone of anger, disbelief, or surprise.

I have to say, I think much of the reaction, although sincere and even flowing out of good motives, has been wrong headed.  The anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God  and believer ought not engage in the practice of judging unbeliever for their sin so bible believing Christians should know better than to be angry at either the Supreme Court justices or those who are enslaved to this immoral lifestyle.  And as far as surprise and disbelief, I fail to see how anyone paying attention at all was caught off guard by these decisions, after all President Obama ran in 2008 on a platform calling for the repeal of DOMA and the California Attorney General refused to defend Prop 8 in court, and all of society has been tracking in this direction for quite a long time.  Only the blindly optimistic could have failed to see this coming.  

That said, I have a different take on the events at the Supreme Court, I find them encouraging.  Not that I in anyway believe that homosexual behavior is not a dire sin (just like heterosexual immorality, and greed, and looking on members of the opposite sex with lust, and hating another in your heart etc.), I do or that I in any way think that gay marriage is good for society, I don’t.  I am encouraged because I find my sufficiency and solace in Christ alone and my contentment in God and His provision.  So allow me to present five reasons I am encouraged by this past week’s events at The Court.

1. God is Sovereign

Nothing that happened in the Supreme Court happened outside of the sovereign will of God.  He wasn’t taken by surprise, His forces were not out argued before the bar and He is not reeling in heaven wondering what to do now.  As the prophet Isaiah wrote God has declared the end from the beginning and all of His purposes will be accomplished.   Although things may feel hopeless and out of control to us, everything is unfolding exactly as God has planned from before the foundation of the world.  If you want to gain a better understanding of how God views the machinations of men who seek to oppose Him and thwart His will read Psalm 2.  God is not worried about His plans being derailed, and neither should His people.

2. Maybe this will mark the end of the evangelical churches’ obsession with presidential politics.

For decades there has been a call from many pulpits, some more bully than others, that Christians must be supporters of Republican candidates, especially for the presidency.  The argument was essentially that if the right presidents are elected then the right judges will be appointed and then court cases will be decided in favor of biblical ethics.  That simply has not happened.  Roe v Wade has not been struck down, and there is scant indication that it ever will, pornography has been ruled free speech many times; at every turn the biblical worldview seems to loose in court and now the Supreme Court has upheld gay marriage. 

Last week’s decisions were handed down by a court comprised of a majority of Republican appointees.  Maybe this will be the wake up call needed to refocus the church on the proclamation of the Gospel instead of partisan politics.  Now I am not saying that believers should be apolitical or silent, they shouldn’t, but I am saying that if Jesus said His Kingdom is not of this world or else His followers would have been fighting His arrest and if He was utterly unconcerned with temporal politics (sorry liberation theologians and Christian libertarians He counted both a former Zealot and a Roman tax collector among His apostles – hardly what a political  revolutionary, tax resistor or otherwise politically minded messiah would have done) maybe the church should focus less on politics and more on things of eternal consequence, and maybe now it will.  

[And maybe we can reclaim the title evangelical which is seen by so many as a synonym for Republican.]

3.  Marriage is a God ordained institution and nothing can change that.

Quite frankly it doesn’t really matter what any court or government says, marriage is a God ordained institution between one man and one woman and nothing can change that, not a court ruling, not a referendum not even the sinful heart of man which led to the polygamy recorded in the Old Testament.

Perhaps now the “evangelical” church will stop worrying about what the world says about marriage and start worrying about what the bible teaches about marriage.  Far more concerning to me than gay marriage is the “church’s” acceptance of at will divorce even in the pastorate. [I actually know of a large church where the “pastor’s” announcement of his intention to divorce his wife was met with a standing ovation!]  Perhaps this will be the wake up call needed so that the church will begin to clean its own house, and uphold the biblical standards of marriage.

4. This could be the end of the “Culture War.”

One of the most disheartening things to me about the American “evangelical” church is it’s zeal for the so-called culture war.  Its not that we shouldn’t stand up against and fight against evil, but we ought to realize who our enemy truly is.  Homosexuals are not the enemy of the church, neither are abortion providers or pornographers, they are sinners hopelessly lost and enslaved to sin and dead in their trespasses who need the Gospel, and to repent and believe in Jesus.  Just like every believer was until God being rich in mercy in love made them alive in Christ, not of their own merit, but solely of grace so that no man may boast.

Too many in the church have been so immersed in this fight that when they look at gay marriage advocates they see their enemies instead of the mission field.  Maybe this decision will allow some “culture warriors” to admit they lost the political struggle once and for all and realize that the only hope to change society is through the individual changing of hearts through the Gospel.  The church needs to focus on spiritual warfare not cultural warfare, and maybe these decisions and their implications for “culture warriors” will open new doors for evangelism. 

5. Scripture clearly teaches that things will get worse before the return of Christ, and they clearly are.

Now I am not saying that last week’s court decisions are harbingers of Christ’s immediate return, after all none except the father knows the hour but it is a clear indication that societies around the globe are not getting better and more enlightened but are sliding deeper into sin.  Just read 2 Timothy 3:1-9  and see if you don’t think things are on track.

Bible believing and bible literate Christians should have no expectation other than a steady decline of civilization until Jesus returns and should expect no godly government until Jesus is ruling from the throne of David.  These court cases do not invite God’s judgment on the U.S.A. they are God’s judgment.  As things continue to get worse we can be assured that everything is unfolding according to God’s plan and that Jesus will return and put all things right.

While I am certainly not happy about the direction that our country is going (or has gone, I think that Christian morality was never really woven into the fabric of American society; have you ever notices all of the brothels in old westerns or heard someone call Benjamin Franklin America’s first pornographer?), I don’t think as believers there is anything discouraging or disheartening about it.  Rather we should be encouraged knowing that God is sovereign and that what we are witnessing, though it may be the decline of America, is the unfolding of His plan.  Our mission as believers is not to hold the moral line for society, but to make disciples and we are still free to spread the good news of Jesus Christ.  Let’s focus on that.

Sandy, Sovereignty and the Supremacy of Christ

            As you are undoubtedly well aware, this past week the East Coast of the United States was battered by hurricane Sandy.  If fact the battering was so severe that the media has abandoned the term hurricane in large part for the more descriptive Super Storm Sandy.

            And it was a super storm.  Usually hurricanes are southeastern or Gulf Coast affairs, but Sandy was different.  Her effects were felt from North Carolina to Maine, and as far inland as Ohio.  It is an amazing thing that the same storm that sent waves surging over sea walls in the Carolinas also blanketed the mountains of West Virginia with snow.  It wasn’t just an amazing storm, it was an amazing display of the power of God.

            In one of the most interesting passages of Scripture to extol the power of God, Elihu proclaims the majesty of God largely in terms of His sovereignty over the weather.  He is praised for ordering the snow and the rain to fall, the winds to blow and for authoring storms so fierce that animals do not venture out of their dens.  And yes for directing the path of storms.  And not only does He direct them He directs them to accomplish His purposes.  Witness Job 37:12-13.

They (storms) turn around and around by his guidance,

to accomplish all that he commands them

on the face of the habitable world.

Whether for correction or for his land

or for love, he causes it to happen.

When a disaster strikes, even the unbelieving world (isn’t it interesting that even insurance companies recognize storms of as an “act of God”) and far too many Christians shriek “why God?”  But the answer is simple, because He is accomplishing His good purposes through the storm/earthquake/forest fire/tsunami/outbreak of disease etc.  And as Job says, that purpose might be to judge or correct a people, simply to facilitate to renewal of the land (only a divine Creator could design a system where periodic forest fires actually benefit a forest) or to express His love.  Some would be quick to say that a destructive storm could not possibly be an expression of God’s love, but they would be profoundly wrong.

A disaster of this magnitude will undoubtedly draw believers closer to Christ, and  God may even use it to bring unbelievers to saving faith in Christ.  And to be blunt, even though dozens were killed, millions are still without power and the cost of the damage will be in the billions of dollars, if God used this storm to bring one unbeliever to saving faith, or to strengthen the faith of one believer, all of the destruction and terror wrought by Sandy was a supreme act of love.  All of this temporal destruction and misery is but momentary affliction and really is of no consequence when compared to eternity, and any eternal good outweighs all of the hardship that this temporary life can throw at us.

We tend to forget that death, destruction and judgment is what we all deserve.  Apart from the grace of God and the gift of Salvation we are all by nature children of wrath.  God would be entirely just and right to destroy the entire world and cast every person on the planet into hell based on their own actions and their own sinful nature.  Anything other than that is an expression of love.

Whether it was an expression of love or judgment or just much needed renewal for the earth, one of undeniable fact about Sandy, was that it accomplished God’s purposes.  In a hymn of praise authored by the Holy Spirit through the pen of Paul embedded in the letter to the Colossians (Colossians 1:15-20), Paul praises Jesus as the creator, saying that all things were created through Him and for Him.  That includes this storm system.   It was authored by Christ to accomplish His own purposes. While we might not understand what they are, we can be confident that they are ultimately good, because Christ is good. 

To bitterly wail “why God?” is to question the character of Christ.  That does not mean it is sinful to mourn loss, or be moved by the loss of life (especially considering anytime there is a large scale loss of life many unbelievers step into eternity where they will be judged on their own merits before a holy God) after all even Jesus wept over Lazarus, and we are commanded to weep with those who weep.  But it does mean that it is always sinful to deny not only that God is sovereign over every happening in the universe but also that He has a divine purpose for every happening in the universe.  Even fierce storms.  Know that everything was created by and for our loving savior, and you will understand why we needn’t mourn (or live) as those who have no hope.

An Election that Actually Matters

          The doctrine of election is one of the most beautiful and encouraging doctrines of the faith.  That doesn’t mean that it is easy to understand and accept from a human perspective.   Even Martin Luther referred to it as “the hard wine”, but if you look at what the bible says and really think about it, then it won’t be so hard to understand and will be a source of encouragement to you.

            The first thing to understand is that when we talk about election there is more than one kind of election in the bible, there is corporate or group election, election to a particular task or office, and individual election to salvation for individual believers.

            Corporate election is when God chooses a group of people to be his people.  In  the old testament this was Israel, but in the same way that God chose Israel, He also choose the church.  Peter writes to believers that the Church is a Holy nation, a chosen race and a people for God’s own possession (1 Peter 2:9-10).  That God chose a group of people as His own is very clear.

            A second kind of election is the election, or choosing by God, of an individual to fulfill a particular function or office.  This is seen in both the Old Testament and the New.  God chose Moses as the deliverer of Israel from Egypt, He chose David to be king and Solomon to build the temple (even though David desired to build it).  This kind of special election was not just something that happened long ago, but is still going on as God elects people to the ministry and other positions and offices within the church (Eph 4:11).

            But when we talk about election what most people think of is personal election to salvation.  This kind of election refers to God’s choosing individual people for grace that results in faith and leads to salvation.  The selection of believers by God is a thread that runs through the whole of Scripture.  In the Pentateuch God choose Abraham (Gen 12:1-3) in the prophets God chooses Jeremiah before his birth (Jer. 1:5) but in the writings we have as clear a statement about election as any of the passages about election we find in the New Testament.  David wrote in Psalm 65:4 “Blessed is the one You choose and bring near to dwell in your courts”.  This is an explicit statement about personal election.

            The New Testament also clearly teaches election in the gospels, Acts and the epistles.  John 5:21 records Jesus saying that the “son gives life to whom He wishes” and in 6:44 Jesus says that “no one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him.”  Acts 13:48, in describing the response to the preaching of Paul, notes that as many were appointed to life believed. Paul likewise writes “who He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified (Rom8:30),” and that “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world (Eph.1:4).  Peter notes in 1 Peter 1:1-2 that believers scattered throughout the world are “chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.”  Finally Revelation 13:8 states that the names in the book of life have been written since the foundation of the world.

            It is simply inescapable that God has elected certain people to faith and eternal life.  It is His choice and He is the actor.  I have given so many examples so that it is clear that this is a teaching that runs throughout the whole of Scripture, from the first book of the bible to the last.  To deny individual election is to deny a clear teaching of Scripture.

            But the doctrine of election in no way negates man’s free will.  Some who believe that man chooses God claim that irresistible election is incompatible with the free will of man. They claim that this doctrine makes men robots who are marching to either destruction or salvation with no input into their fate.  That however is simply not true.  All men apart from God constantly and freely chose sins that alienate them for God and make them objects of wrath.  Paul, in Romans 3:11, writes of the natural man “No one seeks for God.”  God does not actively elect some for damnation and others for salvation.   All men are headed to perdition, by their own choosing and actions, but God gracefully elects some  to be awakened to their spiritual condition that they might repent and believe.  While this may seem unfair to us, the reality is that fair would be for everyone to be cast into hell, but in His mercy God elects some to life.  As Exodus 33:19 records God says “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy”.

            So you should be encouraged by the doctrine of election, if you have truly accepted Christ as both your Lord and Savior.  God has chosen you.  What an incredible gift of grace.  Not only is election a tremendous encouragement, but it is also a call to holy living, as Paul exhorted in Ephesians 4:1, we should strive to walk worthily of the calling with which we were called.