|
God's
Design for Marriage
from the Board of Bishops
 Marriage
licenses became extra popular in San Francisco, CA; New Paltz, NY; and
Portland, OR, in recent months. Yet no traditional wedding bells tolled
for many of these unions between same-sex partners. Technically these
marriages are illegal. The California Supreme Court may nullify more than
4,000 licenses granted to gay couples earlier this year.
In most states, marriage is defined as the union between one man and one
woman. In 1996, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) passed. It specifies
that no state has to recognize a same-sex marriage entered into in another
state.
In California, New York and Oregon same-sex marriage still is illegal
— yet judges and elected officials chose to ignore the marriage laws.
They recently issued marriage licenses and performed civil ceremonies
to “marry” thousands of same-sex partners.
The
Free Methodist View
Marriage is God’s idea. In Genesis we are told that God saw that
it was not good for man to be alone. He created a woman so the two would
be one — a union between a man and a woman. This ideal marriage is
His design.
It is true that Jesus never specifically addressed same-sex unions. The
only time He spoke about marriage at all was in response to questions
from religious leaders — questions about divorce and marriage in
heaven designed to trap Him.
But while Jesus Himself did not specifically address same-sex unions,
the Bible is not silent about sex and marriage. Hebrews 13:4 states, “Marriage
should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will
judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral.”
And the Old Testament also addresses same-sex relationships. Leviticus
20:13, for example, states that if a man lies with a man as with a woman
both of them have done what is detestable. Such actions were punishable
by death just like any other sexual sin.
Jesus upheld the moral absolutes of the Old Testament, stating that He
did not come to abolish the Law but to fulfill it.
The Free Methodist Church recognizes marriage and family as institutions
ordained by God. Marriage is the joining of one man and one woman into
a lifelong relationship. Just as the American social experiment of “no
fault divorce” has resulted in a significant increase in broken marriages
and homes (though originally promoted for its positive benefits), can
anyone seriously predict no destructive results from same-sex marriage
40 years from now?
Marriage, therefore, should be safeguarded and supported by both church
and society. This calls for public vows. It is not enough for a couple
to live together in private commitment; they are to covenant before God
and state (Book of Discipline, 3440.A).
The Board of Bishops of the Free Methodist Church of North America affirms
our understanding that homosexual behavior is contrary to the will of
God as clearly stated in Scripture. Therefore, the Free Methodist Church
does not recognize the legitimacy or participation in the practice of
same-sex marriage.
We believe that the church has a personal and corporate responsibility
to be God’s instrument of healing, restoring love to the homosexual
seeking recovery of Christian conduct and lifestyle. The church opposes
legislation that makes homosexual conduct or lifestyle legitimate.
Our
Response
The Bible tells us to speak the truth in love, to love our neighbors
as ourselves and to do unto others as we would have them do unto us. So
what do we do?
We call on Free Methodists to lovingly:
- Pray
for God’s protection of marriage and a spiritual revival in our
country
- Continue
to love our friends and neighbors even if we don’t agree with their
lifestyle choices
- Actively
work toward and inform our representatives and senators to protect the
sanctity of marriage.
—
written with assistance from Henriet Schapelhouman
|
