14 Thoughts On The SCOTUS Decision

Before I leave on sabbatical (for more on that see the blog directly below this one), I feel like I need to say a few things for our church regarding the recent SCOTUS decision.

This cannot be anything but controversial, so I will just offer a list of thoughts. Regardless where people fall on the pendulum swing of opinions/convictions/beliefs on this issue, everyone has deep feelings and even fears attached to all that is happening. So, my hope is that these thoughts will not only clearly state our position as a church, but hopefully bring some internal rest to some of us who are trying to think deeper about how we live out our faith right now.

The list is in no particular order. I only ask that you read all the way through this post. So, if you do not have time to do so at this point...please set this aside and come back to this post when you have ample time.

First, I must say that I have been so proud to be part of our church. As far as I have seen you have responded in humility and dignity to this issue. My hope for this post is that you would continue to be encouraged in the same posture.

Secondly, let me say upfront that I have dozens of friends that I love deeply who hold different convictions about this issue and dozens others that actively participate in same-sex partnerships. I maintain these relationships while being fully in line with our conviction at Colossae: We believe God's best for marriage is between a man and a woman. We hold to that statement based on both Old Testament passages (for example Genesis 1-3) as well as from New Testament passages, such as directly from the mouth of Jesus (Matthew 19:4-9).

THAT SAID...

1. Every person is created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26) and therefore deserves to be respected as a human being, period. We believe this is true regardless of beliefs, opinions, backgrounds, choices, etc.
2. Love and humility, NOT shame, should be our mutual aspiration in culture. We believe Jesus modeled this perfectly...which is why we desire to follow his ways. 
3. If the bible becomes a weapon that we use against people, it is not holiness we seek but power. This is not only arrogant and contrary to the ways of Jesus, but detrimental to our passing along what we say we believe.
4. We can easily talk about the need for holiness in our culture, but fail to realize our own unholy motivations (James 1:13-15). To hold back from throwing stones we must come to grips with our own villainous nature (Romans 3:23). 
5. It should not be a surprise to anyone (Christian or not) that people hold different beliefs about different topics - gun control, Jesus, governmental structures, parenting philosophies...and everyone thinks they hold the correct view. We cannot react in fear but must be careful to respond with dignity toward others. 
6. We have to manage our anxiety and become servants of those that disagree with us not opponents (Matthew 20:28). 
7. God is not frantically pacing in heaven right now because of what is going on in the cultures around the world. As Christians we cannot react in fear of losing control of culture as if we ever had control in the first place. We believe God is the only sovereign One. 
8. We have zero right or freedom to judge people who are not Christian (1 Corinthians 5:12-13).
9. In the height of the Roman Empire when Caesar ruled through much corruption, Jesus never spoke up against him. In fact his perspective was the opposite (for example see Luke 20:22-25). Or later when Nero was torturing Christians in the public square because of their faith, the apostle Peter guided Christians on how to live under that government (see 1 Peter 2:13-17). The biblical or Christian response is always honoring those who govern over us. If that was true under the rule of Nero, it would certainly apply today as well. Also read Romans 13:1-7.
10. Belittling or separating from people because they sin differently than we do is a sin in itself. This is precisely what the Pharisees did and we cannot fall into that trap. We have talked about this many times, but as a church we cannot sit around with bracelets on, talking about what Jesus would do...as his followers we must do what he did. He not only avoided belittling people, but he clearly befriended those who were outside of his "belief system." The Pharisee's had a problem with this and only because they were arrogantly focused on how much people lived different lifestyles then they did - as if they were perfect. Anyone who arrogantly separates needs to read 1 Corinthians 5:9-10 because scripture never expects followers of Jesus to separate from people who live differently because they hold different beliefs.
11. Human beings are much more than moral agents who consistently fail and therefore just need Jesus as a remedy - as is too often the bottom line view in the evangelical world. In other words, morality is the wrong battle to fight. This was largely what I spoke on a few weeks ago in the message titled, Encounters: Who Do You Love? Life has never been about what we do or abstain from, but according to Jesus, it's about who we love (Matthew 22:34-40).
12. Every single person living today has a skewed sexual orientation. None of us has a holy or completely sacred idea about sexual relationships or, for that matter, relationships in general.
13. Warnings against heterosexual sin in scripture FAR OUTWEIGH the warnings against homosexual behaviors. The issue scripture addresses is not one of homosexuality, but porneia: any sexual interaction outside the context of marriage. So, to hold up homosexuality as something different or worse than anything else is really just an expression of bigotry.
14. Culture is not something we try to "win," but rather something we want to bring the Gospel to (Matthew 28:18-20). The Gospel has always been counter-cultural...it should not be shocking to us that we believe differently then the majority of our culture.

So I hope this helps you process how you respond to this. I would also ask that you carefully consider what you say, links you share, or how you respond to things online. My hope for our church is that we would choose to be viewed as humble servants more than be viewed as right.

Thank you for your humility before God and others.
Chuck