Earnestly Contend for the Faith
“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” (Jude 1:3). Why do we defend the institute of marriage? We defend because it is an institute, anchored in the creation ordinance. A creation ordinance that prescribes only a monogamous relationship between one man and one woman. We defend it also because for Christians marriage is a sacred institute that was considered a mystery and was later revealed in the NT as a reflection or living drama of the Gospel. Paul states his reason concerning his discourse on the relationship between the husband and the wife. He refers to it as a mystery. A mystery because it is in reference to Christ. In other words, this mystery is in reference to the Gospel. Paul did not use the relationship of a husband and wife so he can make his illustration look good. No he used marriage because it is a living and real drama of the Gospel being lived out between a husband and wife. The husband loves his wife because Christ loved the church. The wife loving submits to her husband because the church submits to Christ. That is the mystery that Paul was trying to unfold concerning his living drama of marriage, which points to Christ. Hence, we can safely say to the world: to attack marriage is to attack the Gospel and to attack the Gospel is to attack God. And to assault God means to mark yourself out as an enemy of Him. They are playing with fire and gasoline.
Satan has His eyes on marriage because He knows marriage is a powerful institute that reflects the Gospel. He wants to marginalize this sin concerning this institute because he knows the more and more its twisted lifestyle and anti-Christ beliefs pervades one’s life negatively, the more and more we take the Gospel lightly. He attacks and attacks anything that helps us look to the Gospel. He was unsuccessful in his attempt killing God’s Son while as a baby. Why? Because He knows the active and passive obedience of Christ to the call of sacrifice for Hell-deserving sinners makes up the contents of the Gospel.
And since He was unsuccessful, he attacks this institute because it is the source that causes His people to reflect His Son’s relationship to the church. He knows the Gospel is important for Christians because it teaches us how to live with our spouses and teaches us the role of biblical manhood and womanhood. When the enemy attacks, he attacks, by operating in subterfuge. He has a game plan before he comes for the neck. He loves to blur the line. He does not come to the table and draw all his cards. He hides, prowls, and then attacks.
One of Satan’s weapon is the idolatry of pleasing men. He loves to tempt believers to elevate relationships above God’s glory. He does it by influencing the church to consider celebrating gay wedding and causes one to manipulate the commandment to love your neighbor by substituting the joy and respect for the voting in place of the protest against the 5-4 ruling.
He attacks this institute because homosexuality can’t propagate babies. For every human born into this world, he or she is a potential saint of God that is to spend eternity with Christ. We defend it because we do not rejoice in unrighteousness (1 Cor. 13:6, “does not rejoice in unrighteousness”). We defend because Jesus is King and is to be exalted before the nations. We defend because the King determines the terms and conditions for how man must live. We defend the truth so that sinners will have their sins forgiven and be spared from the impending wrath of God. We defend because this abominable lifestyle opens up a can of worms. What’s next? Humans marrying animals? Pederastic homosexuals getting married, etc.? We defend it because it mars the image of God.
It must be noted that we are dealing with two battle fronts: homosexuals and the LGBT movement. The LGBT movement is a 1,000 pound silverback gorilla that has a significant aim. Its aim is to destroy the church; run them out of their buildings, shut off their lights, deplete their finances, and extinguish their presence. To do that means we have a lesser presence in the world. But here is the news flash saints:
- Matthew 16:18, “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.”
- 2 Tim. 2:9, “For which I suffer hardship even to imprisonment as a criminal; but the Word of God is not imprisonment.”
- Revelation 14:6: “And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, having an eternal gospel to preach to those who live on the earth, and to every nation and tribe and tongue and people.”
Again the LGBT movement operates in subterfuge. Many in past decades would not dare to surmount a huge presence to debate against Scripture because of its clarity of prohibitions against sexual sins such as homosexuality. But now times have changed and they operate as wolves in sheep’s clothing. They do it by using homosexual so-called academic scholarship. And their means: the Bible. They ultimately fail because you can’t destroy the doctrines of God. They are supernatural. Hence, it can’t lie, contradict itself, or be inconsistent.
Before we address their unbiblical notions, I would like to first remind ourselves that this issue can be a catch-22 for Christians. What I mean is that one can fall into one of these errors: apathy for the truth and fanatical hatred for homosexuals. Because this is a hot issue, we need to exalt the cross because it reminds us of who we were once was before salvation. Paul reminded this sobering truth to the Corinthian church. He states in 1 Corinthians 6:9-11, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.”
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The Domain for Truth 