Rise Up and Lead

In 1st Peter 3, we can find verses that will motivate us to seek the Lord, to do good, even when we face opposition:
12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their prayers; But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
13 And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?
14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you are blessed. "And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled."

So, we stand on the truth of the Scriptures, recognizing that the presence and the blessing of God is upon His Word and people who call on His name and are dedicated to living according to that Word. And, the Bible never promises us a care-free or a trial-free life; there is a cost for living the truth. That could come in the form of opposing thoughts and actions, suffering in various forms, but we can know that One greater than ourselves is standing with us as we stand with Him.

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In Ezekiel 3:17, we see that God defined His call upon the prophet Ezekiel.  Now, we certainly don't have this type of call upon our lives but we can be challenged to be obedient to Christ as He directs us to stand, to speak, and to warn:
17 "Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; therefore hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me:
18 When I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, to save his life, that same wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.
19 Yet, if you warn the wicked, and he does not turn from his wickedness, nor from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered your soul.

 Affirmation for a couple in Northern Ireland who refused to bake a cake expressing a message in support of homosexuality came from an unexpected place recently.  The Christian Post reports that actor Patrick Stewart, who starred in "X-Men" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation," says he supports the right of a Christian bakery in Northern Ireland whose owners refused to make a cake with a gay marriage slogan on it.  The bakers were last month convicted of "discrimination," and fined.

The article states that Stewart was speaking on BBC's "Newsnight" show and expressed support for Ashers Baking Company in Belfast, which was fined 500 pounds, or $763 dollars for refusing to make a cake with "support gay marriage" written on it along with a picture of Bert and Ernie from "Sesame Street" in May 2014.  The bakery is owned by Colin and Karen McArthur, who say they will appeal the decision. The family said in a statement: "We continue to insist that we have done nothing wrong as we have discriminated against no individual but rather acted according to what the Bible teaches regarding marriage." They also said, "...Our hope and prayer would be that an appeal will allow us and other Christians to live out their faith."

Stewart, who is known for his support of so-called LGBT rights, said, "It was not because it was a gay couple that they objected — it was not because they were celebrating some kind of marriage or an agreement between them," adding, "It was the actual words on the cake that they objected to, because they found the words offensive."

And of course, the actor's words produced a backlash on Facebook.   E! Online reports that Stewart had to defend his comments. He stated, "In my view, this particular matter was not about discrimination, but rather personal freedoms and what constitutes them, including the freedom to object." He added, "Both equality and freedom of speech are fundamental rights— and this case underscores how we need to ensure one isn't compromised in the pursuit of the other."

Stewart took people to task who he said "...have conflated my position on this single matter to assume I'm anti-equality or that I share the personal beliefs of the bakers."  He said, "Nothing, absolutely nothing, could be further from the truth. I have long championed the rights of the LGBT community, because equality should not only be, as the people of Ireland powerfully showed the world, universally embraced, but treasured."

Isn't it interesting that supposed supporters of so-called "equality" did not allow for a point of view that apparently did not line up with their agenda?  Even from someone who has historically supported their agenda?  In an age when you have those who would subvert free speech rights and religious rights, which are guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, with "sexual rights," there does seem to be little or no room for disagreement.  And, I do disagree with Stewart - so-called "equality" is not a fundamental right - from a Biblical worldview perspective, there is no right to same-sex marriage; there is only one definition of marriage, and there are no other counterfeits that are "equal" to it.  

But, we are in a critical time.  There are those that want to silence debate on the important issue on what constitutes marriage, which is a settled issue according to the Scriptures.  There are those who hold an opposing view basically do not want to acknowledge God's viewpoint on their lifestyle choices.  And, Christians should welcome debate on a wide variety of issues, so that we can winsomely and skillfully present the truth of Scripture, not force others who hold to a different view to be quiet and go away.

Dr. Ronnie Floyd, President of the Southern Baptist Convention, made some poignant comments about not being silent in his remarks before the Convention's annual meeting in Ohio last night. Baptist Press reported on his message.  He stated: "The lostness has never been greater in our dangerous and hopeless world...Everyone, and I mean everyone, needs to rise up and lead."

Here is an excerpt from the article:

"Now we await the outcome of the next possible Supreme Court ruling that could alter our nation's belief and practice on traditional and biblical marriage, but also our historic commitment to religious liberty for all people," Floyd said, calling it a watershed moment potentially fueling "the already sweeping wildfire of the sexual revolution" beyond "anyone's control locally, statewide, nationally and globally."

Floyd said that neither the Supreme Court nor the culture is the final authority and insisted that he and thousands of pastors in the nation refuse to officiate any same-sex unions. He also said that Christians in America must stand for freedom of religion, knowing it promotes the common good of the nation and the world.

In light of challenges such as the savagery of Islamic militants to the horrors of human trafficking to the absence of religious liberty, Floyd quoted from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship: "Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act."

We continue to pray and to prepare regarding the Supreme Court decision, which I am anticipating week after next, perhaps sooner.  If it redefines marriage, as many court watchers think it will, it could have a dramatic impact on our culture, increasing the degree of legitimization of the practice of so-called same-sex marriage.   How will it change our lives?  It's hard to say, but I do know that we can be challenged to continue to defend not only the Biblical position on what marriage is and its place as a sacred institution, but also Biblical practice concerning our marriages.  We can become greater advocates of marriage and more dedicated to loving our mates and to helping to strengthen marriages - our own, those in our churches, our circles of friends, and throughout the culture.   We need to, as Dr. Floyd said, "Rise up and lead."