In today's society, in particular, American society, a typical marriage, even among most Christians, means going to your local courthouse and applying for a State Marriage License! This is not common knowledge, maybe, but a license makes something legal which would otherwise be illegal. In other words, according to the State, your marriage is illegal if you don't apply for and receive a license from them ( kinda like driving )!
Big news lately, is the fact that more and more states ( everyday it seems ) are granting these Marriage Licenses to homosexual, or same-sex couples! One might well reason, according to the legal definition of 'License' ( a right or permission granted by a competent authority (as of a government or a business) to engage in some business or occupation, do some act, or engage in some transaction which would be unlawful without such right or permission ), if the State is acknowledging that such union is unlawful ( according to the Laws of Nature & Nature's God )! If marriage between heterosexuals is permissible with a license though, you might ( as well ) ask, 'why not homosexuals??
Part of the problem in most societies is the false distinction between what is sacred and what is secular! Life, for the Christian especially, is Sacred; there is no part that can be regulated to the merely secular! Put simply, the term 'secular' is meant to relate to the 'worldly', or temporal, things or activities of life. Sacred, of course, is based on the notion that certain things are 'set apart' for a certain purpose. For the Christian, this means that everything he or she does is Sacred, for the Christian Life is ( or should be ) 'set apart' for the purpose of advancing the Kingdom of God!
A certain denomination has recently defined Christian Marriage as, 'between two people', rather than 'between a man and a woman', which is the Scriptural definition! It is no doubt possible for two persons of the same sex to have & show love to each other, even to commit ( in covenant ) to each other ( look at David & Jonathan's relationship ), but can they actually fulfill the commitments of marriage towards each other? Malachi 2:15, among others, tells us the Purpose of Christian Marriage, 'He seeks godly offspring'!
This is not to say that the only reason for Christian Marriage is to produce ( children ), but this, we can ascertain by reading ( even cursorily ) Scripture, is the primary aim! Same-sex couples may be able to live together, and even to bring glory to God through their lives together, but can this union really be called a marriage? According to Scripture, it cannot!
Moving on, we must stress again that Christian Marriage is, for all intents & purposes, Sacred; it was set apart, in the beginning, by our Heavenly Father ( Genesis 2:21-25 ), and to this day, is observed, even by non-Christians, as a more-or-less Sacred Institution! As such, Christian Marriage, especially, should not be regulated at all by any Secular Government, State or otherwise! There is a growing trend, praise be to our Heavenly Father, in which Christians are ceasing to beg the State for permission to wed! ( Our website ( truthinliving.org ) stats for the past year testify to this )
As Christians begin ( & continue ) to marry 'in the sight of God & these witnesses' alone, covenanting with each other before God rather than seeking permission from the State, True Christian Marriage will be revealed for what it is; a Sacred Bond, before God & God Alone, something in which the State has no lasting interest! Let us determine to break this Barrier down in our own lives, and as our influence spreads, the trend will continue; Christian Marriage will be revealed as a Holy Covenant, set apart from the Beginning by our Creator, and having nothing to do with any Secular State, or even those who deny their Heavenly Father!
Charles Haddon Shank
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