I thank God that in the United States of America we have an amendment to our constitution that guarantees the right to free speech. There has been a lot of talk in the media about the possibility of loosing some of that freedom. In my investigation I have found that there are no laws now proposed, that will take that right away from Americans today. However there is a lot of rhetoric these days about so called hate crimes. Talk about H. R. 1913 and documents being issued by the Department of Homeland Security, and other news items from various sources, are of a nature that they intimidate people concerning beliefs they have been taught from the time they were children. Now, all of a sudden, these beliefs are said to be hateful.
This political and social atmosphere has caused me to think about what the future might be like for the conservative Bible believing Christian. It is especially important for me to consider because I am a preacher, called to proclaim the truths revealed in the Bible. I am called to point people toward a personal relationship with God. The direction with which this has been escalating in the last few years, has brought me to wonder if it is possible that one day it will be considered a hate crime for a Christian to state what they believe about sin in some of it's popular and accepted forms. I am speaking of the issue of homosexuality and the definition of marriage. I believe this could be a big issue in the future for the preacher who stands each week to proclaim the truth contained in the Bible. I don't think our right to free speech will ever be taken away, if it is, we will no longer be a free country. I think the issue the preacher will deal with is the opinions of those who come to church. After all that has almost always been the issue. In light of these facts I decided to formulate my response if I am ever asked, by anyone, what I believe about homosexuality.
Question: What do you believe about homosexuality and same sex marriage?
Answer: I believe in God. The following items are not a complete list by any means, but they express the highlights of what I believe about God.
Romans 1:18-32 (NIV)
[18] The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
[19] since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
[20] For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
[21] For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
[22] Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
[23] and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
[24] Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.
[25] They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator who is forever praised. Amen.
[26] Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.
[27] In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
[28] Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
[29] They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,
[30] slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;
[31] they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
[32] Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Now, if you believe in God, this is what He says about homosexuality. I believe in God so I do not practice or condone homosexuality (or any other sin for that matter). As a preacher, called by God to proclaim the truth of His Word, I can do nothing else except proclaim that homosexuality is a sin. By the authority of God's word, the Bible, I take this stand and will not be moved.
God bless you.
Rev. David G. Bostick
dgb (:-}>
NIV - The Holy Bible: New International Version (NIV). Cedar Rapids: Laridian, 2003.