Greetings in Christ,
Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Romans 13.1
One of the presidential candidates stated last week the if any religious institution refused to preform a same-sex wedding, that they should lose their tax exempt status. I have pondered that pronouncement for some time. I find it deeply troubling, but not for the reason most might think
Yes, I can find no Biblically solid justification for marrying any one other one man to one woman. No one has been able to give me a Biblically sound argument to change my thinking on the matter. This not some homophobic reaction on my part, those who advocate same sex marriage have not shown from Scripture anything that justifies it and as a pastor of Christ’s Church I have vowed to preach and teach according to what the Scripture reveals of God’s will and purpose.
My main concern lies in that a secular government should not be in the business of dictating to Christians what they believe. While we can and should be loyal citizens of the nation in which we reside, our first loyalty is to God. When a state tries to impose its vision of the faith on believers, especially when that vision is contrary to the Word of God, then our loyalty to God demands we resist the state.
True, all governing authority comes from God, but if that authority is misused in an effort to make the state the source of what we believe about our Lord, then the state has made itself an enemy of God and must not be obeyed.