In Genesis chapter 2, God declares it is not good for Adam (the first man) to live alone. All the animals are there, but none of them are a suitable partner for Adam. God, therefore, in a special act of creation, makes a woman. Just a few verses later, the woman is called “his wife” (Genesis 2:25). Eden was the scene of the first marriage, ordained by God Himself. The author of Genesis then records the standard by which all future marriages are defined: “A man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24). Jesus’ words are clear where .He says in Matthew 19:4-6 (NIV), “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female’ (Jesus accepts the authority of the Genesis record), and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? (Jesus then adds to the Genesis statement reinforcing heterosexual marriage by saying) So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
Jesus’ positions can be difficult to understand, hard to follow, incredibly inconvenient and even unpopular. However, if we really believe that as God’s Son, He is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6), we must align ourselves to Him and His authoritative words in all matters that have to do with our beliefs and practices. This is the essence of Christian discipleship and we will never move from this. As Christ followers, our conviction is that marriage is to be only between one man and one woman for life and in spite of its imperfections, heterosexual marriage is the healthiest place to raise children of the next generation. We believe this without being unkind or in any way hateful towards people who have committed adultery, or are in defacto relationships, or engage in homosexual activity. They are all loved by God and Jesus died on the Cross to save them as well as ourselves. We must remember that we are all made in God’s image but we have also all fallen short of God’s ideal (Romans 3:23). The truth is, all of us are broken to some extent in the area of our sexuality, and for all of us, this is an area where we need to follow and trust Christ. We hold to the biblical teaching that God’s ideal is for sexual activity to be between a man and a woman in a lifelong committed married relationship. This has been the teaching of the Church since Jesus and the Apostles. As complex and broken human beings, we all struggle with weaknesses and temptations. All people within churches and broader society who are attracted to people of the same-sex are no different. The call for all of us is to follow Christ in the midst of our struggles, and to pursue his radical call for our lives.
It is important to remember the need for compassion and love for our neighbours in this debate. While we have strong biblical convictions, we must always respect the right of others to disagree with us and we need to model the radical kindness of Jesus to people we disagree with. This is the essence of civility. Let’s remember this not just in our interpersonal relationships, but also from our social media platforms. We should be mindful there is a world watching the way we engage in these conversations and the Gospel of Jesus should always be central.
The below is a growing list of resources, creating a single place where you can read, watch, review and be supported in a biblical view of marriage.
Government Process on the postal vote - ABS Information
Stay up to date on what the church around Australia is saying - Eternity News Review
Burnside Family Church - Marriage Debate Booklet
Papers
Anglican // Comprehensive Christian View on Marriage Debate
Barry Chant // Homosexual-Practice-in-the-light-of-the-Scriptures
Nashville Statement // Biblical Sexuality
CRC // Responses to Homosexuality
Websites & Blogs
Focus on the Family - Jim Daly's Blog
Video Clips to help engage with others
Katy Faust on Same Sex Marriage, Her Story & Gender - Youtube Clip #1 & Youtube Clip #2 & Youtube Clip #3
Ravi Zacharias on Christian View of Homosexuality - Youtube Clip #1 & Youtube #2
Gospel Coalition on Sexuality/Identity & LGBTI - Youtube #1 & Youtube #2
Ben Witherington on Homosexuality & Sexuality - Youtube #1
Tim Keller on Homosexuality - Youtube Clip #1 & Youtube #2
Rick Warren on what God says about Homosexuality - Youtube Clip #1
NT Wright on gay marriage & Homosexuality - Youtube Clip #1 & Youtube #2 & Youtube #3
Francis Chan on surrender/identity (Homosexuality) - Youtube Clip #1