Supreme Court Affirms Gay “Marriage”

The long-awaited decision from the Supreme Court on gay “marriage” has finally been announced, and sadly the Supreme Court has decided to affirm gay marriage. NBC News reports, “the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday made marriage for same-sex couples legal nationwide, declaring that refusing to grant marriage licenses to gay and lesbian couples violates the Constitution.” The decision was apparently close: 5-4. This decision means that the remaining 14 states that had bans on same-sex “marriage” will now have to allow same-sex couples to wed.

Fundamental Change To the Culture of America

Now, this decision by the Supreme Court will fundamentally change the culture of America. Something that few could have imagined even a decade ago has now happened: gay “marriage” is completely legal across the entire United States of America. Like the landmark decision of Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion, this recent decision marks a dramatic turn by our nation from yet another tenet of biblical morality.

This decision by the Supreme Court will fundamentally change the culture of America.

Really, though, this decision is a direct result of how far our culture has drifted from a biblical worldview. Instead of basing our nation’s thinking on God’s Word, by and large, man’s word now determines truth in our culture. And if man determines truth then why shouldn’t marriage be for two men or two women? It’s no wonder that, with this kind of thinking where “everyone did what was right in their own eyes” (Judges 21:25), most people have embraced gay “marriage” and have utterly rejected God’s Word and what He—the Creator of marriage—says about marriage.

Ken Ham, president of Answers in Genesis, says of the decision,

This ruling in favor of gay “marriage” by the Supreme Court is actually going to fundamentally change the culture in America, and apart from a miracle of God—a special movement of God—this is going to be basically an irreversible situation. And I really believe that to understand what is happening to America now, read Romans 1. That is really a picture of what is going on. We’re going to see increased persecution against Christians. We’re going to see increased antagonism toward Christianity. We’re going to see the restriction of the free exercise of religion, freedom of religion, and free speech in this nation, particularly in regard to Christianity. I believe we’re going to see the government move against Christian churches, colleges, institutions, and organizations that take a stand on biblical marriage as God commands us to in the Bible going back to the book of Genesis.

As Jesus stated in Matthew,

Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning “made them male and female,” and said, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate. (Matthew 19:4–6).

There Is a Remnant

Now, especially after this decision by the Supreme Court, many people are comparing and will compare America with Sodom and Gomorrah, two notoriously homosexual cities that were eventually destroyed by God because of their wickedness (Genesis 19). But unlike in Sodom and Gomorrah where God could not even find 10 righteous people (Genesis 18:16-33), there is a remnant of Christians here in America who do base their thinking on God’s Word. And it’s a larger remnant than you may think. We meet these faithful followers of Christ every day at the Creation Museum and at conferences and other ministry events. We praise God for this faithful remnant that remains true to His Word and has not compromised with man’s ideas about morality.

There is a remnant of Christians here in America who do base their thinking on God’s Word.

We are already seeing many Christians being punished by the government for living by their firmly held and biblically based beliefs and convictions. Though forcing pastors to perform same-sex marriages goes against the Constitution and likely won’t happen at first, that is the direction we’re heading. Religious liberty is being eroded more each day and, as a result of this decision, will likely erode even more rapidly. We certainly hope that it won’t reach the point where Christians and pastors are going to prison for their religious beliefs, but, realistically, with the way things are going, our precious religious freedom might just vanish in the wake of this decision by a bare majority of five justices who apparently deem themselves more knowledgeable and righteous than God on the subject of marriage.

The Church Must Return to Its Foundation

Sadly, it’s not just those outside the church who have rejected God’s Word as the standard for morality and for marriage. Recent research conducted with America’s Research Group for Ken Ham’s upcoming book Ready to Return showed that 50% or more of those aged 20–29 who grew up in the church agree with gay “marriage” or won’t vote against it—over half! As the church has rejected Genesis as literal history and allowed compromise with man’s ideas into the church, we’re starting to see other doctrines grounded in Genesis—such as marriage—being reinterpreted in light of man’s ideas. And this will only get worse if the church doesn’t wake up and return to its foundation: the infallible Word of God!

Mike Johnson is chief counsel of Freedom Guard, a nonprofit, constitutional law organization that has assisted Answers in Genesis with its Ark Encounter project. He says of the SCOTUS decision,

Millions of Americans are also rightly concerned about what might happen if these critical boundaries on marriage are erased. The federal district court judge in our successful case last year asked some important questions of our opposing counsel that they could not answer. He asked the plaintiffs' attorneys: if they are correct—that the State has no authority to regulate marriage—then where could we then draw the line? Would first cousins have the right to marry? A father and his daughter? An uncle and his nephew? A 20-year-old man and a 13-year-old girl? If the “right to marry” is determined to have no rational boundary, chaos is certain to follow. And all of those other “interest groups” will present equally fervent arguments as to why THEIR particular preferences and behaviors should be honored with equal protection under the law.

This is certainly true. If marriage can be redefined on the basis of “love has no boundaries,” as many people say to argue for same-sex “marriage,” then where do we stop redefining marriage? Why not two men and three women? Why not a man and an animal? Where do you stop redefining marriage? It is only in God’s Word that we get a standard for marriage given to us by the Creator. Marriage is for one man and one woman because God created it that way (Genesis 1:27, 2:24, Matthew 19:4-5). Since God created marriage God—and only God—has the right to define what marriage is and is not.

What Can Christians Do?

Despite this disappointing decision from SCOTUS that is sure to cause more challenges and redefinitions of marriage down the road, Christians need to be bold in doing our part to share the gospel—in love and without compromise—with those who desperately need it. God can use each and every one of us to reach someone with the gospel of Jesus Christ. And it’s only through the gospel that we will see hearts and lives changed for eternity and see change in this nation. We urge you to pray that God will use us—this generation of His Church—to bring revival to the United States and a return to God’s Word as the foundation for our nation’s thinking.