I Can't Believe I'm Actually Writing This

                Ok, before I start, I just want to say I don’t want to start any major uproar or have people protesting outside my house with pitchforks and torches. I actually am considering not writing because of this exact reason. I know there are probably less than five people that actually read my blog and I am writing to people who don’t really need to hear this message. But I’m going to do it anyway. In my mind, I have started this upwards of 20 times. The number one reason I don’t want to do this is because I’m sick and tired of seeing things about Chick-Fil-A in my newsfeed. Like really sick and tired. Mainly because I am reminded that I am too poor to buy Chick-Fil-A and it is less than 3 minutes away from my house (I’ve timed it, and even when the really bad lights in Decatur are not in my favor, I still make it there in under 3 minutes). But, here I am. I am writing this. Breathe in, breathe out.

                Why am I writing this? I'm not even really writing this about Chick-Fil-A. Yes, it has been spurred on by the buzz about Chick-Fil-A, but it's a much deeper issue than that. I hate getting involved in politics or hard topics because it usually ends up with two people who are unwilling to move in any direction just yelling and making pointed insults and I don’t believe that is a good path for any Christians to follow (let’s be civil, kind people).  And if you have read my blog before you know that I don’t like politics (see Big Whoop Part 2). So, if not politics, there is one reason why I am writing this. STOP USING THE BIBLE INCORRECTLY PEOPLE! There I said it. Phew, that took a load off.

                Ok, so there has been a great deal of arguing over “what the biblical definition of marriage” really is. I’m down for studying scripture and getting to the bottom of stuff. I certainly am not opposed for having multiple passages of scripture that back up a claim. But when your claim does not make sense in light of the gospel (get used to that phrase people, I’m going to use it a LOT), I’m going to get a little angry (hopefully I won’t do anything that is not very Christian-ly).

                I would also like to say I’m NOT doing this to create a debate or because I want to prove people wrong. I want to proclaim the truth in light of the gospel (there it goes again). Because, the problem is, if you are a Christian or proclaim to be a Christian, if all the argument you are giving off does not have anything to do with the truth of the gospel of Christ, then I’ve got a problem. Yes, the Old Testament is wonderful, good, great, fantastic, and has TONS to teach us about CHRIST. But the New Testament shows us how we are no longer bound by LAW, RULES, and REGULATIONS (praise the Lord for that one). I also am not pretending to be a Biblical expert (Lord help us all if I was). I will be using a lot of information that I have gotten from my New Testament class this past semester and a lot of things God has taught me throughout the past few years. Once again: I AM NOT AN EXPERT.

                Where to start, where to start? I believe in starting at the problem, identifying it, then creating a solution. So, let’s do that.

PROBLEM:

Incorrect usage of scripture without using anything in light of the gospel.

Here’s a list of what I have seen many people use as why the Biblical definition of marriage is not correct:

Genisis 4:19, 4:23, 26:34, 28:9, 29:26-30, 30:26, 31:17,32:22, 36:2, 36:10, 37:2

Exodus 21:10

Judges 8:30

1 Samuel 1:2, 25:43, 27:3, 30:5, 30:18

2 Samuel 2:2, 3:2-5

1 Chronicles 3:1-3, 4:5, 8:8, 14:3

2 Chronicles 11:21, 13:21, 24:3

Wow, that’s a long list. I can assure you that all these have to do with someone taking more than one wife. But what is missing from this list is where it said it was ok to do all these things. I’m simply saying that I have yet to come across a verse in the Bible where God commands His people to take more than one wife or even justifies it. I’m not saying that it’s not in there. If there is one, please let me know and I will be very grateful. People sin. You sin. I sin. We all sin. There are also hundreds (I’m just guessing, I’ve never counted) of instances in the Old Testament and New Testament of people sinning. They sleep with people when they aren’t married (David), rape their fathers (Noah's son), lie about their tithe (Ananias and Sapphira), and various other things. I don’t know if this is a sin (nor does it really matter), but from my research, I haven’t found anything that says it is or it is not a sin. And, I hate, hate, hate saying this, but I don’t think there are any instances of it being ok to marry multiple people in the New Testament. This is one of those gray areas. So, because of the lack of clarity on this matter, I’m just going to move on (I am more than willing to look at evidence if you can provide me with it. I just don’t have any).  

Also, another argument used is that a man who rapes a virgin who has not been promise for marriage has to marry her (Exodus 22:16, Deuteronomy 22:28-29). And if there is no proof of you virginity on your wedding night, you are stoned to death (Deuteronomy 22:13-21).

Now, there are lots of more examples of the “Biblical definition of marriage.” Lots of them. Obviously, the Old Testament has provided us with many different versions of marriage. Some are enforced by the law and others are not. I thank this lovely person for helping me with some of the research, though I have found the list several other places. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JprRWKQys7A&feature=player_embedded

Back to the problem. In light of the gospel. What does that mean? It means in light of Christ coming down to earth and dying on the cross for our sins so that we may have eternal life (wahoo!!). It means that you using these laws for an argument are invalid. I’m not saying that you using these is entirely pointless (oh, wait, I think I am. Give me a sec). What the problem is, in a nut shell, is that these were laws (not the multiple wives thingy, the other stuff mentioned above) were used to make a person holy before God. No other reason. Humans are not perfect and there was no way to rectify a broken relationship with the Creator of the universe after the fall, and these laws were put into place to govern the Israelites’ behavior. Paul says in Galatians that the purpose of the law was:

“Why the law then? It was added because of transgressions until the Seed to whom the promise was made would come. The law was ordered through angels by means of a mediator. Now a mediator is not for just one person, but God is one. Is the law therefore contrary to God’s promises? Absolutely not! For is a law had been given that was able to give life, then righteousness would certainly be by the law. But the Scripture has imprisoned everything under sin’s power, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. Before this faith came, we were confined under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith was revealed. The law, then, was our guardian until Christ, so that we could be justified by faith. But since that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus.”-Galatians 3:19-25

Basically, to break it down into a few bullet points

• We mess up. A lot.
• The law was a mediator between us and God.
• The law is not contrary to God's promise of a Savior.
• Law can't give life. If it could, we would be righteous through the law (thank God it's not. I wouldn't have a chance)
• The law was our guardian until Christ (to govern our behavior so we didn't make an even bigger mess of things and so we could have a communication with God and stuff)
• We are justified by faith.
• Faith through Jesus Christ has come and we are free from the law.
• We are now seen as righteous before God (yay!!!!)

This is why using the laws is invalid (yeah, even for those on the Christian side of the argument, it doesn’t really work too well in light of the gospel). I’m not saying that the law is invalid, but it’s invalid. I really hope you understand what I’m saying. We are governed by the Holy Spirit now (John 16:7-11).

 Some of them may sound a little ridiculous, but, without getting into a lot of other really deep topics that I don’t feel like tackling right now, we’re just going to have to leave it at that.

SOLUTION:

Jesus. Yep, I really could leave it at that, but because I feel like there might need to be an explanation of sorts, I’m going to have to keep writing (don’t leave me yet! I’m just getting to the good part!). “Meghan, none of this proves why homosexuality and gay marriage is wrong.” I’m not trying to prove it wrong. I’m trying to show why you can’t use the Bible as an argument for it. I’m trying to show you why these arguments I keep seeing cannot be used in light of the gospel. Because you are using the law, which the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ has abolished and let us become free from, it technically doesn’t count. The law was used to make us clean, pure, and holy when we were dirty, stained, and unrighteous. WE DON’T NEED THE LAW ANYMORE BECAUSE WE ARE NOW SEEN AS PURE, CLEAN, HOLY, AND RIGHTEOUS BEFORE GOD. This makes me SOOOOOOO HAPPY. Christ has defeated death and the law. The law isn’t necessary for a relationship with Christ (this doesn’t mean you can live in sin, remember the original intent when Adam and Eve were in the garden was for a sinless life. Christ restores the relationship-to some extent-of what was in the garden. We cannot be sinless on our own, well, I could talk for a while on this one, back to my main point). Thank you Jesus that MY works are not necessary, but it is your sacrifice that makes me righteous before you!

Ok, I feel like I should talk about some other things. Yes, your argument using the Old Testament laws and circumstances may be invalid, but there are some other things that I feel like I need to bring up.

Argument #1: “The Bible was written such a long time ago. It can’t be valid anymore. Society was totally different!”

(This isn’t an exact quote, just similar to something I feel like a person might say).

Imagine a society where sex rules the minds of the men and women. Everything revolves around sex. Men sleep with men, women sleep with women. It is accepted in society. Sometimes scandals even occur in the church. It is a melting pot of ideas and cultures. It is a very wealthy society. It must be today’s culture, right? False. (in the voice of Dwight Schrute) It can be describing today’s culture, but the society I am describing is the Corinth society. 1 Corinthians 6:9 says something about homosexuality being wrong. And if the society really isn’t that different from ours (yeah, it is different in the sense of time period, but I’d say there are a lot of similarities in the moral standards of the culture. They might have been a little bit “looser” than our society is) shouldn’t that apply to us too? Hmm…interesting. Yeah, the Bible was not originally written to us. I completely understand that. But in context, does this passage of scripture really not apply to us? Do we not serve the same God that they served then? If the God and plan of salvation are the same, then why are we changing the rules? Just wondering.

Argument #2: “Jesus never said anything about Homosexuality being wrong.”

Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t know you were with Jesus every single second of His life. I apologize. Seriously? Are we actually using this argument????? I really just want to slap someone in the face every time this is ever mentioned (in a loving, Christian way of course). Seriously???????????? I hate this argument. We are missing all of Jesus’ childhood (except that one scene at Passover) until His baptism. He might have said something about it then. Do you think every word Jesus ever said is in the Bible? We even have proof that every word Jesus said is not in the Bible. John 21:25- “And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which, if they were written one by one, I suppose not even the world itself could contain the books that would be written.” I’d be a little worried if all Jesus said was recorded in the Bible. I’d think He was a very, very quiet man. He said a lot, but if that was all He ever said in His entire life, I’d start to get a little antsy.

I guess that’s it. I just spent two hours writing and researching for this and I think I’m pleased. Once again, don’t think I don’t like you, or I hate you, or anything along those lines if you don’t agree with me. This is merely me just being fed up with people using the Bible without taking into consideration the death and resurrection of Jesus. So, please, before you start spouting off scripture in attempt to rebuke me while you are chasing me down with  pitchforks and torches, ask yourself “does what I am saying make sense in light of the gospel?” It will save you, and me, a lot of trouble in the long run.