Pensacola Pride Day and Marriage as a Public Glory
When we say that marriage is between one man and one woman, we are not making a sectarian claim. We are confessing a universal reality.
The Gospel Liberates the Whole Man
My town of Pensacola reserves one day a year, namely, Memorial Day, to parade homosexual perversion in our world-renown beaches. Today (Monday, as I write), the rain was pervasive on Memorial Day, and I believe it was God’s kindness to keep that display of sodom-ism away. Instead of honoring those who gave their lives, we honor the perverse who take the meaning of life away with their actions. But I have not yet heard of any major events in the downtown area. And thanks be to God for his providence!
The Apostle Paul has a response to such debauchery. But it is worth exploring it in a broader context here in the Perspectivalist. My proposal is simple: that marriage is public. And that our response needs to have a legislative dimension, but ultimately, it’s our lived-out marriages that speak louder.
Paul wrote in Romans 1 not only against the homosexual practices of the day, but also in a way that liberated those who were being sexually abused by their masters. And this needs to be the source of our response: the Gospel is liberating. It does not merely liberate man spiritually, as if salvation were only a rescue of disembodied souls from the ruins of creation; it also liberates men and women from destructive lifestyles, false worship, and enslaving desires. It frees the captive and the enslaved. It saves the whole man. The moment we begin to proclaim a gospel that only saves the soul, we are proclaiming a mediocre gospel, a gospel that does not reach the very heart of human idolatry. The Gospel is not a private sentiment tucked away safely in the inner chamber of the heart. It is the announcement that Jesus is Lord, that the powers have been judged, that sin has been dethroned, and that all of life is now summoned to bow before the King. This is what my town and many others oppressed by this darkness need to understand.
Unfortunately, what is happening is indeed a threat to the sacred definition of marriage. And it is not only coming from without the Church, as we might expect, but also from within the Church. Mainline denominations, though decreasing in staggering numbers over the years, continue to pursue a redefinition of marriage. In 2014, the 221st General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) approved a change to the denomination’s Book of Order redefining marriage from “between a woman and a man” to “between two people, traditionally a man and a woman.” That amendment was then sent to the presbyteries and received the required majority approval in March 2015. The change took effect in June 2015. The PCUSA has chosen the way of death long ago, but now they are dwelling in death itself.
But the issue is not merely that another denomination has capitulated to the spirit of the age. The deeper issue is that many Christians have forgotten that when God defines something, He defines reality. Marriage is not ours to reshape. It is not a lump of cultural clay to be molded by courts, committees, or therapeutic slogans. Marriage is a creational ordinance, echoed by Jesus, fulfilled in Christ and His Church, and embodied in faithful homes.
Courage, Not Silence
It is not uncommon for many to be silent in this day and age. Pastors, known for strong gospel proclamation, often remove themselves from these political matters for fear of being drawn into controversy. But the gospel is good news for us because it means Caesar has been deposed and Jesus is the New King of the World. We are already controversial by nature.
Jesus could have remained on His preaching tour, going from synagogue to synagogue each Sabbath, telling people that their sins were forgiven and that the kingdom of God was at hand. If that had been the entire essence of His public ministry, it is possible that our Lord would have died a typical Jewish death in His sixties or seventies. But our Lord did more than talk about the gospel. He lived the gospel. And that entailed confronting the civil magistrates of the day, the religious leaders of the day, and even the entire social structure of civilization by announcing that His kingdom was not composed of one ethnic group but of Jews and Gentiles, slaves and free, male and female. The work of our Lord was very public. It is possible that as our culture becomes more transparently un-Christian, Christians are becoming transparently cowardly in their witness.
Before the Second World War, the rise of Adolf Hitler forced German Christians to make a choice. Some attempted to make peace with the Nazis, engaging in dialogue and endless discussions, and many ended up allowing their churches to become accomplices. Others advocated staying on the sidelines and simply obeying the government, arguing that gospel witness was too important to be muddied up with controversial political stances. This is not to make a simplistic comparison between marriage and the barbaric actions of Hitler, but it is to point out that when Christians take the silence route, they lose everything they have cherished. Silence is never neutral. Refusing to speak truth to a world built on lies is not humility; it is surrender disguised as prudence.
A pastor can tell his congregation that marriage is between a man and a woman. He can articulate the biblical rationale better than anyone. But if, in the end, he says that marriage is only a truth for us and not for the world, he has not done his job well. God did not create marriage for Christians only. He created marriage for the human race. Adam and Eve were not members of a denominational committee. They were the father and mother of mankind, which means that marriage is not merely an ecclesiastical arrangement; it is woven into the architecture of creation. Therefore, when we say that marriage is between one man and one woman, we are not making a sectarian claim. We are confessing a universal reality.
Marriage, Reality, and the Failure of Left and Right
Allow me to be bi-partisan for a moment, and by that I mean to critique the left and the right on this issue. The left, by which I mean those inclined to make a mockery of marriage, has continually pursued the end of it. They have sought to redefine it. Of course, there are those on the left who remain skeptical of their fellow leftists’ policies, but the progressive impulse in our country has not sought the common good of marriage. Some defend marriage in theory while remaining open to legislating any other form of relationship and calling it marriage. But God defines reality. No politician, court, or Supreme Court decision defines reality. Jesus is Lord, whether the world recognizes Him or not. While we fight to defend marriage, and while we offer a robust defense and response to those who oppose God’s only ordained definition of marriage, we must remember that marriage is marriage as God sees it, not as society determines.
At the same time, those of us in the more conservative strand of American politics have our own faults. Rich Lusk has observed that while we might expect liberals to attack marriage, what is surprising and disappointing is the inability of conservatives, including conservative Christians, to defend marriage as an institution. In the last few years, some of the “Family Values” politicians and leaders fell into deep sexual sin. Those who stood firm against President Clinton’s sexual sins were later caught in the same sins. In many ways, the failure of many who were strong advocates of marriage has destroyed conservatives’ credibility on the marriage question. But this is precisely the point: our defense of marriage must be embodied. We cannot merely say true things about marriage. We must live beautifully within it.
God instituted marriage in creation. Jesus echoed creation to defend marriage in the Gospels. Christ and the Church serve as the ultimate marriage. Indeed, the Bible is a great story of marriage. But it appears that while we vociferously defend it, we are failing to embody it. We do hope, work, and pray toward the day when the definition of marriage will not be disputed in Washington or anywhere else. We do hope that legislation will reflect what God has already determined to be very good. However, the issue will ultimately not be won on the political battlefield but in the bedrooms, kitchens, dining rooms, and family rooms of our homes. The best defense of marriage we can offer is our own. If the Church is not known as a place where married life is practiced with holy joy and where spouses warmly cherish one another in lifelong fidelity, then nothing we say in defense of marriage will gain traction. Our public defense of marriage must be wedded to the practice of prizing marriage in our homes.
Marriage Embodied in the Home
So, talking about marriage is different than living out your marriage. When we defend marriage, the world will listen more attentively when we are clearly living it out. What is marriage for? Christian marriage is a Spirit-filled song and dance; as with all dances, the man leads and the woman follows. Together, their lives blend into one as they make the music of the Spirit. Singing the music of the Spirit transforms your character. Marriage gives us new opportunities to learn the fine art of forgiveness. When your spouse sins against you, God is giving you an opportunity to show mercy and learn to forgive as you have been forgiven. Marriage is a mutual transformation. Every time your spouse sins, you have a golden opportunity to grow spiritually.
But marriage also teaches humility by exposing our own sin. Marriage does not simply change who we are; it reveals who we are. It leaves us with no place to hide. It exposes our selfishness, pride, impatience, and other assorted vices in a deeper way than almost any other human relationship. But each time sin is exposed, we have a new opportunity to repent and therefore to grow and mature as believers.
Marriage also teaches wisdom. Men and women are different. Though men and women are viewed as equals in creation and redemption, they are not identical. Husbands and wives must learn to appreciate their differences in perspective. Proverbs ends with the wise king reigning with his wise queen by his side, as his trusted friend, confidant, and counselor. This is exactly what Christian marriage should look like. As two Christian spouses get to know one another deeply, they learn to see the world the way the other sees it. The best way to grow in wisdom is to listen to and learn from your spouse.
But this takes effort and patience. If a man constantly interrupts his wife or refuses to listen to her, he will be a bigger fool in the future than he is today. He must humble himself and come to appreciate her way of seeing things. Many men scoff at their wives’ perspectives and fears. But he must treat her as Lady Wisdom, his own personal tutor in prudence. As Pastor Rich Lusk puts it: “Men, God did not give you a ‘feminine side,’ as you hear so often today; instead, He has given you a wife. You need to get in touch with her if you want to be wise.”
The Future of Pensacola
The rain on Memorial Day may have washed over Pensacola’s beaches, but it cannot wash away the deeper question before us: will the Church speak clearly when the world speaks falsely? Will we simply accept this as the status quo of our city? Will we confess that Christ is Lord not only over the sanctuary, but over the city, the home, the body, the marriage bed, and the public square?
Marriage is public because creation is public. Marriage is public because the Gospel is public. And if the Gospel is truly good news for the whole man, then it must be good news for our loves, our bodies, our homes, and our cities. There is plenty to criticize in our day, and we should do so with courage. But our most powerful apologetic will be homes filled with fidelity, forgiveness, fruitfulness, and joy. Let us therefore live marriage as God desires, not merely so that we may win arguments, but so that marriage may once again shine as a testimony to Christ and His Bride before the watching world.