Does God Accept Same Sex Marriage?

by

Jeff L. Mills

        On Monday, May 17, 2004, an event transpired that will change this nation forever. The state of Massachusetts began to allow same sex couples to legally wed and also to bestow on them all the rights and recognition of their union; something that up until now had been reserved for legally married heterosexual couples only. The US Supreme Court refused, without comment, to block the Massachusetts State Supreme Court ruling that found the state constitution did allow for same sex marriage to take place. Same sex couples began lining up the night before they were legally allowed to apply for marriage licenses. Judges in the state waived the normal three-day waiting period, so that the couples could begin marrying immediately. Many other states are facing similar situations, with the subject of same sex unions becoming a major issue in state legislatures across the country. Some cities have issued marriage licenses for same sex couples in defiance of their own state’s laws.

          At first glance, it may seem that the situation in Massachusetts will only have an affect in that state, but the decision to allow same sex marriage in Massachusetts will influence and impact the way the issue is dealt with in other states. The Governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney, in a televised interview, related one way this decision will affect other states. Only residents of Massachusetts can legally be wed in that state, those persons coming into the state expressly for the purpose of being wed will not have a legally recognized and binding marriage. However, after returning to their home states, they will expect their marriages to be formally recognized. If their home state does not recognize their union, they can then simply sue the state and if the courts find in their favor (almost a given), it will then set a precedent for the recognition of same sex marriage in each and every state where the decisions are made.

          As a result, same sex marriage will attain the same legal status and recognition that heterosexual marriages now have, and it will occur despite the wishes and will of the populace of this country. An effective circumventing of the normal process required to legalize such an enormous change, to the established and accepted, way of life in this country.  Marriage is a divine institution, established by God for His people. Examples of marriage can be found from the very beginning of the bible. God’s word must always take precedence over man’s law and so we must look to the bible and the infallible word of our Creator to establish the proper definition of what constitutes a legal marriage.

          It is God who determined that man should not be alone and decided to create another being as a companion and helper to man. (Genesis 2:18):

18 And the LORD God said, "It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him."

It is God who created the woman for Adam and brought her to him (Genesis 2:21-22):

21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man.

Next, we find the first time the marriage relationship is mentioned (Genesis 2:24):

24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

Here is the relationship that God intended for man: a man and a woman to be joined together and their lives blended together, so as to become one. Notice that even though Adam was created and had no physical parents, it is still specifically stated here that a man is to leave his parents and join with his wife. It is important to take notice of this, because it illustrates that the proper relationship for a man is with a woman. A man leaves his father and mother (a proper marital relationship) and is then joined to his wife (to begin another proper marital relationship). It also leads to the establishment of a new family, which God also intends for us in the marital relationship. God inspired this to be written intentionally this way as an example!

          God did not create another man to dwell with Adam! God did not create another woman to dwell with Eve! In fact, there are no examples of same sex marriage, or relationships throughout the whole bible. God has given man and woman an incredible gift, a man and woman together can create life! Just as man and woman unite together in marriage and become one, the male sperm unites with the female egg and the two become one new life! Man and woman each hold a key to the creation of life; it takes each key to begin a new life. Two men in a same sex marriage cannot procreate and nether can two women. The fact that no life can spring from a same sex marriage, makes it apparent that God never intended for same sex relationships to be a natural way of life for mankind. God commanded the man and woman to go forth and populate the earth. (Genesis 1:27-28):

27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them,"Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

When the tribe of Judah was taken captive and carried away to Babylon, God commanded them through the prophet Jeremiah to take wives and to have children and to continue to add to their numbers. (Jeremiah 29:5-6):

5 Build houses and dwell in them; plant gardens and eat their fruit. 6 Take wives and beget sons and daughters; and take wives for your sons and give your daughters to husbands, so that they may bear sons and daughters — that you may be increased there, and not diminished.

Our society recognizes marriage as a legal union between a man and a woman, but it is a sacred covenant that was ordained by God from the beginning. Christ reinforced this in a conversation He had with the Pharisees. (Matthew 19:4-6):

4 And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,'   5 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'?   6 So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate."

The marital relationship is a very important part of God’s plan, since it points to the relationship of Christ to the church. The old covenant God had with Israel was also a marriage covenant. When Israel entered into a covenant with God, it was a marriage covenant; Christ was the husband and Israel the wife. When Israel broke her part of the covenant, God issued her a certificate of divorce. (Jeremiah 3:8):

8 Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also.

Under the new covenant, Christ is still spoken of as the husband and bridegroom, only now it is the church that is spoken of as the wife and the bride instead of the nation of Israel. (Ephesians 5:30-32):

 31 "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."   32 This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Also in Matthew 25:1-10:

"Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  2 Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish.  3 Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,  4 but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.  5 But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.  6 "And at midnight a cry was heard: 'Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!'  7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.  8 And the foolish said to the wise, 'Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.'  9 But the wise answered, saying, 'No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.'  10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

Jesus Christ will marry the church when He returns to this earth! The bride (the church) is to be preparing and making ready for His return!

Under the laws of the old covenant, the men were warned against involving themselves in adultery with their neighbor’s wives. (Leviticus 20:10):

10 'The man who commits adultery with another man's wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor's wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.

Jesus Christ tightened up this law to include even looking at another woman in lust as being adultery (Matthew 5:27-28):

"You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not commit adultery.' 28 But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

There is a reason why adultery is not mentioned between a man and another man and between a woman and another woman! It WAS NOT the practice of the Israelites to be involved in same sex relationships! In fact, God expressly FORBID such relationships! (Leviticus 18:22):

22 You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.

And also Leviticus 20:13

13 If a man lies with a male as he lies with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination. They shall surely be put to death. Their blood shall be upon them.

How much plainer can it be! God says that because He is not recognized and acknowledged in this present world, that He will allow people to be given up to their vile passions. (Romans 1:26-27):

26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

It is a punishment upon our society! Not a natural occurrence! GOD CALLS IT VILE!  Will God ever accept a practice that he calls vile and an abomination? I tell you now, he WILL NOT!

          The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, were destroyed for some of these same types of activities taking place there! There was wickedness throughout the city of Sodom, including homosexual relations. God sent His angels to warn Lot and to spare him and his family from the destruction. So great was the wickedness of the men of that city; that they surrounded Lot’s home and demanded he send the angels out to them! (Genesis 19:4):

4 Now before they lay down, the men of the city, the men of Sodom, both old and young, all the people from every quarter, surrounded the house. 5 And they called to Lot and said to him, "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may know them carnally."

Lot went outside to try and reason with the men, but instead he was ridiculed and the men attempted to break down the door to Lot’s house to take his guests by force! (Genesis 19:9):

9 And they said, "Stand back!" Then they said, "This one came in to stay here, and he keeps acting as a judge; now we will deal worse with you than with them." So they pressed hard against the man Lot, and came near to break down the door.

The angels warned Lot to leave, because the city was to be destroyed for the wickedness of the people there. (Genesis 19:12-13):

Then the men said to Lot, "Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city — take them out of this place! 13 For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it."

The biblical example is clear, God DOES NOT accept same sex relationships. Men may create and enact any laws they please, but God’s word takes precedence over any law of man. Just because man recognizes and allows same sex marriage, that does not make it acceptable in the eyes of God. God is unchanging. (Hebrews 13:8-9):

8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines.

God’s word stands forever and He cannot break His own law! The marriage of a man and a woman has a meaning far deeper than the legal recognition by our society and legal systems. Marriage is a holy, sacred, covenant entered into by a man and woman with God. It is a covenant sealed by God forever! Marriage, between two people, can only be accepted by God, when it is entered into in the way He has prescribed that it be done.