The Supreme Court’s ruling on gay “marriage” has caused many Christians to press the panic button. Social media outlets were flooded with words of despair on Friday of last week as the ruling was officially announced. It was literally an announcement that rocked the landscape of the American culture and will forever change the fabric of family in America. A blend of rainbow hue covered the White House in Washington, D.C. as night fell upon the property. Similar sights could be seen with the Empire State Building and the castle at Disney World.
Meanwhile, across the social media world another sight was visible, and it wasn’t the sight of celebratory words. It had the feel of panic as Christians responded to the ruling with fear, outrage, disgust, and even anger. People who know what Matthew 16:18 says by memory responded as if they don’t believe it to be true, or at least temporarily forgot Jesus made that statement in the first place. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling on homosexual marriage, I want to suggest four reasons why the church of Jesus Christ will prosper in an age of a sexual revolution.
Jesus Promised Victory for His Church
The first time we see the word “church” used in the New Testament is in a conversation between Jesus and His disciples. Jesus said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” This was a promise. Jesus’ promise didn’t seclude the church from persecution and trial, but merely promised victory through the attacks that would come. Even during an age of gay marriage and sexual perversion, the church of Jesus Christ will prosper.
Remember King David before he became the king of Israel? After being anointed to be the next king of Israel, he eventually found himself running through the mountains and hiding in caves as Saul desired to take his life. Did David forget the promises of God? Did David doubt God’s plan? Many followers of Christ looked like they forgot God’s ultimate plan last Friday as they pressed the panic button following the ruling of the Supreme Court. The fact is, the church of Jesus will prosper in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision. The rising giant of a sexual perverse nation cannot thwart the plan of Jesus’ church in America.
The Eternal Throne of Jesus vs. the Temporal Throne of the Supreme Court
According to Romans 13, all leaders who occupy an office of authority receive that office from the Lord Himself. However, all offices of power are temporary. No matter how powerful and mighty an office might become, at the end of the day, it’s temporary. The government is laid upon the shoulders of Jesus Christ, and He will rule the nations with a rod of iron (Isaiah 9:6; Revelation 2:27; Revelation 19:15).
What may come as a startling surprise is that Justice Clarence Thomas, Justice Antonin Scalia, Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Justice Stephen G. Breyer, Justice Samuel A. Alito, Jr., and Justice Elena Kagan will all stand before the high and majestic throne of King Jesus one day. On that day, they will be stripped of their robes and they will possess no power to rule or make decisions. They will answer to the King and a divine ruling will be made upon their souls. Certainly they will see that their throne was temporal while Jesus’ throne is eternal.
As the Psalmist says in Psalm 146, we must not place our trust in the princes of this world. Our hope and our confidence must be rooted and grounded in Jesus Christ. Because His throne is eternal and all authority has been given unto Jesus by God the Father, we can trust that His church’s message and mission will prevail.
The Church’s History Under Cultural Pressure
When sexual sin is exposed, expect opposition to come. That’s what happened to John the Baptist as he called out the sexual sin of Herod. The church of Jesus Christ was founded by Jesus in an age of Greek philosophy, a landscape saturated with pagan idolatry, and during a time when Roman crosses stood upon the hill called Golgotha. The church of Jesus Christ started with the preaching of unlearned fishermen, a tax collector, and a few others in the wake of Jesus’ crucifixion and in the midst of bloodthirsty opposition.
Following the explosive start in Jerusalem, opposition continued to follow the church of Jesus Christ like a black cloud. Even after the conversion of an unlikely convert named Saul of Tarsus, his mission was welcomed with a barrage of attacks from city to city. Nevertheless, even as Paul preached the gospel in sexually perverse cities such as Ephesus where temple prostitution was rampant and normal, the gospel prevailed. The gospel was proclaimed in Corinth, and many sinners came to Christ – including homosexuals (1 Corinthians 6:11).
The sexual revolution of gay marriage is not a new challenge for the church. Like other sins, it has been around for a long time and it’s incapable of stopping the gospel mission of Jesus Christ. The homosexual marriage ruling did not surprise God, dethrone God, silence God, or overrule God. The ruling of the Supreme Court did not change the message, method, or mission of the church. In the end, the gospel will prevail and many homosexuals will bow their knee to Jesus Christ and be washed in His soul cleansing blood.
Homosexual Marriage Will Fulfill Scripture
The jubilation of the homosexual community from this past week will soon give way to the perils of depression, a lack of fulfillment, and ultimately disease. This is the prescription for those who will continue to mock God and resist His plan for marriage, family, and human sexuality (Romans 1:27).
As the very Scriptures that the homosexual community vehemently reject are fulfilled in the brokenness of the homosexual lifestyle, God will take those horrible realities and use them to validate His truth about family and marriage. More importantly, God will raise up preachers who will preach the truth and even in an age of where sin is normalized and the Word of God trivialized, sinners will call out to Christ and be set free from the bondage of their sin.
In short, the church of Jesus Christ will continue to grow – even in the midst of a sexual revolution. God’s plan will not be stopped and the beauty of the gospel will become more attractive than anything this world has to offer. The church’s mission will prevail because the church’s mission is not heterosexuality, it’s the gospel. Hell is filled with heterosexuals and homosexuals. It is the mission of the church to bring people to faith in Christ, and when sinners submit to Christ as King, they are released from the power of their sins and experience freedom in Christ. This is true for all sinners – including homosexuals. The church of Jesus Christ will prevail for the glory of God.
