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Christians & Same Sex Marriage: BUT WHAT IF I ACTUALLY MEET A SSM COUPLE!?!


        My prayer is that your reaction is severely less panic stricken than the title of this article. In truth, heterosexuals share immense common ground with people in the LGBT community. Starting such a friendship is nearly identical to other friendships. Jesus wouldn’t react as the title suggests, because he would arguably be the front-runner in initiating these friendships.
  
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            Our interactions should be chaperoned by uncomplicated Christian truths. I don’t have a corner on the market of LGBT ministry, but here are 5 principles that have helped me significantly:
                                                                                                                           
 1)      Don’t be ashamed of the Gospel. We must not be ashamed of the message that offers true hope and change. We should lay our concern for reputation down for the surpassing worth of walking in the footsteps of Jesus, offering hope to sinners. We can trust this message because it is backed by the promises of almighty God, our Creator, Sustainer, and Savior. Consider the words of Paul in Romans 1:16: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

“Paul had been imprisoned in Philippi (Acts 16:23, 24), chased out of Thessalonica (Acts 17:10), smuggled out of Berea (Acts 17:14), laughed at in Athens (Acts 17:32), regarded as a fool in Corinth (1 Cor. 1:18, 23), and stoned in Galatia (Acts 14:19), but he remained eager to preach the gospel in Rome—the seat of contemporary political power and pagan religion. Neither ridicule, criticism, nor physical persecution could curb his boldness.”
 -John MacArthur (The MacArthur Bible Commentary, Kindle Locations 51106-51109)
               
Find resource in the Fathers promises, the Son’s work, and the Spirit’s presence to uphold the Good News to the LGBT community!

2)      Love your neighbor. Is this person near you? Is this person in need? Then they qualify as a “Neighbor” in need of brotherly love! Perhaps that means you jump a dead car battery, help with a project at work, study with them, let them talk about a rough day, or buy them medicine when they are bed ridden. Let charity and discernment guide you.

Mark 12:30-31  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'  The second is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these."

3)      How would you want to be treated by a disagreeing friend? I think Jesus said something like this…Oh yeah!

Matthew 7:12  "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets…”

4)      Give what God generously gave you before salvation: Love, Truth, Compassion, Patience & more!

As a Christian, you were not chosen because of your humility, because you were a prime choice for God’s hallelujah chorus or his angel v human dodgeball tournaments (joke!). We have no room to boast in any of our “moral fortitude”. An act of God’s grace, and not our works (Ephesians 2:8-9), saves all true Christians for God’s glory. We would still be spiritually blind and embrace sin enthusiastically if not for the work of God. This needs to guide our actions and attitude.

There is no room for bait and switch friendship here. 5 minutes of friendship doesn’t earn you 5 minutes of aggressive finger pointing, either. Chances are others will be on edge when they find out you are a Christian, so safeguard your actions, attitudes, and words to have a unified message.

5)       Be an example of joyful wholeness in your singleness, dating, or marriage. Traditional marriage reflects God’s covenant Love towards his people. Read Ephesians 5:22-33 for a firm grasp of this and check out some marriage sermons (esp #3) in your free time to sharpen your understanding.
Because Christian marriages are built to reflect the Love of God, we mustn't settle for mediocre marriages. Our marriages are living murals of gospel truths to the culture. That means we aren't settling for remaining married because we have kids at home, because our divorce would have a stigma in our community, or because of the financial benefits. It means we chase after purity and love for God's exaltation  (and consequently, our joy).
Moreover, dating and married Christian couples can effectively befriend LGBT couples with a built-in ministry partner and mutual accountability!  Regardless of where you are in life, showing them God’s model for living in that juncture will be significant because the LGBT community has distorted fundamental, defining truths of sexuality. Christian Marriage is a stellar non-verbal teaching tool, but we can’t stop at showing; We MUST speak the Gospel!
The End Note
 The LGBT community doesn’t go back to their lair plotting the demise of our social structure. Most genuinely want the same benefits and affirmation as heterosexual couples, whether they understand the morality/consequences of that or not. Most SSM devotees are not menacing, fringe group radicals, but are seeking the fulfillment of their desires. They all bear the image of God and we owe them brotherly love, just as much as anyone else. Resist any unction to treat them as second-class and press on to Love them!

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