Our name | Mission | Vision | Leaders Ministries | Schedule | Directions | Contact Home   Gateway Church gathers for worship Sundays at 10:30 a.m. Location: 6425 Jefferson Rd. (Hwy. 129) in Athens, Georgia. For directions, click here. Ministry of the Word: Recent sermons Our quarterly e-magazine Gateway Today For the Gateway family Pastor Jerry's Weekly E-Mail A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY AUDIO Protecting marriage - 2 Jerry Varnado, pastor Gateway Church, Athens GA July 11, 2004 Protect Marriage Sunday Main Scripture text: Matthew 5:13-16. Several months ago, in a sermon titled "Protecting Marriage," I told you about the strong movement in our nation to redefine the institution of marriage. Since then, homosexual "marriages" have started taking place in Massachusetts and several other states. Concern about the legalization of homosexual marriage has been around for some time. That's why Congress passed the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in 1996, which said that a state government isn't required to recognize a homosexual marriage from another state. The DOMA also defined "marriage" and "spouse" in traditional terms for the purpose of interpreting federal law. Now, many observers are concerned that liberal federal courts may declare DOMA unconstitutional. This is why constitutional amendments that would define marriage as "the union of one man and one woman" are being proposed at the state and national levels. Why should be concerned about this? Why should it matter to us if homosexual couples marry? What harm is there in broadening and modernizing our definition of marriage? James Dobson has recently published a book titled Marriage Under Fire: Why We Must Win This Fight (excerpt here). It includes eleven arguments against same-sex marriage. I want to cover two of those today. First, if homosexual marriage is legalized across America, it will, over time, destroy the traditional family. If the government sanctions homosexual marriage, the institution of marriage is reduced to a partnership with attractive legal benefits and sexual convenience. That will become the next generation's understanding of what marriage is. Lost in this will be the traditional understandings of: lifelong commitment, emotional bonding, sexual purity, the role of children in the family, and the sanctity of marriage. Second, legal approval of homosexual marriage will jeopardize religious freedom. Government approval of homosexual marriage would put the law squarely at odds with what the Bible teaches on this subject. Could preachers place themselves in legal jeopardy simply by teaching what the Bible says about homosexual practice? If that sounds far-fetched, consider that Canada already has passed a bill that criminalizes speech or writings that criticize homosexuality. Jesus told us to be salt and light in this world. Salt is a preservative. It inhibits decay. In so many ways, our society is decaying. You are the salt of the earth, to preserve it from further decay. Light helps us find our way. If the world wants to know peace, joy and happiness, it must walk in the light God has given us. It must live within the limits and parameters that God has established. I cannot overemphasize the importance of this issue of protecting marriage. The future of society as we know it is at stake. We must pray. We must educate ourselves. We must know how to counter the arguments of those who see nothing wrong with redefining marriage. We need to be salt and light in this world. Supporting text: Psalm 119:105 A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here (29:00). (Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.) An audio tape of this sermon is available free of charge (U.S requests only). Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office. Please specify tape number 040711a: Protecting Marriage-2. © 2004 Gerald R. Varnado To the Gateway Church home page How to contact us