You have probably read about all the controversy surrounding President-elect Obama's choice of Pastor Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration. It is an interesting controversy that has been underscored well in the blog of Dr. Albert Mohler (www.albertmohler.com).
Rick Warren (who became famous because of his books "the Purpose Driven Church" and "The Purpose Driven Life") is not someone with whom I always agree. However, he is a man who is committed to the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ and has worked hard to help those who are hurting, including those with AIDS. Warren is on the "front lines" of compassionate service and his church commits heavily to addressing social ills. It would seem like he would be a very good choice for the President-elect.
The reason Pastor Warren is being vilified is because of his view on Gay-Marriage. This (along with views of abortion) have become the new litmus test of acceptability. These two social and moral issues create a dividing line between those who are acceptable and those who are not.
With this reality the question is: what will we do? Option 1: We could capitulate to public pressure and embrace these behaviors. I believe this is to abandon the authority of God's Word to embrace the God of public opinion. It is unacceptable.
Option 2: We just won't talk about those issues. I need to be careful here. I don't think it is a good idea to ALWAYS talk about these issues. To make Gay Marriage and Abortion the central issues of the Christian faith is again a compromise with the truth. The key issue of the Gospel is Christ and Him crucified. Our message should constantly be pointing to Jesus. He alone is the way of salvation . . . not a conversion to a particular viewpoint on a moral issue. (In other words, you can oppose abortion and Gay Marriage and still find yourself in Hell when you die).
However, to simply refuse to talk about these issues is to in essence deny what the Bible teaches. To never speak about abortion or Gay Marriage seem the equivalent of never speaking out against slavery, or living in Germany and saying nothing about the genocide being committed against the Jews. These are important issues that give us the opportunity to uphold a Biblical mindset.
If we will not talk about these issues at all, what will be our response when we are told that any church or Pastor that refuses to marry two people of the same gender will be stripped of his legal rights to marry; or in the case of the church, be denied tax exempt status? Will we then choose to simply capitulate to our culture?
Option Three: we LOVINGLY seek to explain the Biblical positions on the value of life and the design of Christian marriage. We should affirm the Biblical viewpoint without attacking those who do not understand it.
Might this lead to people vilifying us? It might. It might put us in the cross hairs of controversy. But as long as that is a battle over what is right and true (as opposed to being about politics) it is a battle we must fight.
