Obergefell V. Hodges: Supremely Wrong

I want to address three matters in this message with regard to the Supreme Court’s supremely satanic decision in Obergefell v. Hodges: What has changed, what hasn’t changed, and what must change.

First of all, what has changed? For one thing, this nation. Obergefell v. Hodges is new evidence that the United States is already under God’s judgment. I hear too many Christians saying this decision is "inviting God’s judgment on this land." The Bible tells us God judges nations by giving them over to their own perverse desires. Paul describes God’s penalty for unbelief, idolatry and rebellion in Rom. 1:24, 26-27 – “Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them…God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.” What has happened in this nation is not inviting God’s judgment, it IS God’s judgment. It’s our due penalty. And this nation will remain under judgment until and unless a wave of revival, repentance and humility sweeps this land.

What else has changed? Well, a manipulative tool that has been used to marginalize Bible-believing Christ-followers has now been affirmed as national law. 2 Tim. 3:12 – “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” Our refusal to embrace this perversion of matrimony has been used to cast us as bigots and fanatics for years now, but as of last week, this slander now carries the weight of government endorsement. This is what Justice Alito, who opposed the decision, wrote in his dissent: “[This decision] will be used to vilify Americans who are unwilling to assent to the new orthodoxy…The majority’s decision compares traditional marriage laws to laws that denied equal treatment for African-Americans and women. The implications of this analogy will be exploited by those who are determined to stamp out every vestige of dissent…The majority attempts…to reassure those who oppose same-sex marriage that their rights of conscience will be protected. I assume that those who cling to old beliefs will be able to whisper their thoughts in the recesses of their homes, but if they repeat those views in public, they will risk being labeled as bigots and treated as such by governments, employers, and schools…” Well, he’s right, but it’s already happening and has been for some time. The only change is now it has the force of law.

Something else has changed: Bible-believing Christians who refuse to compromise are being driven from public office. This decision forces local, state and federal workers to choose between their livelihood and their faith. In North Carolina, numerous judges already have resigned to avoid criminal prosecution for refusing to perform sodomite unions. So if you think government is bad now, imagine what it’s going to be like when fewer believers work within it! The Bible describes a God-fearing government official this way: 1 Sam. 23:3-4 – “He who rules over men righteously, who rules in the fear of God, is as the light of the morning when the sun rises, a morning without clouds, when the tender grass springs out of the earth, through sunshine after rain.” There will be fewer of those cloudless mornings and tender grasses in government.

What has changed legally, constitutionally, governmentally speaking? Well, consider the Fourteenth Amendment, which deals with rights of citizenship and the concept of equal protection under the law. It was born out of issues related to former slaves following the Civil War. However, as far as the Supreme Court majority is concerned, the Fourteenth Amendment is a magician’s top hat from which they can pull whatever rabbit they need. Do you need a legal basis to slaughter unborn children? It’s in the Fourteenth Amendment! BOOM! Roe v. Wade! Need a legal basis to force sodomite counterfeit marriage on America? Nothing up my sleeve; presto! It’s in the Fourteenth Amendment! BOOM! Obergefell v. Hodges! Except it’s not there.

Consider the 10th Amendment. The 10th is about limiting the federal government’s powers to only those delegated to it by the Constitution. It says, “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” Let me ask the people, since you are the people, do you feel empowered by what the majority did with this decision? Or do you feel powerless? The answer should be obvious. Pro. 28:15 – “Like a roaring lion and a rushing bear Is a wicked ruler over a poor people.” Justice Scalia wrote in his dissent, “Today’s decree says that my Ruler, and the Ruler of 320 million Americans coast-to-coast, is a majority of the nine lawyers on the Supreme Court.”