Supreme Court Decision - Wake Up Call

Supreme Court Decision: A Wake up Call for the Church

06-28-15 (www.LifeChurchSpringfield.org)

On Friday, June 26, 2015 the United States Supreme Court handed down a decision recognizing same-sex marriage and stripping states of their right to decide such matters. There was celebration at the White House while Heaven wept. The White House was lite up with rainbow colors while Christians mourned another major step toward destruction for America.

In case anyone thinks this ruling is insignificant, let me read a few comments from the four minority judges who voted against this decree.

Chief Justice Roberts said, “…as a judge, I find the majority's position indefensible as a matter of constitutional law."

Justice Antonin Scalia said the majority judges were using the 14th Amendment in a way that was never intended by its writers. He wrote, "When the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified in 1868, every State limited marriage to one man and one woman, and no one doubted the constitutionality of doing so."

Justice Clarence Thomas points out a major flaw in the logic of this ruling when he says, Liberty has "long been understood as individual freedom from government action, not as a right to a particular governmental entitlement." Of course, the big money entitlement is this puts millions on the Social Security rolls who previously had no right to the money. The message I have heard is that Social Security can’t even pay for its current commitments. So who gives up their portion to fund this or whose taxes go up to fund it. Money is not created by a court ruling.

Thomas goes on to says the Court's "inversion of the original meaning of liberty will likely cause collateral damage to other aspects of our constitutional order that protect liberty." Further, he argues that the decision will threaten religious liberty by creating an unavoidable collision between the interests of same-sex couples and some religious organizations.

Justice Samuel Alito "At present, no one—including social scientists, philosophers, and historians—can predict with any certainty what the long-term ramifications of widespread acceptance of same-sex marriage will be. And judges are certainly not equipped to make such an assessment."

Alito also warns about future conflict with religious freedom. He writes, "By imposing its own views on the entire country, the majority facilitates the marginalization of the many Americans who have traditional ideas. Recalling the harsh treatment of gays and lesbians in the past, some may think that turnabout is fair play. But if that sentiment prevails, the Nation will experience bitter and lasting wounds."

And one final comment from Alito, "Today's decision shows that decades of attempts to restrain this Court's abuse of its authority have failed."

Of course, no one is talking about what God may think about this decision. It is certainly a flagrant usurping of His right to define marriage—something He did in Genesis 2. “And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall on Adam, and he slept; and He took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place. 22 Then the rib which the LORD God had taken from man He made into a woman, and He brought her to the man. 23 And Adam said: "This is now bone of my bones, And flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, Because she was taken out of Man." 24 Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

The big overstep here is the prideful and false premise that the dignity of human relationships derives primarily from the government. Doug Wardlow wrote, “It is the flawed notion that the state does not recognize and protect—but rather creates our fundamental institutions, rights, and relationships. And it is the false idea that no institution—not marriage, not the family, and not individual rights to life, liberty, property, or the exercise of religion—has any significance or meaning independent from that which the state imparts. But, as the Declaration of Independence makes clear, all people are ‘endowed by their Creator”—not by their government—‘with certain unalienable rights.’ Rejecting this principle carries a sinister implication: if the state bestows our rights, the state can take them away at its whim.” Wardlow has identified the broad danger we face as a result of this decree.

I’m not so concerned about the immediate consequences of this decision, as I am where it leads us. Immediate consequences that I see are:

(1) The wicked are embolden to assert their iniquity even more aggressively.

(2) Young people are deceived into thinking its ok because the government has sanctioned it. Dad and Mom must just be behind the times. Perverted behavior becomes more prevalent.

(3) Another move to redistribute wealth from godly people to ungodly people. I’m not so sure this is a human agenda; but I’m pretty sure it is Satan’s agenda. Wealth is power and he wants it used by the wicked, not the godly.