Kerby Anderson
For centuries, marriage was defined as one man and one woman. But various states and then the Supreme Court in its controversial 5-4 decision ruled that every state must recognize same-sex marriage. That was not the end of the debate. The House of Representatives recently passed the deceptively named Respect for Marriage Act to codify the Supreme Court decision.
There are many good reasons to reject the concept of same-sex marriage, which I recount in our Point of View booklet on a Biblical Point of View on Same Sex Marriage. Many of those arguments that were cited before the 2015 Supreme Court decision are now coming to fruition. And we don’t have to guess how the redefinition of marriage will affect religious liberty. We have seen it play out in the courts.
Nevertheless, a greater percentage of Americans now support same-sex marriage. When Gallup first began tracking support for same-sex marriage in 1996 a quarter of Americans (27%) backed legalization. The most recent poll found that seven in ten (71%) believe same-sex marriage should be recognized by law as valid.
This significant shift illustrates three important points. First, activists presented same-sex marriage as “marriage equality” as illustrated by the bumper sticker that merely had an “equals” sign. Second, Americans tend to take their cues from what is legal. Third, most pastors need to explain the importance of the biblical definition of marriage.
One group of Americans that does still oppose legalized same-sex marriage are weekly churchgoers. In fact, approval for same-sex marriage in this group has fallen a few percentage points in the last few years. By contrast, Americans who seldom or never attend church are much more likely to support same-sex marriage.
That is why pastors must remind their congregation of what the Bible says about marriage, and why it is still important in the 21st century.

Kerby Anderson
Erwin Lutzer calls for Christians to take a bold stand for Christ in a collapsing culture in his new book No Reason to Hide. He says we should not be complicit with the culture, nor should we be complacent in the culture. Instead, we should be courageous.
He identifies all sorts of threats coming at Christians from the culture. Most of them are from outside the church, though some have made their way inside the church. One chapter was surprising to me. He focused our attention on the issue of self-worship.
Erwin Lutzer uses an illustration he heard from John Stonestreet, president of the Colson Center, that illustrated the modern self-movement. Suppose that you are lost and have a compass that points to true north. That means you can figure the direction in which you are walking. But let’s now suppose you have a magnet in your backpack that causes the compass to always point to you. Without a point of reference, you have no idea of which direction you are heading. This is an apt metaphor for self-worship today.
He also quotes Carl Trueman and his book, The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self: Cultural Amnesia, Expressive Individualism, and the Road to Sexual Revolution. I did an interview with him when the book came out and have been encouraged to see how many Christians are reading his book. He explains how Sigmund Freud’s drive for sexuality was combined with Karl Marx’s quest for political power.
Sex is now politics. Our modern society now associates sexual freedom with political freedom. Therefore, the great sin in our culture is repression of our sexual desires. That is why Christianity, the church, and the Bible are seen as enemies that must be overthrown. That is why we Christians find ourselves in a society of self-worship promoting sexual freedom.