Thought For The Day

What Did Jesus Say?

November 13, 2013 / 0 Comments

Before I leave this story behind, I feel the need to make one more comment. Yesterday’s post was about the Rev. Frank Schaefer, pastor of Zion UMC in South Lebanon Township (I don’t know and didn’t find what State that is in). The UMC has a policy (as I understand it) forbidding Methodist ministers from performing marriage ceremonies for “gay couples.” Rev. Schaefer officiated at the marriage of his son who is homosexual. Now that someone (6 years later) has filed a complaint, the UMC is moving to defrock him. Rev. Schaefer is evidently confused regarding what the trial is about – and is obviously confused about God Word.

The United Methodist Church has had a 40-year policy on gays that accepts them as members in the church but rejects homosexuality as “incompatible with Christian teaching.” The church’s 1,000-member General Conference last reaffirmed the church’s policy on gays at their last in 2012, according to The Associated Press. Schaefer has declined the church’s offer to avoid trial by agreeing not to perform another same-sex marriage. (Associated Press)

Rev. Schaefer is quoted as making the following statement regarding the coming trial – “Jesus our Lord and Savior never mentioned homosexuality at all and my point is if it is that important of an issue, why didn’t he mention it?,” Schaefer said. (IBID.)

The problem, it seems to me, is not that the participants in the marriage are homosexual, rather, it is that the Pastor officiated a homosexual wedding and refuses to repent (meaning not do it again). Obviously he is not in trouble for having homosexuals in his Church (see policy above), but that he is allowing them to marry under his official seal. Therefore, his statement (related to the impending trial) ought to be about “marriage” not “homosexuality” (which, by the way, the Scripture wholly condemns as a sin). The Scripture begins with the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman (see Genesis) and Jesus comments fully on the marriage issue in Matthew 19. To understand fully the words of “Jesus our Lord and Savior” is to understand that homosexuality could never be part of marriage.

We are sometimes “dense” because we choose to be so in light of the actions we wish to take which are part of our fallen human nature. It is that nature which is “at war” within us even after we are redeemed.

I suppose the best one can do, after diligent pursuit of Truth, is pray for the enlightenment offered by the Spirit in understanding that Truth as it is revealed by God.

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