THE CHRISTIAN CONSCIENCE
"Let every man be fully persuaded in his own
mind." - Romans 14:5
In
recent days, social media has been abuzz with stories, articles and news clips
about Kim Davis. Kim is the Kentucky
county clerk who defied a Federal court order when she refused to grant
marriage licenses to gay couples, which led to her temporary imprisonment for
contempt of court. According to Ms.
Davis, she refused to grant the licenses because it violated her religious
convictions.
From
the social media comments I've read, some believe she is menace to society
while others consider her to be a Christian martyr. Even among Christians, there is disagreement about whether she
should have resigned or continued to stand her ground. From my own point of view, I am bothered by
all the hypocrisy in this news story.
On one hand, I have no doubt that the "Kim Davis Story," will
soon be in print. On the other hand, I
know that many of the gay couples that were denied licenses got their 30
seconds of fame when they were interviewed by news agencies. Then there is the President of the United
States who hypocritically said that "no person is above the law,"
when he, like many of his predecessors, conveniently ignores laws that he
doesn't agree with. I get rather disgusted
by the whole situation.
Rather
than voice my support or opposition to Kim Davis, I want to address an issue
that has been brought to the forefront through her situation & many other
similar cases.
As
a Christian, I am deeply bothered by the fact that the Christian conscience is
being silenced in the public sector.
Although the Supreme Court allowed the owners of Hobby Lobby to maintain
their Christian conscience in the light of the new healthcare law, more often
than not, Christians are facing overt efforts to silence their conscience.
In
addition to the Kim Davis issue, we need to remember some of these recent news
stories:
- A judge has ordered a
Christian couple to pay fines because their bakery business (founded on
Christian principles) refused to bake a cake for a gay wedding.
- A Christian pastor in
Vermont was sentenced to one year in prison for refusing to marry a gay
couple.
- The continual threat
to remove "tax exemption" from specific churches when the
pastors preach against public sins that are deemed "political"
issues.
- A current
Presidential candidate stated publicly, "deep-seated cultural codes, religious
beliefs and structural biases have to be
changed." (Emphasis added).
Unbelievers
tend to say that Christians have the right to practice their faith --- as long
as it is kept private. This belief has
silenced many people of faith. However,
the Christian faith is NOT just a private faith. It is impossible for a person to take the Bible seriously and
remain silent. There is no such thing as "private Christianity."
Jesus commands His followers to take the Gospel PUBLICLY. Today, when the Christian faith enters the
public arena, there is an explicit effort to stifle that faith. "Freedom of Religion," has become
"Freedom From Religion." The
"Separation of Church & State," has become the "Separation
of Faith from the Public." The
devil is actively at work in America.
Whether
or not you agree with Kim Davis, here's a major questions to ask yourself: What if your boss or the government demanded
that you do something that is in total violation of your faith? Of course, answering this question in theory
is easier than answering this question in reality. However, I agree with John MacArthur when he advised Christians
to settle this matter in advance.
In
coming days, I have no doubt that there will be severe consequences for those
who stand firm in the faith. Such
issues as a loss of income (losing a job), financial loss (through law suits)
and a loss of freedom (through imprisonment) are not outside the realm of
possibility for Christians.
Some
may argue that I am overreacting.
However, history proves that once freedom is compromised, it is a matter
of time before it is completely gone.
The key issue that Christians face today is the loss of religious
freedom.
In
my opinion, the Christian voice has been silent long enough. The Christian conscience should compel each
of us to have private piety AND a public voice. The world needs the message of the Gospel and that message must
be shared publicly. If we allow
ourselves to be manipulated into compromise, the Lord will be dishonored, dying
souls will perish and we will ultimately regret it.
You are very right about the line is being drawn in the sand. I felt it in my latter years as a public school teacher. I had to make the decision early on to not compromise, and if I'd ever been asked to do so, I would have quit. I know teachers who have left public schools and are now teaching in Christian schools because of the lack of support of their religious freedoms in public schools.
ReplyDeleteTherein lies another can of worms--does God want the salt and light to leave the public arena in order to work safely in Christian-friendly places? If we all left, the world would become very dark. However, for some of us, our core is not strong enough to fight. I know that I would have quit my job if I were Kim.
Then there's the issue of being a stumbling block to unbelievers... Will the unsaved see Kim as a legalistic, unloving lunatic and shun the gospel because of her stance? Will the unsaved see Kim as an anomaly and not transfer this situation to the cause of Jesus Christ?
It all goes back to the tired, but true saying, "What would Jesus do?" He rocked the boats a few times. He showed great love to the sinner, too. But, I am confident, if He were a clerk in that KY courthouse, he would never, ever sign his name to a same-sex marriage license. Would He quit His job and move on? Would He stay there and fight?
I've added nothing to your very articulate, heartfelt blog. I've just added another question (or two) that I'd like to ask my sweet Savior! I love your blog posts, Brother Nathan!