What is a Christian to Do?
by: Allen Domelle
This past Thursday should be marked down as a dark day in American history. U.S. District Judge, David Bunning, jailed a Kentucky county clerk for standing by her faith not to issue a marriage certificate to same-sex couples. Judge Bunning had previously ordered Rowan County Clerk, Kim Davis to start issuing marriage certificates to same-sex couples since the U.S. Supreme Courts ruling on same-sex sin in June. Because she refused to follow this order on basis of her faith, he ruled her in contempt of court.
Davis told the judge that her conscience would not allow her to do this because she is a Christian and this would go against her religious beliefs. Davis, an Apostolic Christian, has said that issuing a certificate for same-sex sin would be in direct contradiction to the Scriptures, which she is right in saying.
Judge Bunning has an activist history of ruling for sodomy. In 2003, he ordered the school system of Boyd County, Ky., to allow a student group, the Gay-Straight Alliance, to meet on school grounds. He later ruled in 2006 that the school system could not let students who opposed sodomite rights to opt out of anti-harassment sessions which are nothing more than classes that promote the sodomite agenda. It is very apparent this judge is more interested in being an activist for sodomy than he is in interpreting the law.
Judges are to interpret law not make law. According to several knowledgeable in law, Ms. Davis did not break any laws. Just because a judge desires to promote his agenda doesn’t make it right to put a person in jail who disagrees with him. This is judicial activism at its best. Maybe Judge Bunning should be put in the cell next to Ms. Davis for violating the First Amendment which guarantees religious freedom to practice our faith without government interference.
Opponents of Ms. Davis have called for her to be fired, which cannot be done because she is an elected official. She can be impeached by the Kentucky legislature, but not fired. What is interesting is these same people calling for her to be fired have failed to call for President Obama’s resignation as he refuses to defy immigration laws and even his own Obamacare laws. These same people have failed to call for the mayor of San Francisco to resign who ignored federal laws by not reporting illegal immigrants who have been arrested to ICE. There seems to be a double standard.
These opponents point out Ms. Davis’ own questionable history of marriage in stating that she has been divorced many times. This is true! What they don’t point out is that in 2011 she claims to have accepted Christ as her personal Saviour. Christians certainly aren’t perfect, but Christ can do a great work in their lives. It would be better to look at her life since becoming a Christian to determine if she is being consistent than to look at her life prior to her conversion.
It is interesting how sodomites who say that this whole thing is about love can be so hateful. All you have to do is tweet something or put something on Facebook against their agenda and they start spewing their venom.
Don’t mistake this battle that we face as a civil rights issue. This is not a civil rights issue, but it is about throwing God completely out of the American society. America was founded upon the Judeo-Christian values found in the Scriptures. Every Amendment in the U.S. Constitution that the Supreme Court is to uphold was based upon Scripture. The desire of the Left is to throw God and the Scriptures out of America so they can change the Constitution to accommodate their wicked lifestyles. That is what this is truly all about.
SO WHAT IS A CHRISTIAN TO DO?
This reminds me of the story in Daniel when a law was enacted that anyone praying to any other than King Darius for thirty days would be thrown into the lion’s den. Daniel could have easily said that he would pray in private or keep his faith private, but his faith had been on display for all to see. He could have said that God would understand if he didn’t pray for thirty days because it would endanger his position with the king and his own personal life. But, Daniel completely understood that to obey the law of the land was to disobey the higher law of God which commands Christians to always pray. We see Daniel’s response to the law in Daniel 6:10 which says, “Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.” Daniel didn’t change how he lived because man’s law contradicted God’s law. He chose to obey God’s law even though he knew the consequences meant he would lose his life. I believe in this story there are several things Christians can learn about what to do when activist judges rule against God’s authority.
1. Keep a right attitude and spirit.
Daniel didn’t become bitter against the king for throwing him into the lion’s den; instead, it can be assumed from Daniel 6:22, that he prayed for God not to hurt the king. It can be tempting to treat evil with evil, but you must not. You must ask for God’s grace to help your spirit during these times so that you don’t become hateful with what you say or do. Keeping a right attitude and spirit is just as important as doing right.
2. Always obey the higher law.
When the law of the land contradicted God’s law, Daniel chose to obey the higher law and pray “as he did aforetime.” Romans 13:1 says, “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers…” God makes it very clear in this verse that you always obey the highest power. The highest power is always God. Throughout history man has enacted laws that have forced the Christian to make a choice, but many throughout history understood that an obedient Christian must always obey God over man. Yes, you will probably suffer some consequences for obeying God, but He has always stood with the Christian who did right and against those who hurt His children.
3. Pray for those in authority.
Daniel didn’t just keep a right spirit, but as mentioned previously, he prayed for the king. I believe it is important that you pray for every authority. God has the power to move upon the heart of the authority to do the right thing. If we pray for those in authority before situations like this exist, maybe God will intercede and help us avoid these situations.
4. Keep obeying God’s Word.
Just because some laws contradict God’s Word doesn’t give us permission to stop obeying God. When the Apostles were commanded to stop speaking the name of Jesus, they said in Acts 5:29, “…We ought to obey God rather than men.” Nobody ever said that it would be easy serving the LORD. I’m sure Ms. Davis never thought she would have to go to jail for her faith when she got saved, but she has proven so far that she is going to obey God’s law over man’s. You need to determine now that if you are faced with the same difficult decision that you are going to obey God.
5. Call and email your representatives to voice your opinion.
Other than prayer, the best way to turn these situations back in our favor is to continually call and email your state and federal representatives to give your opinion on these situations. You may think they don’t pay attention, but they do. They want to get reelected. It doesn’t take many people for them to notice what their constituents think. The problem is that Christians have been AWOL in their duties as citizens. Shame on us! If you stay silent, you have no right to complain.
6. Be aggressive in reaching the lost for Christ.
Nothing changes a society in a greater way than people getting saved. If you are not a personal soul winner then you are a part of the problem and not a part of the solution. When Christ enters into the heart of an individual, He changes their behavior as is very evident in the case of Ms. Davis. The more we avoid reaching the lost, the more we contribute to the loss of our religious freedoms.
This case is just the beginning of many more to come if Christians continue to live apathetic Christian lives. It’s time for Christians to rise to the occasion and follow the example given by Daniel so we can turn this around. It will not be an easy battle, and it won’t be a battle that is won overnight; however, God can do a work to change the hearts of the hardest people if we will simply do our part and obey Him. Let me encourage you by leaving you with this verse from 1 John 4:4, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”