• If we construe marriage as being between a man and a man, or a woman and a woman, we radically distort what God the Creator intended.
• To say your sexual orientation does not matter is to say that your eternal destiny does not matter.
The ruling by the High Court on a case seeking to overturn a law criminalising same-sex relationships was music to straight people around the globe.
The three-bench judge comprising of Roselyne Abuliri, Chacha Mwita and John Mativo upheld sections 162 and 165 of the penal code that make such relationships illegal in Kenya.
This affirmed the fact that even in the face of pressure from the West, the African, indeed the Christian African can still take a biblical position.
The ruling came just days after the passing on of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex or Queer (LGBTIQ) activist and author Binyavanga Wainaina. LGBTIQ people are not just staking claims on their rights in nations but now in church also!
In Taiwan, LGBTIQ activists held a banquet to celebrate the legalisation of same-sex marriages with over 20 same-sex couples tying the knot last week.
It’s time nations, individual Christians, churches, denominations globally, including the Anglicans and Methodists in the West and Europe as well as the South, came out clear on this LGBTQ+ issue.
All this is happening as churches in the US take sides on this issue and the global church gets embroiled in the murky waters of same-sex marriage.
The US problem on this matter was compounded on June 26, 2015, when the Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples can marry across the states.
This is why it was important that the Kenyan Supreme court pronounced itself in no uncertain terms on this matter. Thank God the Bible is not silent on the issue as well.
The author of the Book of Jude expressly states, "For certain individuals whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into a license for immorality. In a similar way, Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding towns gave themselves up to sexual immorality and perversion. They serve as an example of those who suffer the punishment of eternal fire."
Apostle Paul is very clear that the “unrighteous” will not enter the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-11). Among the examples of unrighteous behaviour he lists is homosexual practice. The Man of God delivers a profound warning, "Those who do not repent of such behaviour will not enter heaven."
Friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, do not be deceived by LGBTIQ activists who are in this for their own selfish interests. Eternity is at stake. To say your sexual orientation does not matter is to say that your eternal destiny does not matter.
Those demanding affirmation of homosexual behaviour are proposing something that we should bewilder all of us when we think of eternity.
It is very sad that one place where this issue is being pushed is in the Western church at the precise moment our culture is making this a defining issue. This should give us pause.
There are six passages in the Bible that directly mention homosexual behaviour in a negative manner. But even if the six passages were not in the Bible, we would still be clear that homosexual practice is ungodly.
For those of us of same-sex attraction, these are not easy passages to read. But they are clear in what they say and we must receive them as good words to live by.
If we construe marriage as being between a man and a man, or a woman and a woman, we radically distort what God the Creator intended.
When we alter the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples, we radically alter the gospel message, which marriage is meant to visualise. The Bible’s teaching on marriage alone is enough to settle the issue of homosexuality
In Revelation 2 Jesus rebukes the church in Thyatira for tolerating someone whose teaching leads people into sexual sin (Revelation 2:20). More significantly, however, is Jesus' response to this situation: He is not just against those perpetuating the teaching; He is against those who tolerate such teaching in their midst.
Note that not all tolerance is godly, and it is Christ-like to be intolerant of certain things. It is time nations, individual Christians, churches and denominations globally, including the Anglicans and Methodists in the West and Europe as well as the South, came out clear on this issue.
Not taking a side is actually taking a side. I congratulate the High Court for the bold decision to pronounce itself once and for all on the LGBTIQ issue.
Communications manager, CMS-Africa