Recent decades have demonstrated the unhelpful and
disappointing isolation of British Christians from bold, biblical commentary in
the public square in what only amounts to an exhibition of the limp-wristed ineffectual
chapel culture that has bred the current climate. It is time that we understand
not only the priesthood of all believers, but recover a biblically robust view
of, if you will, the prophethood of all believers: that we are to put away all
lies, flattery, and deceit and are to, each one of us, “speak the truth with
his neighbour, for we are members one of another” (Ephesians 4:25). This
relates to civil as well as spiritual matters as John Gill, pastor of the Baptist Church
“speak every man truth with his neighbour; both with respect to civil
and religious affairs, in common conversation, in trade and business, and in
all things relating to God and men: for we are members one of another; as men,
are all of one blood, descended from one man, and so are related one to
another; and as in civil society, belong to one body politic; and in a
religious sense, members of the same mystical body, the church; of which
Christ, who is the truth itself, is the head; and therefore should not attempt
to deceive one another by lying, since there is such a near relation and close
union of one to another.”
It is not
as simple as just ‘tell people about
Jesus’ as some have resigned themselves to in theory (I sometimes doubt if even
that is lived out in practice). In Ecclesiastes 8, our English translations
take verse 2 to mean something like “Keep the king's command”, which is often
read “Obey the king’s command.” However, when I was studying the passage while
preaching through the book, I found that it made much more sense in the whole
scheme of verses 1-9 to go with a more wooden reading – something like, “Keep
the mouth of the king”, with “keep” indicating protection more than obedience.
If this is not completely off the mark, then we have in this verse a command to
act as guards on any foolish thoughts, words, and decisions that might come
from our political leaders. All of this needs to be interpreted
Christologically of course, and held in balance with the very clear commission
to go and make disciples, baptizing them and teaching them not only the way to Christ but the way of Christ. Nevertheless, we have in
Ecclesiastes 8:1-9 a biblical basis for the Christian responsibility of social
action in the public, dare I say, political sphere. It is protective (“Guard
the mouth of the king”), it is patient, (“Be not hasty to go from his presence”),
and it is prudent (“Do not take your stand in an evil cause” and “the wise
heart will know the proper time and the just way”).
One way Christians have
responded to the Government’s proposed Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill (currently
under the scrutiny of the House of Commons Public Bill Committee before its
third reading) is by signing petitions that defend the definition of marriage
as the union of one man and one woman to the exclusion of all others till death
parts them. The Coalition for Marriage petition, supported by the Christian
Institute, CARE, Christian Concern, the Family Education Trust, and the
Evangelical Alliance, and signed by 641,849 people has had the highest profile.
While I am a signatory of that petition, and actively encouraged others to sign
it as well, one quibble that I have with the arguments used by the Coalition
are the predominance of pragmatic arguments that form their foundation. To be
sure, some of these (the uniqueness of marriage, the profound consequences of
redefining it, the right of people to freely take a stand for their beliefs and
principles) are born out of a Christian mindset. The “no need to redefine
marriage since we already have civil partnerships that provide the same rights”
argument, however, is pure political pragmatism, and so wishy-washy it could almost be taken as an endorsement of
civil partnerships. As a “Christian” coalition, I am not sure that it succeeds
in lending a distinctively Christian voice to the debate – there are even gay
opponents of the bill who are making similar arguments! I have however found a
petition that I believe does provide
such a voice.
The Keep Marriage
Special petition unashamedly links itself to Scripture in its statement:
“This petition calls upon HM
Government to support and protect the uniqueness of marriage, for the good of
all in society. It affirms the biblical teaching that marriage can only be
between one man and one woman. Marriage cannot be redefined because it is not a
human invention, but an institution ordained by God for the good of mankind.
The Christian understanding of marriage is at the heart of family life, is good
for children and is a vital part of our country’s heritage. We support all
efforts to defend it. We therefore call upon HM Government not to legislate to
permit same-sex marriage.”
Led by Viscount Brentford, and counting a number of
politicians in its leadership and among its signatories, well respected and
recognized Vice-Presidents and Trustees of the campaign include Michael
Nazir-Ali (the former Bishop of Rochester), Geoff Thomas (Pastor, Alfred Place
Baptist Church, Aberystwyth), Rico Tice (Associate Minister, All Souls, Langham
Place and Co-author, Christianity
Explored), and David Jackman (Former President, Proclamation Trust).
In a helpful piece entitled “Why KMS?” (http://www.keepmarriagespecial.org.uk/main/why-kms;
read all of it – it is worth it!), the campaign says
“Christians have a legitimate and
God-given role both in urging society to live by God’s laws and urging
individuals to repent of their sin and turn to Jesus Christ as their only hope
of salvation, forgiveness and eternal life. It is not in the best interests of
society to enact ungodly legislation. A healthy society is a God-honouring
society. Christians are acting for the good of society generally by urging it
to uphold the God-given definition and institution of marriage. It would not be
right for them to stay silent.”
In contrast to the license given to all sorts of things by the
West’s liberal (including pseudo-conservative) politicians and their
libertarian kinfolk, Romans 13 gives us a picture of government as an
institution given by God to promote good and punish evil. It does so by making
laws. Moral laws. So there is a sense, after all, in which government is
designed to “legislate morality.” And that includes sexual morality. I believe
the Keep Marriage Special campaign is a distinctively Christian, biblical
effort at “guarding the mouth” of our leaders, enabling the believing
individual in a small but potentially significant way to “speak the truth with his
neighbour” so as to encourage the government to fulfil its God-given
responsibilities.
It is true that wars are not won with petitions. But they are won with people. The time is here
for believing men and women everywhere in this country to separate themselves
from the inane dithering of fools on the fence and take a stand - a stand not
based on party, politics, or popularity, but a stand on principle.
If you are a resident of the United Kingdom aged 16 years or
over, you can sign the Keep Marriage Special petition by following this link:
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