Biblical marriage: Join us in standing for it

“Home, Sweet Home” is the title of an old song. American actor and dramatist John Howard Payne wrote the lyrics with the melody composed by Englishman Sir Henry Bishop. The opening lines are:

Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home.

During the War Between the States the Union Army was forbidden to play the song around the campfires. The pull on the heartstrings was so great there was a fear of mass desertion. The sentimental attachment to home is now like a distant memory. The traditional home has fallen on hard times. The 2010 United States census indicated that less than half the homes were comprised of married couples. Except for adult children returning to live with their parents, the trend is downward for the traditional nuclear family. Fewer than 40 percent of homes have a married couple with children.

The very foundation of society is the home. Without children being born to married couples, orderly society cannot be sustained. Many European nations are well below replacement levels for their own cultural survival. Abortion and sexual activity without regard for pregnancy have changed the relationships in the home.

Homosexual activists advocate for marriage between persons of the same sex. Artificial insemination or adoption provides children for these couples. While some attempts have been successful to legalize marriage for homosexuals, this does not measure up to the biblical order for the home.

Regardless of the cultural drift, the Bible maintains a constant in ordering the home. There is only one pattern for the home that will return us to a scriptural model. Once followers of Jesus Christ follow the biblical mandate concerning the home, we have hope for a change in our nation.

My heart has been burdened for our nation and for the future usefulness of the church in America. The problem is not the infidels, atheists, and false religionists. Corrupt politicians, socialists, homosexual activists, abortionists and secularists cannot stop the church of the Living God. Only believers in disobedience can keep us from storming the gates of hell. We have become absorbed by the culture. The church is a thermometer reflecting the culture rather than a thermostat regulating the culture. When we as believers get to a place of “seeking first the kingdom of God” rather than the “American Dream” we might see the power of God come upon us. When the power of the Holy Spirit is poured out, the church will be able to impact the culture for the glory of God.

Living out a biblical model will include having the proper relationship in a marriage covenant between a man and a woman. If God is pleased to allow children to come of the union, then the couple should raise the children in a Christian environment, immersing them with the Word of God. It might take the next generation to provide the salt and light to influence our nation.

The Southern Baptists of Texas Convention has always stood for the biblical home. Article 18 of the Baptist Faith and Message (2000) states clearly what we believe. Now the SBTC Executive Board is asking us to take action.

A resolution on traditional marriage offered by convention President Terry Turner was adopted in the August board meeting. The resolution is found in printed form on this same page. By going to the web link cited you can sign a petition affirming your support and calling upon the president to reverse his endorsement of homosexual marriages. This is not about politics. This is about our society’s survival. Please join us in standing for biblical marriage.