OK, so to this point you are probably thinking that I am writing a blog that calls us to defend traditional marriage, and stand for what is right in a culture that has beliefs that are contrary to the Bible.  While I do think we need to declare the truth of God in love, I am actually writing this blog to speak to Genesis and others who read this about the New Testament model for living in a culture that on a growing level sees the ideals and beliefs of Christianity as archaic and evil.  This is happening here.  The battle on gay marriage is effectively coming to an end, and I do believe it will just be a matter of years before marriage is defined as a loving relationship between any people.  Not far behind this will be arguments for polygamy and other practices that we don’t even want to think about.   Beyond that, I believe that in increasing ways over the coming years those who live the lifestyle of a follower of Jesus and hold the truths of Biblical Christianity will increasingly be marginalized in American culture.  So what are we to do?

So to my main point.  The real defense of marriage is not our arguments, it is our marriages and our own values about marriage.  In other words, the greatest proof of the Gospel is not how we articulate our message but how we live our lives as transformed people.  The real tragedy in our country is not the legalization of gay marriage, it is the reality that those who claim Jesus as their Lord and Savior have no differing values or actions in real life regarding marriage and sexuality.  Research in the last few years has shown that Christians are just as likely to divorce as non-believers, and one in four people who are considered born-again Christians have lived with a sexual partner with whom they are not married.   This means that as we shout at the TV when we hear people opposing the Biblical view of marriage, in reality the practice of marriage among those who call themselves believers is virtually no different from those who do not know God and have not experienced the Gospel.

As a culture, we are moving closer and closer to the cultural situation that existed in first century Rome at the time of the New Testament.  They were a pluralistic society that was very open to all kinds of sexual freedom and public views.  Christianity was attacked and persecuted in many ways, and the views of Christians were seen as weird and intolerable.  But it was the lives of early Christians that drew people to the Gospel.  1 Peter is a book written to people who are experiencing this struggle, and Peter’s admonition to them is that they will demonstrate the beauty of the Gospel through the holiness in their lives not the power of their arguments.  In 1 Peter 2:12 he says, “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.”  Later Peter tells these early Christians to endure suffering and persecution, and to have holy marriages as a picture of the Gospel in the culture.  “But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”  Did you hear what he said.  First, we are to honor Christ the Lord as holy, to determine that Jesus is my God, He is perfect, I will serve him with my life.  Then as we live that way, the manner of our lives will glow so that people will wonder how we can live hope-filled lives in a world that offers little hope.  When we are asked, we answer with truth, but with gentleness and respect.  The people who hear our defense of this hope will slander us, but as they do our good behavior, not our wonderful arguments will put them to shame.

This happened in the early church.  When infanticide was a common practice and the Roman embraced the discarding of infants in their laws, early Christians began to find the babies on the streets and adopt them as their own.  Many of the discarded babies were deformed or mentally disabled, but Christians demonstrated the Gospel by their actions, not their arguments.  In a pornographic culture where marriage was nothing more than a social contract and married men often visited brothels as acts of worship to their gods, Christians lived monogamous lives in loving marital relationships.  As the Roman world rejected the poor and hurting, Christians cared for them.  Julian the Apostate, who was the last pagan emperor of Rome saw that the humble and holy lives of Christians was winning the culture, wrote, “These impious Galileans (Christians) not only feed their own, but ours also; welcoming them with their agape, they attract them, as children are attracted with cakes… Whilst the pagan priests neglect the poor, the hated Galileans devote themselves to works of charity, and by a display of false compassion have established and given effect to their pernicious errors. Such practice is common among them, and causes contempt for our gods (Epistle to Pagan High Priests).”  You see, the values of the Roman culture was that they freely shared their beds, but not their pocketbooks.  Into this world Christians came and they freely shared their pocketbooks but not their beds.  Their lives of joy and grace became the best defense of marriage, and defense of the Gospel.

So let me close this lengthy blog by being practical.  What should we do when we see evidences of the cultural shift.  How do we as Christians respond when our President makes this decision, or the number one pop-icon of the day is openly homosexual and influences the world that she was “born this way,” or when those who hold Biblical views are criticized and ridiculed?  I believe the answer is that we ought to get up out of our chairs and kiss our wives.  Men ought to see this as a commission to love their wives as Christ loved the church.  It ought to be a deep reminder to date each other, to have free and wonderful sex lives, and to find great joy in the marriage God has given.  Whenever we see marriage attacked, it should be a deep reminder that the true defense of marriage will not come through a law, it will come through Gospel-centered people who resolve to stay married and to have great marriages!  It means we should find the Gospel deep in our lives and apply it to our marriages, being quick to forgive, and constantly loving in a way that we seek the good of our spouse.  It means that single people should live for God’s ideals, remaining pure until marriage even though they know the culture around them will see that as an archaic view.  And we do all this with gentleness and respect.  Then, while the world is shouting at us declaring that the Biblical view of these issues is evil and wrong, they will come to a point where they see our joy and hope, and they will wonder why we are the only ones who are happy?  It will be the beauty of our marriages and lives and not the quality of our arguments that win them over to the truth of the Gospel  To God be the glory!

A note about another blog I posted about Albert Pujols at this rally.  I did post the video of his speech, and do think he was clear and did a good job articulating the Gospel, so I hope I am not being contradictory in these two posts.  But Moore’s post really made me think.

Nightline news story

Extra clip from Nightline website

OK, so I don’t really believe this is a sign that God is rooting for the Redbirds.  But I did hear of another story in the world of sports that does demonstrate how strong faith in Jesus is still something that can lead to ridicule and persecution.  Tim Tebow is the starting quarterback at the University of Florida (our own Sam Johnson is on this team).  He is a Heisman Trophy winner, and is also a believer in Jesus with a strong faith.  Tebow is known for wearing eye patches with John 3:16 in the National Championship game last year, which led to this Biblical text being the number one internet search for the week following.  He is also committed to sexual purity and has given time to do missions.

The Fort Meyers Miracle minor league baseball team decided to hold a promotional night titled, What would Tebow Do (see ESPN article here)?  The idea was a night to “honor” the Florida quarterback, which included giving “promise rings” (a ring worn as a commitment to sexual purity before marriage) to every fan, and having a guy named Tim Tebo (no relation) try to walk on water between innings.  They also considered holding a mock circumcision on the field, which is a reference to Tebow’s work on a medical mission trip to an orphanage in Southeast Asia.

The team had to change the event when they were informed by University of Florida that it was a violation of NCAA rules for them to use Tebow’s name and likeness in an event like this, so they changed it to “What Would TT Do?”  And Tim Tebo didn’t show up, so they did not have anyone to walk on water.   Some have said that the entire event was created to honor Tebow, and I haven’t seen anything from Tebow himself on how he feels about the event.  But I do find it interesting that the team thought it would be appropriate to mock faith.  I don’t think we need to boycott the team or minor league baseball, or be angry.  Jesus flat out told his followers that our commitment to the Gospel would lead to levels of persecution and ridicule.  And apparently, we don’t need to try to defend God, he does that fine for himself.  As people were heading in to the event, a tornado was seen relatively near the event, a little reminder maybe?

But reading the article got me to thinking, so I thought I would post an interactive blog and invite all you people who read my stuff from time to time to jump on board for a discussion.  I got to thinking about who the most influential people in my life are, and why.  What I realized is that a multitude of ordinary people who would never make Time’s list have had extraordinary impact on my life, primarily because they were people who spoke into my faith and character.  Of course, my mom and dad are at the top of the list, and my wife Heidi would be the champion here.  But for this list, I am not going to list family, but think of other people who have lived their faith before me in ways that impacted me.  So here are five names from my life.  Can’t really say they are the top five, because I would be in danger of leaving someone important out.  But here are five from me.  Why don’t you respond to the blog by naming five from your life and sharing why they are on your list.

Mrs. Phiropolous – OK, to be honest, I can’t even spell her name right, I don’t think.  When I was a little dude hanging out at Maplewood Baptist Church, she was an older lady who loved kids.  She led a program that was designed to teach younger elementary goobers like me how to find books of the Bible and how to memorize scripture.

Neal Farnham - His son David was my best friend growing up, and Neal was my dad’s best buddy (still is).  Mr. Farnham worked with my dad in all the recreation stuff at my church, coaching kids sports teams, and hanging out at open gym night.  He was a soft-spoken, caring guy who made me feel important.

Dr. Dale Allen – While I was a student at Missouri Baptist College, Dr. Allen became a professor in Bible and religion classes.  To be honest, his classes were incredibly easy (I hope he doesn’t read this).  Every time he gave a test, he would give a review the class before by reading the questions directly from his test.  The thing that was incredible about Dr. Allen was how he passed on his experience in pastoral ministry to his students.  At the time he came to MBU, he had just retired from over 30 years of pastoral ministry.  He became an example of what it looked like when a person had deep compassion on people and a desire to lead them as a pastor for me.

Bob & Martha Taylor – For three years, Heidi and I lived in exile in the little central Missouri town of California, MO.  These were the toughest three years of our lives, and a time of great testing and character development for the two of us.   We probably would not have made it through without Bob & Martha.  We lived with them fora while, and they became like parents for us while we were there.  They were the picture of hospitality, grace, and love for us, and provided an ear to listen and shoulder on which to cry.

Bob Curtis – For thirteen years Bob was my pastor at Ballwin Baptist, and a great personal friend.  I was deeply inspired as I watched his personal integrity and honesty.  In a world that does not value truth and character, Bob was a great example of what it looked like to be formed by the truth of God in every dealing of life.

There’s my list.  Of course, there are countless others I could share, but these are the people on my mind today.  What about you?

Thought you might like to check out the article from Time.