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Did God Just Give America Over?

Romans 1:26-27 records, “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.”

In the history of theology there have been two prominent ways to interpret these verses. One is that homosexuality is a sin that God will someday judge. But the other interpretation, which interestingly is held by both liberal and conservative scholars, is that homosexuality IS God’s judgement on people that went too far in their rebellion. Their judgment has already started. Ironically, then, when a homosexual says, “God made me this way”, they’re right! Now that doesn’t mean God approves of homosexuality. Just the opposite. It means God doesn’t approve, so much so in fact, that he has sentenced the rebel to a life of debauchery. As the old saying goes, “Be careful what you ask for.”  

What does this fact mean for Christians? While most believers responded to the Supreme Court’s ruling on same-sex marriage as an act contrary to the will of God, the passage from Romans 1 clearly infers that the Court’s decision may well be an example of God exhibiting his judgment on a country that has squandered its birthright. Did God just give up a whole nation to “degrading passions?” Did God just say to America, “Enough?!” If so, then what may be coming next may be ominous. Or glorious!

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