Dear Editor,

A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of being called a “hateful bigot” and “unchristian” for believing that marriage is between a man and a woman and that people should not be forced to participate in the celebration of something we see as unholy and against God’s Word. But what does it mean to be Christian? The word “Christian” itself means to be a devoted follower of Christ. It literally means to be like Christ. There are many people, even sitting in churches, who say they are a Christian or a believer in Christ, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are “Christian”.

In regard to the same-sex marriage and religious freedom debate going on in Indiana and in the nation, where should Christians stand? Is it unchristian to stand up and say that homosexuality and same-sex marriage is wrong? Not unless you are willing to call Jesus Christ himself unchristian! Jesus, in reaffirming the God given institution of marriage said, “From the beginning of the creation God made them male and female. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and cleave to his wife; And they twain shall be one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.” So if I am a Christian, in the truest sense of the word, then I am obligated to believe what Christ believed and to stand where Christ stood on the issue.

I have heard people say that God accepts everybody the way they are. I am sorry, but that is incorrect. Yes, Jesus loved and had compassion on everyone as they were, (“While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us”), but He did not accept them the way they were…He changed their lives. Jesus loved and offered forgiveness to all, but in doing so, He reproved their sin as well. Think Zacchaeus or the woman at the well or the paralytic. And what about the woman taken in adultery to whom some always point claiming Jesus did not condemn sin? Please read the next verse where He says “go and sin no more.”

If God accepted people as they are, there would have been no need for Jesus to die on the cross. To be accepted by Him, we need to acknowledge the awfulness of our sin and call out to Him for forgiveness based on what He did for us on the cross. Born-again believers are not perfect, but if they are truly “Christian” they will not stay in sin and they will not approve or participate in sinful behavior. They will love as Christ loved, but they will also take a firm stand against what the Bible calls sin.

Rev. Mark Fishburn
Leesburg