Stand down or stand our ground?

Now that a federal court has ruled North Carolina’s law affirming the definition of marriage as the union between a man and a woman unconstitutional, several county magistrates have chosen to resign rather than officiate mock weddings and promote what God calls an abomination.

Although 61 percent of North Carolina voters chose to amend their state constitution to protect marriage in 2012, a federal judge cast aside the will of the people. Former county magistrate Bill Stevenson said he resigned out of conscience: “Romans Chapter 13 says people who believe in the Lord should submit to governing authorities and we have to face the fact this is the law now. I reasoned I couldn’t both follow the law and follow the dictates of the Lord.”

As society crosses more lines of decency into further depravity, many more Christians like Stevenson will quit rather than go along with the godless program. Christians with businesses that provide wedding services especially will feel the homosexual lobby’s wrath … backed by the power of the state.

Are Stevenson and the others retreating, and is it the right thing to do? Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, believes the magistrates should not stand down. “Stand your ground,” he said in a statement. “Do not voluntarily resign your post when confronted with this intolerant agenda.” He added, “The quest for religious freedom was the reason American was born. We cannot voluntarily give up this unalienable right”

This is a culture war, and it’s also spiritual. As more people are willing to accept the idea of two men being married, three- or four- or five-person unions aren’t far behind. Just as homosexuals asked why the union should be limited to a man and a woman, others will ask why the union should be limited to two people.

The taboo against incest is already breaking down. The New York State Court of Appeals has ruled the marriage between a half-uncle and a half-niece valid. While this might not be as abhorrent as a mother-son marriage, it’s one more concession that will lead to others. In our lifetimes, we might see courts striking down bans against sibling marriages. And don’t be surprised if, in this “my civil rights” atmosphere, adult sexual deviants go public with their agenda to lower the age of sexual consent. As King Solomon wrote, there is nothing new under the sun. Nothing.

How much should we tolerate as individuals living in a secular society, and how far should we resist as Christ followers? Are we, as the body of Christ, going to stand down as we’re caught up in this rapidly degenerating culture or stand our ground against the kind of godlessness that violates our religious freedom?

“We are hard-pressed on every side,” the Apostle Paul wrote, “yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed—always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.”

Fight on.