Kindness And Repentance: Romans 2:4 And Ministry To People With Same-Sex Attraction -- By: Glenn R. Kreider

Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 173:689 (Jan 2016)
Article: Kindness And Repentance: Romans 2:4 And Ministry To People With Same-Sex Attraction
Author: Glenn R. Kreider


Kindness And Repentance:
Romans 2:4 And Ministry To People With Same-Sex Attraction

Glenn R. Kreider

and

Thomas M. Mitchell

Glenn R. Kreider is Professor of Theological Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, Texas, and Thomas M. Mitchell is an attorney practicing law with Carothers and Mitchell, LLC, Buford, Georgia.

Abstract

In late June 2015, the United States Supreme Court granted a fundamental civil right to same-sex marriage. This change in definition of marriage and the legal protection of the status of married same-sex couples has huge implications for Christian ministry. It is likely that one effect of this cultural shift will be increased pressure on churches and Christian ministries to refrain from speaking negatively about such unions. How should the church respond to this change in cultural sexual ethics? This article argues from Romans 2:4, “Do you not know that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?” (NASB), that one way the church could respond to the LGBTQ community is with kindness and mercy, rather than judgment and condemnation or fear and silence. Perhaps in this way, people will be drawn to repentance.

On June 26, 2015, the United States Supreme Court held that “the right to marry is a fundamental right inherent in the liberty of the person, and under the Due Process and Equal Protection Clauses of the Fourteenth Amendment couples of the same sex may not be deprived of that right and that liberty.”1 The ruling prohibits states from interfering with same-sex individuals’ exercise of that right and invalidates statutes and state constitutional provisions that define marriage as the union of a man

and woman.2 Justice Anthony Kennedy, who authored the five-justice majority opinion, reasoned that personal choice regarding marriage is important to individual autonomy3 and is grounded in the Court’s precedents regarding the right to intimate association.4 He also reasoned that the families and especially children of same-sex couples suffer stigma and experience material costs from the lack of recognition of marriage for same-sex couples.5 Finally, he noted that marriage is a “keystone” institution placed at the center of the legal and social order by states.You must have a subscription and be logged in to read the entire article.
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