Grace International Churches and Ministries: ‘The Land Will Mourn’
As a body of believers, we at Grace International Churches and Ministries stand on the authority of Scripture and God’s Truth, not only as the foundation of our faith, but also God’s instruction for how we are to live our lives. Because our first allegiance is to God and His Way, we reject any decision, redefinition, or mandate from any political or judicial body or office, including the United States Supreme Court that would violate the Holy Scripture.
What the Bible says about marriage is clear, definitive and unchanging. We affirm Biblical, traditional, natural marriage as the uniting of one man and one woman in covenant commitment for a lifetime. This position of the Bible on marriage is not negotiable, nor can it be redefined by a president, legislature, or judiciary without serious repercussions on the culture. When a group of five unelected justices put themselves in the place of God and know better than God and then redefine what God has clearly defined, the land will mourn.
We affirm our love for all people, including those struggling with same-sex attraction. However, we cannot and will not affirm the moral acceptability of homosexual behavior or any behavior that deviates from God’s design for marriage. Grace Church and our related churches will not recognize same-sex “marriages,” will not host same-sex ceremonies of any kind, and we will not perform such ceremonies. We will never capitulate to any mandate by the state to accept and normalize what God calls unacceptable and unnatural.
We also believe religious freedom is at stake within this critical issue. It is abundantly clear that those who are involved in the redefining of marriage in the United States of America will not rest until their will is forced upon all who disagree. The attacks on religious liberty and Christianity in particular are very troubling for those who believe in what our founding fathers believed in enough to die for.
We encourage and support those who stand for natural marriage in the corporate world, the marketplace, education, entertainment, media and elsewhere with our prayers and influence, and resources.
I encourage every pastor, government leader, business leader, and Christian who believes in God’s definition of marriage to courageously stand up and speak up, to lift your voice in a great outcry against this egregious action the Supreme Court has taken in defiance of the way of God. This is a defining moment for what we will be as a nation. MAY GOD HELP US!
Steve Riggle is the president of Grace International Churches and Ministries.
