Pray against the Equality Act

Back in 2015, we all braced for the fallout from the Supreme Court Obergefell decision that legalized same-sex marriage.  In terms of moral revolutions things have been happening at warp speed, and that decision made it seem like things were going to instantly implode.  Instant implosion did not happen.  Like most things on a national scale, the fallout was real but not immediate.  Yet each following year, we have seen more challenges to those holding religious convictions about traditional marriage, and each year we have seen further lurches to the left.  We are heading down a pathway that ends in nothing but misery and destruction.  How fast we get there is another question.

But over the last two weeks there is has been another effort to press the gas pedal on the sexual revolution.  And this time it would most likely bring far more consequences at a much swifter pace than even the Obergefell decision ever could.  I am talking about the introduction and passing of the Equality Act.  Last week the Equality Act was once again brought up for a vote and passed in the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives.  This happened in 2019, but it was not even brought up or voted on in the Senate.  This time it will probably reach the floor of the Senate since Democrats are in control there.

Now some may pause and ask: What are you, as a pastor and we as a church, doing talking about politics?  Shouldn’t we be busy praying or something?  Well, yes we should, and we will get to that a little later.  Politics does concern the church when those politics are about morality and truth.  In politics, there are many issues over which there is freedom to disagree, but where God explicitly speaks, we too must herald out a clear word: we must render to Caesar what is Caesar’s and render to God what is God’s.  God owns morality, and he declares what is true.  These are matters of life and death, as well as eternity.  

The Equality Act would be a moral disaster that would wreak havoc not only on religious freedom, but also grease the rails of the already speeding sexual deviance train.  

This bill amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act to change the definition of “sex” to cover sexual orientation and gender identity and provide protections for them.  In the name of ending discrimination, this bill will enshrine a right to discriminate against people and entities that hold religious convictions about sex, gender and marriage.  In shocking clarity, the bills says “The Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 (42 U.S.C. 2000bb et seq.) shall not provide a claim concerning, or a defense to a claim under, a covered title, or provide a basis for challenging the application or enforcement of a covered title.”

Essentially this bill will end the protection given to religious liberty in the public square regarding the convictional refusal to celebrate or support any and all aspects of the LGBT+ community.  The first explicit protection of the constitution is vanishing before our very eyes.  And guess what?  This could happen.  It is hard to know what might happen in the Senate, but even the thought that there are only 8-10 senators between upholding religious liberty and its demise means we had better get ourselves situated for difficult days.  

We must pray against this bill.  Pray that God would mercifully hold us back from destruction long enough to see a revival of truth and repentance from folly and sinful independence from the Lordship of Christ.  And finally pray for the strengthening and emboldening of Christians.  We are aliens and strangers, and it is time to act like it.  It is time to feel this in our bones and let “goods and kindred go.”  It is time for the church to stand distinct from the world and stop offering just a comfortable worship experience with free latte’s; but instead offer reconciliation with God through Christ, freedom from sin, God’s designs for human flourishing and every spiritual blessing found in Christ.