John Jay and Court

John Jay was a Founding Father of the United States. As a patriot and diplomat from the Colony of New York, Jay eventually became the first Chief Justice of the United States appointed by George Washington. Jay was a Christian and believed that God was involved in the fabric of his creation. He served as vice-president (1816–21) and president (1821–27) of the American Bible Society and believed that the most effective way of ensuring world peace was through propagation of the Christian gospel. He believed that Christians must become involved in the politics of their nation. “Providence has given to our people the choice of their rulers,” he once said, “and it is the duty as well as the privilege and interest of our Christian nation to select and prefer Christians for their rulers.”

Today, of course, we have politicians claiming to be Christians, but what they do and vote on in congress belies that fact. Jay, as a politician, believed that the moral precepts of Christianity were necessary for good government. He reiterated, "No human society has ever been able to maintain both order and freedom, both cohesiveness and liberty apart from the moral precepts of the Christian Religion. Should our Republic ever forget this fundamental precept of governance, we will then, be surely doomed.” He would not like the trend of our nation today, for we now have “freedom from religion,” not “freedom of religion” as delineated in the Constitution.

Jay would be mortified at the recent rulings of the Supreme Court. He would see the court as doing the job of the legislature with activist judges placing their political and societal views on America under the guise of a legal ruling. Today, we have at least five jurists who believe that God is irrelevant—that human desire and preferences rule. If religion collides with these personal predilections, religion in the future will have to yield. Although the ruling of same-sex marriage did not dictate that religious institutions must comply by performing same sex marriages, it is only a matter of time.  The recent ruling is a victory for special interests that claim they should have the same benefit of marriage as heterosexual couples. “No longer may this liberty be denied,” wrote Justice Anthony M. Kennedy for the majority in this hideous decision. “No union is more profound than marriage, for it embodies the highest ideals of love, fidelity, devotion, sacrifice and family. In forming a marital union, two people become something greater than once they were.”

What is the “something greater” for a homosexual couple? They cannot produce progeny or become one as Scripture says (Gen. 2:4). “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.” A man was to cleave to his wife. The genders are made quite clear here and in other parts of Scripture. This is the marriage ordinance of one man to one woman. God created male and female (Gen. 1:27) in order for them to be fruitful and multiply, to fill the earth and subdue it (Gen. 1:28). A same-sex couple cannot do this. Oh, they will adopt children and have agencies forced to place children with same sex couples, but being “fruitful and multiplying” refers to procreation, not proliferation of ones aberrant views.

Although we disagree with the Supreme Court’s ruling, as Christians we must be gracious in our witness to a degenerating society. We are to stand firm on God’s Word and convey our differences, but be diplomatic, amiable, and sensitive in our replies. We all are sinners in constant need of grace. We don’t know what lies ahead, but we can be sure that our enemies will push for the legislation of their immorality while decrying the fact that congress is not to legislate morality. We live in an upside down world, where good has become evil and evil good. Yet it is an exciting opportunity for Christians, for now is the time that will try our souls as God expands his kingdom through tumult and turmoil. Have heart and be encouraged, for God is still in charge.

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Isa. 5:20