He Who Names Wins

He who names, wins.  Call abortion pro-choice and it means one thing.  Call it murder and it means another.  Call homosexual unions same-sex marriage and it means one thing; call it unnatural acts of sodomy and lesbianism and it means another.

But the State has become our God.  Yahweh once said, “and a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.”  But another god has spoken, new definitions have been made, naming is taking place.

One writer said, “In attacking “heterosexual monogamy,” same-sex marriage does away with the very institution – the only institution we have  - that exists precisely in order to support the natural family and to affirm its independence from the state.” (Douglas Farrow, in Touchstone, Feb 2012, p26).  The State and the Church, neither have the right to create a marriage.  Family is its own government, declared by God alone, to be recognized by the other governments established by God.

This attack upon the family is not over – not by a long shot.  In Canada, same-sex legislation was quickly and quietly followed with amendments which struck out the language of “natural parents,” “blood relationship,” from Canadian laws, replaced with “legal parent,” “legal relationship,” and so forth.  In other words, all familial relationships are now something not recognized by the State, but defined and declared, named, only by the State.

He who names, wins.  Why talk about this in our worship service?  Primarily because we, the church, began renaming marriage quite some time ago.  We have done this openly in granting same-sex marriages before the State ever did.  We have done this as well by openly promoting the dissolution of what God had joined together, redefining divorce and calling it easily available, good and necessary.

But secondarily, we bring up such idolatrous practices in our land because we have come to worship God the Father in the name of His Son, King Jesus, in the power of the Holy Spirit – and our God intends to do something about this.  He calls us to join with Him in bringing justice and mercy, His gospel, over the face of the earth as we praise and pray and proclaim Him to the glory of His name.