“Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.”

With confident hope, I know this to be true:

Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?" John 11:40

“Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.” Acts 18:9b As you are forming your worldview and searching Scripture for God’s truth on all kinds of matters, it’s important to understand God’s stance on one of the most controversial parts of a Christian worldview today. I mention this one because it is one you need the most courage to speak up about. Why? Because not only will most people disagree with you about this topic; they will passionately argue with you. It takes an uncommon courage to stand up against that kind of pressure. There are a lot of parts of the Bible that people don’t have a problem with, like “You must help the poor.” Nobody disagrees with that. But this is one aspect of a Christian worldview that is hated by the world, and about which most Christians clam up. We call the Bible a “holy” Bible because it tells the truth. God is very clear on the issue of marriage: “At the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh . . . So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate”” (Matthew 19:4-6 NIV). There are many issues of life where people of good will can disagree. For example, there’s no economic recovery plan in the Bible, and Christians can disagree on that. But if you call yourself a Christian, you need to line yourself up with what God says about marriage. And you need to have the courage to stand up for God's word, even and especially when it’s not the popular or politically correct thing to do.