In a Nov. 29 column on the Religion & Values page, a retired minister, Bill Gregory, wrote, "Reflections: Church should lead way for gay marriage."

He spoke of ethics and morality concerning the homosexual lifestyle, and of his support of same-sex marriage.

The problem is that the Bible in no way advocates what he believes. Morality, in its simplest form, is based on actions in reference to God's Law.

Throughout the Bible homosexuality is called out by our Creator for what it is, "S-I-N." This is not a one-time reference lost somewhere within its many pages, but rather this is God's stand throughout the scriptures.

This minister recalled initially his own personal struggle with same-sex marriage, and shared how he and his church government spent a year going over it before coming to a unified agreement.

Though he and his church may have chosen to approve of it, I assure you that this position is not shared by a holy and sovereign God. For God is not bound to man's democracy; rather we will be ultimately bound to His theocracy in eternity.

HE ISN'T CHANGING HIS MIND

I have often heard it said that God has changed His stance on homosexuality since He destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah; however, for that to be true would mean that God is schizophrenic.

The Bible tells us such a change of mind is impossible, for God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.

I realize that truth is offensive to many, but if the truth offends you, then be offended. For how can a man or woman of God promulgate anything other than what His word says?

God is the author of marriage; He tells us that it is to be between one man and one woman. So how can the church lead the way for something that is so blatantly in opposition to everything that the Bible teaches?

Society is calling on the church to bridge the gap between morality and immorality, but for that to happen, the church must concede on issues that God calls holy.

That is exactly what 120 ministers throughout Maine did when they took a collective stand for same-sex marriage in our great state.

Does their unified stand make it right in the eyes of God? Absolutely not! Simply put, their message is one of compromise and is a perversion of truth.

For the church to lead the way for gay marriage is like the medical profession leading the way for abortion. Can you find people to take such a stand? Obviously so, but to do so requires one to be bankrupt morally and ethically, because it is so clear biblically that God Himself does not in any way support this lifestyle.

Those opposed to His word have simply sought to change it according to their own views; there is nothing new about this at all. In the book of Ezekiel, it speaks of people who say that the way of the Lord is not right, but God says that He will judge each of our ways.

I am sure that many reading this might believe that one would have to be homophobic to hold such a strong stance, but nothing could be further from the truth.

My own father, as a singles pastor in a megachurch in Texas during the '80s, told me of the countless times that he would go to the hospital and visit young men in AIDS wards who were dying; he told me how he would hold these men in his arms as they gasped in terror for their last breath.

NOT FEAR, BUT LOVE

Fear did not take my father there, but rather love. For most of those men, friends and family were not waiting outside to come in and visit; they had abandoned those young men long before.

No , it is not the responsibility of the church to lead the way for gay marriage. It is our responsibility to love everyone, but to call a wrong lifestyle choice what it is.

It is time that the church and its leaders stop coddling sin, and start taking a stand for what our Creator has called us to by standing for truth in love.