A Response from Dallas Theological Seminary to Today’s Supreme Court Ruling on Same-Sex Marriage

With the verdict of the Supreme Court today that legalizes same-sex marriage in the United States, we at Dallas Theological Seminary are grieved by this decision that seeks to legally yet wrongfully expand what God established from the beginning to be the divinely designed institution of marriage. We continue to support and adhere to a biblical view of marriage and sexuality because we believe such an approach to life and marriage honors God and makes for fulfillment in life the way God designed it.

In answering the questions related to divorce, Jesus went back to creation to argue the original intent for marriage. Marriage was intended from the very beginning of creation to be the covenant union of a man and a woman in a permanent and exclusive relationship (Genesis 2:24; Matthew 19: 4-9; Mark 10: 5-9). God’s design for this relationship was for the purposes of procreation, personal pleasure, and the fulfillment of the purposes of reflecting the image of the Creator and His desired relationship with His people (Genesis 1:27–28; 2:18–24; Ephesians 5:31–33). That image involves both male and female with marriage depicting their mutual cooperation in a designed diversity to steward God’s creation.

We believe God has also expressly reserved sexual intimacy and intercourse for heterosexual marriage (Ephesians 5:3, Colossians 3:5; 1 Corinthians 6:9). It is God’s expectation that the married live in faithfulness to their spouse and unmarried should live pure and celibate lives, refraining from sexual intimacy (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

The English translation of our historic Seminary motto from 2 Timothy 4:2 is “Preach the Word.” We intend to keep doing that and to equip others to do so as well. Our current slogan is taken from 1 Timothy 1:5 and that is “Teach Truth. Love Well.” As we approach a culture that does not share our biblical values or standards of conduct we still need to model love and pray for those with whom we disagree. This Jesus also taught (Matthew 5:44). As our culture begins to look more and more like that of the New Testament times, we need to remember and take heart that the message and mission of Jesus was birthed and flourished in such times. May God do it again in our lifetime.

Soberly and Prayerfully,

Dr. Mark L. Bailey
President