Contact: Dr. Robert H. Turrill, Evangelical Church Alliance, 815-937-0720

BRADLEY, Ill., June 26, 2015 /Christian Newswire/ -- The Evangelical Church Alliance (ECA), one of America's oldest associations of independent Evangelical ministers, missionaries, and military and institutional chaplains, reaffirms the biblical, natural, and millennial-old nature of the definition of marriage as exclusively between one man and one woman.

The Supreme Court of the United States does not possess the authority, or the expertise, to speak to the nature of Holy Matrimony, which is exclusively within God's provenance. Jesus explicitly spoke to the divine origin and purpose of marriage when he said, "[A]t 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)

The ECA takes seriously the assurance of Associate Justice Kennedy and the four other justices when they write in today's opinion, "[I]t must be emphasized that religions, and those who adhere to religious doctrines, may continue to advocate with utmost, sincere conviction that, by divine precepts, same-sex marriage should not be condoned. The First Amendment ensures that religious organizations and persons are given proper protection as they seek to teach the principles that are so fulfilling and so central to their lives and faiths, and to their own deep aspirations to continue the family structure they have long revered."

Notwithstanding this most recent abrogation of divine and natural law, the ECA encourages its member clergy, churches, and organizations, as well as all Christians everywhere, to remain, "steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain." (I Corinthians 15:58)

At the same time, the ECA is committed to sharing the Gospel with all persons, regardless of their sexual orientation or the configuration of their relationships or families, in keeping with the timeless declaration of Christ in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."

Finally, marriage will always be a loving gift from God to a man and a woman for the fulfillment of His will for humanity, whether or not it is recognized as such by the judicial branch of the United States Federal Government.