|
Marriage
Absolutes
Dr. Wesley G. Rowe, Senior
Pastor
Calvary Bible Church, Ypsilanti, MI.
I. GOD CREATED THE
INSTITUTION OF MARRIAGE. (Gen. 2:24).
Implications:
A. Marriage is not man-made,
therefore, man's views are NOT the final authority and are often
erroneous due to the noetic effect of sin (Prov. 3:5-6).
B. Since God created the institution of marriage, God has a
divine right to regulate how that institution is to
function.
1. The Designer of marriage is omniscient and knows how the
institution and the creatures involved should function in order to
achieve His glory and their benefit (Psalm 139).
2. Once having entered into God's institution, the husband and wife
have an obligation to follow God's rules.
a. This is the clear teaching of Jesus in Matthew 19:1-9 and of
Paul in Ephesians 5:22-25; Colossians 3:18-19; etc.
b. Question: "What is the husband or wife doesn't feel like
practicing one of the absolutes of marriage?" Answer: "That doesn't
matter. God and His Word are authoritative. He expects our
obedience no matter how we feel."
c. Question: "What if one spouse is willing to obey and the other
isn't? Is the willing spouse then relieved of his/her
responsibility to obey?" Answer" "No. What another person chooses
to do or not to do does not determine what a believer lives by. A
true believer must always live his/her life by the authority of
Scripture." (Matt. 4:4; 2 Cor. 10:5).
II. IT IS GOD WHO CREATED
TWO GENDERS.
A. In our age of male chauvinism,
feminism, and homosexuality, believers must affirm that God
determines a person's gender at conception (Genesis 1:27;
2:22).
B. Further, believers must affirm
that God has designed specific roles for the different genders
(Ephesians 5:22-25; Colossians 3:18-19; 1 Corinthians 11:3; 1
Timothy 2:8-3:13; Genesis 2:18-24).
III. IT IS GOD'S WILL THAT
MARRIAGE BE PERMANENT. (Matthew 19:1-9).
IV. WHY, THEN, DO MARRIAGES
BREAK UP?
A. Not because of:
1. Financial pressures.
2. One of both "falling" out of love with the other.
3. Poor communication.
4. In-law problems.
5. Incompatibility.
6. A poor sex life.
7. These and many other reasons are not the cause for marriage
breakups. They are the symptoms of the real problem. (Jesus and the
Scriptures allowed none of the above things as justification for
divorce).
B. Marriages breakup
because:
1. One or both spouses are not right
with God (Matthew 19:1-9).
a. Moses permitted you to divorce
your wives because your hearts were hard… (Matt.
19:8).
2. One or both spouses are
ignorant of the Scriptures and naively follow the counsel of the
world. (Psalm 1:1).
a. This forfeits the
blessing of God.
1) The "blessed man" does
not walk in the counsel of the wicked…" (Psalm
1:1).
b. Lack of knowledge of
Biblical truth brings destruction. (Hosea 4:6).
3. One or both spouses are
living by their subjective feelings rather than by the objective,
unchanging truth of Scripture.
a. Feelings deceive us and
lead us away from the will of God. (James 1:14-15).
b. Truth-oriented living, on the other hand, brings about right
feelings. (John 13:17; James 1:25).
c. Feeling-oriented living does not work in any other area of life
(example: our careers---do you go to work only when you feel like
it? You will quickly find out that your boss expects you to live by
truth not your feelings.). Why do we think, then, that
feeling-oriented living would be acceptable in spiritual issues or
in marriage?
d. You are responsible to be God's kind of person no matter how you
feel or what anyone else does.
Conclusion:
A. I must approach the
whole subject of marriage with some fundamental
convictions.
1. God created the institution of
marriage.
2. God has a right, therefore, to regulate the institution of
marriage.
3. When I enter into marriage, I have a responsibility to obey
God's rules.
4. If my marriage falls apart, it is because I, my spouse, or both
of us have violated God's rules.
5. The answer is not to do what I feel, but to follow the objective
truth of Scripture no matter how I feel or what others do. Only
then may I expect God's leadership and blessing in my
life.
|
