Sep 11 2008
Three Biblical Requirements for Marriage
JennieAnother treasure from an aged journal. The hubby and I used this lesson in one of our couples Bible study sessions back in 2002 or 2003. It blessed me to leaf through the pages of my devotional journals and got reminded how the Lord was as real to me then as He is to me now. He has not changed, ever remained faithful even through times that I tend to be faithless. I hope to share these Biblical truths that I jotted down in a page of my old journal.
The Three Biblical Requirements for Marriage:
1. A man and a woman.
“So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.” Gen. 1:27
2. A sexual relationship.
God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground.” Gen. 1:28
3. Lifetime commitment.
3Some Pharisees came to him to test him. They asked, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any and every reason?”
4“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female, 5and 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‘? 6So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
7“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses command that a man give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”
8Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. Matt. 19:3-8
If only one or two elements are present, there is a distortion of God’s plan. A few examples might be:
1. Two men in a sexual relationship with a lifetime commitment.
2. A man and a woman in a sexual relationship without a commitment. (outside of marriage)
3. A man and a woman in lifetime commitment without a sexual relationship. If the situation exists due to events beyond the couple’s control, there should be no guilt. However, if both parties are healthy, Scripture instructs a couple not to abstain from a sexual relationship for any extended time.
3The husband should fulfill his marital duty to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4The wife’s body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife. 5Do not deprive each other except by mutual consent and for a time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. 1 Corinthians 7:3-5
| 3.2 |
Great post! That’s what God’s Word says about marriage, yet so many twist it around to their own benefit.
I couldn’t agree with you more with this post Sis!
Unfortunately, in these modern times, too many people have violated God’s laws.
1. Same sex marriages are allowed in many states and countries.
2. A sexual relationship outside of marriage takes place because it’s either the husband or the wife’s duties are not being fulfilled.
I just forgot the exact verse, but I hope you could post an entry on both the husband and the wife’s obligations to each other. If these obligations are fulfilled based on the Holy Scriptures, I am sure there would be less prevalence of crippled marriages
Scotty’s Princess’s last blog post..Thank You!
It’s so true Charla and it is sad. It’s just great that the Bible is provided for us to get down to the absolute authority of what’s right from not - it simply supersedes cultures, races and generations.
Thanks for stopping by sis. Appreciate your affirmation.
Jennie’s last blog post..Three Biblical Requirements for Marriage
Signs of the times, as they say. But then again, even back in the O.T. all these things have been going around already. It is really the sin nature in man.
Sure sis! I’ll have the hubby work on it soon.
Jennie’s last blog post..Three Biblical Requirements for Marriage
so many people are violating plenty of other things mentioned in the bible that it doesn’t seem to make much sense to make such a big deal out of this one small issue such as matrimony. the bible’s there as a guide for *you*, not for you to enforce your will (which is the correct term for your perception of God’s will, for if He so wanted to, He wouldn’t need your help to enforce it on others) on others.
i’m sure at least one of you eats pork. i’m sure you wear clothing of two or more different fabrics. i’m pretty damn sure none of you have ever killed your children for being disobedient. but how dare those fa**ots want to get married just like everyone else? God commands we mustn’t allow this!
all these laws of God are dug up from the same place christian homophobes dig up the anti-gay thing, so if the laws of the old testament don’t apply any more, think very carefully at the implications of this.
two guys making a commitment to each other has absolutely no bearing on why the marriage between a man and a woman might fail.
Do you have any scripture where it says it is the duty of God’s followers to force their laws on people who do not share the same beliefs? Because otherwise, the gay marriage issue doesn’t come into play. They aren’t getting married in a house of God. They are entering a legally binding contract with state approval. Unfortunately, most people don’t know the difference between a religious marriage and a state approved marriage because they usually do both at once. There is, however, a big difference. If you are married in a church, no matter how much God approves, you aren’t married in the eyes of the state and visa - versa. So unless you can find a scripture that says that it is the obligations of God’s children to change the laws of the land to suit them then it’s a moot point.
September 13th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Hello, Sue. I appreciate your comment on this post. I’m sorry if you feel that Christians force the Bible’s laws on people who don’t share the same belief. Being a Christian, and a Pastor at that, I don’t ever want to make people feel that way. But as a believer in Christ I am biased for the Bible so I would always share what I believe about anything - not to impose them on people, but to give them something to consider. I hope that as I reply to your comment I won’t make you feel that I’m imposing my beliefs on you. I’m just asking you to consider what the Bible says about this topic.
During creation, God created Eve for Adam and established sex and marriage.
Genesis 2:24 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.”
As I believe God and the Bible, I believe that marriage wasn’t man’s idea, or the government’s idea - it was God’s idea. The government is an authority established by God but God is the ultimate authority. So, for me, whether a couple gets married in church or outside the church, since God instituted marriage, what counts is what God thinks about that marriage.
Jeff’s last blog post..Three Biblical Requirements for Marriage
My 2 Cents below:
@ Jennie- let me add 2 equally important pre-requisites to Marriage…
1. JOB
Adam has a job (the 1st zoologist and botanist on earth) before God gave him Eve
Gen 2: 15-18
“15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
16 And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden;
17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”
18 The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
Poverty, broken marriages and dysfunctional family unit is a result of a man having the guts to marry a woman but have no means to support the family.
2. LEAVE SEPARATE FROM PARENTS/ RELATIVES
If my memory serves me right, the scripture said
” He shall leave his father and mother and be united to his wife” Gen 2:24
2 Principles we can extract here
a) When a couple decides to get married, they should not live under the roof of their parents.
b) “He shall be united to his wife”– couples have needs that only the partner can provide (this perhaps is what Scoty Princes meant)
Another reason for a dysfunctional family unit is when either the husband or wife leave the family to work abroad, or the couple is still living with their parents.
@ Scotty Princes- the verse is 1 Cor 7:1-3
Sonnie’s last blog post..Stress Management- SES Style
Pastor Jeff,
I sincerely hope you aren’t calling the government an extension of God’s will! Radiation, medical, and chemical experiments on it’s own people, campaigns of violence against foreign countries, state sanctioned executions and assassinations… Surely that is not an extension of God’s will. Not the one I believe in at any rate.
Church and state are separate not just for the protection of the secular, but to prevent the religious sanctity of the church from being soiled by the evils of government.
But, I digress. It’s not the religious nature of marriage that I dispute. The problem arises with the LEGAL nature of marriage. No legal contract in the US currently requires those entering into it to be of a particular sex except for marriage. Because of this people (whether you agree with their practices or not) are denied the same services as others (health insurance benefits, hospital visitation, etc.) When God devised marriage as a commitment between a man and a women I doubt his purpose was to ensure tax and health care benefits were only given to the “right” kinds of people. So much hinges on the legal aspect of marriage that to deny a subset of the population is not in keeping with our goal as country. All are equal in the US.
Which brings me to civil unions. All the legal protection of marriage without the word “marriage.” It seems like a perfect compromise. Equal rights for all and marriage, God’s concept of it, is preserved for the faithful.
Except most of God’s followers (the legislating ones) don’t want that. They don’t want equal rights for all. They want the special rights they’ve been given in exchange for entering into a contract with a member of the opposite sex to be theirs alone. They want to exclude a portion of the population from sharing those same rights. They use the same “God’s Will” logic that they used in previous generations to prevent the marriage of bi-racial couples and the handicapped.
Of course, if marriage is only about the will of God then why have a state contract at all? Why not denounce the right of the government to peer into your personal relationship with your spouse and God?
Maybe, if people are really against the idea of gay marriage, but genuinely for the American Dream of equality for all, they would see fit to lobby remove all the benefits that come with being married instead of lobbying against gay marriage.
Of course, I doubt anyone loves God and Country enough to give up a tax break.
Jennie, Great summing up of the Biblical requirements for marriage.
Following them lay the foundation to explore all that marriage can be in God’s plan for believers.
There is so much to build on from there. Maturing in loving and respecting our husbands, loving our children, teaching younger women how to do so.
carol’s last blog post..Parenting Teens: What Would Jesus Do? Seriously:A Second Cup Guest Blogger
i can totally understand the predicament of same-sex partners regarding their legal rights. i do not condemn these same-sex relationships for I, too, am a sinner. The Bible imparts God’s will and thoughts on same-sex relationship (Sodom and Gomorrah). Now if same-sex partners want to rationalize their way out of God’s will re same-sex relationships. that is not my problem and not my sin.
anyway, going back to same-sex marriages - i totally disagree with the term “marriage” being used for this. as what jennie said marriage is a contract between a man and a woman. same sex marriages do not fulfill that clause. same-sex marriage should be called relationship contract or a partnership contract or same-sex legal contract but not a marriage contract.
desperateblogger’s last blog post..Painless Breast Enhancement for Me