Marriage and Godliness

As you know, it's a fast day for many of us that have decided to fast with the church today. And it's one of the principal ways for us to humble ourselves before God and to seek God's will. To seek God's will. And all of us really desire to follow His will, to do His will, and to finish the work that He's given us to do. And there's a great synergy when we all fast together as a church, like today, for the purpose of humbling ourselves and drawing closer to our Heavenly Father. We're earnestly asking God to help us discern what we should all be doing. And actually, scriptures show us what we should all be doing. It's not that big of a mystery.

Today, I'm not going to specifically talk about fasting, though. But I'm going to talk about what we should all be doing.

I'm going to look at how we can best honor God in our relationship with the Father and Jesus Christ. And look at how we can best do God's will. And I'm going to do it through the analogy of marriage. Through the analogy of marriage. Here's an interesting question for you. Did God design marriage only to make us happy?

Or did God design marriage to lead us to godliness and holiness? To a closer relationship with Him? More than just to make us happy.

Of course, we do want happy marriages. Now, I understand that not everyone here is married. Some are too young to marry. So maybe the sermon's not for you, you think?

In the future, of course, many of our young people will marry. But in any case, the analogy is not lost, even on the unmarried. Because this is a biblical analogy that we're going to look at today. Do you ever wonder why God uses the analogy of marriage throughout Scripture in explaining our path to salvation? Because He uses it to describe salvation for all of us, whether we're married or not.

Marriage reminds us of the daily reality of living as sinful human beings in a broken world. The real transforming work of marriage is that 24 hours a day, seven days a week commitment. Who will wake up when the baby's napping needs changing? Who will rock them back to sleep?

Who will do the toilet training? Who will do the laundry? Who does the cooking? Who takes out the rubbish? Where's my personal space? Do I have any personal space anymore? Marriage is kind of a wake-up call, because we're very selfish when we just live by ourselves. Let me make a statement here about marriage. The real purpose of marriage may not be so much as to lead us to happiness, but to lead us to godliness. Not that God has anything against happiness, or that happiness and godliness are mutually exclusive. But here's why. The marriage relationship can reveal to us our true behavior, our true attitudes, our true motives. Because there's a tremendous amount of immaturity in us that marriage confronts. And married couples certainly find this out once the honeymoon is over, and especially when the first child comes along. And now two of you have got to look after this child. That is the third person in the relationship. And you start to realize how selfish you were before when you... Well, you had to worry about it was yourself. And then we find out that we need to change ourselves rather than change our spouse. Basically, good luck changing your spouse, right? You've got to change yourself to make the marriage better. We need to change and be more like God. And our primary meaning in life comes from a relationship with God. Not from our spouse. That's not the primary relationship in our life. And yet marriage can draw us closer to God. And yet marriage can draw us closer to God.

Because marriage is all about commitment. Marriage is about commitment.

There's a really good story about commitment in the last chapter of the book of Joshua. Let me mention it to you. You don't have to turn there right now. But in the last chapter of the book of Joshua, we're given a glimpse into Joshua's farewell address. He's lived a long life, and he feels he needs to just say one more thing before he draws his last breath. And he gives an impassioned speech. He gives an exhortation to the elders and the people of ancient Israel. And he summons the elders to the town of Shechem. The Exodus had been about 70 years ago at this point. Moses died about 30 years before this. And Joshua's final words to the Israelites are, "'Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and truth.'" Joshua essentially said, "'Forsake all the other important things in your life. Forsake all the desires that rival the true God and replace that with godly purity.' And then Joshua makes a declaration of his own direction in life. Despite whatever the people might do, Joshua says, "'But as for me and my house, you know it, we will serve the Lord.'" So that was his commitment. Joshua said, "'Whatever you do, I am going to serve the Lord. Me and my house will serve the Lord.'" And Joshua had a commitment to what was most important.

And he said, "'Fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and truth.'" There's actually a lot we can learn from this, and a lot we can learn from our pledged baptismal commitment to Jesus Christ.

Because remember, we are being prepared to be the bride of Christ.

It's all about marriage. Whether you're physically married in this life or not, you are still, at this point, engaged to Jesus Christ. In the sermon today, we're going to look at marriage and our path towards godliness. And I've titled this message simply, Marriage and Godliness. Marriage and godliness.

By nature, we humans need to be reminded of important activities. Otherwise, we forget. That's why we have calendars, and appointment books, message services, alarm clocks, smartphones, because otherwise we'd forget, right? We have to be reminded. A lot of my appointments, I get a five-minute warning before my appointment. Or I'll set it to tell me how long it will take me to drive there. It'll give me a warning when I need to leave to make it to the appointment on time.

When it comes to God's way, we need to be reminded, too, on a regular basis of our commitment. Our commitment to God's way and our commitment to Jesus Christ. That's one reason why we keep the Sabbath every week. Can we just keep the Sabbath once? And that'll be it. No, we come back every week for more instruction, because otherwise we'd forget. That's why we keep the annual Holy Days. If you've ever spoken to someone who used to keep the Holy Days and Sabbath just after a couple of years, and you run across them, and they wonder what you're doing, you say, Oh, we're going to be keeping the Passover this week. Oh, we're going to be going to the Feast of Tabernacles soon. They go, Oh, yeah, I forgot about that. We tend to forget if we're not reminded regularly. And in society, commitment to almost everything is waning as well. It's a human problem.

Barna has a state-of-the-church study that came out in September of last year, September of 2016. It's called the State of the Church 2016 from Barna.com. And the report concludes that Americans are attending church less, and more people are experiencing and practicing their faith outside of its four walls. Millennials in particular are coming of age at a time of great skepticism and cynicism toward institutions, particularly the church. So it's not just a problem of commitment in our church, it's a general problem in society. Then, towards the end of the report, Barna says, even though a majority of Americans identify as Christian, a majority of Americans identify as Christian, and say religious faith is very important in their life, they're huge. Are these huge proportions belied the much smaller number of Americans who regularly practice their faith? So they say they're religious, but they don't do anything about it. And Barna says, when a variable like church attendance is added to the mix, a majority becomes the minority. So then suddenly a minority of society actually goes to church.

So lack of proper commitment has become worse in the past few decades. And not only do we need to be committed to what's most important, we need to be reminded regularly of our commitments. So let's take a closer look at the marriage covenant, both our physical marriages between husbands and wives today, but also our upcoming spiritual marriage to Jesus Christ. Because marriage involves every one of us, whether we have a spouse now or not.

Both the Old and New Testaments use the analogy of marriage to picture the union of God and Israel in the Old Testament, and between Christ and the Church in the New Testament. There's a lot of depth to these analogies. And my first point that I want to cover here today are titled, Remembering Our Marriage Covenant. I've actually got four points here today. The first of the four is Remembering Our Marriage Covenant. Few people realize that the old covenant God had with Israel was essentially a marriage. That covenant was a marriage covenant by which God was a husband to Israel. And in this covenant, Israel, the wife, had agreed to submit to God and obey His laws, but she did not. And eventually God had to divorce her. But look at Hosea chapter 2. Turn with me, if you would, to Hosea chapter 2. Look at verse 16.

Because here we see, at a future time, as prophesied and as inspired by God through Hosea, that marriage will be repaired. In Hosea 2 verse 16, we read, And it shall be in that day, says the LORD. Of course, in that day refers to the end time, the time of the end. It shall be in that day, says the LORD, that you will call me my husband. You're going to call me my husband again, and no longer call me my master. Then verse 19, I will betroth you to me forever. There's going to be a repair of that marriage. I will betroth you to me forever. Yes, I will betroth you to me in righteousness and justice, in loving kindness and mercy. You see in verse 16, that God says, you'll call me husband now, not master. Think about the difference between a husband and a master. Wives don't want a master, they want a husband, right? It's an obedience fueled by love in a marriage, not fear.

So how do you view God as a master or as a husband is what Hosea is saying here. In ancient Israel, the people never had the right heart and mind to obey. And this fault of the people, the book of Hebrews then explains later, was the problem with the old covenant and the reason a new covenant became necessary. A new covenant became necessary.

What then is the new covenant?

It's basically a new marriage contract that God lays out with his people. The new covenant is like a new marriage, a new marriage agreement. Look at Matthew chapter 26. Let's turn to the New Testament because you'll see this reflected in Christ's words and actions on the evening before his death. Because during the last Passover meal that Jesus shared with his disciples, he introduced the symbols of broken bread to represent the sacrifice of his broken body and wine, then to symbolize his shed blood, his death. Look at Matthew 26 verse 27. And Jesus took the cup, gave thanks, gave it to them, saying, Drink from it, all of you. Verse 28. Well, this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. So this is when the new covenant began, was when Christ's blood was shed. Jesus was explaining that the shedding of his blood as a sacrifice for sin was now required to make the new covenant possible. Without it, there was no way to atone for the sins of all who had participated in the covenant. So Jesus initiated the new covenant. He proposed marriage, we might say, to his followers, to his disciples, to all who would become his disciples. He proposed marriage, we could say, to each of us.

And this was necessary for each of us to be changed into new spiritually converted people to enter into this new relationship with Jesus Christ. Look at 2 Corinthians 11 verse 2. Just verse 2 there, 2 Corinthians 11. All this was accomplished through Christ's death and resurrection, and then now our receiving of God's Holy Spirit, enabling the spiritual transformation in our lives to begin. God's Spirit must be working in us for that spiritual transformation to happen. But having agreed to the new covenant, the church, you and me, us having agreed to the new covenant ourselves, we are now betrothed to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11 verse 2, Paul says to the Corinthians, For I am very jealous for you with godly jealousy, for I have betrothed you to one husband, and that husband, of course, being Christ, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. You see, we have been betrothed to a husband, which is Jesus Christ.

And we have betrothed under the terms of the new covenant, but still awaiting the complete fullness of the new covenant marriage. Which will be undertaken at the marriage of the Lamb. Let's read that in Revelation 19. I think it's good to take a look at that for a moment. Revelation chapter 19. As we think about the seriousness of our spiritual marriage to Christ, but also our physical marriages as well. Revelation 19 verse 6.

Here in vision, John says, I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude. It's the sound of many waters, and it's the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia, for the Lord God omnipotent reigns. Verse 7, here it is. Let us be glad and rejoice, and give him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made herself ready. Verse 8. To the wife was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. And then he said to me, Right, blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.

Being betrothed to him is a huge blessing, an eternal blessing. And so the members of Jesus Church, of God's Church, submit to his loving leadership and guidance as the head of the Church. For we read, for the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the Church. There's the analogy. So we're being prepared for an eternity with him. It's like a marriage covenant. The largest portion of fulfillment in our life doesn't come from our marriage to our spouse alone.

That type of ultimate fulfillment can only come from our relationship with God. Yes, there should be happiness, fulfillment and meaning in our marriage, but our spouse can't be God. Anything less than God is imperfect. Because of this spiritual significance, marriages of church members should be different from the marriages of others. Because the difference is shown in the marital analogy of Christ and the Church. As long as a godly couple is married, they continue to display, often imperfectly, the ongoing commitment between Christ and the Church. That's what we're supposed to be picturing in our marriages, picturing Christ and the Church. In a human-centered marriage, we are tempted to maintain our marriage as long as our earthly desires are met, as long as our own desires and expectations are met. And if not, many people then seek divorce. You're not meeting my needs. In a God-centered marriage, we preserve our marriage as far as we're able because it brings glory to God and points to our greatest promise of salvation. Let's turn to Ephesians 5 and read verses 25 through 27. Ephesians 5 and 25. Because marriage paints a picture of the most important message conveyed by its vows. Ephesians 5 and 25. You're very familiar with it. Husbands love your wives, just as Christ also loved the Church and gave himself for her. Of course, last week we were observing the Passover and the time when we remember Christ giving himself for the Church. Verse 26, that he might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the water, that he might present her to himself, a glorious Church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. So husbands love their wives because it pictures Christ loving the Church. But you see in verse 27 that it also leads us towards holiness and being without blemish. Marriage has a lot more to do, has a lot more meaning than to help us avoid sexual sin, keep the world populated, and provide a cure for personal loneliness. It's about picturing holiness, like the relationship between Christ and the Church. And as we read in Revelation 19, at Christ's return, those who are betrothed to Him will then go through an actual wedding ceremony, the marriage of the Lamb.

Glorified as spirit beings, once married to Christ, we will then become perfect. We will not sin. We will have God's laws ingrained perfectly into our spirit being.

Our baptismal commitment that we are reminded of at the Passover each year leads us to a marriage covenant with Christ. We right now are betrothed, awaiting the marriage ceremony. We are betrothed under the terms of the New Covenant in Christ's Church, but we're still awaiting the fullness of that marriage, which will be, as Revelation 19 says, at the marriage of the Lamb. That will be the culmination and the fullness of the New Covenant marriage. So that's kind of a reminder and some background about our marriage covenant, not just to our spouses, but to Jesus Christ. And point two, I've titled, There is no PS. There is no PS. When two people exchange wedding vows, they make a lifelong commitment.

And, biblically speaking, that marriage commitment is a covenant that we make with our spouse. You could always turn over to Malachi 2, verse 14, and read, She is your companion and your wife by covenant. Malachi says, Your wife is your wife by covenant. It's a solemn promise to God and to your mate to be faithful to one another. And this commitment should not be taken lightly or maintained only when we feel like it.

God does not advocate only occasional bursts of loyalty and obedience to Him, when it's convenient for us.

It's a story of a young fellow in college who walked into the campus photography studio with a framed picture of his new girlfriend. And he wanted the picture duplicated. One for his wallet, one for his desk, one for his nightstand. But first, the studio had to take the photo out of the frame to make copies of it, to duplicate it. And in doing this, the studio owned and noticed the inscription on the back of the photograph. Here's what it said, My dearest Tom, I love you with all my heart. I love you more and more each day. I will love you forever and ever. I am yours forever. I'm yours for eternity. I will love you forever and ever.

Nice girlfriend. And it was signed Helen, and it contained a P.S. But if we ever break up, I want this picture back. How committed was she to the relationship? She was already looking for an out. She'd put a P.S. on it. P.S. If we ever break up, I want the picture back. When we make a covenant with God, He expects us to honor that commitment. There's no P.S. on our baptismal vows, just like there should be no P.S. on our physical marriages to one another either. Marriage should bring us happiness, sexual expression, children, companionship, provision of food and shelter, and selfless living. But all this is just as an example of Christ and the Church. It is all to please God. In fact, everything we do is to please God above pleasing ourselves. 2 Corinthians 5.15 is a good passage to reference here. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 15. Paul reminds the Corinthians that Jesus died for all. Why? It says Paul, that those who live should live no longer for themselves. So Christ died for us that we would no longer just live for ourselves. 2 Corinthians 5.15, the last part, but live for Him who died for them and rose again. So we now live our lives for Jesus Christ who died for us. We don't live for ourselves any longer. So it's not what will make me happy, but what will make God happy with me. It's no longer about self.

And so, you see, if our marriage, our personal marriages, are marked by strife, fighting, animosity, we have actually sabotaged and contradicted the goal of picturing Christ in the church, haven't we? Their personal marriages aren't doing so well. We've sabotaged that analogy. We're not living a life pleasing to God. According to Paul to George Barna, once again, self-professed Christians have a higher divorce rate than non-Christians. You're kidding me? Atheists do better at marriage than Christians of our country. How can that be? That's not living the life that marriage is supposed to picture, which is Christ and the church. The first reason we work hard to preserve and keep our marriages together is because it's our duty before God to make that marriage work. Yes, it's best for the children. Yes, it makes us happier. Yes, it hurts our spouse to look for another. But above all, it is our duty as followers of Jesus Christ to honor Him and preserve our marriages in an unselfish manner, putting aside our own selfish desires. Remember, God lets us choose who we want to marry. But then once we enter the marriage relationship, we are not loving God without loving our spouse as well. If I'm making my wife unhappy, I'm failing God.

Our society has an obsession with standing up for ourselves, caring for ourselves, looking out for ourselves, looking out for number one, they say. And the emphasis on meeting our own needs has become ridiculous. Just take a look at how self-serving social media often becomes, right? Many people have lost the art of caring for others and sacrificing for another. Look at Ecclesiastes chapter 5 verse 4, because wise King Solomon explains, too, that there is no PS on our marriage agreement, especially to Jesus Christ. Ecclesiastes 5 verse 4.

When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it. For he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed. And then verse 5, better not to vow than to vow and not pay. Better not to make the commitment. Better not to promise it if you can't do it or you're going to change your mind. Verse 6, do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Whoops! Shouldn't have done that, I guess. Oh, well. Because verse 6 concludes with why God would be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands. So emphasizing the personal responsibility each of us must make in fulfilling our vows is very important. But especially vows to God. King David wrote something similar in Psalm 56 verse 12. King David wrote a song that included this phrase in Psalm 56 verse 12, Vows made to you are binding upon me, God. Vows made to you are binding upon me, O God. I will render praises to you. So note how our vows, which would include our wedding vows, are to honor God. King David says, I will render praises to you through my vow. Therein for Psalm 56 verse 12. Through our vows we are to show holiness, godliness, and righteousness in all that we do, including our wedding vows. So how much more would this apply to a wedding covenant with God, as pictured by Christ in the church? You see, there is no PS. Once we take our baptismal commitment. In the book, actions speak louder than verbs. Herb Miller recounts an illustration from World War II. Actions speak louder than verbs. The author is Herb Miller. On page 103 he writes, While visiting in Leningrad, a woman heard the story of 900,000 people who passed the A woman heard the story of 900,000 people who perished in the long siege of Leningrad during World War II. At one point they were trying to save the children from both the Nazis and starvation, so they placed them on trucks to cross a frozen lake to safer locations. Many of the mothers, sure that they would never see their children again, yelled to them as they got on the trucks, Remember your name. Remember your name.

So, by our baptism, we commit ourselves to faithfully remember who we are. We are now betrothed to Christ. We are now God's children. We show our commitment of who we are by living our lives in such a way that we bear fruit in keeping with repentance. Take a look at Isaiah 49 verse 15. I think you turned to Isaiah 49 verse 15. Because if we continue to show the fruits of God's way, being led by the Holy Spirit, God will never forget who we are either. God will remember our name because He too entered into this special covenant with us at baptism. And He's the most faithful of spouses. Isaiah 49 verse 15. Can't a mother forget the baby at her breast and have no compassion on the child she has born? Of course not. It's a rhetorical question. But though she may forget you, although she may forget, I will not forget you, says God. So unlikely to the mother will ever forget that baby. But even if she would, God says, I will never forget you. God will never leave us all forsaken. He will remember our name as long as we don't add a P.S. to our betrothal to Jesus Christ.

Our betrothal to Christ to serve Him first in our life is a serious commitment. And when we make a covenant with God, He expects us to honor that commitment. So there is no P.S. The third section I have I've just called that pearl. That pearl.

I put a little R in there so you know what I said. That pearl. It's that pearl. Okay. Now perhaps many of you have heard some variation of the story about the chicken and the pig when it comes to involvement versus commitment. Here's a basic version of the story, but I've substituted a turkey for the pig. It's now a clean meat story, okay? But it's a story about commitment. So you think about, of course, on this day, think about breakfast of eggs and bacon and consider the contributions made by a chicken and a turkey. The chicken provided the eggs and the turkey provided the bacon. It can be said the chicken was involved in the breakfast because the chicken continues to live on and lay more eggs. It can be said the turkey was committed because the turkey gave it all to provide the bacon. So this is actually one of those motivational stories that sounds great when you read it and upper management at various companies have used it to motivate their staff towards being committed, not just involved, but I'm not sure that they want people to die on the job necessarily. But the chicken is contributing for the long term. At a sustainable level, she's able to keep giving because she has a renewable output, as we would say. The turkey, however, is in deep trouble. He gives everything at a single burst. No more turkey, only turkey bacon. And I don't think there are many employees who want to be the turkey. Everyone who's part of the team would rather be the chicken. But the point I'd like to draw from this story is that, yes, as a committed Christian, we do have to be in the race for the long haul. We have to be renewed day by day. We have to sustain our commitment for our lifetime. We cannot let anything get the better of us. But I think we also have to be both the chicken and the turkey, quite honestly, willing, actually, at some point if necessary, to die for what we believe, right? And yet be fulfilled and filled with the Holy Spirit and sustained every day in God's strength. We do have to be committed to the relationship at more than just a sustainable level. 2 Timothy 2 verse 1. Let's look at how the apostle Paul encouraged Timothy. 2 Timothy 2 verse 1.

He says, "'You therefore, my son, my son Timothy, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.' And verse 2, 2 Timothy 2, 2, "'And the things that you have heard from me among many witnesses commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.' Commit these teachings to others. And so we, too, commit to the faithful teachings taught to us, and we teach them to others also. It's part of our marriage covenant to Jesus Christ. We're being led towards godliness and holiness in this relationship. And we have something very valuable, something worth living for. It's worth everything that we have. And it's all about that pearl. Matthew 13 is where I wanted to turn to next. Matthew 13 verses 45 and 46. Because this is worth everything that we have. Matthew 13 verse 45.

Christ says, "'The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.'" So that's what the kingdom of god is like. That's what the kingdom of heaven is like. Outcalling is the most valuable pearl we could own. It's the one pearl of great price. And Jesus told this story that shows the value of that pearl that is eternal life in the kingdom of god. He says, "'We must sell all else to obtain it if necessary. Give our all to receive it.'" It's all about a deep commitment forsaking all for Christ. And it's a reminder of our marriage covenant with Jesus Christ. We strive then in our daily lives to put on holiness, to put on righteousness, to put on godliness, with Jesus Christ now living in us. Because we want to be at the wedding. We will sell all if necessary and hold on to that pearl of great price.

It's about the pearl. The fourth and last point I have here I've called Committing adultery. Committing adultery. So let's think back to the story of ancient Israel. Because of her disobedience, God divorced her.

Israel went back to idolatry and adultery, spiritually speaking. They went whoring after other false deities. And adultery is one of the few conditions where divorce is allowed under God's law.

So is it possible that we too could be guilty of adultery?

You don't have to be married here and have a spouse to commit adultery.

No. Everyone here can be guilty of adultery just by our thoughts if they go against God's law. And we harbor those thoughts. Let's turn to James 4.4, where the apostle James makes a striking statement in James 4 verse 4. And he says, adulterers and adulteressers. He's talking to men and women here.

Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. So friendship with the world is like committing adultery. And James is warning the church here against the direction they were going at the time.

He says, don't be a friend of the world. If so, you are in danger of being at odds with God. He says, don't be an enemy of Jesus Christ. Don't be called an adulterer. This is actually a very important point to consider. No matter our age, no matter our physical marriage status, if we have become betrothed to Christ now through our baptismal vows, if we take of the Passover symbols every year, if we have committed to be a friend of God, and not a friend of the world, and yet we change our mind and we go back on our commitment, if we start thinking of other gods, we are in danger of God, then spiritually divorcing us, like he did with ancient Israel.

And we will not be at the marriage of the land. It's a big deal, this Christian walk that we're on. So what is a friend of the world? 1 John chapter 2 actually gives some good indications of what it is to be a friend of the world. In 1 John chapter 2, verses 15 and 16, 15 through 17 maybe, 1 John 2 verse 15, do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

So it's a similar statement or warning to what James gave. Here John says, don't love the world. In verse 16, for all that is in the world, and here it is, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

Verse 17, the world is passing away in the lust of it, but he who does the will of God abides forever. And that's what we're here today fasting about is the will of God, right? When we do the will of God, we abide forever. But the will of God is the opposite of those things.

The will of God is the opposite of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life. The will of God is the opposite of being a friend of the world and putting things in our worldly lives above God. The pride of life leads to selfishness, the opposite of what we're supposed to be in a marriage. The pride of life leads to boasting and arrogance, and it can even motivate the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes as we try to elevate ourselves above all other people, maybe even elevate ourselves above God.

That kind of pride has happened before, as far as wanting to be more powerful than God, with Lucifer. We start wanting to fulfill our own desires and wishes on top of everything else. Fulfilling our own desires above everything else is worldliness. This is seeking after other gods, not deities per se, but just other things in life that become more important to us than God Himself. And it can be a form of spiritual adultery. The pride of life is a root cause of strife in families and marriages and congregations and nations and companies.

The pride of life exalts the self in direct opposition to Jesus telling us that anyone who wanted to follow Him needed to take up His cross and deny Himself. Christ said, deny Yourself if you want to take up the cross and follow Me. It's the opposite of the pride of life. So, in this point, don't be guilty of loving the world above loving your future spouse, Jesus Christ, because there is a warning here to watch out for spiritual adultery. It's happened before. It happened in the Old Testament. Make sure it doesn't happen to you or me as well. As we wrap up the message today, let's go back to the story of Joshua in Joshua chapter 24 that I told at the very beginning of the sermon.

This is Joshua's final speech that he gave before he died. So let's look at Joshua chapter 24. Joshua 24 verse 14. Now therefore, says Joshua, fear the Lord, serve Him in sincerity and truth, and put away the gods, which your father served on the other side of the river in Egypt. Instead, serve the Lord. So here in verse 14, Joshua says, put away the gods. In other words, he's saying, don't commit adultery any longer, but serve the true God. Be faithful to the Lord. Don't serve those gods from Egypt.

And of course, for us, we have other gods today than Egypt. We have the world that is so alluring to us. Verse 15, and if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourself this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your father served that were on the other side of the river or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

And so once we make that commitment to Jesus Christ, once we make a commitment to the family of God, we have to put away all other gods. We cannot be a friend of the world any longer. As for you and me, our house, now we will serve the Lord, won't we? We will not commit spiritual adultery. We won't try to go back across the river.

Living this life does have its costs in this world. It's not always easy, but it does show people when we're committed to this way of life that we have something valuable, something worth living for, something worth giving our lives for. So the takeaways today are remembering the marriage covenant, both physically and spiritually. It's about godliness and holiness. Secondly, there is no PS in our commitment to Jesus Christ, like we read on the back of that photo. It is about the pearl of great price, and we have to be careful each day that we are not committing spiritual adultery. And of course, not time to go into it, but if we do slip and fall, we have an advocate, Jesus Christ, who will go to the Father for us if we sin and if we repent. So there is, we're not perfect, we know that. But we must not commit spiritual adultery for the long term and then destroy our chances of being at the marriage of the Lamb. So let's continue our pledged baptismal commitment to follow Jesus Christ and live our half, our part, of the marriage covenant. Because it's a covenant that we're looking to not until death do us part, but until death do bring us together for eternity with Jesus Christ and God the Father at the resurrection of the saints. So our life, in many respects, is all about our marriage covenant with Jesus Christ and righteousness and godliness.