Who Established the Sanctity of Marriage?

Well, again, happy Sabbath to each and every one of you.

Recently, I read an article that shocked me. And as many years as I've lived, I have to admit, there aren't too many things that shocked me anymore. I've seen a lot of stuff. I've seen a thing or two in my lifetime. But I was shocked and stunned because of how clueless the author of the article was. In an article that he wrote, he made two wrong conclusions based on the fraudulent use of scriptures. And here were two of his conclusions. And he used proof texting, I've said many times, you can prove anything you want from the Bible. There's enough in there that if you want to, if you come to an agenda and you come to a conclusion, you'll find scriptures to support whatever it is that you want to believe. So here were the two conclusions of the article.

Number one, Jesus never discussed homosexuality. Therefore, if you claim to be a disciple of Jesus, you have no right to discuss something that Jesus avoided. It wasn't important to him. That's why he never talked about homosexuality. And he never judged homosexuality as being a violation of God's original intent. So that was conclusion number one. Conclusion number two was that the concept of marriage is merely a human invention. So those were his two conclusions. Now, if this article were simply an opinion of a secular person, a so-called educator, whatever, I wouldn't give it a second thought. I really wouldn't care that much. I wouldn't have been surprised at all if some so-called educator or even a politician today would make that kind of a comment. But the author attempted to misuse scriptures to prove his points. So today I would like to talk about the sanctity of marriage. Where does the idea of marriage originally come from?

What's the purpose of marriage? Is it indeed just merely a human institution, something that was convenient, something to keep two people together long enough that they would rear children and perpetuate the next generation? What's its purpose? Does God really care about marriage at all?

Or is it simply an invention of humankind? And as I'll read a little bit later, a quote from World Book Encyclopedia, marriage is a universal institution. So virtually any culture or society that you go to on earth, whether pagan, whatever, virtually, everyone endorses the institution of marriage of a man and a woman being joined together in an exclusive relationship, intimate exclusive relationship, and bringing children into the world if they're able, and living their lives together in that exclusive faithful relationship.

Again, it really doesn't matter what part of the world that we're talking about. So today I would like to talk about the sanctity of marriage. Let's go to Matthew chapter 5 and verse 31. We're going to begin with a couple of statements by Jesus Christ. After all, the pre-incarnate Christ would have been there at creation. He would have been there. As a matter of fact, not only would he have been there, we understand he would have been the one to speak the words to Adam and Eve that Jesus Christ is going to quote from here in Matthew chapter 5 and verse 32 since he was in essence the God that was revealed in the old covenant or the old testament.

So again, Matthew chapter 5 and verse 31. This is a pretty long discourse he's been given here in Matthew chapter 5, and he interjects his thought. Furthermore, it has been said, whoever divorces his wife, let him give her our certificate of divorce. And that's, by the way, in Deuteronomy chapter 24. But I say to you that whoever divorces his wife for any reason except sexual immorality causes her to commit adultery and whoever marries a woman who is divorced commits adultery. Now, it's interesting if you were to take a look at Deuteronomy chapter 24, the appropriate reason that Moses himself gives for divorce is, quote, some uncleanness, which is a reference to sexual behavior.

But in time, you know how human beings are, in time the rules are laxed, in time standards are reduced, and in time people separate for trivial reasons like, my wife cut her hair too short, or she attempted to feed me spam one morning, or whatever the reason may be.

Moses' original intent was watered down, watered down, watered down, watered down until the time of Jesus. All it basically took was a proclamation a few times to say, I divorced thee and you were officially divorced from your spouse. That's what had occurred. So in context, Jesus is talking about a marriage union to an audience of Jews who are descendants of the old covenant.

He's stating that the allowance for divorce was granted in the law of Moses, and that's indeed what was. And again, Deuteronomy chapter 24, in time it became easier and easier to get a divorce, and Jesus recognizes and understands that. And he wants to say, as he emphasizes here, the only allowable reason for divorce is sexual immorality. Now, the Greek word used, we know the New Testament's written in Greek, the Greek word for sexual immorality is porneia. And porneia has a very broad meaning that includes diverse types of unaccepted sexual behavior, and they can include prostitution, extramarital sex, adultery, pedophilia, promiscuity, homosexuality, incest, premarital sex, bestiality.

So all of those are included under this term that this Greek word means called porneia, of which in English we get the word porn, or pornography from that Greek word porneia. So let's take it a step further, and Jesus is going to expand on his answer here in chapter 19.

So Matthew chapter 19 verse 3, he's going to be asked this question directly by the Pharisees, and Jesus is going to give a response. And he's going to hearken back to a very special blessing that was given to Adam and Eve that was their marriage, their union together, sanctified by God. Matthew chapter 19 verse 3, the Pharisees also came to him, testing him and saying to him, is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?

Can it be for a frivolous reason? Can it be lightly? Can it be because she says no? Can it be because you don't like her hair color? It's turned gray? Can it be for any reason? And he answered and said to them, have you not read he, speaking of God, he who made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife. You see, there's a joining that occurs between a male and a female that puts them in this very special union, and the two shall become one flesh.

So then they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore, Jesus says, what God has joined together, let not man separate. So according to Jesus, who joins together? One male and one female in a relationship that we today call marriage. It's God who joins them together. That's emphasized there in verse six. So Christ is declaring a number of very important biblical values with these comments that he makes.

Volume number one. God made two genders. There are two biological genders that God originally created. They are male and female, and they are created to be in union and become one. One male and one female have complementary parts that were designed by our creator to fit together as a husband and wife are joined together in holy matrimony in a marriage relationship. Another thing that Jesus says here, it's God who joins two people together for an intimate relationship to become one new family. The male and the female are to leave their biological families, and they are together to become one to create a brand new family union.

And that family union results in something being born, if it's God's will and if everything works out biologically. And the result of that union is also one flesh. It's the result of the two parents, the male and the female, coming together and bringing into the world new flesh, one flesh, the combination of the husband, the combination of the wife.

You can't achieve that if you have two men together, if you have two females together.

That violates the whole idea of what a marriage union was originally created for.

Another thing that Jesus states here is that it is God who joins a man and a woman together. Again, verse 6, one has to be very careful not to violate or separate this union. I'm not going to emphasize divorce today because I know that's a difficult topic for a lot of us.

My family is the product of divorce. My earliest memories are my mother divorced, growing up with a single mom and her struggles. There were three of us, my brother, my sister, and I, and growing up in a divorced family with a biological father who refused to pay child support to help us, with a government who refused to force my biological father to support us, which was his responsibility. My brother is divorced, my sister is divorced. When my mother married my stepfather, he was an orphan and raised by an aunt who was a very conservative Protestant, and she wept all day because he was going to go to hell for marrying a woman who had been married, previously married. He was committing adultery, she said, and he was going to spend eternity in hell for being married. So I understand that divorce can be a difficult thing, and I understand our situations, and many of us may be from divorced relationships. I totally understand that, but that's not my focus today. And no matter what we've been through and what we've experienced, like any other mistake we make in life, or any other sin that we have in life, upon repentance that sin is forgiven, and it's time for us to move forward, not to relive the past, and not to live in the guilt from the past. So let's pick it up here. I wanted to make sure that we all understand that, that the title of the sermon today is Sanctity of Marriage, and it's certainly not a discussion of divorce per se. Verse 7. And they said to him, Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce and to put her away? And he said to them, Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so. This gets back to the subject I've covered a number of times. The vast difference between what God's will is and what God allows. God's will is that when people are married, they remain married forever. God allows, including what Moses instituted in Deuteronomy, he allows for divorce. But divorce and broken families, and again, is someone who grew up in a divorced family and knows the pressures when children are asked to choose between one parent and another.

And what happens when you have these family reunions with mixed families and people coming together from both sides of the family that are now separated by divorce? I understand all the complications and difficulties that go along with that. And Jesus is saying, because of human carnality, because basically we are a selfish people and can't get along, due to that reason, God instituted the allowance for divorce even though that is not his will. So continuing, from the beginning, it was not so. And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife except for sexual immorality, again that's that Greek word porneia, and marries another, commits adultery, and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery. So Jesus adds in these verses the understanding that from the creation of Adam and Eve, God intended a very narrow limit for divorce. And that limit included a violation of the marriage covenant through sexual infidelity, all defined under that term porneia that I mentioned a few minutes ago. So why? So why is it sexual immorality that is the acceptable reason for divorce? Well, it's because it violates faithfulness and trust. It's a sense of betrayal. And sometimes that trust cannot be rebuilt.

And we'll see later near the end of the sermon, the whole purpose of marriage is to represent something else. And that something else is the relationship between Jesus Christ and his church.

That's a mystery. That's a mystery that Paul mentions that goes all the way back to the beginning and why God even instituted the whole concept of marriage in the Garden of Eden after he had created Adam and Eve. Malachi wrote in chapter 2 verse 16, for the Lord God of Israel says he hates divorce. The context of these answers by Jesus is that there's a sanctity in marriage, in all marriages. There's a reason Jesus would not use the word homosexual or same-sex marriage in this conversation. The truth is that marriage is a union between one man and one woman. It's a self-evident truth. No one would have even questioned that in their wildest dreams.

The Old Testament had very explicit punishments for acts that deviated from a relationship between a male and a female. The Old Testament, the Old Covenant, was very clear and uncompromising on same-sex relationships. So Jesus would have thought of no reason to bring that up. Everyone knew, everyone understood who was sitting there what the law of Moses said about those kinds of relationships. The pre-incarnate Christ, in other words, the very God before he became Jesus Christ, was a witness of the instructions given to Moses. He was literally the one who made the blessing upon Adam and Eve. In his eyes, there was no other definition of marriage but a man and a woman.

And let's prove that today. Let's go back to the beginning. Genesis chapter 1 and verse 27, let's take a look at a number of scriptures to understand from the word of God itself why there is a sanctity in marriage. Genesis chapter 1 and verse 27.

So, God treated man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him male and female. He created them. Then God blessed them. They have one male, one female. They have been created by God.

And now God blesses them. He puts them in a very special, intimate, exclusive relationship with one another. And God said to them, be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it, have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on earth. So God created man and he created woman as equals. Eve was his helper. She was created from his side, not from his foot so that he could step on her, not from his head so that she could rule over him. She was created from his side so she could be his sidekick, his lifetime friend and confidant. God placed them in a sexual union by blessing them with a very special covenant relationship. Now some ill-informed might say, oh yeah, but that's only for Adam and Eve. That's because they were the first created human beings and this scripture only applies to them.

Oh really? Is that true? Well, let's go to Genesis 12 and see the story of Abraham when there was a famine in the land. He has been obedient to God's call and now he's going to go to Egypt because there is a severe famine. Genesis chapter 12 verse 10. It says, now there was a famine in the land and Abram went down to Egypt to dwell there, for the famine was severe in the land and it came to pass when he was close to entering Egypt that he said to Sarai, his wife indeed, I know that you are a woman of beautiful countenance. I'm sure she said thank you. Verse 12. Therefore it will happen when the Egyptians see you they will say this is his wife and they will kill me, but they will let you live. Let's stop right there for a second. Catch something that is just so easy to read over if we're not paying attention. I want you to notice that even the pagan Egyptians respect the sanctity of marriage. Abram is telling his wife that they will think that he and Sarah are married and the only way they can acquire her is to kill her husband. Then she'll be a widow.

Then she won't be bound because he'll be dead. That's the whole reason that Abraham comes up with this idea. Verse 13. Please say you are my sister that it may be well with me for your sake and that I may live because of you because of what you say. So it was when Abram came into Egypt and the Egyptians saw the woman that she was very beautiful. She obviously was very beautiful, right? That's very clear here in these scriptures. Verse 15. The princes of Pharaoh saw her and commended her to Pharaoh. She's so beautiful. She should be part of Harrow's concubine. She should be part of his harem. She should be part of his trophy collection because she's just so beautiful.

And the woman was taken to Pharaoh's house, so she's being prepared to become a concubine to Pharaoh. The Egyptians usually had a woman whom was called the great wife that Pharaoh was married to and the great wife usually bore the descendants of the next Pharaoh. And then the Pharaohs also had lesser wives at the same time. Concubines, much like we see some of the patriarchs in the Old Testament who had concubines. So let's continue here in this scripture. Verse 16. He, Pharaoh, treated Abraham well for her sake. He had sheep and oxen, male donkeys, male and female servants, female donkeys and camels. All these are given as gifts to Abram because of his deceit.

Pharaoh wants to impress Abram. He wants, it's kind of like a dowry. He's kind of paying him off, so he can acquire the rights to who he thinks is Abram's sister. Verse 17. But the Lord plagued Pharaoh in his house with great plagues because of Sarah, Sarah, Abram's wife. And Pharaoh called Abram and said, What is this that you have done to me? Why did you not tell me she was your wife?

Why did you say she is my sister? I might have taken her as my wife. I was this far.

I'd already brought her into the harem. I was this far from taking her as a lesser wife.

Now therefore, here's your wife. Take her and go your way. So Pharaoh commanded his men concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had. So let's ask a few questions here.

So why would Pharaoh in his household be plagued when he added Sarai to his potential collection of concubines? Why would God care? Why would God care about the relationship between Abram and his wife? Why would God threaten the Pharaoh with plagues if he acquired this married woman as someone he could have a sexual liaison with? Because God believes in the sanctity of marriage.

That's why. That's the only reason why Pharaoh could have been harmed with plagues.

Why is Pharaoh angry with Abram? Because Abram's deceit almost caused Pharaoh to violate the sanctity of Abram's marriage and to bring down God's wrath on Pharaoh's house. This is about 600 years before the Ten Commandments are given in Mount Sinai, which is yet another proof that the Ten Commandments were in effect before Moses. 600 years before there's a commandment, it says, thou shalt not commit adultery. Pharaoh knows it. Abram knows it. Most importantly, God knows it.

Genesis chapter 20. Let's take a look at another example. His name now is Abraham. It's been changed by God from Abram to Abraham. Genesis chapter 20. We'll begin in verse 1.

It says, and Abraham journeyed from there to the south and dwelt between Kadesh and Shur, and stayed in Gerar. Now Abraham said of Sarah his wife, she's my sister. So now this is the Philistines. This is a bimlech in the land of the Philistines, who I might add weren't even Semitic peoples. They were Greek peoples who had migrated to the shore of the Mediterranean and populated it and taken over the land, but they were actually of Greek descent. She is my sister, and a bimlech came of Gerar, sent and took Sarah. But God came to a bimlech in a dream by night, and said to him, indeed you are a dead man, because the woman whom you have taken, for she is a man's wife. But a bimlech had not come near her and said, Lord, will you slay a righteous nation? Also, I didn't do anything. Yet I didn't do anything. Will you slay a righteous nation? Did not he say to me, she is my sister? And she, even she herself, said, he is my brother.

In the integrity of my heart and innocence of my hands, I have done this. I didn't know God. I didn't understand. I didn't realize she was married. Please don't punish me. God said to him in a dream, yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart, for I also withheld you from sinning against me. Therefore, I did not let you touch her. Verse 7, now therefore, restore the man's wife, for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you, and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours. So again, approximately 600 years before the Ten Commandments are given in Mount Sinai, God believes in the sanctity of the marriage relationship. God is ready and willing to punish someone who violates the sanctity of the relationship between Abram and Sarai, later Abraham and Sarah. It's God who does these things.

Notice that God tells a bimilec that committing adultery would be sinning against God. He said, I withheld you from sinning against me. God isn't so concerned with how Abraham might feel. What he's concerned with is his God's law, his righteousness, the sanctity of marriage that he instituted from the very beginning at the creation of Adam and Eve. From the beginning, God instituted a covenant relationship between a man and his wife. So, do family dysfunctions, little sidebar here, do family dysfunctions get passed down from generation to generation?

Well, as someone who's been in the church for almost 50 years, I can tell you that I know of the sins, weaknesses, quirks of the grandfathers who were passed down to their children, who now I see are passed down to their grandchildren. So, yes, dysfunctions are passed down from generation to generation until someone stops and says, the craziness has to end. It's going to end with me, and I'm drawing a line through the sand. It stops here, and it stops now with me.

That's the only way family dysfunctions end. But sadly, it didn't end here. Genesis, Chapter 26, Isaac does the same thing that Abraham did. Genesis, Chapter 26, Verse 6.

So, Isaac, the son of Abraham and Sarah, dwelt in Gaurar, again, this is Philistine territory, and the men of the place asked about his wife, and he said, she is my sister. I wonder where he would have gotten that idea from? For he was afraid to say she is my wife because, he thought, lest the men of the place kill me for Rebecca, because she is beautiful to behold again, showing that they believed in the sanctity of marriage because if they wanted to acquire her, they would have to kill off her husband so she no longer would be bound in a marriage covenant. Again, notice even these pagan Philistines respect the sanctity of marriage. Verse 8.

Now it came to pass, when he had been there a long time, that Abimelech, now I know we just read about Abimelech in the life of Isaac's father. Abimelech may have been a title and not a personal name. It may have been a title that the kings of the Philistines had, or it's possible that this dude lived a long, long, long time and it is the same Abimelech. Possible! But anyway, that Abimelech, the king of the Philistines, looked through a window and saw, and there was Isaac showing endearment to Rebecca. Now, I love the way the original King James Version said that he looked out his window and he saw Isaac sporting with his wife. I just love the way that's phrased. In other words, he's being intimate with her, kissing her, doing some things you obviously would not do with your sister. This is a family sermon, so I'm going to end it there. To Rebecca, his wife, then Abimelech called Isaac and said, quite obviously, she is your wife. So how could you say she is my sister?

And Isaac said to him, because I said, lest I die, in account of her, and Abimelech said, what is this you have done? To a similar phrasing to what the king of Pharaoh had said to Abraham.

One of the people might soon have lain with your wife. It was only a matter of time until someone thought she was single, and she would either be sexually assaulted, or they would come to you and try to give you a dowry and try to marry her. One way or another, it was only going to be a matter of time, the king says, and you would have brought guilt on us. So Abimelech charged all his people, saying, he who touches this man, her wife, shall surely be put to death. So even this pagan, Abimelech obviously believes in the sanctity of marriage, the sanctity of someone else's marriage.

Isaac's deceit almost caused one of the Philistines to violate the sanctity of Isaac's marriage and bring down God's wrath on the entire Philistine nation. Now someone might say, well, Mr. Thomas, this is because of the special relationship between Abraham and Sarah, or Isaac and Rebecca. It only applies to marriages where God has this special, unique relationship where he's working with these people. Really? Well, let's see. Let's go to Genesis chapter 39.

One of the accounts of Joseph in slavery. And he ends up working in the home of someone who's named Potiphar, who is a servant directly of Pharaoh, works for Pharaoh, very important man.

And let's see what happens here. Again, this is Joseph now. Not Abraham, not Isaac, not Jacob, but Joseph. Genesis chapter 39 verse 5. So it was, from the time that he, that is Potiphar, had made him overseer of his house, this is Joseph, speaking of Joseph, and all that he had, that the Lord blessed to the Egyptians house for Joseph's sake. And the blessing of the Lord was on all who he had in his house and in the field. So Potiphar's being blessed left and right. Who knows? Maybe he was so blessed he was left-handed. But anyway, he's being blessed left and right because of Joseph. Let's continue here. Thus he left all that he had in Joseph's hand, and he did not know what he had except for the bread which he ate. He had total trust in Joseph.

He didn't question anything. All he knew in his mind, Potiphar, is everything's being taken care of.

This kid, and he was a kid, this kid, Joseph, is talented. He's managing my house. He's an advisor.

He's a money manager. He's an organizer. I don't even have to worry about anything.

Let's continue here. Now Joseph was handsome in form and appearance, and it came to pass after these things that his master's wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, lie with me. She's not very subtle, is she? She wasn't into subtlety. Now, some scholars believe that he was a workaholic, and because he worked for Pharaoh, he may have been gone long periods of time, and she was lonely. Some scholars have postulated that because he worked for Pharaoh, he had been castrated and was not able to perform the normal functions of a husband.

That's also what some scholars say, but whatever the reason, Joseph is handsome. She's looking at him, and she's just, lie with me. Verse 8, but he refused and said to his master's wife, look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me, but you, because you are his wife. So does Joseph believe in the sanctity of marriage?

Of course he does. How about Potiphar? Do you think Potiphar believes in the sanctity of marriage?

Of course Potiphar believes in the sanctity of marriage. Continuing, how then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? And so it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed to her to lie with her or to be with her. See, he was wise enough to even avoid, as much as possible, his own temptations, perhaps his own carnality, but to avoid being in those situations where he could be tempted. It says he avoided even being with her.

So I want you to look closely at these verses. Once again, approximately 500 years before the seventh commandment is given on Mount Sinai that says, thou shalt not commit adultery.

Joseph knows that adultery is a sin against God, a sin against God. Why?

Because God created the union of marriage. God created the sanctity of marriage. And when we violate that sanctity, we sin against God. Let me ask you a question. Why would God even care about the marriage relationships of two pagans? So here you have Potiphar and his wife.

They don't acknowledge the great supreme God. They probably weren't married in his presence.

They probably weren't married according to some Egyptian ceremony that recognized them being husband and wife. They don't acknowledge God as the supreme creator.

So why would God even care about the sanctity of their marriage being violated?

Because God cares about the sanctity of marriage. Period. It's that important to God.

It's a covenant relationship from the very beginning when God created Adam and Eve and blessed them and instituted that unique rewarding relationship between one man and one man.

Yes, human beings distort God's will. God is very patient and has allowed polygamy.

He's allowed all kinds of distortions from his original intent and watering down the reasons for divorce, divorce in general. God is very gracious and very merciful. But we need to understand the example from the very beginning that Jesus spoke about that we read about in Genesis is one man, one woman, blessed in a unique intimate special relationship by God.

Here's what the world book, Encyclopedia, here's how it defines marriage. Now, it's not going to say marriage is instituted by God because that would go too far for them.

There's secular, this is secular encyclopedia. But here's what it says, quote, marriage is a universal human institution which has formed the foundation of the family throughout history. While the traditions surrounding marriage ceremonies, the rights and obligations of marriage, the way of choosing one's marriage partner, and even who one has permitted to marry may differ from culture to culture, the essential necessity of marriage has long been recognized economically, legally, spiritually, and socially as the primary social institution for raising children.

It is widely recognized that marriage provides the proper setting for cultivating love between a man and a woman and for the fulfillment of both, end of quote, from a secular encyclopedia.

Again, they won't give credit to God. They don't understand the scriptures that we've talked about today and who originate the concept of marriage and who blessed the first man and first woman in this union. They don't understand that, but we do. As Paul himself stated, speaking of the fact, thinking about marriage virtually being a universal concept around the world, Paul stated, for since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. So even pagans, even people who have no concept of God, who worship many gods, recognize the importance of marriage, recognize the importance, the universal scope, and importance of that relationship. Let's see more discussion on marriage from the Apostle Paul.

By the way, what I mentioned here was from Romans chapter 1 and verse 20. Let's go to 1 Corinthians chapter 7 and verse 10. 1 Corinthians chapter 7 and verse 10. I mentioned earlier that Jesus was talking in context in Matthew 5 and 19 to a group of Jews who were descendants of the Old Covenant, who all were believers in Yahweh, and that was one context, the statements that he made. Paul is confronting a whole different situation because Paul is the Apostle to the Gentiles. So what do you do when a believer comes in whose spouse is an unbeliever? And what do you do, Paul has to answer, if that unbeliever becomes so angry and belligerent that they leave the believer?

These are questions that Paul has to ask. Jesus never had to answer these kind of questions.

His audience was vanilla. His audience were Jews and all who were descendants of the Old Covenant who had a similar faith. Paul is confronted with a whole new problem and situation, and this is what he's going to discuss here in 1 Corinthians 7.

Now to the married, he says, he's talking about believing couples, where both couples come into the faith. I command, yet not I but the Lord, a wife is not to depart from her husband, but even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband, and her husband is not to divorce his wife. Paul says divorce, if you're both in the faith and you both understand this truth about Jesus Christ, he says divorce is not an option. That's what Paul is telling the congregation in Corinth. Let's continue. Verse 12. He says, but to the rest, now he has to address those who have an unbelieving mate, who is in a difficult situation where maybe they've come into the faith and their mate now despises them. Their mate despises the faith, their belief system, their religious faith. Verse 12, but to the rest, that is those who have an unbelieving mate, I, not the Lord, he says, this is my opinion, this is my authority saying this, because Jesus didn't say this because he wasn't confronted with this kind of a situation.

I, not the Lord, say if a brother has a wife who does not believe and she's willing to live with him, let him not divorce her. Your marriage should be based more on your religious faiths. Your intimacy, the sanctity of your relationship, is that you hopefully will be able to get along even though you have different religious perspectives. And you shouldn't separate from one another if you're content with living with one another in spite of your religious differences. Verse 13, in a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him. For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband, otherwise your children would be unclean, but now they are holy. And over the years, I've seen this work many times. Someone who did not have a spouse who believed would bring their children to church, their children would attend our camps, their children would eventually learn God's way, their children sometimes are baptized because they have contact with the church of God because of the believing parent.

Verse 15, but if the unbeliever departs, let him depart. A brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace. What's Paul saying here? He's saying that if someone is so adamant against the faith, if someone has turned against your relationship and turned against you because of the faith, let them go. If that's what they want, if that's what they choose, let them go. You are not bound to them in a marriage covenant relationship if they depart.

Now, he goes on to say, but God has called us to peace. Do everything you can to work it out. It should only be their choice, and it should absolutely be the last resort. Our part, as a believer, should be to do everything we can to salvage that relationship, to build on that relationship, and to save the marriage. That's our part to play. Verse 16, for how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your husband? Your influence may ultimately turn your unconverted spouse around, and they eventually may be called by your example of faithfulness and stability. And they may see the spiritual growth in you, and you become a better human being because of your faith. Or how do you know a husband, whether you will save your wife?

So Paul states that for converted couples of faith, divorce and remarriage is not an option.

Deal with your struggles in a Christian way, overcome your conflicts and your difficulties, and salvage your relationship. Then he goes on to say that in his view, because he's confronted with a different situation than Jesus was, if a believer is abandoned by an unbelieving spouse, they are no longer bound to the marriage covenant due to abandonment. I'm going to read this from another translation, verse 7 through 10, through the translation God's word for today. I quote, I pass this command along, not really I, but the Lord. A wife shouldn't leave her husband. If she does, she should stay single and make up with her husband. Likewise, a husband should not divorce his wife. I, not the Lord, say this to the rest of you. If a Christian man is married to a woman who is an unbeliever, and she is willing to live with him, he should not divorce her. If any Christian woman is married to a man who is an unbeliever, and he is willing to live with her, she should not divorce her husband. Actually, the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise, their children would be unacceptable to God, but now they are acceptable to him. Verse 15, but if the unbelieving partners leave, let them go. Under these circumstances, a Christian man or Christian woman is not bound by a marriage vow. God has called you to live in peace. How do you, as a wife, know whether you will save your husband? How do you, as a husband, know whether you will save your wife? Again, stressing the need to work through it, try to save the relationship, set the right positive example to your part, as the believer is what Paul is emphasizing here. So, as we can all see, and I hope we've seen through the scriptures that we have read today, the sanctity of marriage in God's eyes is very, very important, and there are few legitimate or valid reasons for divorce in the eyes of God. Far fewer than certainly our culture allows in our secular world today. But again, I want to emphasize that, yet, like any mistake, like any sin, upon repentance and forgiveness, any sin can be forgiven, and we are expected to take our lives and move forward in whatever state we're in right now. We can't change the past. We can't change history, but what we can do is draw a line in the sand and make the best of our marriage relationships right here and right now. Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 4. A few more important comments about marriage. Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 4.

A very beautiful confirmation of marriage, but then a warning. Hebrews chapter 13 and verse 4 says, marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled. What does that mean? It means what a couple choose to do in the privacy of their own bedroom, as long as they both consent to it, is their business. Continuing, marriage is honorable among all, but fornicators and adulterers, God will judge. Let your conduct be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have, for he himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. So this scripture reminds us that marriage is held up by God as an honorable institution. It's honorable above all other things. And when it's violated, there's a severe price to be paid by an individual who violates the sanctity of marriage. As we saw the warnings earlier in the book of Genesis, as we looked at a number of examples of God warning about the serious consequences of violating the sanctity of someone's marriage. Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 22. Paul's commentary on marriage.

Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 22.

Paul writes, wives submit to your own husbands as to the Lord, for the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church, and he is the savior of the body. You know, everyone is an authority to someone else. I'm an authority to the Council of Elders. I'm an authority to the United Church of God Administration. I always look at myself under authority to most of my clients who provide me with an income, help me to pay my bills. Everyone ends up under authority to someone. I'm under the authority of the governor of the state of Ohio. I'm under the authority of the president of the United States. When I had a corporate job, I was under the authority of the sales manager, the vice president of sales, or the CEO of the company. We are all under authority. We need to get used to it. And what Paul is saying here is you can't have two heads making all decisions. In a marriage relationship, we most certainly should get the advice of our spouse, and we should listen, and we should understand, and we should get all the information available before we make a big or difficult decision. But the bottom line is someone needs to make that hard decision. And if the two don't see eye to eye, if the two don't agree, then the decision is more complicated, isn't it? And Paul says in that case, the one who is to make the decision is the husband.

That doesn't make women inferior. That doesn't put women at a lower level. It just means to one degree or another, we are all under the authority of something else. Ultimately, we are all under the authority of God, and we are all under the authority of Jesus Christ. That's what Paul is saying here.

Therefore, verse 24, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let wives be subject or be to their own husbands and everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved at the church and gave himself for her. What did Christ do for the church? To symbolize how we should love our wives. First of all, he loves the church. He trusts the church. He's 100% in. He's committed to the church. He gave his own life for the church. These are the kind of qualities of commitment and trust and love that we should have in our marriage relationships. Husband, verse 26, that he might sanctify and cleanse her. This is the church with a washing of water by the word, that he might present her to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but she should be holy and without blemish. Verse 28, so husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself, for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it just as the Lord does the church. So just husbands, as we care for ourselves, right, and we we shave and we bathe and hopefully we comb our hair and we take care of ourselves. We try to avoid causing pain to ourselves. Those are the attributes of cherishing and nurturing and love that we should be demonstrating towards our wives. Verse 30, for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. Going all the way back to the beginning in Genesis. Verse 32, this is a great mystery. What's the great mystery?

Going all the way back to the beginning, as he quotes here, God's instruction to Adam and Eve, and the man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. That's the great mystery. The mystery is the fact that there's a reason that goes all the way back for that. That was more than just biologically a way for people to reproduce on earth. God could have chosen other ways. If you look in nature, there are a lot of other ways, aside from monogamous relationships, that things reproduce like crazy on our planet.

So God could have chosen another way, but Paul says the reason he did that, that two shall become one flesh, was a mystery. And here it is. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless, let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. So, brethren, according to the Apostle Paul here, the very nature of a covenant marriage, the intimacy, the mutual respect, the love by the husband, and the loving response back from the wife, all of that was intended to say something visually about Jesus Christ and ultimately him marrying his church.

That's what Paul's saying here. The great mystery is that from the beginning, marriage was intended to represent the future relationship between Jesus Christ and his church, and it was represented on the human level for a great spiritual truth of what the purpose of all of this is about, of all of these things that go on in this world. This means our marriages should be a commitment to each other. It means our marriages should be one of intimacy. Our marriages should be one of faithfulness, of love and mutual respect. Our marriages are intended to be a sermon about the good news of the coming kingdom of God, not a message about the seven last plagues.

Our marriages are a witness, whether we like it or not. Our marriages say something about God and about the love of God in Christ for his people. And people are watching and listening, watching our marriage relationships. What your kids believe about God will largely come from what they believe about you and the strength of your marriage relationship. So it matters who we are and it matters how we act as a married people and the example that we set.

One final scripture today, 1 Peter chapter 3 and verse 7. Please turn there with me our final scripture, 1 Peter chapter 3 and verse 7.

Peter writes, husbands likewise dwell with them with understanding.

Sometimes there is a gulf between the way the male mind thinks and reacts to things and the way the female mind thinks and reacts to things. And Peter's saying, work hard to understand your wife. Work hard to understand where she's coming from. Giving honor to the wife as to the weaker vessel and as being heirs together of the grace of life. You see, you're blessed enough that both you and your spouse are of the faith and in God's church. You are tremendously blessed and you're a team. And use the strengths that come from that team as heirs together of the grace of life to achieve wonderful things, to have a beautiful and harmonious and intimate relationship with that person, to truly get to know them, to share your life with them in every way possible.

Share your life together, strive to understand and respect each other, and never forget that your relationship has been sanctified by God. Your marriage relationship is very, very important to God. Never forget that our marriage is a symbol, is a model of the relationship of Jesus Christ to his bride, the Church of God. Have a wonderful Sabbath day.