The Honor and Holiness of Marriage
Hebrews 13:4 states, “Marriage is to be held in honor among all, and the marriage bed is to be undefiled; for fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” This fourth virtue that characterizes the Christian walk is truly relevant in our day and time. The verse does not say that marriage should be honored only by those who believe in it or only by Christians. It says it is to be “held in honor among all.” Marriage was instituted by God in Genesis 1 for all of mankind. Yet many in the world today do not esteem the institution. The divorce rate in the United States speaks to this. It is estimated that 40-50% of marriages end in a legal divorce. So as Christians, we must seek to honor marriage.
Albert Mohler says that marriage is “for our holiness, happiness, and our health.” This is a nice little quote that helps us to understand why God designed matrimony. If you look at the second half of the verse, it speaks of the marriage bed as being “undefiled.” This simply means that it is to be pure and holy. There is no place for adultery or sexual immorality in the life of the Christian. I am not here to condemn anyone, for we are all aware of Jesus’ statement that if a man has lusted in his heart then he is guilty of adultery. Rather we may see this as the essence of our need for a Savior, which calls us to depend on Him more everyday. We cannot obey the command of Hebrews 13:4 without the Spirit of God at work in our minds and our hearts. This is how we keep marriage holy.
Christian, seek to honor marriage and keep marriage holy in your life! Married and unmarried persons alike can doe this by standing up for marriage being between one man and one woman. We may also honor it by not making jokes about it. It is a serious issue, and one that God commands us all to respect. Sometimes Christians are more like the culture than the Bible. We no longer bat an eye at homosexual couples on television. Yet this act (not the people) is to be something that is appalling to us, not something we are used to.
(Click on the link, the Albert Mohler program, and you’ll see that his radio program discussed this topic this past week.)
posted by Julia @ 7:55 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
YOU ARE SO CORRECT.I WORK IN A SECULAR WORK PLACE AND OFTEN I HAVE TO LEAVE AN AREA WHERE FILTHY TALK IS TAKING PLACE,OFTEN DEGRADING MARRIAGE.I HAVE BEEN SO
SICKENED A TIME OR TWO AND SPOKEN UP TO PROCLAIM THAT IT IS HOLY
MATRIMONY.THIS USUALLY SILENCES
THEM FOR A TIME.
WE SHOULD TAKE A STAND BECAUSE OF WHAT MARRIAGE STANDS FOR,THAT BEING A PICTURE OF CHRIST AND HIS BRIDE,THE CHURCH.
You must remember that tolerance is also a lesson taught by Jesus. Have your own view on marriage but don't insist others share the same view.
The bible is obviously meant to be interpreted by the reader as the Lord sees fit. Don't judge and don't cast stones. We're all sinners but we all have Gods love too...every living thing on Earth is loved by Him.
Bless you.
Jesus never tolerated sin. He came to save us from our sin. Emphasis on the "our" there - we must realize that we are all sinners before God.
The Bible is not divided into many passages with many different meanings. This is incorrect exegesis of the Word of God. Rather, it has one meaning. Therefore, when dealing with this verse in Hebrews, we are to see it's one meaning - honoring marriage.
You stated that "we are all sinners, but we all have God's love too." This is true. However, God's love in us enables us to overcome sin, not continue in it. An example of this follows:
When Jesus saved the woman at the well who had many husbands, and was living with a man, He told her at the end of the conversation to go and sin no more. Do you consider the Son of God to be casting a stone here because He pointed out sin and told her to not sin anymore? The Word of God functions in the same way for all of us. It points to our weakness and our sin, but encourages us to sin no more.
I am confused by your statement in encouraging me to not cast stones. I stressed in this blog how we are all sinners, and have even lusted in our hearts. Again, I said we. I meant myself included.
God bless you for reading, and addressing me with your concerns.
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