Why is it important to recognize that marriage should be a holy covenant between a man, a woman, and God?
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AManofGod on January 26, 2012 at 10:07 am
This is something (I think) most people don’t really understand when they marry. A covenant made between a MAN a WOMAN and GOD is not something that can be dissolved as easily as society would lead us to believe. Quite often we give our “word” to each other (I’ll lend you $20 on Friday or I’ll give you a ride to the gym next week, etc) and we later either change our minds or simply “forget” to follow through. When God is brought into the mix the entire dynamic changes. A covenant with Our Creator involved is so serious, so important and so UNBREAKABLE that one cannot brush it off so easily. With our current ability to obtain “no fault” or “non-contested” divorces and even with the rise in “pre-nuptial agreements” people are looking at marriage as a “temporary” situation or an agreement that can be easily dissolved…..how wrong those folks are!
If we look at marriage as a HOLY covenant between the spouses AND God we will understand the everlasting nature of the marriage relationship as well as the fact that just as Christ would NEVER divorce us we cannot do so to one another with such a cavalier attitude.
AManofGod
vickifca on January 26, 2012 at 8:27 pm
I appreciate very much what ManofGod said. I agree completely, not only by belief and being a child of God, but also by my own experience. I have found that a marriage can’t be what God intended without the submission and agreement of all three, with both spouses yielding to GOD’s terms, and not God agreeing to one or both spouse’s terms….even if this doesn’ t happen with both spouses, the covenant is still permanent on God’s terms, and so this is why I appreciate ManofGod stating that it is not so easily broken….personally, I would rather live with anyone than lose God’s blessing and fellowship in my life…
tom felten on January 26, 2012 at 12:25 pm
Good thoughts, AManofGod. I love how you brought in God’s relationship with us. As Paul writes in Ephesians 5:25, “For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up His life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.”
AManofGod on January 26, 2012 at 2:27 pm
Thank you Pastor Tom. I try to allow scripture to be the basis for my beliefs and my stance on EVERY situation. If we base our beliefs on Biblical tenets and not on “rules of the day” we will find things will work so much smoother in our everyday lives. When we “lean on our own understanding” we are inviting misconception and TROUBLE into our midsts!
On that note the other aspect of the original conversation must be addressed. Why is it important to recognize marriage as a holy covenant between a MAN a WOMAN and God? That question leads us to study the holy covenant relationship of the three (man, woman and God) and also leads us to study the individuals involved. The Bible is very clear that marriage is supposed to occur between a man and a woman and God is the tie which binds them together. If that is true those seeking to allow the marriage of two men or two women must either denounce their belief in the Bible (God’s Word) or simply choose to disobey the Word of God. Either way, they would be leaning on their own understanding.
Simply because the law of the land allows it does make ANY action the right course of action in God’s eyes. If the Bible forbids it, man (or woman) cannot make it “right.”
AManofGod
thepearlturtle on January 28, 2012 at 8:14 am
I completely agree, AManofGod. It is so important to take in the whole Word of God and not just a portion of it, and when we need to honour God and not the traditions of man set up to skirt God and make things supposedly easier on us. I believe if we look at humanity’s history, when we have turned away from God and gone our own way, we have done anything but make it easier for ourselves. God’s Way ~ including the marriage of one woman and one man as a covenant with God ~ is always best for us! Thank you for your comments. Also, thank you, Vicki and Tom.
thepearlturtle on January 28, 2012 at 8:05 am
I believe it is vital that marriage be recognized as a holy covenant between a man, a woman, and God because, when God created Adam and Eve, He instituted marriage by saying that “23Then Adam said, This [creature] is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of a man. 24Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall become united and cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. What is joined as one flesh by God is no longer two but one, and this is a mystery that cannot be undone by men. It is a spiritual relationship, a spiritual law that a man or a woman cannot undo simply by getting a piece of paper in a court room. God has got to be our standard for all. When we begin setting our own standard for marriage, we begin to set our own standard for all relationships and all activities, and we begin to set a slippery slope into sin from which it is very difficult to return. Justification becomes the norm. [Genesis2:23-24: Amplified Bible] This relationship of marriage is a commandment of God, and it is the same relationship that Christ models for us in the Church. When Jesus died for us on the cross, He was pierced that He may have a holy people reconciled to God ~ the Church, the bride of Christ [our Groom] ~ who would consist of everyone who would receive and believe in Jesus and His finished work on the Cross for us. Jesus gave His very life for us, shedding His blood and having His side opened up. We are flesh of His flesh and bone of His bone, for when we are born again of His Holy Spirit as new believers in Him, we become His bride and He becomes our Husband, having cleansed us with His shed blood on Calvary. It is in our covenant relationship with Jesus that we acknowledge Him as our Lord and agree to obey and follow Him all the days of our lives, through hardship, joy, and trial, good times and bad. We do the same when we take holy matrimonial vows at the altar of marriage. These are not just cheap words. We say them before Almighty God, and He has instituted this so that we will have a core family unit who is holy unto Him and who is obedient to Him, and who follows His will and His Way ~ raised up to do so. When we abandon that covenant, we also abandon our commitment to remain faithful to God and to our promises, as well as our recognition that He has enabled us to remain faithful. We are saying that, “It is too hard for us,” and that “Jesus’ sacrifice is not enough to teach us, not enough to transform our lives.” We need to get back to recognizing ALL of God’s Word as our holy covenant with Him, and when we abandon any part of it, we are saying that Jesus coming to fulfill the Old Covenant is meaningless to us, and we no longer have to obey Him. But to obey Him is to love Him, and if we cannot do that, how, then, can we love any human being who is seen and sinful, if we cannot obey God Who first loved us and gave Himself for us?
vickifca on January 28, 2012 at 4:58 pm
Thank you, thepearlturtle….you communicated it much better than I ever could….I want ALL of God….Deut. 30:20 says, in part, cleave unto Him, loving Him and obeying Him, for HE IS YOUR LIFE…and so the loving is the motive and reason for obeying, even though we often fail….
and you’re right–how can we not love Him Who has done so very much for us and continues to bless us every day in so many ways???…..I don’t find in Scripture that we can appease God or make up for our wrongs by religious service, but I do find where He wants our love and devotion,
and is pleased and delighted with it…I have found that here is real blessing…and bring real trust because we get to know Him just like any other person….I wish I had learned this sooner in my Christian life…