Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Gospel Lesson just read, from Mark 10. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- It may seem somewhat remarkable to us that the authorities within the church should include Scripture readings for a Sunday in the church year that deal with “marriage.” There are only 52 Sundays in the year – surely there are 52 topics in Holy Scripture which are more important than “marriage.” So we think in times where marriage has been so devalued as to become virtually “optional” to many.
- I can only reflect upon how people have viewed marriage through the course of my adult life – and I am fairly certain that people don’t change much. However, circumstances and social expectations certainly do change – as they have dramatically over the past 40 or 50 years, especially in regard to marriage.
- Divorce was rather uncommon when I was younger – and a stigma attached to those who were divorced, whether they instigated the divorce or merely suffered it. And living together – well only those who far outside the pale of common decency would have considered it.
- But all of this began changing with the “sexual revolution” of the 60’s and 70’s. With affluence came the economic possibility of divorce, and with the erosion of social values marriage began to be viewed as a mere “social convention,” rather than the foundation of society and a precious gift from God.
- What has transpired along with this revolutionary change? First, the hateful and murderous practice of abortion – to do away with the unwanted “product” of immorality. Second, an epidemic of divorce. Third, an epidemic of people living together outside of marriage, so that the majority of children being born in America today are born “outside of wedlock.”
- Subsidiary “collateral damage” includes an increase of children living in poverty, an increase of drug addiction, an increase of incarceration, an increase in gangs and gang violence, a struggle to educate our children, and an increase in suicide. And these are but a few of the social woes that have infested American society over the past few decades – there are many more.
- And we should understand that there is a direct line of causation for these increased woes – the rejection of traditional, biblical marriage as foundational to a healthy and robust society. This was predictable – for God’s Word is wisdom, and whenever God’s Word is rejected and human wisdom is predominant, troubles will multiply and God’s judgment is imposed.
- We are currently experiencing this – although many [principally those who insist upon freedom from God and freedom to live immorally] refuse to acknowledge that anything is drastically wrong. But anyone with even a degree of objectivity – or who ingests the news – knows that our problems are multiplying, even threatening our liberty and life in America.
- It is not coincidental that immediately following Jesus’ words in our text in regard to marriage that we see Him touching and blessing little children – and emphasizing their great value and importance. One of the principle purposes of marriage is to protect and insure the safety and well-being of children – a concept that selfish people ignore and even reject despite the massive evidence of the deleterious effect of divorce on children. They reject the clear evidence because it stands in the way of them getting to do what they want regardless of the pain it causes others, including especially their own children.
- So I bid you to consider the Word of God in regard to marriage – as spoken by our dear Lord Jesus Christ, the One in Whom we trust for forgiveness and salvation. And I bid you to allow His Word to be pressed into your hearts and minds – so that we can more forcefully and effectively advocate for the healing of our society, and bring greater blessing back to our fellow citizens, beginning within the church! We must understand:
I. First, Marriage Is The Most Important Blessing In Our Earthly, Physical Life – And It Is Intended For A Lifetime
Text: “From the beginning of creation ‘God made them male and female.’ Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”
A. Marriage Is God’s Gift – Part Of His Creation And Blessing Of Mankind
Text: “God made them male and female.
1. God joins together
Text: “What God has joined together.”
2. God makes husband and wife into one flesh
Text: “So they are no longer two but one flesh.”
3. No human is to separate or destroy God’s work
Text: “What God has joined together, let not man separate.”
B. But After The Fall Into Sin There Is Hardness Of Heart That Perverts And Destroys This Blessing Of God
1. There is sexual immorality, fornication, adultery, and divorce
Text: “Pharisees came up and in order to test Jesus asked, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife?’ He answered them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ They said, ‘Moses allowed a man to write a certificate of divorce and to send her away.’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment, but from the beginning it was not so.’”
2. There is also desertion of spouses, by unbelievers – as the Apostle Paul describes in 1 Corinthians 7
3. And we have difficulty forgiving one another, especially in this closest relationship of marriage
Statement: Because of sin, our first questions about marriage often have to do with our rights and prerogatives within marriage – including our options for getting out of marriage. Today we don’t even have to consider this when contemplating marriage – for it is accepted and assumed that we can get out of our marriage if we don’t like it; many have already done so and there is no real stigma attached for doing so. This demonstrates, quite frankly, the incredible “hardness of heart” that is within us. And it is remarkable that we not only do not see this as hardness of heart, but we fully accept that this is the way it ought to be. Oh yes, we may still consider it regrettable when people divorce, but we believe that it is far worse to have to remain in a marriage when people are unhappy.
Application: So we need to understand how far we have fallen away from God’s view of marriage, and the blessedness He wills for us to have through marriage. Marriage is so sacred to God that Jesus says: “Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her, and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery.” And we should remember that under the Old Testament civil law, adultery carried the same punishment as murder – the death penalty.
As an aside, many Christians are abhorred now with the legality of “gay marriage” – which is utterly unthinkable and an oxymoron in Scripture’s context. The cause of the legalization of homosexual marriage is not “homosexuality,” but rather the degradation of heterosexual marriage – and our utter disregard for the true value and preciousness of marriage. For most people – of whom 95 plus percent are heterosexual – biblical marriage is so poorly understood, and rejected, that it actually makes sense to them to allow for homosexual marriage. They simply cannot see any significant difference. And perhaps we are somewhat to blame – in that divorce and an erosion of the value of marriage has also infected the church!
Transition: But all is not lost, for God is a God of gracious mercy and forgiveness and healing, and:
II. In God’s Grace There Is Healing And Balm For Marriage
A. We Have God’s Forgiveness For All Of Our Sins – Including Sins Against His Gift Of Marriage
1 John 1:7 “The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
Rom. 5:20 “Where sin abounded grace abounded all the more.”
B. Our Forgiveness Of One Another, Especially Within Marriage, Is Powered By Our Experience Of God’s Forgiveness
1 John 4:19 “We love because He first loved us.”
Eph. 4:32 “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
C. So Forgiveness And Love Reconciles Us To One Another – Even Within Marriage – Keeping The Glue Intact And Strong
1 Pet. 4:8 “Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.”
D. And God Especially Loves Children – Let Us Remember This, So That We Also Love Them, And Have This As Motivation To Keep God’s Will For Marriage
Text: “Let the children come to Me; do not hinder them, for to such belongs the Kingdom of God.”
Statement: This is one of the purposes of God’s redemption in Christ Jesus, not only that we be comforted in our own guilt and reassured Of God’s continuing forgiveness and love, but also that we learn to love one another as He has loved us, and in a fallen world of sin this means forgiving one another, loving so as to cover over one another’s sins. Whoever forgets this, or ignores it and refuses to forgive and love is despising and rejecting God’s forgiveness. So our faith is a powerful force in keeping our marriage intact and strong – so that we may be blessed to do God’s will and suffocate our own sinful impulses.
Application: And God wills for our blessedness in marriage also for the sake of the children – who are very precious to Him. It is also a fact that divorce tends to erode children’s faith in Jesus, and moves them further away from God. The statistics for happiness and success in marriage for children of divorced couples are dismal. We must remember that our decisions – which we myopically consider to be completely personal – have wide ranging and long lasting impact on others – especially our children and grandchildren!
Conclusion: We should remember what God says about divorce: “’I hate divorce,’ says the LORD God of Israel. ‘I hate the person who covers himself with violence,’ says the LORD of Hosts. ‘Be careful not to be unfaithful.’” [Malachi 2:16] Not only should we recognize the good blessings that God seeks to provide to us within marriage, we must also take full understanding of the horrid evil – the violence and hatred – that is involved in divorce.
Understand then the wretched times in which we live – and the source and cause, that not only is marriage violated by so many, but that it is not even properly understood. And if we as Christians do not understand it and receive it as God’s great blessing, how will those around us come to understand and cherish it? And if the culture and society around us rejects it, the problems and troubles within our society will only continue to grow and multiply. Man is far less capable of solving social problems than God is – and the past 50 years in America bears abundant evidence of that fact!
Let us start with ourselves, our own hearts. Then let us pray for others – first within the church, and then our fellow citizens. Then let us work to help others see the wisdom of God’s Word. There may yet be hope – for God has steadfast love and mercy, and He still loves the children, including each and every one of us. Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.