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MARRIAGE IS PRECIOUS

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.    Marriage has fallen on tough times in the United States.

1.      Some look upon it as a useless arrangement.

2.      Some have perverted it to include gays and lesbians.

3.      Some still practice polygamy, that is, multiple marriages.

4.      Some will marry, divorce, and remarry numerous times in their lives.

 

B.      Regardless of how the world views marriage, the church must continue to see it as:

1.      A God-ordained institution.

2.      A holy institution

3.      A permanent institution

4.      A God-governed institution

 

C.     The title of our lesson this morning is:  “Marriage Is Precious.”  Let’s look at several reasons why this is true.

 

I.                   GOD IS HONORED

 

A.    The only way to truly honor God is by obeying His will

1.      Malachi 1:6

 

A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master:  if then I be a father, where is mine honour:  and if I be a master, where is my fear?  Saith the Lord of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name.

 

2.      Luke 6:46

 

And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

 

B.      In Matthew 19, Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees with a question about marriage.  Jesus takes them back to the beginning and teaches them God’s will for marriage (Matt. 19:3-8).

 

The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause?  And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave unto his wife:  and they twain shall be one flesh?  Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh.  What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.  They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away?  He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives:  but from the beginning it was not so.

 

1.      Jesus corrects the error about divorce by pointing the Pharisees to God’s Word.

2.      Jesus emphasizes to them the permanency of God’s law.  “What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.”

3.      Marriage honors God.  Divorce violates His will.  (NOTE:  Jesus gives one exception to this in Matthew 19:9).

 

 

II.                ALONENESS IS DISSOLVED

 

A.    All of us are familiar with the Biblical account of the creation of Eve.

1.      God brought all of the animals to Adam to see what he would name them (Gen. 2:19).

2.      “…but for Adam there was not a help meet for him” (Gen. 2:20).

3.      God’s solution was the creation of Eve and marriage for the first couple (Gen. 2:21-24).

 

And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept:  and he took one of his ribs, and close up the flesh instead thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.  And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh:  she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.  Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife:  and they shall be one flesh.

 

B.      Rather than entering into marriage, many have sought to solve their aloneness by simply living together.

1.      This not God’s plan.

2.      Instead of creating a holy union, it creates a sinful situation (Heb. 13:4).

 

Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled:  but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.

 

3.      Aloneness is better in the sight of God than companionship that will cause one to lose his/her soul.

 

III.             CHILDREN ARE PRODUCED

 

A.    God chose the institution of marriage to provide a lawful place for a man and woman to have a sexual relationship (I Cor. 7:8-9).

 

I say therefore to the unmarried and widows, It is good for them if they abide even as I.  But if they cannot contain, let them marry:  for it is better to marry than to burn.

 

B.      In this relationship, children are supposed to be produce

1.      Sexual relationships outside of marriage are sinful and are condemn in Scripture.

a.      They involve sin:  fornication and adultery.

b.      They produce children who will often only have one parent to raise them, often

below the poverty line.

c.       2011 statistics

1)      Out of the 4.1 million women who gave birth, 36% (1,476,000) were out of

     wedlock.

2)      Of youth between the ages of 15 to 19 who have birth, 86.1% were unmarried.

d.      2012 statistics

1)      Blacks (72.25)

2)      American Indians (66.9%)

3)      Hispanics (53:5%)

4)      Whites (29.4%)

5)      Asians (17.1%)

2.      We must get back to teaching our youth the Biblical view of marriage and child-bearing (I Tim. 5:14).

 

I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.

 

a.      Children populate the earth.

b.      Children teach parents lessons and mature them for leadership positions.

c.       Children bring joy to those who have them.

d.      Children provide a very positive field of evangelism.

e.       Children help to provide care for aging parents.

f.        Children keep a family lineage on the earth.

g.      Children help to push our achievements to greater heights.

 

IV.             SOCIETY IS STRENGTHENED

 

A.    The fundamental unit of every society is the home.

 

B.      There is an old wise saying that states:  “As goes the home, so goes the nation.”

 

C.     Comparison:

 

The Home                                                                        The Nation

           

1.      Forgettting God                                                    1.  Forgetting God

2.      Low morals                                                          2.  Low morals

3.      Deep in debt                                                         3.  Deep in debt

4.      Poor leadership                                                    4.  Poor leadership

5.      Materialistic                                                          5.  Materialistic

6.      Poor work ethic                                                    6.  Poor work ethic

7.      Selfish                                                                   7.  Selfish

8.      Few traditions                                                      8.  Few traditions

9.      Crumbling                                                                        9.  Crumbling

 

D.    Psalm 128:1-6

 

Blessed is every one that feareth the Lord; that walketh in his ways.  For thou shalt eat the labor of thine hands:  happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee.  Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house:  thy children like olive plants round about thy table.  Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the Lord.  The Lord shall bless thee out of Zion:  and thou shalt see the good of Jerusalem all the days of they life.  Yea, thou shalt see thy children’s children, and peace upon Israel.

 

V.                CHRIST AND THE CHURCH ARE EXEMPLIFIED

 

A.    Our marriages should be a picture of Christ and the church.

 

B.      We learn this in Ephesians 5 as Paul teaches about the relationship between the husband and the wife.

1.      The husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church (v. 23).

2.      As the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives to their own husbands (v. 24).

3.      Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also love the church (v. 25).

4.      Ephesians 5:32

 

This is a great mystery:  but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

C.     If two people truly understand the relationship between Christ and the church, their homes can be a blessing to them.  All they have to do is practice that same relationship in their home.

 

D.    We like to blame the church for the loss of our young people.  However, the blame should be placed upon our homes because our marriages do not reflect the relationship between Christ and the church.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.    Regardless of what the godless have to say, the marriage is still a very precious institution.

 

B.      Marriage is precious for numerous reasons:

1.      Because in marriage God is honored.

2.      Because it solves man’s aloneness.

3.      Because it is the place where children are produced.

4.      Because in marriage society is strengthened.

5.      Because in marriage Christ and the church are reflected.

 

C.     May none of us take marriage for granted.  May we never look upon it lightly.  May we all teach our children and grandchildren just how precious marriage really is.