“The Meaning Of Marriage”
Matthew 19:1-12
Sermon Series: “Modern Family”
Introduction: Charles Colson wrote the following about marriage several years ago, and his words have turned out to be prophetic, “Many Americans no longer treat marriage as a moral commitment with its own definition and nature, a commitment that makes objective demands of us, regardless of what we might prefer. Instead, marriage is regarded as a social construction, as something one can define according to one’s own preferences.” If you do not believe that is true, consider this comparison between these two definitions. This is the definition of marriage in the 1828 Webster’s Dictionary: “The act of uniting a man and woman for life; wedlock; the legal union of a man and woman for life. Marriage is a contract both civil and religious, by which the parties engage to live together in mutual affection and fidelity, till death shall separate them. Marriage was instituted by God himself for the purpose of preventing the promiscuous intercourse of the sexes, for promoting domestic felicity, and for securing the maintenance and education of children.” Dictionary.com now defines it as “any of the diverse forms of interpersonal union established in various parts of the world to form a familial bond that is recognized legally, religiously, or socially, granting the participating partners mutual conjugal rights and responsibilities and including, for example, opposite-sex marriage, same-sex marriage, plural marriage, and arranged marriage.” So, what does marriage even mean and how do we know? Well, I believe we listen to the one who rose from the dead, Jesus Christ. Here is how He explains the meaning of marriage and its application to our lives.
1. Jesus defines marriage according to Scripture (v. 4). This is the implication of the phrase, “Have you not read?” and Jesus quoting from Genesis 2. This implies that:
A. Scripture is true.
B. Scripture is authoritative.
C. Scripture must be read, believed, and obeyed.
2. Jesus teaches us that God designed marriage and built it into the very fabric of creation (v. 4-5). God created humans as male and female for the purpose of marriage. He designed our bodies in such a way to enable the propagation of the human race. As the designer of marriage, He is the authority over marriages.
3. God defines marriage as: Leaving + Joining + Consummating = Marriage (v. 5).
A. Leaving
B. Joining-That text says that a man shall….”be joined to his wife.” It means to “cling to someone in affection and loyalty” (Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament). John MacArthur refers to it as being “stuck together” or “permanently superglued together.” The language refers to the making of a covenant that could not righteously be voided.
C. Consummating
4. God declares marriage to be a permanent covenant between a man and a woman and Him (v. 5-10). Proverbs 2:17 speaks of a woman “who forsakes the companion of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her God.” This shows that polygamy is wrong. It shows that homosexuality is wrong. It makes it clear that marital unfaithfulness is wrong. Jesus is very clear that divorce is wrong.
Conclusion: We are called to define, build, and function in our marriage relationships according to the Word of God and not the claims of culture. Adrian Rogers used to say, “I would rather have the truth that cuts and then heals than a lie that comforts and then kills.”
