“Marriage should be honoured by all, and the marriage bed kept pure”. Heb 13:4–6
Not all here today are married. Some of you are single by choice, and some of you are not. Some of you are not yet of an age to even consider marriage. Yet marriage should be of interest to us all, and held in honour by us all – implying even by those who are not married.
Why?
- Marriage should be honoured because God thought it up. It was His idea, His invention and therefore it is for His glory! He designed and described marriage. Read Gen 1 and 2.
- Marriage should be honoured because God blesses through it. He blesses with the gift of children (Psa 127:3-4), and children in a stable godly marriage find a haven of peace and security in which they are nurtured.
- Marriage should be honoured because God teaches by it. In Eph 5 it is an illustration of how Christ loves the Church, His bride. Therefore a poor attitude to marriage and engagement in facing marriage’s responsibilities is a reflection on Christ and demonstrates a failure to understand and love the gospel.
How?
- Elevate marriage. Speak well of it. Protect it. Teach and preach God’s design for husband and wife.
- Be intentional about marriage – preparing yourself for marriage, and once married in strengthening your marriage. Work at it, don’t look to opt out of it.
- Provide a couple good model marriages to learn from and emulate. Older couples, older women and men, should mentor younger ones.
- Keep the marriage bed pure, free from sexual immorality whatever form that may take – free from lust and sexual sin before marriage (fornication) and within marriage (adultery).
- Stay Christ-centred in your marriage, rejoicing to model your marriage on the relationship of Christ and His church, relying on His grace to redeem your marriage from the impact of sin.