Defining Marriage Part 2 - Martin Wiles

I say that a man who divorces his wife, unless she has been unfaithful, causes her to commit adultery. Matthew 5:32 NLT

He looked at me with a serious face and said, “I don’t check my email.”

He was an acquaintance I’d recently met. Our church was going through a transformation process, and he was the initial contact to get the ball rolling. When I asked if I could email him, he said yes but that his wife checked his emails before he saw them. If it was something he needed, she forwarded it to him. This was his choice, not hers. Then he confessed. He had been trapped by pornography on the Internet. Knowing his weakness, he voluntarily chose to leave alone what he knew could destroy his marriage: lust.

Marriage is serious but not a sacrament.

We experience God’s grace in our marriages, but they have no bearing on our relationship with Christ or our eternity in heaven. While God blesses marriages, they don’t save souls eternally.

Sexual activity should be reserved for marriage and with one’s partner.

God calls a violation of this in any form or fashion fornication and adultery. Jesus says if we even look at someone of the opposite sex with lust we’ve been unfaithful in our hearts, even if we haven’t committed an act. Christians have the privilege of demonstrating godly attitudes about sexual relationships through our marriages.

Marriage is for pleasure and procreation.

Adam was sad when there was no one like him. After God married the couple, He told them to populate the earth. Pleasure and procreation. Having children is wonderful but nurturing the relationship with our partner—who will be around when the kids are gone—is vitally important as well.

Marriage is a union of body, soul, and spirit.

God says a man and woman become one through marriage. No longer is it just about our wants, desires, and dreams. We have a partner to consider. Soul refers to the mind, will, and emotions. We are joined to our partner in these areas as well. When both partners are believers, they are also joined in spirit. God’s Spirit lives in both. They operate from a common foundation and can take a journey with God together.

Enjoy the partner God has given you and serve Him together.

Father, thank You for giving me a partner to journey through life with. 

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