Culture Wars - Marriage
Marriage
Matthew 19:1-11
Sermon Recap
In Matthew 19:1-11, Jesus addresses the
question of divorce, pointing people back to God’s original plan for marriage.
He reminds us that marriage is a sacred union between a man and a woman, meant
to last a lifetime. While human sin has led to brokenness and the allowance of
divorce, God’s ideal design is a lifelong covenant marked by love, unity, and
faithfulness to reflect His relationship with us.
God’s Design for Marriage
God designed marriage as a divine
institution, a covenant between one man and one woman. Marriage is not a legal
contract, but a lifelong, sacrificial relationship (Ephesians 5), meant to
reflect our relationship with Christ. Divorce is a result of fallen humanity,
as the marriage covenant was never meant to be broken.
Our Sin’s Impact on Marriage
The greatest threat to marriage is the sin of
fallen man. Because of the fall, every marriage involves two broken sinners;
God uses marriage to sanctify us into the image of Christ. Our sin ultimately
destroys the divine union in which God has given, no matter if this happens
gradually or in a moment.
Our Responsibility in Marriage
Our call is clear: we must follow Christ with
our whole hearts. Only when we follow Jesus can we love our spouse well. Wives,
as the church submits to Christ, your call is to submit to your husband.
Husbands, as Christ gave his life for the Church, so give your life for your
wife: to love, lead, protect, and provide for her.
Matthew 19:1-11
1 Now when Jesus had finished these sayings,
he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And
large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. 3 And Pharisees came up to
him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any
cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the
beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave
his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one
flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has
joined together, let not man separate.”
7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses
command one to give a certificate of divorce and to send her away?” 8 He said
to them, “Because of your hardness of heart Moses allowed you to divorce your
wives, but from the beginning it was not so. 9 And I say to you: whoever
divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits
adultery.” 10 The disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his
wife, it is better not to marry.” 11 But he said to them, “Not everyone can
receive this saying, but only those to whom it is given.
The
Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001
by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Matthew
19:1-11.
Discussion Questions
1.
What does
being “one flesh” communicate about the depth of marriage?
2.
Where does
culture pressure us to view marriage differently than Scripture does?
3.
What are
subtle ways we can treat marriage as conditional instead of covenantal?
4.
What does it
look like to reflect God’s covenant love in daily life?
5.
How does the
hardness of our hearts damage marriage?
Closing Thoughts
Strong marriages strengthen the community of
God’s people; in a world full of broken marriages and sin, the church must be a
beacon for something better and deeper. Only when the church is living in
faithful community together can marriages truly thrive; while a married couple
is one flesh with each other, we are also all individually members of one
another as the Church.
END
