The U.S. Congress and President Joe Biden just defied both Scripture and Jesus with their so-called "Respect for Marriage act, which gave legislative force to same-sex marriage and put religious liberty in jeopardy. In doing so they ignored thousands of years of marriage as defined by our Creator, and affirmed by Jesus in Matthew 19. Concerning this original model of marriage Jesus also warned, let not man put asunder (Matthew 19:6).
Jesus
Affirms the Genesis Model of Marriage
Jesus’ clear
statement on marriage emerges in a conversation with the Pharisees about
marriage and divorce in Matthew 19. In this discussion, Jesus keeps pointing
them back to marriage as it was, at
the beginning, before the Fall of Genesis 3 and the entry of sin into the
world. He obviously sees in the Genesis account of creation the Divine model
for marriage.
In the Genesis
account, God created a man (Adam) and from his side created a woman (Eve). He
then brought the woman to the man, and she became his companion, equal partner, and
wife. Jesus points out that this original marriage was between a male and female,
saying, Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning “made them
male and female?”
The Genesis writer
sums up this account of the first marriage by saying, Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his
wife, and they shall become one flesh (Genesis 2:24). He thus makes clear that the marriage
of our first parents is the model to be followed by succeeding generations.
In His discussion on marriage, Jesus
quotes Genesis 2:24 and then adds, Therefore, what God has joined together, let not man separate;
or as the KJV reads, “put asunder” (Matthew 19:6).
The Greek scholar,
Marvin A Vincent, points out that the grammatical structure of Jesus’ words
indicate that He is referring to marriage as instituted by God, not a
particular marriage. The noted British New Testament scholar, F.F. Bruce,
agrees, saying that Jesus is not here saying that every marriage is made in
heaven but that “marriage itself is made in heaven” (Bruce, The Hard Sayings
of Jesus, 58).
The
Creator’s Manual for Marriage and Life
In this passage, Jesus
is saying that marriage, as instituted by God, between one woman and one man, is
not to be abrogated or “put asunder” by any human court or institution. If we
do so, it is to our own hurt, for the commands,
guidelines, and patterns given to us by our Creator are for our good.
They are like the
“owner’s manual” that comes with every new vehicle. If we follow the
instructions and guidelines, we will derive the very best service from our
vehicle. If, however, we ignore the instructions in the owner’s manual and the
vehicle breaks down and costs us dearly, we have no one to blame but ourselves.
And so it is with
our Creator’s Manual concerning marriage and morality. The more modern culture
ignores those instructions and tears down the nuclear family and godly marriage,
the more death and chaos we will see on our streets, in our homes, and in society in general. We have
no one to blame but ourselves.
God takes no
pleasure in seeing humanity self-destruct. In the time of Isaiah, Israel had
turned away from Him and the people were experiencing the painful consequences
of their apostasy. Like a parent grieving over the suffering of a wayward son
or daughter, God lamented, If
only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a
river, your well-being like the waves of the sea (Isaiah 48:18).
The
Way Forward from Here
Pastors, teachers,
and preachers in America must begin boldly, and in love, teaching and preaching
the truth to this generation. Only the truth will make us a truly free people,
as Jesus said in John 8:31-32.
We must also pray
for another Great Awakening to sweep across this land. Such an Awakening is a powerful
work of the Holy Spirit awakening hearts and minds to the truth and reality that
is in Jesus.
As documented in
my book, America’s Revival Heritage, at least four such Awakenings have
come at critical times in our nation’s history and saved her from certain ruin
by returning the hearts of the masses back to Him. God says it can happen
again, If My people . . . (II Chrn. 7:14).
Dr. Eddie Hyatt is an author, Bible teacher, and revivalist with a passion to see America return to her founding principles of faith and freedom. His books on revival and other Biblical themes are available from Amazon and his website at http://eddiehyatt.com.
No comments:
Post a Comment