Sermon Central
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The Defense Of Marriage: What Is God's View?
Contributed by Terry Frazier on Apr 27, 2013 (message contributor)
Summary: America is the midst of a major culture war and a big battle in this war is occurring over marriage: traditional marriage Vs. alternative definitions of marriage such as same sex marriage. What does God have to say about marriage and what its definition s
The Defense Of Marriage: What Is God’s View?
Traditional marriage is under attack like never before. People not only in America but all over the world are debating and arguing over what a marriage is and what a marriage isn’t. As Christians it doesn’t really matter what our opinions of marriage are or whether or not we think that it should be re-defined or not. What should matter to believers like us is what the Bible and God says about marriage and what a marriage is or isn’t.
The Bible clearly defines marriage for anyone who would care to read it for themselves and there really are no gray areas even though some people will attempt to say that there are. Marriage is biblically defined as a holy union ordained by God to be between one man and one woman.
No human being, no act of congress, no one society created marriage. Marriage goes all the way back to Genesis. In Genesis chapter 1 verses 27 and 28 we read this:
27 God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
And also in Genesis chapter 2 verses 21-25 we read this:
21 So the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon the man, and he slept; then He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh at that place. 22 The LORD God fashioned into a woman the rib which He had taken from the man, and brought her to the man. 23 The man said, “This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; She shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” 24 For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother, and be joined to his wife; and they shall become one flesh. 25 And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.
There is a common denominator emerging here. In all the verses of Scripture that I know of marriage is ALWAYS defined as being between a man and a woman.
The debate here in America and elsewhere has centered mainly on the “freedom” to marry no matter what gender the two people may be. Again, there is nowhere in Scripture where any marriage that is described, and there are many marriages described in the bible, where the two people are of the same sex.
To the contrary there are various Scripture references that tell us that same sex partners are unacceptable and sinful. Not any more sinful than sins that relate to heterosexual people but sinful none the less.
In the Old Testament God spoke to us about homosexuality and how it is sinful. In Exodus chapter 18 verse 22 we read this: You must not have sexual intercourse with a male as one has sexual intercourse with a woman; it is a detestable act.
In the New Testament there are also Scripture passages that deal with homosexual behavior and call it sinful. In Romans chapter 1 verses 26-27 we read this: 26 For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged the natural sexual relations for unnatural ones, 27 and likewise the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed in their passions for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
Also in 1st Corinthians chapter 6 verses 9-11 we read this: 9Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
Now I want you to pay special attention to what these verses of Scripture say to us today. Not only that homosexuality is wrong but that Jesus can set gay people free from this sin just like He can set anyone free whatever sin or sins they may be in bondage to. RE-READ VERSE 11
One big point of the same sex marriage debate is to try to get as many people as possible to not only tolerate gay marriage but to accept it and even to try to get us as Christians to embrace it and put it on the same level as marriage that is ordained by God.
