Following Scripture, our Confession sets certain boundaries around marriage. A marriage is between one man and one woman, it should be inside the faith and outside the family, and it should last as long as both parties live. The validity of the marriage covenant rests on the mutual commitment of man and wife, not on the permission of the state, or church, or families. God declares the married couple one flesh and protects their love with the Seventh Commandment against adultery. God himself established the purposes of marriage. First, it is for mutual help -- to provide a basic society for communication, economic cooperation, help in trouble, and spiritual help. Second, to provide the best social context for the bearing and raising of children according to God's command to increase and multiply. Third, the children of believers are to be a holy seed for the church. And fourth, marriage provides protection against temptations to sexual immorality. The Bible's rule concerning sex is good inside marriage, bad outside. Love between man and woman is so good that it has its own book of the Bible, the Song of Songs. It is so good that a marriage festival was the site of Jesus' first miracle. Marriage casts a bright shadow of the love between Christ and His Church. So let each husband see to it that he loves his wife as Christ loves the church; and each wife see to it that she fears her husband. |
