…as defined by God

In today’s culture our society has now said that marriage can be between a man and a woman, a man and a man or a woman and a woman.  Gods definition of marriage according the Bible, His word to us, is between one man and one woman only. This goes against what our culture today is proclaiming so how do we defend the sanctity of marriage?

First we need to look to the Bible to see what God says. God created us and the Bible is like our instruction manual for living our life as God intended. 

So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

Genesis 1:27-28

And He answered and said to them, “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female,’ and said, For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.”

Matthew 19:4-6

In Genesis we see God created man and woman for the purpose of joining together and multiplying on the earth.  Jesus reaffirmed this in Matthew 19 when the Pharisees asked Him about divorce.    When Jesus says the two become one flesh it is from the Greek word kolláō which means to glue together.  Marriage is a lifelong bond between husband and wife.  Divorce is the separation of the two which if we look closely it literally is the ripping apart or removing the flesh.  If the two become one flesh then divorce is like someone tearing away a part of their own body.

Let’s examine what God is intending from a marriage relationship between a man and woman.  God said to be fruitful and multiply.  One of the reasons for marriage is to reproduce.  When a man and a woman come together to reproduce there is an intimate bond like no other.  A family unit is formed and that family dynamic works best when it functions as God intended.  Divorce rips the family apart and the repercussions impact both the husband and wife and the children.  There is also a permanent connection between the man and women even though they are separated.  

In today’s culture same sex marriage is now legal in many countries.  This however goes completely against what God intended for marriage.  Just on the surface alone we can see that a same sex marriage can never meet the mandate of reproduction.  Even if the couple adopts children, the children have to come from a couple consisting of a man and a woman.  God is also abhorred by the perversion of sex between a man and man or a woman and a woman.  Leviticus 18:22 says “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination.”

It is also important to point out that any sexual relations outside of the bounds of marriage also goes against God’s intentions.  The Bible clearly states that fornication (any sexual activity with two people who are not married) and adultery are against His law.  1 Corinthians 6:9-11 says “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 homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.”  Because marriage is a sacred covenant, any sexual activity that takes place outside of that is clearly a sin and breaks God’s law.

Finally, when marriage vows are taken between a man and a woman, it is a lifelong covenant between that man and woman and God.  Even if the couple does not believe in God, God still sees the vows and holds the couple to them.  Marriage is something to be taken seriously, and even though administered by the government, it is not of the government.  Because marriage has been instituted by God it is not something the government can override and make legal what God has not approved of.  Marriage is sacred and should be treated that way.