Remember – this website is more like a very public “OneNote” than it is anything else. I post notes and thoughts for myself for latter consideration and I do so in the hope that they might make you think about, and subsequently share your thoughts, on that which I ponder. My thoughts aren’t right or wrong – they’re opinions. And you know what they say about opinions.
If you read these pages, you know that I am reading the Bible in a year. I’ll be done in 18 or 20 months. I have the large print (I’m old), single column, NLT study Bible. On January 1, I undertook the Bible in a year, I told myself that I would read all the study notes, too. That’s probably why it is taking so long. For every one sentence in red, the scholars write multiple paragraphs. I realize these study notes are not scriptural, but they do provoke thought on that which actually is the Word of God.
Today I am in Matthew 19, where the Pharisees are trying to trap Jesus in a scriptural controversy about marriage and divorce. In verse 3 they ask him, “Should a man be allowed to divorce his wife for just any reason?” Jesus wisely avoids being caught up in their argument about divorce and instead details God’s intention for marriage in verses 4-6:
Haven’t you read the Scriptures?” Jesus replied. “They record that from the beginning ‘God made them male and female.’ ” And he said, “‘This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.’ Since they are no longer two but one, let no one split apart what God has joined together.
Matthew 19:4-6
Just as the Pharisees of Jesus’ time on earth debated marriage and divorce, we continue that debate, and that of LGBTQ issues, today. Same sex marriage continues to be a topic of conversation and controversy. It bristles my libertarian leanings when I hear the talk of government being involved in marriage. If you’re a small government proponent, which I am, you must ask yourself why I need a “license” to be married and why the government must put any sort of stamp of approval on my relationship with my wife at all.
Basically, my relationship with my wife is none of the government’s damned business. But (and that’s a big butt), for matters of legality, insurance, real estate, contracts, etc., my marriage to my wife must be somehow legally recognized. I get it. But it’s still none of the government’s damned business. While it is none of the government’s business, it does matter to God.
Today, some want the church to recognize same sex marriages. Leaving the complex and serious conversation of same sex attraction for another time, let’s just discuss marriage here. When it comes to marriage, Jesus made God’s ideal for the institution very plain: At Creation, He approved one kind of marriage bond, man to woman.
Genesis 1:27
So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.
This is the written account of the descendants of Adam. When God created human beings, he made them to be like himself. He created them male and female, and he blessed them and called them “human.”
Genesis 5:1-2
Not gender fluid. Not non-binary. Not xey/xem. Male and female. These two became one flesh – one before God.
Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is just right for him.” So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. While the man slept, the Lord God took out one of the man’s ribs and closed up the opening. Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib, and he brought her to the man. “At last!” the man exclaimed. “This one is bone from my bone, and flesh from my flesh! She will be called ‘woman,’ because she was taken from ‘man.’” This explains why a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.
Genesis 2:18,21-24
Again, I’ll quote the Apostle Paul in Romans 1, 24-27:
So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.
I have nothing but love in my heart for those who disagree with me – for those who believe in same sex marriage. God gave you free will and you are free to choose to believe as you wish. That does not make your belief the truth. I am just pointing out what the Bible says. You either believe it or you don’t. It is either true or it isn’t. I believe it to believe the ultimate source of truth.
Regarding marriage, this is what the Bible says.
