Where I Stand : On Marriage

Marriage.  It's a big deal.  Let's think on this for a moment.

In the book of Genesis, we see where God created a man out of the dust of the ground.  But there was a problem.  The man was lonely.  He did not have a companion.

So God caused the man to fall asleep, took out one of his ribs, and made a new creature.  A beautiful being that was quite different from the man.  Then, when he woke up, God brought to him this amazing, new creation.

These are the words of the man when he was united with this new person:  "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man."  Then, in the next verse, we read "That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh."  There we see the beginning of marital love between a man and a woman.  (This scripture is found in Genesis 2:23-24)

Over in the New Testament, Jesus upheld this as the model for what marriage should be.  In Matthew 19:4, He said that God "Who made them in the first place made them man and woman".  In verse 5, He quotes Genesis 2:24 (the verse I quoted in the previous paragraph).  Finally, in verse 6, Jesus says "Let no man divide what God has put together."  Here, in these three verses, Jesus drives home with clarity what marriage is.

In a nutshell, here is a definition of marriage:  A loving relationship between a man and a woman where they stay together faithfully.

God (as always) did a brilliant job in the way He set this up.  Women and men are different from one another; however, they complement each other in a wonderful way.  Physically and emotionally, something great happens when they unite as one in marriage.

More and more these days, some want to redefine marriage.  They advocate men marrying men, and women marrying women.  And currently they may legally do so here in the United States.  While some see this as a good thing, I do not.  As I read the scriptures, this goes against what God wants for marriage; therefore, I oppose same-sex marriage. 

Times are changing.  And so are laws.  That's just how things play out.  But God's Word stays the same today, tomorrow, and forever more.

As long as I am a pastor, I will preach that marriage is for a man and a woman.  This will not change.

As long as I am a pastor, I will do weddings for couples that consist of one man and one woman.  This will not change. 

And as long as I am a pastor, I will do my best, with God's help, to encourage and minister to married couples through the ups and downs of life.  This will not change.

That is where I stand on marriage.