God’s Marriage Law

Wedding rings

There is much confusion and controversy today about marriage. Many believe they can marry whoever they want, define marriage however they want, and end it whenever they want. But God instituted marriage; therefore, His laws define and regulate it. Let us consider what the Bible teaches about God’s marriage law.

To begin, notice what Jesus taught on the subject:

“Some Pharisees came up to Jesus, testing Him, and began to question Him whether it was lawful for a man to divorce a wife. And He answered and said to them, ‘What did Moses command you?’ They said, ‘Moses permitted a man to write a certificate of divorce and send her away.’ But Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of creation, God made them male and female. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, and the two shall become one flesh; so they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.’

“In the house the disciples began questioning Him about this again. And He said to them, ‘Whoever divorces his wife and marries another woman commits adultery against her; and if she herself divorces her husband and marries another man, she is committing adultery’” (Mark 10:2-12).

Continue Reading

“Chaste and Respectful Behavior” in Our Modern Age

Kendell_Jones

Kendall Jones, a teenage girl from Texas, has recently received some attention over pictures that have appeared online from her hunting trips to Africa, showing her with various animals that she has killed. Understandably, people will have different opinions about whether someone should be hunting such animals. However, some of the reactions to these pictures are disturbing to say the least.

One of the disturbing reactions has come from Mike Dickinson – a Democrat politician running for Congress in Virginia. He has offered $100,000 for nude photos or videos of this teenage girl.
Continue Reading

The Character of the Excellent Wife

Virtuous Woman

Many read the passage in Proverbs 31 of the “excellent wife” or the “virtuous woman” (KJV) and assume that the wise man is describing the ideal woman who does not exist in reality. However, even though culture and technology have changed since the time of the book of Proverbs, the “excellent wife” today is going to have the same focus as the one described in the following passage – fearing God, supporting her husband, serving her family, and helping others. There can be no change in culture or technology that would rightly call for a shift in focus from these four fundamental areas. Rather than think of the “excellent wife” of Proverbs 31 as an ideal that only exists in abstract terms, women today must look at her and see how they might imitate her in their lives.
Continue Reading

The Foundation for a Godly Society

Moses and the Ten CommandmentsThe Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) – the laws engraved onto stone which God delivered to Moses for the children of Israel – give us the blueprint for the foundation of any godly or righteous society. These Ten Commandments are regularly assaulted by those on the “left” as having no place in our government or our schools. The stated reason for their opposition is that the Ten Commandments represent a religious element that has no place in anything related to government. Yet the Ten Commandments represent more than just religion. The reason there is such strong opposition to the display of the Ten Commandments by the “left” is because the Ten Commandments stand in direct opposition to the Liberal’s ideal for society.

Many today view the Ten Commandments as part of the foundation of our religion. Yet they are part of the Old Law which was nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14). Does this mean they are of no value for us today? Certainly not! But we must use them properly. The Old Testament was written and is preserved “for our instruction” (Romans 15:4). When we study the Ten Commandments, we find the foundations of a godly society.
Continue Reading

Bringing Up Children in the Lord (Part 2): The Home in Which Children are Raised

Bringing Up Children in the Lord

“God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. God blessed them; and God said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth…” (Genesis 1:27-28).

God’s plan from the beginning was for a man and a woman to “be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28). By God’s design, the bringing forth of children would be carried out in marriage (Genesis 2:24). Unfortunately, this does not always work out – either through sin or tragedy – then single parents or other caretakers are left to do the best they can for the children. But the Scriptures emphasize marriage and the home. We must as well.
Continue Reading

Taking Along a Believing Wife

Couple Holding a Bible

In Paul’s first epistle to the Corinthians, he told them of the Lord’s intention that preachers be paid for their labor in the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:14). In this discussion about support for the work of preaching, Paul also had something to say about preachers’ wives:

“Do we not have a right to eat and drink? Do we not have a right to take along a believing wife, even as the rest of the apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas? Or do only Barnabas and I not have a right to refrain from working?” (1 Corinthians 9:4-6).

Paul was not married (1 Corinthians 7:8), yet many of his fellow-preachers were. The apostle, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, told the brethren in Corinth that those who preach have just as much of “a right to take along a believing wife” as they do to “get their living from the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:5, 14).

In this brief article, I want us to consider three lessons that are implied in the “right to take along a believing wife.” Though Paul was specifically addressing those who dedicate their lives to preaching, we will also consider principles that apply more broadly – to those who would support preachers in their work and to those who would marry. So let us consider these three lessons.
Continue Reading

Audio: The Entitlement Mentality

Our society has developed an “entitlement mentality” – particularly among the young, but anyone can be guilty of thinking that because they exist, they are “entitled” to certain things. The Israelites adopted this mindset in Egypt. Though they suffered and God delivered them, they often complained about not having what they thought they should have.

The “entitlement mentality” is contrary to certain characteristics we are to have as God’s people – contentment in what God has provided and submission to God’s will rather than seeking our own will. In this lesson we will consider some things that many believe they are “entitled” to today and contrast that belief with Scripture.
Continue Reading