When the Pharisees asked
Jesus about divorce, He took them back to “the beginning”, showing them that
God’s plan was one man with one woman becoming one flesh for life. He concluded
His statement with, “Therefore what God has joined together, let not man
separate” (Matthew 19:6).
The devastation that
no-fault divorce has brought on society cannot be estimated. The heart-breaking
consequences of a marriage break-down, particularly on children, cannot be
exaggerated.
But as you go back to
Genesis you find that God has not only joined husbands and wives. There are
other things He puts together that are not to be separated.
Sex and marriage
God’s gift of sex is only to
be enjoyed within the safety of marriage. Think of how much heartache would be
prevented if this was followed.
Despite what people say, sex
is not just a physical act. If a woman got assaulted on her walk through a
park, we would all agree it was terrible, but if she got sexually assaulted, I
think we would all agree that is worse. But why? Because sex is a powerful
emotional act. The act itself speaks volumes – it is the giving of yourself entirely
and exclusively to another. For our emotional safety and flourishing, God says
we are only to enjoy that act within the context of relationship in which we
have committed ourselves entirely and exclusively to another.
Having sex outside the
protection of marriages cheapens it. It means it is not the consummation and
symbol of your entire and exclusive commitment to each other in which each
seeks the good of the other. Instead, it’s just something you do for your own
pleasure – it rises no higher than that. It is also often a condition for a
relationship, which means it is done to keep the partner. That not only
cheapens sex, it cheapens those involved. You are precious and should not be
used for someone’s pleasure. You have no business taking someone’s body without
joining yourself to that person in the covenant of marriage.
Thankfully, if we have
sinned in this regard, there is grace and forgiveness. But let us acknowledge
it as sin and repent of it; let us admit our mistake and learn from it. God has
joined sex and marriage, “let not man separate.”
Parents and
children
Sex makes babies, and babies
deserve to have their mother and father united to each other in the exclusive
commitment of marriage. Keeping sex within marriage means any children that may
be conceived will be brought up with mum and dad, and that is the greatest gift
any child coming into the world could have.
Our society is beginning to
view children as a commodity and a right. Many think that it doesn’t matter if
you are single or in a relationship which by definition is incapable of
producing life – if you want a child you should be able to get one.
The needs of children should
always come before the wants of adults. No adult has a right to get a child. A
child has a right to his or her parents. Often, through death or divorce,
children don’t get to live with their parents, but we should not make a policy
out of tragic circumstances and promote the idea that children don’t need their
parents.
Human value and
the image of God
Human beings have inherent
value, worth and dignity. But that is only because they are created by God in
His image. If we tell people, as one atheist does, that we are “just slime on a
planet”; or as another atheist says, “we are…literally stardust”, or as another
atheist says, “We are machines for propagating DNA… It is every living object's
sole reason for living”, we needn’t be surprised if they feel they have no real
value – the conclusion follows directly from the premise. And there is no way
to get any other conclusion. How do you go from, “just slime,” “literally
stardust,” “machines for propagating DNA” to, “Therefore you are precious, and
you have inalienable human rights”? You can’t get from one to the other.
The Biblical worldview
accounts for our deep intuition and fits with what we know to be true. We are
precious and the reason is we have been made in God’s image.
Husbands and wives, sex and
marriage, children and parents, human value and God’s image – God has joined
them – just keep them together.
