In Defense Of Marriage

In Defense of Marriage

Matt 19:1 (KJS) And it came to pass, [that] when Jesus had finished these sayings, he departed from Galilee, and came into the coasts of Judaea beyond Jordan; 2 And great multitudes followed him; and he healed them there. 3 The Pharisees also came unto him, tempting him, and saying unto him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife for every cause? 4 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made [them] at the beginning made them male and female, 5 And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? 6 Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.

The attitude toward marriage today was revealed in the office of a marriage counselor when a young woman said, "When I got married I was looking for an ideal but I married an ordeal and now I want a new deal!"

A Loving Spouse: A woman accompanied her husband to the doctor’s office for a checkup. Afterwards, the doctor took the wife aside and said, "Unless you do the following things, your husband will surely die."

The good doctor then said, "Here’s what you need to do. Every morning make sure he gets a good healthy breakfast. Have him come home for lunch each day so you can feed him a well-balanced meal. Make sure you feed him a good, hot dinner every night and don’t overburden him with any household chores. Also, keep the house spotless and clean so he doesn’t get exposed to any unnecessary germs." On the way home, the husband asked his wife what the doctor said.

She replied, "You’re going to die." --American Health, March 1992, p. 73.

A doctor was talking to my wife about my condition when I was in the hospital for a checkup. "I don’t like the looks of your husband," he said.

"I don’t either," the woman said, "but I could have done worse. He has a good job and is nice to the children.

Whenever a fellow opens the door of a car for his wife, you can either assume that the car is new or the wife is new. There is that tendency to take one another for granted, and we husbands need to be aware of that. Somebody once said, "Before a man gets married, he lies awake in bed all night thinking about what his beloved said. After they are married, he falls asleep before she has finished saying it. " I suspect that many of you can identify with that. There is that continuing need for romance in marriage.

I. Let me begin by defining marriage - Marriage is the bonding, legally and before God of a man and woman into a relationship that is physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.

II. As an instituition marriage is under an incredible attack on every side. Researchers say America will experience a continued, slow growth in the proportion of adults who reject moral absolutes until the turn of the century at which time there will be virtually no growth potential left untapped for moral relativity. Expect to live in an era of moral anarchy, in which anything goes and, void of a core of truths which may act as the standard for evaluation and response, there is little hope, other than spiritual revival, for a recovery of morality and decency. The essentiality of marriage is being questioned. Young people, middle aged, and elders are cohabiting without marriage. Some of them are people who know better and who are influencing the minds of a generation that is following after them. As a pastor, concerned for the well being and maintenance of our family structures, I must raise a standard of righteousness and warning.

III. Pre-marital relationships

A. In his book Marriage Savers, nationally syndicated columnist Michael McManus noted, "Of 100 couples who begin living together, 40 will break up before marriage. And of the 60 who marry, at least 45 will divorce. That leaves only 15 intact marriages out of the original 100 couples."

B. If a couple abstained from sex before marriage, they are 29 to 47 percent more likely to enjoy sex afterward. A recent study by the Family Research Council titled What’s Marriage Got To Do With It? found "72 percent of all married ’traditionalists’ (those who strongly believe out-of-wedlock sex is wrong) report high sexual satisfaction. This is roughly 31 percentage points higher than the level registered by unmarried ’non-traditionalists.’ "

C. Another source reported, "It was those with the least sexual experience who were more likely to report their marriage as always warm and supportive”