70 likes | 162 Views
“Eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom”. Those who need spiritual focus. For most, godly marriage assists service to God (Genesis 2:18) It’s better than immorality (1 Corinthians 7:2) For some, it presents an unnecessary burden (1 Corinthians 7:7, 35)
E N D
Those who need spiritual focus • For most, godly marriage assists service to God (Genesis 2:18) • It’s better than immorality (1 Corinthians 7:2) • For some, it presents an unnecessary burden (1 Corinthians 7:7, 35) • Even good things must be sacrificed in pursuit of the greater things
Those who have been “put away” • To divorce is to send away • A passive party cannot “divorce” someone from whom he/she is already sent away; he/she is not married or claiming to be married • Such a one is “not under bondage” (1 Corinthians 7:15) to make the marriage work • To marry again would make the second spouse an adulterer (Matthew 5:32)
Those who have been “put away” • Human divorce does not equate to God-sanctioned separation • God requires couples to stay together (Matthew 19:6) • Remarriage equals adultery (Matthew 19:9) because God still validates the first marriage • An innocent victim of fornication gets an implied exception – if that is why he/she is “put away”
Those who have been “put away” • Failed marriages outside of Christ are not given an exception • Herod was an adulterer, though not a believer (Matthew 14:4) • God recognizes marriages between believers and unbelievers (1 Corinthians 7:12-13) • One who ruins his/her future for marriage before conversion must accept sin’s consequences
Those who lack commitment • Commitment to hold marriage in honor (Hebrews 13:4) • Commitment to God’s male/female arrangement (Matthew 19:4) • Commitment to keeping God’s commands when it becomes difficult (Luke 9:62)