Does Marriage Still Matter?

Marriage Matters

Text: Matthew 19:1–7 (ESV)

Now when Jesus had finished these sayings, he went away from Galilee and entered the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. 2 And large crowds followed him, and he healed them there. 

3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” 4 He answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

The Pharisees question, “Jesus, does marriage really matter?”

Jesus answers…  “What did God call good in the beginning?”

  • Male & Female — A season for identity 
  • Leave & Cleave — A season for interdependence
  • Fruitful & Multiply — A season for increase 

Does marriage belong to God or does it belong to man?

Three Trends

  • Couples are waiting longer to get married  
  • Traditional views on marriage have changed
  • Alternatives to marriage are emerging 

Does marriage matter any more?

 “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female” (vs 4)

BEFORE IT MATTERED TO YOU, IT MATTERED TO GOD

Marriage was God’s idea

Then the Lord God said, “It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him” (Genesis 2:18, ESV).

  • Marriage is from GOD
  • Marriage is GOOD

Three keywords:

Alone (bǎḏ) – by ones self 

– Adam had fulfilling relationship with God

– Adam did not have a fulfilling relationship with another like himself 

Helper – (ʿē·zěr) Help, Assist, Strength 

– Eve was to help by adding strength to Adam

Fit – (ně·ḡěḏ) that which is opposite, that which corresponds

Marriage is fulfilling when we come alongside each other and lend our strength. It is frustrating when we stand opposite and redirect our strength.  

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh.” (5-6).

BEFORE & AFTER THE “I DO” IT MATTERS FOR YOU

  • Your parents’ marriage mattered to you
  • Your marriage matters to you and your spouse
  • Your marriage matters to your children

Two Blessed Seasons In Life

  • The Blessedness Of Singleness

“The unmarried [man/woman] is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 7:32, ESV)

  • Singleness is a gift from God (1 Cor 7:7)
  • Singleness has a purpose (1 Cor 7:32) 
  • The Blessedness of Togetherness

“And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:12).

Marriage Math

1 + 1 = 2 but 1 + 1 + 1 = ONE

Move from INDIVIDUAL IDENTITY to INTERDEPENDENCE  

Interdependence – mutual dependance of two parties in order to multiply your individual efforts

“What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” (Vs 6)

EVEN IF THEY WILL NOT RECOGNIZE IT, MARRIAGE MATTERS TO OUR COMMUNITY

Marriage is not a state right… it is a sacred right

“Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous” (Hebrews 13:4 (ESV).

Nearly every issue facing our culture today can be traced back to the lack of honor towards marriage 

Restoring Honor

IN A SEASON OF SINGLENESS

Singleness is a gift from God to find your individual identity in Christ

  • Grow in SPIRIT
  • Grow in SIGHT
  • Grow in SELFLESSNESS
  • Grow in STRENGTH

IN A SEASON OF TOGETHERNESS

Togetherness is a gift from God where you discover the strength interdependence 

  • Pray Together
  • Praise Together
  • Play Together
  • Being PURE together
  • Pursue together
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