A man and woman choose to marry to be one flesh and to have children, and erotic love is only lawful between a man and woman who are married. The wedding bed is from God, and so is passion:
Your stature is like a palm tree; your breasts are clusters of fruit. I said, “I will climb the palm tree; I will take hold of its fruit.” May your breasts be like clusters of the vine, the fragrance of your breath like apples, and your mouth like the finest wine. (Song of Solomon 7:7-9)
God created marriage, passion, and sexual intercourse. What if we invented something that we intended to be used for good, and then people started using it for evil? We would probably be angry. God created sexual pleasure for a man and woman who are married. It’s not to be used for people’s personal pleasure, even though sexual immorality is rampant in this world. Sadly, sexual sin will probably be the number one thing that will lead people to destruction.
God is the master craftsman who created the male and female form in its beauty:
The curves of your thighs are like jewels, the handiwork of a master. (Song of Solomon 7:1)
In full bloom, our bodies are the handiwork of the Master. Now let’s go to 1 Corinthians 7, which tells us everything we need to know about marriage.
But because there is so much sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband. (1 Corinthians 7:2)
Jesus Christ said the last days would be like the days of Noah. People were marrying and being given in marriage.
Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man: People were eating and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. (Luke 17:26-27)
This isn’t to say marriage is a bad thing, we just need to stay watchful as we head closer to the end of time. Let’s continue in 1 Corinthians 7:
Now to the unmarried and widows I say this: It is good for them to remain unmarried, as I am. (1 Corinthians 7:8)
When something is repeated in the Bible, the more important it is. The apostle Paul repeats this phrase four times in this chapter. So, should we consider marriage? But let’s not worry, Paul goes on to tell us that if we choose to marry, we haven’t sinned. But then he says, “What I’m saying brothers is the time is short.” If the time was short when the apostle Paul said this, how much more now. Paul said this in the context of marriage. He said that those who have wives should live as if they had none, and those without wives should not look for a wife. But for those who can’t control themselves, it’s better to marry than to burn with passion:
But if they cannot control themselves, let them marry. For it is better to marry than to burn with passion. (1 Corinthians 7:9)
Once we’re married, we’re married for life, for better or for worse. God takes this very seriously because we enter into a covenant with our spouse like we did with him when we came to believe in Christ. Let’s listen to God:
“For I hate divorce,” says the LORD, the God of Israel. “He who divorces his wife covers his garment with violence,” says the LORD of Hosts. So, guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith. (Malachi 2:16)
God hates divorce. The end of the scripture says not to break faith. With what? Let’s go back to verse 15:
So, guard yourselves in your spirit and do not break faith with the wife of your youth.
When Jesus talked about divorce and adultery, the disciples responded:
His disciples said to Him, “If this is the case between a man and his wife, it is better not to marry.” (Matthew 19:10)
In the context of divorce and adultery, this scripture is true. Here’s Jesus’s response to them:
“Not everyone can accept this word,” He replied, “but only those to whom it has been given. (Matthew 19:11)
This is true. Some will marry anyway only to learn the hard way. Here’s Jesus again in Matthew 19:12.
Others live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.
If a man or woman chooses to devote their lives for the sake of serving the Lord like the apostle Paul and others, then that’s their choice. The word eunuch might put some men off. It may make them feel inferior or like a lesser man. But let’s listen to God again:
Let no foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say, “The LORD will utterly exclude me from His people.” And let the eunuch not say, “I am but a dry tree.” (Isaiah 56:3)
A man should know that if he lives the single life for the Lord, he is still a man and could be a man to a woman if he chose to get married. The same is true for a woman who lives for the Lord. The apostle Paul knew he had the right to marry if he wanted:
Have we no right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas? (1 Corinthians 9:5)
God never forbids marriage. Satan and the teaching of demons are the only thing that forbids marriage. Let’s read what the doctrine of demons says:
They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. (1 Timothy 4:3)
Hundreds of years ago, the Catholic Church made it so priests couldn’t marry. They did this because when a priest died, their wives would continue to receive benefits. So, out of greed, the Church forbade marriage for priests. But this led to something worse. When marriage is forbidden, it leads to sexual immorality, not only in Roman Catholicism, but also in many Protestant churches.
When Jesus came, he chose married disciples and unmarried disciples. So, in this age, if believers decide to get married, Jesus will not only come to the wedding, but he’ll also provide the wine, even if he knows they’ll have trouble. God will bless their decision because he created marriage.
For every creation of God is good, and nothing that is received with thanksgiving should be rejected, because it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. (1 Timothy 4:4-5)
Futile World 