Showing posts with label Marriage. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marriage. Show all posts

Sunday, March 26, 2017

Musings On Lust And Adultery

  • General Points Of Consideration:
          -Marriage is supposed to be the life-long commitment and companionship of one to a partner of the opposite sex. Thus, adultery is wrong for obvious reasons: it is lying and unfair. The lives of people and long-term relationships have come to tragic ends because of adulterous acts. Matters like these cannot simply be downplayed.
          -If fornication and adultery are morally permissible, then why even bother with getting married in the first place?
          -Jesus Christ specifically taught that lusting is equivalent to actually committing adultery and fornication (Matthew 5:28-29). It is a form of idolatry (Colossians 3:5). However, being attracted to a member of the opposite sex is not wrong in of itself. That is natural.
          -We are not to focus on finding ways to indulge our own sinful lusts (Romans 13:14). Sexual temptations are waging war against our souls (1 Peter 2:11).
          -The Apostle Paul instructed women to dress modestly (1 Timothy 2:9). Moreover, Jesus Christ warned against being a stumbling block to others (Matthew 18:6).
  • Measures That Should Be Taken In Conquering Lust (Speaking In A General Sense):
          -Eliminate the source: the best way to get rid of any temptation is to get eliminate the source; you first need to identify with certainty the source(s) of your sexual temptation(s); then, find ways to permanently remove/avoid temptations (to the best of your ability).
          -Prayer: acknowledge God's Lordship; ask for His forgiveness of sin; pray for those who are ensnared by sexual sin.
          -Study: read the Bible and meditate upon the moral principles taught within; spend quality time reflecting on Scripture or memorizing specific verses (Psalm 119).
          -Associate with decent people: though a difficult task, find a group of true Christians who can help steer out of the direction of sexual temptation; carefully examine professing Christians (rather than blindly accepting their mere profession by mouth) because Satan can also use other people as a means to deceive; one might have to cut off contact with other people who live immoral lifestyles (unless they are co-workers, etc.).
          -Take brakes from the television and video games; spend valuable time doing godly things.
          -We are fully capable by God's grace of being victorious over problems with lust, just as Joseph in the Old Testament refused to sleep with his master's wife (Genesis 39:6-21). He was not even married during that time.

Saturday, March 25, 2017

Musings On Marriage And Divorce

        "For the woman who has a husband is bound by the law to her husband as long as he lives. But if the husband dies, she is released from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband lives, she marries another man, she will be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law, so that she is no adulteress, though she has married another man." (Romans 7:2-3)

        People committed to matrimony are, under ordinary circumstances, united until the moment of physical death. If a spouse dies, however, then the living member is free to marry again (1 Corinthians 7:39). God absolutely despises divorce (Malachi 2:16). Therefore, it is best for arguing couples to seek reconciliation. Marriage was instituted by God and so He has authority over it. 

        The best thing to do is marry another Christian, somebody who shares a similar worldview. What a person should be looking at in a potential spouse is their overall doctrine and personality. Thus, it is better to suffer from the pains of loneliness than to make the poor decision of marrying the wrong person! Even a person who claims to be a Christian may be a bad candidate for marriage (Matthew 7:21).

         Some people may have to wait a long time before finally getting married, like Isaac who was forty before he got married (Genesis 25:20). In fact, a person does not have to get married if he or she does not want to. Even Christ spoke of the celibate (Matthew 19:11-12).

Marriage From The Christian Perspective

  • The Biblical Purposes Of Marriage:
          -For human reproduction (Genesis 1:28)
          -Love and companionship (Genesis 2:18)
  • Biblical Description of Marriage: 
          -"And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE", and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh'?" (Matthew 19:4-5)
  • Biblical Responsibilities Of The Husband:
          -According to the Bible, the husband is supposed to show loving leadership over his family (1 Timothy 5:8; 1 Corinthians 11:3; Ephesians 5:25; Colossians 3:19). In other words, he is to exercise authority over his household, be responsible, and thus provide for the needs of the household. The man is meant to be the head of the household.
  • The Functions Of The Wife:
          -The wife is supposed to be the manager of the home, but under the care of the husband (lower not in essence but positionally). For example, she is supposed to care for whatever children are born in wedlock (Titus 2:4-5; 1 Timothy 2:15; 5:14). The wife is free to take on other responsibilities, as long as they do not interfere with her assigned duties and distract the husband from fulfilling his responsibilities.
  • Submission To The Husband Does Not Equal Inferiority Or Lack Of Dignity:
          -Women are not in any way intellectually subordinate in nature or worthy of less respect than men. In other words, both genders posses equal intrinsic value because they were both created in the image and likeness of God. Women are not merely slaves or indentured servants. Women have their own thoughts. They have the same inherent rights and dignity as men. Wives have been called to be voluntarily submissive to their husbands. This "obedience" actually points to the closeness of the two partners in marriage. It is the sharing of a mutual goal; a romantic partnership. It represents the different responsibilities that both leading figures of the family have.
  • The Necessity Of Compromise:
          -In order for a marriage to be successful, both partners must agree to fulfill the necessary obligations that have been assigned to them by God. There has to be necessary conditions for the husband and wife to abide by, for the household cannot stand in a state of contention. One person cannot realistically be expected to complete a job which requires working with other people. Marriage involves personal accountability. Marriage is based on commitment of the spouses to each other. Marriage is based on self-sacrifice.

Friday, February 17, 2017

Is Mandatory Celibacy For Church Leaders A Biblical Custom?

  • Introduction:
          -For centuries, the Church of Rome has enforced strict regulations regarding the marriage of clergymen. Bishops and priests have been required to remain in an unmarried state as long as they practice their profession. But we must ask whether this custom has any biblical basis? Is it lawful for any church to establish as a discipline the prohibition of leaders from having marital relationships? If so, then why? Allow us to examine the validity of this Roman Catholic practice by weighing it against Scripture and history.
  • Consider This Quotation From The Roman Catholic Catechism:
          -"In the Eastern Churches a different discipline has been in force for many centuries: while bishops are chosen solely from among celibates, married men can be ordained as deacons and priests. This practice has long been considered legitimate; these priests exercise a fruitful ministry within their communities. Moreover, priestly celibacy is held in great honor in the Eastern Churches and many priests have freely chosen it for the sake of the Kingdom of God. In the East as in the West a man who has already received the sacrament of Holy Orders can no longer marry." (CCC, 1580).
  • The Second Vatican Council, In Its Decree Presbyterorum Ordinis, On The Ministry And Life Of Priests, Says That The Celibate Life Is:
          -"...not demanded by the very nature of the priesthood, as is apparent from the practice of the early Church(35) and from the traditions of the Eastern Churches, where, besides those who with all the bishops, by a gift of grace, choose to observe celibacy, there are also married priests of highest merit. This holy synod, while it commends ecclesiastical celibacy, in no way intends to alter that different discipline which legitimately flourishes in the Eastern Churches. It permanently exhorts all those who have received the priesthood and marriage to persevere in their holy vocation so that they may fully and generously continue to expend themselves for the sake of the flock commended to them."
  • Consider This Excerpt From The Encyclopedia Britannica: 
          -"The first Lateran Council, the ninth ecumenical council (1123), was held during the reign of Pope Calisto's II; no acts or contemporary accounts survive. The Council promulgated a number of canons (probably 22), many of which merely reiterated decrees of earlier councils. Much of the discussion was occupied with disciplinary or quasi-political decisions relating to the Investiture Controversy settled the previous year by the Concordat of Worms; simony was condemned, laymen ere prohibited from disposing of church property, clerics in major orders were forbidden to marry, and uncanonical consecration of bishops was forbidden. There were no specific dogmatic decrees." (The canons of the First Lateran Council in 1123 AD during the reign of Pope Calixtus II)
          -"Canons 3 and 11 forbid priests, deacons, subdeacons, and monks to marry or to have concubines; it is also forbidden them to keep in their houses any women other than those sanctioned by the ancient canons. Marriages of clerics are null pleno jure, and those who have contracted them are subject to penance."
          -In 1079 AD, celibacy was first enforced for priests and bishops by Pope Gregory VII. Previously, they were permitted to marry.
  • What Does Scripture Say About The Matter?:
          -The New Testament teaches that a bishop (also known as an "elder" or "overseer") can be married and have children (1 Timothy 3:1-5; Titus 1:5-9). In fact, how a man raises his family shows whether he can handle a position of authority in the church. Clergymen at least have the right to make that decision for themselves without being required to give up their ministerial position.
  • Married Church Leaders In The New Testament:
          -The Apostle Peter was married (Matthew 8:14). This is significant because the Roman Catholic Church claims that Peter was its first pope. In addition, the Apostle Paul said that the other apostles (including Peter) and all brethren in the Lord have the right to marriage (1 Corinthians 9:5). Scripture always speaks positively of marriage (Genesis 2:18). It is not as though sex within the confines of marriage makes one unfit to uphold a position of leadership in the church.
  • A Route Into Apostasy:
          -The Holy Spirit warns that "forbidding to marry" and "commanding to abstain from meats" are "doctrines of demons" (1 Timothy 4:1-4). Not only does the Roman Catholic Church forbid its leaders from marriage, but it also teaches adherents to abstain from meats for long periods of time such as Lent. In fact, the Church of Rome used to forbid all of its adherents from eating meat every Friday. However, no elder in the church has any authority to impose these kinds of restrictions on the people of God. Rome has therefore clearly been shown to be in error. These kind of things happen when leaders are not held accountable for their actions.
  • Any Scriptural Support?:
          -Biblical texts such as Matthew 19:11-12 that commend the concept of celibacy say nothing about making an entire profession only to celibate men or women. Rather, they affirm that marriage is a matter of choice. It is simply cruel and arbitrary to make a man choose between being a minister and becoming a husband and father.