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
“Let marriage be held in honor” is the New Testament’s positive restatement of the old covenant command in Exodus 20:14 “You shall not commit adultery.” For God’s goal in that command is that Israel would value and cherish and protect marriage from the destruction brought by the sin of adultery. Adultery is not a “stand alone” sin. It’s about more than just keeping your hands off another man’s wife or another woman’s husband. It’s about treasuring and protecting marriage because marriage matters. Adultery matters because marriage matters.
As with all of the Ten Commandments, there is more for us to learn here than just what we ought not to do. There are values and joys we need to embrace for the good of our families, the health of our nation and the greater joy of our lives in Christ. Marriage must be honored because marriage is God’s good gift created by him to be the foundation of all human society. It is His gift to be cherished, protected and loved. That’s what we’ll be talking about in this morning’s message from Exodus 20:14 and Hebrews 13:4.
As you think about your marriage and it’s value, let me suggest a few books we have on hand that may be helpful. (I mentioned some of these recently.)
- Marriage by Paul David Trip
- The Meaning of Marriage by Tim Keller
- The Meaning of Marriage Couples Devotional by Tim and Kathy Keller
- The Exemplary Husband by Stuart Scott
- The Excellent Wife by Martha Peace
- How to Lead Your Family by Joel Beeke
- Loving Your Wife as Christ Loves the Church by Larry McCall
- Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas
May the Lord build and protect our homes by His grace and for His glory!
Pastor Scott Lee