November 16, 2018 ● 18-2
I would like to offer some insights into marriage and re-marriage based on a study of the Scriptures, and from my own experiences in ministry with pre-marital counseling. This material was part of a sermon preached Wednesday night, Nov. 14 at Bethel as part of a series on the Sermon on the Mount.
When a divorced Christian is seeking remarriage, there are some considerations to take into account:
1. Before marriage, are there any unresolved issues from the first marriage? If so, then those need to be resolved before marrying again, otherwise they will be brought into the next marriage and will absolutely affect that next marriage negatively.
2. Has the divorced person spent time before the Lord asking for His forgiveness for the divorce and for wisdom going forward? Has the divorced person made a commitment to honor God in every respect with the new marriage?
3. Has the divorced person been through counseling with a Christian counselor? Using a Christian counselor will ensure you are being guided by the Word of God and not worldly ideas and opinions. Counseling also helps the couple find a way forward so previous mistakes may be avoided in the future.
General insights on marriage to consider.
1. Marriage is a covenant relationship established by God to be between one man and one woman for life (read: 1 Cor. 7.39).
2. Marriage is the joining of two separate lives into one. Before the marriage there is, “you and me”; after the marriage there is only “we”.
3. Marriage takes work and the investment of both spouses. The husband must give 100% to the marriage and the wife must give 100%; anything less becomes an unbalanced marriage headed for trouble.
4. Husbands and wives are married to each other, not to their children. This means that through the child raising years, husbands and wives must work at strengthening their marriage so that when the children are grown and out of the home, they will not discover they have become strangers with nothing in common. The “empty nest” is a dangerous place for couples that have not worked on strengthening their marriage during the child raising years.
5. Marriages are worth fighting for.
6. Don’t wait until it’s too late to get help if your marriage is in trouble.
7. The number one enemy to your marriage is Satan. Satan knows he cannot destroy the church, so he attacks the church through the family. While there are many dangers to marriages such as pornography, gambling, infidelity, social media, etc., Satan is behind it all, wanting nothing greater than the destruction of your marriage.
The following Scripture references are great sources of help to strengthen your marriage:
Eph 4:1-3; Phil 2:3-4; Col 3:12-14