Sermon Notes - God's Design For Marriage

God’s Design For Marriage, Mark 10:1-12
J. Josh Smith, MacArthur Boulevard Baptist Church, attended November 1, 2009

Our prayer is that the Scriptures set the agenda for what we preach. This is both a beautiful and a painful text. Painful in that marriage has been marred by sin.

The Pharisees motivation here is important. They don’t seem to be really seeking the truth but testing Jesus. Deuteronomy 24:1-4 is under debate amongst the Pharisees. There are two schools of thought around the word “indecency” from Deuteronomy. The strict view was sexual immorality. The broad view was anything, i.e. divorce for any reason.

They asked what was lawful. Jesus answers with a question. He doesn’t want to talk about what is lawful or permissible but what is ideal, or commanded. Jesus also doesn’t want to discuss divorce but He wants to discuss marriage. They want to know how far they can go. He basically says that is the wrong conversation to have.

Both views of Deuteronomy were ultimately wrong. Deuteronomy 24 is not descriptive but prescriptive. It was a prescription about something that was already happening. They thought it was a stamp of approval on divorce but it was prescribing rather than describing. This is similar to sending an engaged couple to marriage counseling at a divorce lawyers office.

Mark 10:6-9 is the ideal then. This is God’s design for marriage, with three non-negotiables.

1. Marriage is God's idea – It exists because God created it. It is not a human but a divine institution with two distinct genders, male and female. He created the universe and can set the rules. We cannot create our own rules for marriage.

Marriage was created by God, for God. (Ephesians 5) Marriage exists as a picture of the gospel and as a means to communicate that to a lost world. It isn’t primarily for our enjoyment or pleasure but as a picture of the sacrificial love for the church. When wives submit people see how we are to respond to God. When husbands love people see how Christ loves the church. Marriage is meant to display God to the world.

2. Marriage is a sacred union – It is more than a physical union. It is a spiritual union that God has joined together. It is a covenant before God ordained by God Himself. The breaking of this vow is a sin against the other person and against God.

3. Marriage is a permanent union – Mark 10:9. What God has joined together let no man have the audacity to separate. It isn’t your choice to separate. Divorce is never God’s plan or idea is the overarching principle. It is never wise or the best choice. It is never the right answer.

In Matthew 19:10 the disciples see that if there is no way out then it may be better if someone just doesn’t marry. Jesus agrees. It shows that the gospel would be corrupted if divorce was possible.

Notice in the text that Jesus answers their question with a question. He shows that it is the wrong question to ask. Other texts seem to say that adultery and unbelief are permission to divorce. This doesn’t mean it is wise decision. God doesn’t leave us when we commit spiritual adultery, and we do constantly.

Mark 10:10-12 are difficult but unequivocally clear. If someone is divorced and then remarried they are committing adultery. Matthew 5:31-32, Luke 16:18, 1 Corinthians 7:10-11 show that the marriage vow is not broken until one has died. There is no exception clause in Mark because the issue isn’t divorce like Matthew 5, the issue is remarriage, thus there is no exception. Remarriage is not permissible. Divorce may be permissible in certain cases but it is never wise. We stay in the marriage because God stays with us.

Marriage matters because the gospel matters. God’s standard is high but we must submit because we love God.