Men Marrying Late -- Or Not At All

Ducking?

If you honestly wanted an answer instead of just being flippant, you might have started by asking nicely like, "I really haven't read God's Word like I know I should, but could you tell me where Moses and Jesus talked about the commands to marriage?"

 

Martin

You are an interesting work of artistic grandeur.

And I gotta re-write this post.

 

Did you know, if you go back to the those times you can truly understand Jesus' examples. It really is an interesting study. (b) in some areas, castration was the sentence for rape etc... Just as cutting off a hand was the penalty for stealing. (c) there were groups, such as the one John the Baptist belong to, the Essenes, monks and others who made this commitment. Some believe this is where the Catholic preist get their vow but I believe if that were true young boys would be safe around them and the orphanages would have had less children... Ok, not fair, maybe some are devoted to their oath.

 

Please stop patronizing me.

I simply want to know what verses you claim to support your position. That doesn't mean I haven't read the scriptures. It only means I don't know which verses you are indicating. I disagree with your position, so I don't know which verses you are using because I don't think of verses in that sense.

Please post the scriptures. You have been asked several times on this thread, but you have only avoided giving a straight answer.

 

Stefan

You are not asking, you are telling me.

"For God so loved the World . . . " is where?

"The Lord is my Shepherd . . . " is where?

"To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die . . . " is where?

"For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife"

"What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."

All of that was because: "The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, “

 

Classic expressions of Christianity that are so classic - most non-Christians recognize them.

In fact the words from God's Word that command marriage are probably the most common words during a marriage ceremony. They used to be the most common - there is no telling today.

The Christ says those words in response to the Pharisees just before the passage that was quoted to support being a castrated Christian. Jesus quoted Moses in Matthew chapter 19. Moses was writing these words on the command of God in Genesis Chapter 2. You will also find the passage in harmony.

You might also find Paul referencing the Scripture in Ephesians. But, I doubt you would like that passage. There Paul tells each individual man to love his wife.

My memory being what it is, you can probably google them . . . and check.

 

Moses wrote God's intent and His command. Jesus repeated this. Paul commanded it.

Yet, we live in a day when people are so afraid of divorce that they live together in sin and even the news reports about it.

Isn't the Church supposed to show God's better version?

First time marriages among devout Christians is at a slightly greater risk of divorce than in 1960 - but, the number you hear is 50%.

That is not true.

We fear a divorce statistic that is a lie. And the world looks to the Church and sees that we have almost as many people living in sin as they do . . .

What kind of witness is that?

 

Thank you for replying with your scriptures, but I still don't see how any of those command marriage.

To reference Ephesians...the idea that husbands should love their wives does not entail that all men must love a wife---it only includes those who have them, and it doesn't mean that those who do not have them should get one. Aner refers to men (as in not women), and the word often carries the meaning of "husband." The verses mean no more than those who are married should love their wives.

As far as those who live together, etc... I definitely agree that they should be married. My defense of singleness is only for those who are celibate singles....and not just those of the "Origen Club" (i.e. literal self castrators).

 

Stefan

You may not want the Scripture to say that men and women should get married.

When you don't want Scripture to say what it does, it is sometimes difficult to understand what it does say.

I remember when I was much younger and tried to get Scripture to say that I did not need to get married. I wanted it to say that it was tolerable to live in sin . . . I wanted living in sin to be better than a divorce, so that I would not have to take the risk.

I finally realized that living in sin was not what God wanted - it was what a sinful man wanted.

Maybe your journey is different - but, His Word is not different today from 20 years ago or 2,000 years ago. At the wedding in Cana, Jesus did not say, "Stop! That is not what Scripture wants you to do!"

 

Men and women in general should get married.

Why? Most men and women cannot control their passions. If you cannot control your passions, you should get married, period. I agree with this position.

I'm not advocating the "easy way out" at all. I think people who are not completely committed to total celibacy should get married. The point in dispute is whether EVERY man and woman should get married. I think the answer to this is a clear no.

I see nothing wrong with marriage at all. I'm very happy as a married man, and I know that living as a single man would be essentially unbearable for me. For others, such as our brother Martin on the BB, celibate singleness seems to ok to them.

God bless these individuals. They are able to contribute to God's work in a special way without being distracted by families, and the church often fails to notice this awesome potential.

My question is this--

What scripture says that EVERY (without exception) man and woman should get married?


There are plenty of scriptures that encourage marriage, but I have yet to see any scripture that requires marriage of every person.

 

I believe that the most desirable state is for a Christian man and a Christian woman to be married to each other. Unfortunately, I married an athiest during the period when I had turned my back on God. That ended in divorce. That's also one of the reasons I believe that a Christian can lose their salvation if they don't continue to follow Him.

At this point in my life I would love to marry a good Christian woman but none have come knocking on my door. In addition, at my age I can control my passions so that's not the issue it was 25 years ago.

I still haven't seen anyone post scripture which commands us to marry. Any takers?

 

If you guys don't want to get married then don't.

. . . they have operations that fix that sort of thing . . . Jesus called them eunuchs.

Hate marriage if you want to. Just remember that God did set up marriage. He ordained it in the Garden.

And even the World expects Christians to respect marriage. How do you think God thinks about marriage?

 

Do you honestly think Jesus was advocating self-mutilation?

 

No, Jesus was stating a fact for their culture. And for your information, there are very, very, very few people that are born that way.

If you want to mutilate - go for it. It was often done then just like it is now for steers . . . much the same reason - the loss of testosterone tames the man, or the bull, or the stallion.

 

Do you think it is possible for an intentionally single, celibate person who has not mutilated himself to be right with God?

 

I found this in an old paper I had regarding 1 Corinthians 7:1-2 1 Now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto me: It is good for a man not to touch a woman. 2 Nevertheless, to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife, and let every woman have her own husband.

MARRIAGE SEMINAR

Much of what Paul wrote about marriage was based on its lifelong nature. First Corinthians serves as a "mini" marriage seminar for Christians. The Corinthian church was in turmoil because of the immorality of the culture around them. Some Greeks, in rejecting immorality, rejected sex and marriage altogether. The Corinthian Christians wondered if this was what they should do also, so they asked Paul several questions: "Because sex is perverted, shouldn't we also abstain in marriage?" "If my spouse is unsaved, should I seek a divorce?" "Should unmarried people and widows remain unmarried?" Paul answered many of these questions by saying, "For now, stay put. Be content in the situation where God has placed you. If you're married, don't seek to be single. If you're single, don't seek to be married."

The main teaching points in Paul's advice about marriage include the following:

l Choosing to remain unmarried can be good if the unmarried person uses the extra time to serve God.
l Married people belong to each other, and they should live that relationship out fully.
l A Christian husband and wife ought to find a way to stay together.
l A marriage partner who becomes a Christian may not use his or her faith as an excuse for divorce and may have to accept rejection by his or her non-Christian partner.
l Believers should be content in the roles God has given them.
l Marriage can either complicate or clarify a person's commitment to Christ.
l Believers should always be available to the Lord, regardless of their status in life.