Newsletter of Hamilton Bible Fellowship
October 2005
The wedding is imminent. So, I’ll take the opportunity to reflect on what follows every wedding: marriage. Probably because it is the first and foundational of all human relationships, it is the most misconstrued, maligned, and misunderstood. There are manifold forces lined up against it. Contemporary culture is not any more so than those past, just perhaps more creative and sophisticated in unbiblical ideas. It all makes me think of a Randy Stonehill song: "Everything You Know is Incorrect."
Biblical principles of marriage are really rather straightforward. The foundation, established in Genesis 2 (early on!), is "one flesh." Let’s not camouflage it folks, this is at base a reference to the act of sexual intercourse. Is there anything today that has been more twisted, convoluted or perverted? Take pornography, which is one of the most prevalent forces in our culture (in all its forms). We Christians get the response to this, wrong - by calling it "dirty; filth; etc." The real problem is an unbiblical premise: that sexual acts are merely casual, recreational, self-gratifying and somehow "naughty." God created this, with a purpose:
Adam said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’ for she was taken out of man."
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be
united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. And the man
and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. Gen. 2:23-25
Paul follows up with his comments in 1 Corinthians:
But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife,
and each woman her own husband. The husband should fulfill his marital duty
to his wife, and likewise the wife to her husband. The wife’s body does not belong
to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband’s body does not
belong to him alone but also to his wife. Do not deprive each other except by mutual
consent and for a set time, so that you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come
together again so that Satan will not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. (7:2-5)
You can’t get too much more practical than that. And it sounds so contemporary - because it is a timeless principle. Husband and wife, one flesh: together, according to God’s purpose, physically and in every other way. This is not to belittle the difficulty of it. Sin is still real; spiritual forces are subtle and powerful. Paul gives a simple operative philosophy in the midst of it:
Be filled with the Spirit . . . . Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. . . . Husbands, love your wives,
just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. Ephesians 5:18, 22, 25
He concludes his admonition by alluding to Gen. 2:24 (above), which he calls a "profound mystery." Simple, yet profound. That is often the way it is in God’s plan. Marriage is no different.
NEWS AND PRAYER UPDATE:
Pray for Geoff and Lori; for the marriage that begins Oct. 1st, for housing, and for a job for Lori.
Pray also for: George and Marianne Truppner, Don Cox, the building project, Jake Lamb, our college students, Brad Bush
THE QUOTE CORNER
Christianity, by confining marriage to pairs and rendering
the relation indissoluble, has by these two things done more
toward the peace, happiness, settlement and civilization of
the world, than by any other part in this whole scheme of
divine wisdom.
Edmund Burke
COMING EVENTS CALENDAR:
Sunday, Oct. 2nd: Mark Shiner will be preaching at HBF; Sunday Oct. 9th: Greg Meyers preaching - we will consider the principle of the Old Testament holiday of Yom Kippur.
HBF has been asked to provide meal(s) and food for the Lamb family on Sat. Oct. 8th. Watch for sign up.
The annual Crop Walk will take place on Sunday afternoon, Oct. 16th. Listen on Sunday for more details.
October birthdays: 8 Kimberly Rivera; 9 Lin Henke, 15 Eliza Nolen; 20 Linda Cox; 23 Emma Hubbard