Marriage: Biblical perspectives
The writings in the Old and New Testaments constitute the Bible and it is God- breathed, useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16-17(NIV).
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Primarily, it serves as a guide for people who believe in the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, and thus, desire to develop a relationship with Him. The Bible is also regarded as a publication for persons who read it to acquire knowledge only.
Essentially, a believer in the teachings of Christ (a Christian) should also have faith and believe in the saving act of Jesus on the cross, his resurrection, ascension into heaven and the subsequent existence of the Holy Spirit.
Study
A Christian also makes time for the study of the word of God as contained in the Bible in order to apply it to his/her life and eventually tell others about Christ.
Furthermore, a Christian communicates to God exclusively through Christ as scripture tells us in John 14:6 (NIV) that “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”.
Also, in 1Timothy 2:5 we have, “For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”
Christianity is not the white man’s (European) religion as it originated from the tribe of Judah in ancient Israel. Revelation 5:9b (NIV) tells us that Christ was slain, and by his blood he purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.
I am of the view that the white man carried out the duty of winning souls for Christ, hence, came to Africa with the Goodnews and in the pursuit of same, introduced their culture and schools with the continent suffering other collateral damages.
The teachings of Christ as contained in the Bible makes room for adults who are of age to marry.
Therefore, when a man and woman come before God in a place of worship to be joined together, all they intend is inviting God into their union and trusting him through prayer to guide them in their marital journey.
Unmarried
The Bible permits Christians to remain unmarried but cautions them in 1 Corinthians 7:8-9 (NIV) that if they cannot control themselves they should marry, for it is better to marry than to burn with passion.
It also alerts believers against sexual immorality in 1 Corinthians 6:12 (NIV) that “everything is permissible for me” but not everything is beneficial.
“Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by anything.” It is, therefore, obvious that God gives us liberty to make a choice with a tilt towards marriage.
Attraction, courtship
It is important one gets to know whom he/she desires to marry. After the attraction stage, courtship sets in to enable the individuals to study each other and make up their minds.
This phase is crucial as observations are made. Nonetheless, one may not see everything because people only reveal their good traits and suppress bad conduct.
For instance, a party to a union may be domineering by nature, while another is liberal but with prayer, the Holy Spirit directs people into knowing what they want.
It is advisable one is candid with the other in a frank manner when stating facts about him/herself and what is done for a living.
Love
By Christian belief, marriage is sacred. It was instituted in the Garden of Eden when God observed during creation in Genesis 2:18 (NIV) that “it is not good for the man to be alone. I will make him a helper suitable for him”.
Consequently, God created a woman out of the man’s rib and brought her to the man. The man acknowledged the woman by saying “this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh” Genesis 2:23(NIV).
By accepting the woman, Adam simply admitted that the woman was part of him and confessed his feeling for her. Such an Adamic admission facilitates and activates the bonding process of love, and most men know and feel it when a woman is part of them.
Accordingly, love is a fundamental and necessary requirement for a marital relationship to occur and it must be sincere.
The writer is a member of BSF (Ghana). Email: [email protected]