Marriage For the Future of the Church

Westminster on Husbands and Wives

Good Morning!

It seems like we have been talking a lot about marriage and family this spring, but in God's providence there is no doubt that this is a good thing. As we continue to take a walk through the Westminster Confession of Faith on Thursday’s we are coming to the confession's own teaching on the subject. Now, it may seem strange that a body of divinity focused on making sure the Church knows what it believes about doctrine and faith would have a chapter focused on the relations between husband and wife.

However, if you remember that we just completed a chapter on the Civil Magistrate (the Government) and before that one on Oaths and Vows, and that the next chapter will be on the Church it makes perfect sense to round out the 5th Commandment with a word on the family, especially when you consider the effect this has on the others. 

In the second section of this part the WCF says:

"Marriage was ordained for the mutual help of husband and wife, for the increase of mankind with a legitimate issue, and of the Church with an holy seed; and for preventing of uncleanness."

Here we see even more reason as to why the divines at Westminster felt the need to include teaching on marriage. For the people of God to confess and to believe what the Bible says about marriage is to ensure that the generational covenant promises of the Lord are fulfilled. It used to be said that married couples having children within the covenant was called, "Presbyterian Church Growth", and there is much truth to this. Remember how the Israelite tribes flourished in Egypt despite their being in slavery? Pharaoh complained to his retinue that, "...and he said to his people, 'Look, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we'". What a wonderful truth! It should be the case that as we raise up our children in the covenant promises of Baptism that they be shepherded in a Christian home, and then as we have more and more children, and our children have lots of babies, and that soon we will find ourselves overwhelming the Egyptians with ARP's! :) 

Another way we see this blessing is by what we read in the chapter on the Civil Magistrate. What is the best way to ensure a Christian commonwealth? Through the natural spread of the Church from family to family. This is why the writers of the Confession note that:

"It is lawful for all sorts of people to marry, who are able with judgment to give their consent. Yet is it the duty of Christians to marry only in the Lord: and therefore such as profess the true reformed religion should not marry with infidels, papists, or other idolaters: neither should such as are godly be unequally yoked, by marrying with such as are notoriously wicked in their life, or maintain damnable heresies."

We see here a reminder that it matters for the Kingdom who we marry, and why. This is why again the Divines included Marriage as part of the Confession. They had just lived through a century of trouble because the leaders of Great Britain didn't follow this advice. If we want a settled and reasonable world the best way is to start in our own backyards and ensure that the purposes of our marriages are based upon the witness of the Bible and our Confession. If we mix the wisdom of the world with the mind of God, our sinful nature will choose the flesh 100x out of a 100. 

As we've spent a little bit of time noting how Husbands and Wives have a direct influence on the Church and its labors for the Kingdom of Christ a word needs delivered to those among us who are unmarried. This chapter isn't written to say that those who may not be able to have children, or are single, then have no role in the plan of God. Far from it. The Catechism on the 7th Commandment notes that those not married or without biological issue are to, "...diligently labor in [their] callings". Everyone has a role to play in Christ's Church. Think back again to those Hebrew midwives in the days of Moses. How wise and wonderful they were to protect children who may have not been their own, yet it was through their faithfulness to the LORD that allowed the people of God to flourish and be protected in God's providence. 

Lastly, the teaching on Divorce in the Confession is also vitally important for the Church. In an era of no-fault divorce (which is unbiblical) this chapter of the Confession lays out two reasons, the same two given by the Bible, for lawful divorce: "...yet nothing but adultery, or such willful desertion as can no way be remedied by the Church or civil magistrate, is cause sufficient of dissolving the bond of marriage." Sometimes the Puritans are falsely accused of being Misogynist or whatever kind of prudish nonsense some people come up with, yet in this chapter there is much concern for the protection of women from wicked and evil men. They have recourse to deal with the kind of unbelieving acts that allow for (but never require) the dissolution of marriage. 

While the above barely scratches the service of the reasons why this chapter is so vital for the Christian Church there is something about the whole middle section of the Confession, from Ch. 21 on Worship to Ch. 25 on the Church that we would do well to study and meditate on. This is especially important in a day and age where the very building blocks of society are being torn from underneath of us by our evil, Satanic culture. We must recapture the simple, but profound understanding of the big picture on marriage for the Church, both in this generation and the next. 

For our reading today take a look at this from Derek Thomas:
https://banneroftruth.org/us/resources/articles/2003/marriage-to-the-glory-of-god/

Blessings in Christ,

Rev. Benjamin Glaser
Pastor, Bethany ARP Church