Albert Mohler on the Marriage Revolution

This is from Denny Burk's blog.  Check the rest of it out here.

Albert Mohler has an opinion piece in tomorrow’s Wall Street Journal about the moral revolution we have been witnessing concerning homosexuality. Speaking of evangelicals, he rights,

We cannot accept the seductive arguments that the liberal churches so readily adopt. The fact that same-sex marriage is a now a legal reality in several states means that we must further stipulate that we are bound by scripture to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman—and nothing else.

We do so knowing that most Americans once shared the same moral assumptions, but that a new world is coming fast. We do not have to read the polls and surveys; all we need to do is to talk to our neighbors…

It is now abundantly clear that evangelicals have failed in so many ways to meet this challenge. We have often spoken about homosexuality in ways that are crude and simplistic. We have failed to take account of how tenaciously sexuality comes to define us as human beings. We have failed to see the challenge of homosexuality as a Gospel issue. We are the ones, after all, who are supposed to know that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only remedy for sin, starting with our own.

We have demonstrated our own form of homophobia—not in the way that activists have used that word, but in the sense that we have been afraid to face this issue where it is most difficult . . . face to face.

My hope is that evangelicals are ready now to take on this challenge in a new and more faithful way. We really have no choice, for we are talking about our own brothers and sisters, our own friends and neighbors, or maybe the young person in the next pew.

There is no escaping the fact that we are living in the midst of a moral revolution. And yet, it is not the world around us that is being tested, so much as the believing church. We are about to find out just how much we believe the Gospel we so eagerly preach.

Naked and Not Ashamed

"And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed."

Genesis 2:25 (ESV)

No, today's blog will not be on the subject of the sexual union between a man and a woman.  But this verse does bring up an interesting question to which many people assume they know the complete answer.  Most people assume that because the word naked is found that this verse is speaking only about the nakedness of a husband and wife and their lack of shame.  But a more profound question is hidden deeper within the meaning of this verse: Why were they not ashamed?

Our attention should be on the lack of shame not the lack of clothing.  John Piper, in his book This Momentary Marriage, give two possible reasons for their lack of shame.  First, Adam and Eve are not ashamed of their bodies because they were created perfect and without flaw.  Remember that the Fall of man into sin has not yet happened and God in Genesis 1:31 states that his creation was "very good".  But is this truly the reason why they were not ashamed? 

Both Jesus and Paul held this passage in Genesis 2 up as the standard for marriage in their time and we should do the same in our time.  So, this passage has a broader affect than only before the Fall.  Yes, Adam and Eve were perfect and without flaw or blemish, but in our fallen world today we should hold up the standard of no shame with our spouse.  A more modern example is Hollywood.   It is full of beautiful people who continually fail at marriage.  So, physical perfection is not the point.

A husband and wife are not ashamed because even though their bodies are full of flaw and imperfections the covenant love between them "covers a multitude of flaws" (Piper, 33).  This is a mirror of the covenant relationship that Christ has with his bride, the elect, which covers a multitude of sins.  This is very clear by Paul in Ephesians 5:31-32.  "The very essence of this new covenant is that Christ passes over the sins of his bride.  His bride is free form shame not because she is perfect, but because she has no fear that her lover will condemn her or shame her because of her sin" (Piper, 34).

Praise God for his covenant relationship with his church.  May our marriages in our churches reveal this covenant relationship to those who do not yet know him.  May our marriages declare the glory of God and his gospel to all around us.  Amen and amen.

Do I love my wife as much as I love myself?

Ephesians 5:25-27 (NIV)
"Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless."

It is commonly said that this section in Ephesians reveals that the relationship between husband and wife is an illustration of the relationship between Christ and the Church. But what if it was opposite. Instead, what if we thought about the relationship between Christ and the Church is an example to live by as husband and wife.

I will be the first to admit that I miss the mark many times as a husband. As I read Ephesians 5 this morning I saw the many notes and markings in my Bible I have made over the past years. One of them was a question next to verse 26. The question reads, "Do I do this for Kati?" In other words, Christ made the church holy through his sacrificial offering of himself. Do I give myself up for her? Do I make her holy through my sacrifices for her?

Now, I understand that there is nothing I can do to really make her holy in the eyes of the Lord. I cannot save her, but do I treat her with the utmost respect, sacrificing myself and giving myself up for her? Do I love her as a radiant bride?

It is very easy for me to be selfish in my marriage. I deal with some things during the day that are difficult emotionally and spiritually and most of the time I want to come home and veg in front of the TV. But I instead need to meet the needs of my wife and love her as much as I love myself.

Christ gave himself up for the glory of the Father and through his love for his Church. Am I willing to do the same for my wife?