Marriage—one man and one woman committed to each other for life—is about the gospel. If we as believers love the gospel, then we also will love, honor, and defend biblical marriage. We won’t just work to help people have good marriages—as important as this is. We also will uphold man woman marriage in the church and in the culture as the best design for human relationships and society as a whole.
The Colson Center’s John Stonestreet has observed that one of the reasons we’re losing the battle for marriage, especially among the young, is because we have not made the case for it in ways that capture people’s imaginations. As Stonestreet indicates, to turn the tide “we must embody God’s design in our marriages and in our communities.” Yet we also must present to young Christians and to the church as a whole the theology of marriage. We must show how natural marriage reflects the gospel and the very nature of God Himself. This is not boring stuff, but information that draws in people’s minds and imaginations as few other things do!
See for yourself!
Upholding God-Ordained Marriage Is One of the Greatest Ways to Advance the Gospel, Part 1
6/12/17—article 117
How can we share the gospel effectively? Believe it or not, if the church does it the right way, upholding natural marriage enhances rather than hinders its effectiveness in presenting the gospel. Why? Marriage is a picture of the gospel. Unfortunately, the church seems to have forgotten this.
Upholding God-Ordained Marriage Is One of the Greatest Ways to Advance the Gospel, Part 2
6/14/17—article 118
Sadly, Christians and the church have subtly succumbed to cultural pressure regarding marriage. This post explores what happened.
Upholding God-Ordained Marriage Is One of the Greatest Ways to Advance the Gospel, Part 3
6/16/17—article 119
If you really care about the gospel, you will work to preserve and defend marriage. This post explores two specific ways marriage mirrors the gospel.
Upholding God-Ordained Marriage Is One of the Greatest Ways to Advance the Gospel, Part 4
6/23/17—article 120
Who is Jesus, and why did He come? If you want to to answer this question in a way that secular people might begin to understand, show them sacrificial love in Christian marriages. The marriage of Robertson and Muriel McQuilken is a wonderful example, and we highlight it in this post. One more thing, though—don’t fail to uphold God’s design for marriage, either. Really? Yes, really!
Upholding God-Ordained Marriage Is One of the Greatest Ways to Advance the Gospel, Part 5
6/30/17—article 121
What qualities ought to characterize the church’s effort to uphold marriage as God designed it? Last time we began to answer this question by highlighting the first two items on a 12-item list. In this post, we highlight four more qualities. Will the church step up to the plate and fulfill its duty to defend marriage for the sake of the gospel? You can help make the answer to this question yes!
Upholding God-Ordained Marriage Is One of the Greatest Ways to Advance the Gospel, Part 6
7/7/17—article 122
In our discussion this week, we highlight the remaining six qualities on our list of traits that should characterize the church’s case for natural marriage. Even though with this post we have discussed all 12, our list isn’t exhaustive. Even so, the church has its work cut out for it just to get these right. Yet with God’s help, it can. I encourage you to be a part of this worthy effort!
Bonus article 1: Twelve Qualities that Should Characterize the Church’s Case for Natural Marriage
7/15/17
In parts 4, 5, and 6 of our series, we presented twelve traits that must characterize the church’s case for God-ordained marriage, both within and beyond its walls. For convenience and ease of sharing, this post presents all twelve of these in one place.
Upholding God-Ordained Marriage Is One of the Greatest Ways to Advance the Gospel, Part 7
7/22/17—article 123
Can Christians “agree to disagree” on the issues of homosexuality and same-sex marriage? As we answer this question, we must keep in mind how the relationship of marriage to the gospel. Can Christians compromise on the gospel? If not, then they can’t compromise on homosexuality orthe definition of marriage, either.
Upholding God-Ordained Marriage Is One of the Greatest Ways to Advance the Gospel, Part 8
7/30/17—article 124
When the Pharisees came to Jesus and asked Him about the legitimacy of divorce, He responded by recalling the history of the creation of humanity as male and female and stressed how that event set the stage for marriage. Jesus challenged the Pharisees with the question, “Have you not read” the Genesis account of creation and the establishment of marriage as the first institution? If we as 21st-century Christians will listen carefully to Jesus’ teaching in this exchange, I believe it can challenge us in ways we need to be challenged, especially in light of the ongoing debate over the true meaning of marriage.
Upholding God-Ordained Marriage Is One of the Greatest Ways to Advance the Gospel, Part 9
8/4/17—article 125
Jesus’ teachings on marriage in Matthew 19 continue to offer insights that help us understand the importance of natural marriage. These same insights also will help us to uphold it in a culture that has lost its grip on what marriage is all about.
Upholding God-Ordained Marriage Is One of the Greatest Ways to Advance the Gospel, Part 10
8/12/17—article 126
In this tenth and final article in this series, we continue to explore Jesus teaching on marriage and divorce in Matthew 19. In our quest, we uncover insights that surprise, inspire, and amaze. Marriage is all about the One who established it in the first place!
Bonus article 2: Upholding the Gospel also Means Upholding Natural Marriage
This article presents all nine insights originally offered in parts 8, 9, and 10 of this series.
Image credits: Images accompanying summaries of parts 5, 6, the bonus article, and part 9: www.lightstock.com
Copyright © 2017 by B. Nathaniel Sullivan. All rights reserved.