When we believe this, then we can look to the scriptures and examine the story of the creation of our first parents and see that marriage is the natural state of man and woman under God.
“And the rib, which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
“And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.
“Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
— Genesis 2:22-24
God placed Adam and Eve into a married bond to become a complete whole. In this married state, God intends for us to remain throughout our lives — and I believe — into eternity. In this act at the beginning of creation, God made a preeminent declaration about how we were to live our lives and the central purpose of the family in God's plan for His children.
All the commandments related to the ordained union of man and woman, their potential for offspring, and their divine destiny are associated with the 7th commandment, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” (Exodus 20:14)
Adultery is a sin that severs the covenant relationship of marriage, and puts in jeopardy this holy union at the center of our lives and our societies; but the commandment encompasses far more than the betrayal of a spouse, it encompasses all types of sexual sin, which betray our purity before God, our potential as married partners, and our future children.
God’s law makes clear that only within the holy bonds of matrimony is the sexual relation authorized. This is known as chastity, or the law of chastity. A person lives a chase life when they abstain from all sexual expression before marriage, and are monogamous and faithful within marriage.
In the marriage relationship, sexual relations are pure and spiritually ennobling, but outside of marriage it is a soul crushing abomination. A sin against the holy nature of the intimacies shared between a husband and wife and the potential for child bearing, is the ultimate mockery of God’s plan and nature. The corrosive nature of sexual sin is visible in the lives of the promiscuous and the social disintegration in societies that openly defy the holy union of marriage.
Marriage is a higher and holier state, and the laws that govern it and its potential for offspring are higher laws. Christ taught us just how holy sexual purity and marriage fidelity is when he said:
“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” — Matthew 5:27-28
Christ taught us to bridle the passions of the flesh outside of marriage, and if for any reason a person's physical passions would lead them to sin against the laws of sexual purity, it would be better to cut out that passion entirely. Christ used this figurative language to warn us against unbridled passions.
“And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.” — Matthew 5:29-30
Marriage is so holy to God and so central to our well being in this life and the next, that Christ taught that divorce was not to be. He said:
“It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.” — Matthew 5:31-32
Though this may seem harsh in a society that tolerates divorce for any reason, the teachings of scripture give us everything that is needful for us to maintain our marriages in happiness and peace. If we were faithful to God’s laws and walked in his light, we would have no need for divorce.
Over the next week, we will look at what the scriptures teach us about marriage and the laws that govern that relationship, including, but not limited to, the laws of sexual purity.
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