In these days it seems that everyone has an opinion on marriage, and everyone is equally dogmatic. I have no problem with dogmatism, but that dogmatism must be based on substance, not mere opinion or prejudice. The present government in the UK have indicated their intent to redefine marriage in UK law. I know that I’m sticking my head above the parapet with this, but here are my thoughts.

To redefine a thing implies that there is something substantial there in the first place to change. There is an existing understanding of marriage within the Christian faith that is wholly biblical. That is, the source of our understanding of, our definition of, our practise of marriage is based on what the Bible tells us about what it is and how we do it. The word marriage is a theological and sacramental term, and as Christians we can only restate what the the Bible gives as our authoritative word on the matter. If God, through the Bible is the source of our definition of and understanding of marriage, then no government has the authority to redefine it. They may introduce whatever other partnerships they deem to be acceptable, but to redefine that which God has set out goes beyond their remit and their right.

The reaction to the government’s proposals seem largely to be negative, with good reason. Whilst supporting that reaction I believe that we are missing the opportunity to put forward a positive perspective on what marriage really means to the Christian. What follows is, I trust, a positive presentation of what the Bible describes marriage to be.

In the first chapters of Genesis we are given the family history of mankind. It’s a sort of ‘Who do you think you are’ of the human race: where we came from, who we came from, and why things are as they are. This includes creation, men and women and the reason the world is full of wrong.

In this story the introduction of the first man, Adam, to the first woman, Eve is told as a story within a story. It was made obvious that nothing else in creation was right as a ‘partner’ for Adam. The specific phrase used for this ‘partner’ means, literally: ‘like opposite to’ – the same, but complementary. The two, becoming one were to be better than either on their own, but the fact that they are man and woman is fundamental to this – two different, but matching halves of a wonderful whole, just like those love heart necklaces for two lovers where the two parts join to make a single perfect heart.

This is presented in the Bible as the union intended by God for men and women.

Jesus, when asked about divorce quoted the text from Genesis, and reaffirmed that this was God’s plan. He went further by stating that ‘What God has joined together, let not man separate.’ This was made in the context of divorce, but the inference is that marriage is made before God and is subject to His specific blessing as men and women commit their lives to one another before God in fulfillment of His intentions for mankind.

I said earlier that marriage is a sacramental term as well as a theological one. The reason for this is found in the book of Ephesians that tell us that within marriage a husband should love his wife as Christ loved the Church. The same passage then continues to tell us that marriage is a picture of Christ and the Church. For the Christian believer the whole story of Jesus Christ, His death, resurrection and return are bound up in the concept of a groom returning for his bride. It’s an exciting picture, it provokes anticipation and wonder at the God of the whole universe choosing to come and claim that which doesn’t deserve Him, to be His bride. Above all it is a picture of overcoming triumphant love! To the Christian believer this understanding, this picture within marriage is precious. To the Christian, marriage is the opportunity to live under God in a way that fulfills His will, that allows us to relate one with another in the same love that we have been loved with and to look forward to an ultimate consummation of our relationship with God in what the Bible calls ‘the marriage supper of the Lamb’.

If you believe in Jesus as Lord and God, and are trusting in His redemption through His sacrifice on the cross, then this is wonderful beyond measure! If you don’t have a faith in God, then it will be of no value and will more than likely confuse you immensely. That in itself is understandable.

If all that I have said makes no sense, then I would gently suggest that whatever your persuasion, a civil partnership would be a more true reflection of your faith or choice not to believe. If you don’t believe in God, do you really wish to take on a commitment that is so bound up in Biblical concepts and that at its heart is done before God and in God?

If what I have said does make sense, then take heart that in marriage we have a wonderful microcosm of Christ and the Church – it is imperfect, but it carries with it the hope of eternity!

It is this positive and high view of marriage that causes Christians to defend the definition laid down in the Bible, and also causes Christians to affirm that the state has no authority to redefine that which God has already defined. This does not prevent the state from providing a civil partnership program that is open to all. The state can also insist that Christians must partake of civil partnership as well as whatever religious ceremony is involved, but it cannot redefine a God ordained institution.

If the state chooses to redefine marriage in such a way that Bible believing Christians cannot in good conscience enter into it then those Christians, for whom this is fundamental to every aspect of our faith, will be relegated to the sidelines of society and in secular terms barred from that which they, more than any other part of society, believe in.

Please read this as my attempt to portray the positive understanding of marriage within the Christian Church – it is not intended to condemn or demand, it is simply presented as a statement of faith, a reaffirmation which I believe is much needed. It is written unashamedly from a Biblical perspective, because, for me that is the only one possible. Please accept my faith in God and His revelation of His will through the Bible as the basis for my belief, and my freedom to express this for all to consider. For those who wish to look, the passages that I referred to are to be found in Genesis 2, Matthew 19 and Ephesians 5.

Since God first placed Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, with the tree of life to eat of our relationship with God has been one of complete dependence. God is our Creator, our Provider, our Saviour. The Psalms are full of expressions of this dependence on God, couched in Hebrew poetry and song. The children of Israel were fully aware of their dependence on God, and of His amazing provision throughout their history, oftentimes in spite of their disobedience.

Psalm 86 sums up this attitude of dependence: it’s not one of obligation or duty on God’s part, and it’s not one of grumbling expectation or demand on our part. Rather, it is the creature turning his face to the Creator in anticipation of the good that will come from seeking Him. “Gladden the soul of your servant, for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.” (Psa 86:4 ESV) is the cry, and the expectation. Why? “For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.” (Psa 86:5 ESV)

In the day to day wants and needs we so often forget that what we most need, and what God most wants to give is His blessing, His goodness, the gladdening of our souls as our amazing God abounds in His love towards us. So, let’s call on Him, expecting that He, in His mercy and grace will gladden our souls!

I love the wide open spaces along the Sefton coast. Ainsdale in the middle of winter, with the sun disappearing behind the Welsh hills, and not a soul to be seen is refreshing and wonderful. But what makes it infinitely more wonderful is the knowledge of the Creator who made it all, and ensures that our sun rises and sets day by day. Truly it is God who makes the going out of the morning and evening to shout for joy. The knowledge of the God who made all this for His glory and our pleasure, and the assurance of our being known by, and redeemed by that same God makes the moment of standing by the sea, watching the sun set to be one of joy that far too many inhabitants of this world never experience.

So, enjoy the sunrise and the sunset, whether you see it, photograph it or just live through it, knowing that there is joy in knowing and being known by our Creator God

“And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:1 ESV)

There are two stories that we talk about at Christmas: one involves Father Christmas, snow and presents – it is a complete fabrication (apart from any perceived link between an overweight red suited gift bringer and an ancient Saint called Niclaus); the other is Real, Remarkable & Relevant.

Real

The story in Luke’s Gospel is rooted in cold hard fact.The story begins with the background surrounding the birth – it specifies times and places and people. These are the hallmarks of a genuine history, not a fairy story. The birth and life of Jesus is a fact.

Remarkable

The birth of one child in the middle of such a time of upheaval is entirely unremarkable – what is remarkable are the events that accompanied this particular birth. We are told that an angel came to the shepherds and announced the birth as one bringing Good News. This child was, and is special. His birth fulfilled many promises that God had made to His people and would bring about the means for salvation and reconciliation to God for all people! This news was so remarkable that at the conclusion of the announcement the entire heavenly host burst forth into spontaneous praise and worship! Now that is remarkable!

Relevant

How is this relevant to us so many years later? The announcement was made to ordinary people – shepherds – because the message is for “all the people”, that’s you and I! The need for people to be forgiven and reconciled to God is just as urgent today as it was 2000 years ago. The great news is that Jesus has promised to return, to claim those who have responded to the loving gift of His life for our sins, to take us to be with Him. That will also be real, and remarkable – I trust it will also be relevant to you…

How do we treat our fellow believers? Whether we are in a position of authority within a local church, or a born again believer seeking to serve God, what is our starting point? Sadly, all too often, we are quicker to tear down than to build up, we’d rather complain than compliment. The Bible makes it clear that our starting point for all relationships is our relationship with God. We are all ‘beloved brethren’!

Paul, as an apostle commissioned by Christ to build the Church was continually in conflict with those who sought to use the Church for their own selfish ends, as well as with those who through foolishness or fear retreated from or  failed in their faith. In nearly all Paul’s letters, even when there is conflict to be resolved or theology to be righted there is a statement of thanks for the believers. 1 Thessalonians is typical. The crucial verse is 1:4. Paul can give thanks for the believers in Thessalonica primarily because they are loved by God and chosen by Him! The basis for our relationship with other Christians is the fact that they are ‘loved by God’ and ‘chosen by him’ – if God has set His love on someone, and chosen him for His own purposes then we must deal lovingly and graciously with them as the objects of God’s love.

We will never be without conflict within the Church – there will be disagreements and debates, issues of discipline and theology, questions over motive and method – but we must never lose sight of the fact that we are all living by faith in one God, labouring in the same love of one God, steadfast in our One Hope – the Lord Jesus Christ. So, let us give thanks for one another, for our faith, work, hope in Christ. Let’s encourage and build up in the Lord. Let’s see one another’s position as loved by God and chosen by Him as the foundation our relationships one with another. Then God will be glorified in His Church as He intends!

We live in a consumer culture, we take so much more than we receive. In fact, we have such a wealth of consumables that we tend to think very little of what we take in. I’m thinking in particular about the modern connected world, where news and views, opinions and art are all freely available in such quantity that we become almost numb to what we receive.

For the believing Christian it’s not just the quantity of the content that is the problem, it is the source of it: this present world is the source of most of the information and entertainment that we consume, and this present world is diametrically opposed to the Christian faith.

What do we do? We pray with the psalmist:

“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.” (Psalm 119:18 NIB)

And, as we pray, we seek with all our hearts, and by His grace to consume only that which is edifying to us, and pleasing and glorifying to God.

Despite his reputation as the weeping prophet, the book of Jeremiah is full of hope. God promises that we will be His people, and He will be our God! What a promise! But the problem has never been with God, it has always been with us. In Jeremiah chapter two we are told that Israel have committed two sins: they have rejected God and all that He has to offer and they have turned to seek their own satisfaction from that which is of their own creation.

This is original sin – in the Garden of Eden Satan told Eve that she would become independent of God by taking of the forbidden fruit. She would be able to determine her own desires and make her own way in the world – her source of satisfaction would be of her own making, and no longer of God.

Of course, if God is who He claims He is, then this act of seeking to be satisfied in anything or anyone but Him is the greatest sin, the most offensive offence, the grievous hurt. To reduce ourselves to seeking to please ourselves outside of God is the essence of all that went wrong in Eden.

But, Jeremiah is full of hope as God assures us that He will ultimately deal with our sin, and the underlying attitudes that drive it. By His grace and through His Spirit He will draw us to seek our satisfaction in Him alone once again!

“and my people shall be satisfied with my goodness, declares the Lord” – Jeremiah 31:14

It’s an incredible promise, given our penchant for turning our backs on Him, but He is faithful:

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.” – Jeremiah 31:3

This hope is what inspires us to seek Him afresh, by His grace, for His glory, and for our complete and utter satisfaction!

How do we approach God when we come to Him to pray. Do we have a wish list on our minds? Do we have a list of completed requests to say ‘thank-you’ for? Do we have a major problem that we want God to take care of? All of these are completely legitimate in their place, but how do we start? How do we commence the conversation?

The example of Revelation 4:8 is a great place to begin. This is a picture of heaven and demonstrates the worship of those already in the Presence! What a privilege for those creatures to worship night and day before the throne of God Almighty!

But the Bible tells us that having put our trust in Jesus Christ we can, on the basis of His shed blood, approach the throne of God with boldness! When we get there we can only begin with the words of those creatures who are already there:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”

This will get our hearts and minds straight before our Creator, this will put our own requests in perspective, but most importantly, this will give God the glory and honour that is His by right and that should rightly come from us, His people. So, let us pray…

How often to we read James 4:7 and jump immediately in our minds to the second half of the injunction? Our own pride in our abilities latches on to the idea that if we just resist the devil hard enough it’s a done deal – resist him and he’ll flee, right? Wrong.

The second half of the verse is the second half for a reason. In order to be able to resist the devil we must first submit ourselves to God. Way back in the Garden of Eden the devil was telling mankind that they could ‘do it on their own’, that if they just aspired, tried, reached out it would all come to them. The Bible makes it clear that on our own strength we can do nothing of value, nothing truly good.

This is why it is essential to first submit ourselves to God. This is a personal thing – no-one can do it for you, but this is the first and vital step. We have no authority over the devil, but God does. Once we submit ourselves to God it is His authority by which we resist the devil and His authority that forces the devil to flee as we resist.

So, let’s get it the right way around. Rather than saying to ourselves ‘I must resist, I must resist’, concentrating on the problem, let’s start with ‘Lord, I submit to You’ and by His grace we can and will resist the devil until he flees from the God who promises to live within us with His power and authority.

The book of Hebrews is one long, cumulative argument for the superiority of the New Covenant over the old one. One failing in the Old Covenant was the need to repeatedly make offering for sin – it was never complete, never done with, there would always be something else come along that required a fresh offering.

Hebrews 10:12 & 14 show that Jesus’ single sacrifice is effective for all time:

“For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.” – Hebrews 10:14

So, there is therefore no sacrifice to be made, there is no longer an offering for sin, because the offering has been made fully and finally, for all time by Jesus Christ. I am free to draw near with a true heart and in full assurance of faith (Hebrews 10:22)! I am washed, clean!

On this basis, we stand before God with empty hands – there is nothing that we could bring that would satisfy Him – but Jesus has already satisfied Him, so, we come, empty handed yet boldly, no offering, but full assurance.

If this is the case, then surely we must avail ourselves of this amazing new and living way!