Sermon Tone Analysis

Read: Hebrews 13:4

"We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love."

~ Dr. Seuss

Introduction:

Today is what is traditionally known as Valentines Day.

Usually thought of by many as a Hallmark Holiday.

However it is interesting to read about the history of Valentines Day you discover it is really to honor the sanctity and integrity of marriage.

Christina legend passed down for centuries report:

It was around 270 A.D. This would have been about 170 years after the death of John.

Emperor Claudius II was in power at Rome.

He was sometimes referred to as Claudius the Cruel.

He was struggling to get soldiers to join his military, he thought it was due to their strong attachment to their wives and families.

The solution— Ban marriage.

That sounds like the perfect solution doesn’t it.

So Claudius banned all marriages and engagements in Rome.

Valentine a priest in Rome refused to give in and defied Claudius and continued to perform marriages in secret.

He was found out, caught, and condemned.

He was executed on February 14th.

Some report he left a farewell letter to a young lady who was the daughter of the jailer.

He was later named a saint and we celebrate that on this day.

While I have no way of going back and proving this story to be completely true, it has been passed down in various forms over the centuries, I do know for a fact that for many many years and especially in the past fifty to one hundred years in America marriage has been under great attack.

The writer of Hebrews places marriage on a high plain.

Hebrews 13:4 Marriage is honorable.

Marriage is Honorable

Now I want to make it clear here what the Bible is not saying.

I know we have a few single people here, and singleness is honorable too.

Don’t rush things, take your time, God has either just the right person waiting or will give you the grace to walk in righteousness in singleness.

What I’m trying to say is this author isn’t attempting to put married people as better, more spiritual, or more blessed than single people.

In fact Paul would argue the opposite.

What the author is saying is that marriage is a great commitment and should not be entered into lightly.

Modern social theory wants to redefine marriage and the family.

These new definitions sound sweet and innocuous at first, but they are far from its Biblical foundation and many times antagonistic to the Bible.

In our day of redefining what marriage is we have to maintain a proper and Biblical view of it.

Marriage is honorable because of its importance -

Marriage’s Importance to the Church -

Marriage illustrates the relationship of God with his people

Marriage’s importance to Society

Marriage is the building block of society

Studies have proven that children raised in a two parent home - a mom and a dad (not two moms and two dads) are more productive citizens.

Crime and missing dads are closely linked together

Marriage’s Importance to God.

God decreed that marriage was to be one man and one woman for life.

Jesus reiterated this in his teachings

Marriage is Holy

It is a sacred and holy covenant that a man and a woman enter into for life

It should be entered into with the saying no to everyone else but your spouse

Listen to the last part of that verse Heb 13:4 “...the bed undefiled: but whoremongers and adulterers God will judge.”

Don’t defile your marriage bed before or after your marriage

Whether that be in the form of media (this is available everywhere now) And its not just men - men and women lets guard our eyes and our hearts and our marriage bed.

or physical

when you enter into marriage - you now belong to your spouse - don’t give what belongs to your spouse to someone else.

Marriage is Hard

It is not 50/50 it is both giving 100% to make it work

Men are commanded to love your wives - not just once in the Bible, but several times.

I find it interesting that we have to be told that - It must mean that it is a conscious choice to love them, it is an action to love them.

Our example is Christ.

UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

Counselors of all persuasions agree that nothing can drive a wedge between married couples faster than connecting love to performance, especially when husbands communicate to their wives, “Perform or else.” “Keep a perfect house, raise great kids, support my career, and provide meaningful intimacy—and do it happily—and I’ll love you,” says the husband who treats his marriage like a business deal.

The Bible puts Christ in the place of the husband and the church in the place of the wife and says husbands should love their wives as Christ loves the church.

That means husbands are to love their wives unconditionally—no strings attached.

God’s kind of love is unconditional, and it is His complete love that makes us feel accepted and embraced by Him.

With conditions comes failure, with failure comes separation, and with separation comes loneliness.

Wives who are lonely in their marriages today are most likely married to husbands who practice conditional love.

Husband, if you need a model for how to love your wife, study the way Jesus Christ loves you.

Every Christian family ought to be, as it were, a little church, consecrated to Christ, and wholly influenced and governed by his rules.JONATHAN EDWARDS

Paul follows this up by one little blurb about wives

Eph 5:33 “33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.”

To respect - a popular book a few years ago held the premise that this is a cycle that if a man loves his wife, she would easily respect him and vice versa if a wife respects her husband he would love her

I could raise a few questions about some of the parts of the book, but I agree with this idea - of a mutual love and respect for each other will produce an honorable marriage

This does leave room for disagreement but not division

Now I can’t preach a message like this without saying, if you have messed up, there is hope there is restoration, there is renewal in Christ.

I pray God give us Godly biblical homes that bring glory to God and is a witness and example to this fallen world around us.