Does Living Together Outside of the Marriage Covenant Constitute a Marriage?

Introduction:

Having completed the theme, The Man and His God, in which we discussed in detail, how to develop Spiritual Disciplines, such as, how we are to pray, how to study God’s word, what it means to be holy, how to handle besetting sins, and how to find help when we need it, we determined that this theme was the foundation of all the rest, and because biblical leadership was designed by God, it would be impossible to lead without him.

We then moved into our next LEAD theme which I believe according to scripture would be the next in our progression toward becoming biblically based spiritual leaders. We’ve entitled this next theme, The Man and His Wife, and beginning with the basics, Where Did Marriage Come From? , we answered that question from Genesis 2:15-25.

We saw that man was created as a steward of God’s creation, caring for and enjoying it with boundaries set for obedience. We also saw that man was created for companionship and therefore he created woman to be his much needed help-meet to partner with him in fulfilling God’s purpose. Finally, we looked at the covenant of marriage, and saw that the relationship between the man and his wife was meant to be and unbreakable covenant between them and God.

We then looked more closely at this marriage covenant and to what extant is it binding, as we looked at a question posed by the Pharisees in Jesus day regarding the marriage covenant, and Jesus response to that question, which we saw went beyond the cultural norms to the original intent at creation, which was so binding that only death or infidelity could break it.

This morning we will answer a question that so many have in our culture, not just in the world but even in the church. What constitutes a marriage? Is living together outside of the covenant of marriage to seen as a legitimate marriage? Let’s see what the scripture has to say about that, as we look at both a passage in the Old Testament, and the New Testament.

Text: Mal 2:13-16; Heb 13:4

Malachi 2:13–16 ESV

13 And this second thing you do. You cover the Lord’s altar with tears, with weeping and groaning because he no longer regards the offering or accepts it with favor from your hand. 14 But you say, “Why does he not?” Because the Lord was witness between you and the wife of your youth, to whom you have been faithless, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant. 15 Did he not make them one, with a portion of the Spirit in their union? And what was the one God seeking? Godly offspring. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and let none of you be faithless to the wife of your youth. 16 “For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.”

Hebrews 13:4 ESV

4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

Main Idea: God designed marriage as a holy covenant, not a casual physical relationship.

I. Marriage, the Covenant Holy Relationship (Malachi 2:13-16)

A. Holy Covenant Marriage, Holy Actions (2:13-15)

B. Unholy Actions, Holy Judgment (2:16)

II. Living Together, the Covenant-less Sinful Relationship (Hebrews 13:4)

A. Holy Covenant Marriage, Holy Bed (13:4a)

B. Non-Covenant Bed, Holy Judgment (13:4b)