Lenten Midweek -- 4 (2025)

6th Commandment

My Brothers and Sisters in Christ, today as we work through the 10 Commandments we have an entire day to focus on the 6th Commandment and the blessings that God has given mankind in Marriage and what Marriage is supposed to be. Quite often when we think of the 6th Commandment we think of its prohibition and what we are to not do. But in our Small Catechism, that isn’t what it focuses on.

Thou shall not commit adultery. What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life and in what we say and do love and honor each other.

It focuses on the positive aspects what we are to do! So if we are to understand what this commandment is all about then we ought to focus on why God gave us marriage and what the blessings were that he has bestowed upon us in marriage. Not just all the ways that it can and has been broken by people. Those are important to speak about too for God does forbid impurity and charges us to keep the marriage bed undefiled. But why does God do that? What is the big deal about marriage?

When God created marriage in Genesis it was created for a wonderful purpose, that mankind might not be alone in this world. That we might be joined together with another person and have a companion. For when God looked at Adam, He saw that Adam was alone and there was no helper fit for him, it was the first thing God declared to be Not Good. So He fashioned Eve from Adam’s side that she might be of the same stuff, the same substance as Adam.

Man and woman were made for each other and they complemented each other. We are different yet of the same species, but these differences were meant to help each other. This was seen as very good. So marriage as instituted by God is considered to be a good thing. Now we know that sin came into the world, and death by sin. It corrupted the image of God that had been given to Adam and Eve, and now this most blessed union became a struggle. That doesn’t mean marriage no longer had a purpose, or a place in this world in fact it became even more important. For while God removed them from the garden of Eden as part of their curse, and the images of Adam and Eve changed, God did not separate Adam and Eve, but they remained bound together even after the fall.

Even though they had lost much in their sin, God had not taken away the bond that He had created between them. They would die, they wouldn’t enjoy the garden, their would be pain, suffering, and many other afflictions, for they had broken the covenant, but God did not dissolve marriage. There would be conflict in marriage as there had not been before, but marriage is to be maintained. For while the people in a marriage are both sinners, Marriage itself retains its good purpose. For it was the state created by God for man and woman.

It shouldn’t be a surprise when Marriage is cast aside or treated cheaply, that it ends miserably not just for the man and the woman, but for all the world. For that command to be fruitful and multiply was given to mankind and it finds its fulfillment in marriage. It is also meant to bring comfort to man and woman in someone who has promised to stay by them through thick and thin in this world despite their proverbial warts, i.e. their failings, their sins, etc. In this way marriage also becomes the place where we learn to practice forgiveness towards one another. For you will sin against your spouse more often than you will sin against anyone else.

When we become bitter, or upset, and remember those vows where we promised for better for worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health to stay by each other, and they begin to feel heavy, it’s tempting to blame marriage. To imagine everything I could be or have, if only it weren’t for this person who holds me back. When we see our spouse as dead weight is that loving or cherishing them? No it’s selfishness and we need to be able to call it what it is. This is what is sitting at the heart of a lot of the problems of marriage for both men and women.

So many set aside one of the most important bonds that they will have in this life to chase after secondary things and wonder why life isn’t making sense, or why they are making money? For God made man and woman for each other that they might find joy and companionship in each other and what is good. But the world has been throwing different equally bad messages to tear that down. You will here that marriage is barrier to your success, happiness, fulfillment, that’s horrible. Don’t waste your good years with just one person keep your options open, and enjoy your youth. Then, you hear others talk about only what they can get from their spouse, be it pleasure, money, or just utility, which means they see the other person just as a tool for their personal fulfillment. What happens once they don’t do it for you, or if they are holding you back, or keeping you from being happy? Well that can’t be what marriage is about, I have my dreams, my hopes, etc. It’s all about me.

God didn’t get rid of marriage but saw that it had a good and special purpose even after the fall. It is still the place where we joined with someone else, and a family is created out of that union. Children are a good thing, and we should value that wonderful gift. That’s why this commandment is placed here, not only that married couples might value their marriage and not do damage to that precious bond, but also to encourage those who are unmarried to seek marriage. There’s no substitute for marriage no matter what the internet and chat rooms promise. It just leads you further away from God, and enslaves you to folks who just want to use you for your money, and end up hating themselves and their customers.

God gave us a good thing in marriage, let us not throw it away, but instead remind the world and our children, and our neighbors that God really has blessed us by giving us marriage even after the fall. For it not only brings companionship, it also guards us against temptations that we might live chaste lives. So let us keep the marriage bed undefiled and love our spouses as Christ has loved us.

That doesn’t mean that you have the perfect spouse, they are just as flawed as any sinner, and they are in need of forgiveness just like you are. The same forgiveness that Christ showed to his bride the Church. Keep that image before your eyes to strengthen you through all struggles and frustrations.

My Brothers and sisters in Christ, God has given us something good in marriage. Satan has already tricked and deceived us in many ways and stolen much from mankind through his lies, let us guard marriage according to God’s word that this treasure may not be taken from us also and cast aside as a worthless or useless thing in this world. It is a precious gift that God has given to man and woman in this world. Let us treasure it always, In Jesus name. Amen.