THE MARRIAGE COVENANT - A New You Ministry

1 BySamuele BacchiocchiA Biblical Study on MARRIAGE ,Divorce, and Remarriage9erspectives4990 AppianBerrien SpringsMichigan 49103iblicaliblicalerspectivesTHE MARRIAGECOVENANTBOOKS BY THE SAME AUTHORTHE CHRISTIAN AND ROCK MUSIC is a timely symposium that definesthe biblical principles to make good musical SABBATH UNDER CROSSFIRE refutes the common arguments used tonegate the continuity and validity of the OR RESURRECTION? unmasks with compelling Biblical reason-ing the oldest and the greatest deception of all time, that human beings possessimmortal souls that live on MARRIAGE COVENANT is designed to strengthen your Christian homethrough a recovery of those biblical principles established by God to ensurehappy, lasting, marital ADVENT HOPE FOR HUMAN HOPELESSNESS offers a scholarly, andcomprehensive analysis of the biblical teachings regarding the certainty andimminence of Christ s SABBATH TO SUNDAY presents the results of a painstaking researchdone at a Vatican University in Rome on how the change came about fromSaturday to Sunday in early SABBATH IN THE NEW TESTAMENT summarizes Bacchiocchi s exten-sive research on the history and theology of the Lord s Day and answers themost frequently asked questions on this IN THE BIBLE shows convincingly that the Bible condemns the use ofalcoholic beverages.

2 Irrespective of the quantity DRESS AND ADORNMENT examines the Biblical teachingsregarding dress, cosmetics, and jewelry. An important book designed to helpChristians dress modestly, decently, and REST FOR HUMAN RESTLESSNESS offers a rich and stirring theo-logical interpretation of the relevance of Sabbathkeeping for our tension-filledand restless society. Translated in 15 LINDSEY S PROPHETIC JIGSAW PUZZLE refutes with compellinglogic the senselessness of the predictions made by writers like Hal Lindsey. Itreceived the 1987 Associated Church Press IN THE CHURCH shows why Scripture supports the participation ofwomen in various church ministries but precludes their ordination to therepresentative role of elder or TIME OF THE CRUCIFIXION AND THE RESURRECTION examinesthe time element of the Crucifixion/Resurrection as well as the meaning ofChrist s S FESTIVALS IN SCRIPTURE AND HISTORY. Vol. 1: The SpringFestivals; Vol. 2: The Fall Festivals examine the historical developmentand theological meaning of the ancient Feasts of of the above books costs $ , mailing expenses included.

3 Toorder them, call (616) 471-2915 or mail your prepaid order to:BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES4990 Appian Way. Berrien Springs, MI 49103, USAWeb Page: : or purchase a copy of this bookcall (616) 471-2915 ormail your prepaid order($ , postpaid)toBIBLICAL PERSPECTIVES4990 Appian WayBerrien SpringsMichigan 49103 Phone (616) 471-2915 Fax (616) 471-4013E-mail: site: Copyright 2001bySamuele Bacchiocchi Cover design and layoutby Daniel BacchiocchiDEDICATEDto my wife, Anna, my partnerin MARRIAGE for over 40 years. Hertender-loving care, patience, and dedicationto me and our three children, have been a constant source of inspiration for me while writing this book on how to build a happy, lifelong MARRIAGE .. 71. The Institution of MARRIAGE .. 12 The Creation of Woman .. 13 The Institution of MARRIAGE .. 16 MARRIAGE : A Sacred COVENANT .. 21 Conclusion .. 25 Notes to Chapter 1 .. 262. How to Live Out the MARRIAGE COVENANT .. 27 The Importance of the MARRIAGE COVENANT .

4 28 The Commitment of a MARRIAGE COVENANT .. 31 The Ten Commandments of a MARRIAGE COVENANT .. 36 Conclusion .. 44 Notes to Chapter 2 .. 443. MARRIAGE and Sex .. 46 Past Attitudes Toward Sex .. 47 The Biblical View of Sex .. 51 MARRIAGE in the World to Come .. 64 Conclusion .. 67 Notes to Chapter 3 .. 684. How to Handle Marital Conflicts .. 69 Causes of Marital Conflicts .. 70 How to Handle Marital Conflicts .. 81 Conclusion .. 90 Notes to Chapter 4 .. 92 TABLEOFCONTENTST able of Contents65. Roles Within MARRIAGE .. 93 The Interpretation of the Headship/Submission Texts .. 95 The Nature of the Wife s Submission .. 103 The Nature of the Husband s Headship .. 106 The Application of Headship and Submission .. 109 Practicing Headship .. 109 Practicing Submission .. 116 Conclusion .. 123 Notes to Chapter 5 .. 1246. Divorce and Remarriage in the Bible .. 128 The Teaching of Moses .. 130 The Teaching of Malachi .. 133 The Teaching of Jesus in Mark and Luke.

5 135 The Teaching of Jesus in Matthew .. 139 The Teaching of Paul in Romans 7:2-3 .. 149 The Teaching of Paul in 1 Corinthians 7:10-16 .. 150 The Teaching of Paul on Divorce and Church 155 Conclusion ..159 Notes to Chapter 6 .. 1597. Divorce and Remarriage Today .. 162 Divorce Violates God s Intent for MARRIAGE .. 162A Christian Couple Should Not Seek Divorce .. 165 Conditional Separation is Permissible in Cases ofSerious Marital Problems .. 166 Divorce and Remarriage are Permissible WhenReconciliation is no Longer Possible .. 168 The Church Can Help Prevent MARRIAGE Breakups ..171 The Church Must Minister to Divorced andRemarried Persons ..173 Conclusion .. 176 Notes to Chapter 7 .. 176 INTRODUCTIONThe Christian home is in trouble. There is hardly a Christian familythat directly or indirectly has not known the pain of divorce. Divorce is nolonger a disease contracted by Hollywood movie stars. It affects people fromall walks of life, including Christians. This stark reality has been broughthome to me through my itinerant Ministry across North America and over-seas.

6 It has become a common but disturbing sight for me to look overcongregations while I preach and see large numbers of single parents. In somecongregations local pastors have told me that the number of broken homesoutnumbers those which have not yet experienced the tragedy of important factor contributing to the alarming escalation of divorceamong Christians is the growing acceptance of the societal view of marriageas a social contract governed by the laws of the land rather than a sacredcovenant regulated by the higher moral law of God. MARRIAGE is no longerseen by many people as a sacred COVENANT witnessed and guaranteed by GodHimself, but rather as a social contract that can easily be no fault divorce law makes it possible to put asunder what Godhas united, for less than the price of a good suit. This trend is influencingChristians to believe that divorce is a guiltless, and at times, proper to Recover the Biblical view of MARRIAGE .

7 To counteract thesecularization and easy dissolution of MARRIAGE , it is imperative to recover theBiblical view of MARRIAGE as a sacred, life-long COVENANT . The recovery of thisview can help Christians resist the societal trend to consider divorce as an easysolution to their marital problems. To accomplish this objective we need toengage all the preaching, teaching, and counseling resources that Christianchurches important avenue that can effectively propagate the Biblical viewof MARRIAGE as a sacred, permanent COVENANT is Christian literature. There isan urgent need for literature articulating, not the cultural, but the Biblical viewof MARRIAGE , sex, divorce, and remarriage. I became aware of this urgent needINTRODUCTION8while reviewing the extensive literature on this subject. To my surprise Ifound that most of the literature treats MARRIAGE , divorce and remarriage frompurely sociological, psychological, medical, and economic perspectives. Thefew books written from a Christian perspective seldom offer an adequateanalysis of what the Bible really teaches on this subject.

8 There are scholarlystudies dealing with problematic texts and words, but these studies are usuallytechnical in nature and without practical application to our contemporarymarriage result is that many Christians today do not know for sure what theBible really teaches in the area of MARRIAGE , sex, divorce, and are asking important questions such as: What is the differencebetween a Christian and a non-Christian MARRIAGE ? What guidance does theBible offer on how to build up a strong MARRIAGE COVENANT relationship? Doesthe Bible clearly teach role distinctions between husband and wife? Does theBible view the function of sex as exclusively procreational or also asrelational? Is it Biblically right or wrong to use contraceptives? Are thereBiblical grounds for divorce and remarriage? Is a Christian who remarriesguilty of continuous adultery? When marital relationships become intoler-able, should a Christian couple suffer the pain of divorce or the tragedy ofmaintaining a MARRIAGE without love?

9 Should a minister who has divorcedand remarried be allowed to continue to serve as a pastor? Should a ministermarry divorced people and should remarried people automatically be ac-cepted into church membership? Search for Biblical Answers. Questions such as these trouble manysincere Christians who are seeking truly Biblical answers. They want to knowwhat guidance, if any, the Word of God offers to these perplexing questionsaffecting so many lives. The confusion is partly caused by the culturaltransition in which we live. Old values are being challenged today inside andoutside the church by secularistic and humanistic ideologies. Sometimeseven pastors, teachers, and Christian writers contribute to the prevailingconfusion by interpreting the Bible more in the light of their cultural valuesthan in the light of a serious study of what the Bible actually teaches regardingthese perplexing is the awareness of the urgent need for literature to help Christiansfind true Biblical answers to important questions regarding MARRIAGE , di-vorce, and remarriage, that has motivated me to undertake this research.

10 Fromthe outset, my aim has been to provide a definite and concrete understandingof the Biblical teaching on MARRIAGE , divorce, and remarriage. It is my hopethat this study, the fruit of months of dedicated research, will meet theexpectations of the growing number of conservative Christians who areINTRODUCTION9seeking truly Biblical answers to their questions. The reader must decide whetheror not I have succeeded in rightly handling the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15).Procedure and Style. The procedure I have followed throughout thebook consists of two steps. First, I have endeavored to establish what the Bibleteaches on MARRIAGE , divorce, and remarriage by examining all the relevantpassages. Second, I have tried to apply Biblical teachings to concretesituations by articulating basic principles and by offering some the style of the book, I have attempted to write in simple,non-technical language. To facilitate the reading, each chapter is divided intomajor parts, and subdivided under appropriate headings.