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Scripture Passage: Matthew 19:1-6

Adrian Rogers says, “Real marriage did not come from the swamps of immorality or by evolution, but marriages are made by heaven.”

In Matthew 19, Jesus speaks of the sacredness of marriage.

“Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate” (Matthew 19:4-6).

First, we must remember that marriage is made by God. Marriage is a priority; it is permanent and it serves a wonderful purpose. It is a divine institution made by God Himself to be a picture of His love for the church. When we commit to another in marriage, we leave mother and father and unite with spouse, becoming one flesh.

We are called to join together physically and multiply; we become one flesh psychologically, in spiritual union and communion.

But marriage has been marred by divorce; God has said in His Word He hates divorce. It is a tragedy and a vicious cycle: divorce produces broken children, and broken children produce broken homes.

Though God allows divorce in the case of fornication, He does not command it. When we are unfaithful in marriage, we are still encouraged by Scripture to forgive and restore that relationship.

We are commanded to love continually; a marriage rooted in conditional love produces fear, guilt, and anger. There is no fear in perfect, unconditional love—only peace, security, and joy.

Finally, marriage is always marked by hope; no matter our circumstances, there is always hope because the grace of God covers all of our sins.

God does not hold grudges; His forgiveness is always available for those who seek to honor Him in their relationships.

Apply it to your life

A godly home is the greatest testimony we have in this world. If you are married, make certain that Christ is the head of your home and continue to feed your love day by day. Adrian Rogers says, “We have to learn to love as Jesus loved, and that’s the reason it takes Christ to make a marriage.”

When someone raises questions about the Bible’s accuracy, do you know what to say? How can you prepare yourself to defend Scripture against those who deny its trustworthiness? John MacArthur will equip you to defend the reliability of Scripture by looking at a detailed prophecy about Jesus made seven hundred years before His birth.

If you’ve ever tried to break a bad habit, or cut off a dysfunctional relationship, you know how hard it is. And often, after a period of time, that behavior or attitude creeps back into your life. How do you break out of a destructive cycle for good? Chip shares how you can have victory over those destructive patterns in your life now and into the future.

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Resources Mentioned in Teaching

• ARTICLE: “Avoid The News. Towards a Healthy News Diet,” by Rolf Dobelli.

During his more than 20 years as a homicide detective, J. Warner Wallace investigated several “no-body, missing person cases.” He successfully helped identify and convict killers, even without evidence from the scene. He utilizes these same detective skills and techniques to investigate the historical life and actions of Jesus – using the evidence of history alone to confirm the historicity and deity of Jesus. In this interview, Wallace will share about his faith journey and his fascinating detective research proving the claims and historical authenticity of Jesus.
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How important is it for you to believe that the Bible is completely accurate? Your answer has more implications for your life than you may think. For over fifty-six years, John MacArthur plumbed the depths of God’s Word, verse by verse. And in this lesson, John will give you some compelling reasons you can really trust the Bible.