CHAPTER 25: Of Marriage
(Parts One and Two)
The first thing that is worthy of notice about what the Confession says regarding marriage is that it says so little. Is that a reflection on the insignificance of marriage? Certainly not. It is, rather, a subtle reminder that what God’s Word says about marriage is not terribly complicated. Consider how straight forward the opening sentence of chapter 25 is:
Marriage is to be between one man and one woman; neither is it lawful for any man to have more than one wife, nor for any woman to have more than one husband at the same time. (Gen. 2:24; Mal. 2:15; Matt. 19:5-6)
Pretty simple isn’t it? This simple statement, summarizing the clear teaching of the Bible, puts to rest all sorts of questions and attacks on biblical marriage. One man and one woman. No bigamy. Not polygamy. No same-sex marriage. This simple statement unravels “What about if people love each other?” It doesn’t matter. No matter how much people love each other or a dish of chocolate pudding, it has nothing to do with biblical marriage. While love makes a marriage between one man and one woman sweeter, love does not make a marriage—especially if that “love” is a sinful (unbiblical) love involving more than two people or people of the same gender. (And there are only two genders: male and female, assigned at birth by God.)
Let us be reminded that right and wrong are determined by God and communicated to us in His inerrant and unchanging Word. When will we learn not to trust our feelings, much less the “wisdom” of the world?
(Part Two)
In addition to the Confession’s reflection of the biblical teaching that marriage is to be between one man and one woman, we are reminded that the Bible teaches one spouse at a time. This does not endorse serial marriages, divorces, and remarriages. The Bible teaches that there are two reasons why a marriage is dissolved. The first is the death of either spouse (Romans 7:2). A person released from marriage because of a death is “free to remarry, only in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 7:39).
The water is a little more murky when it comes to divorce. Some well-meaning Christians teach that divorced people are never allowed to remarry. We believe that position not only places a yoke of bondage on divorced people, but more importantly, it is difficult to defend from scripture. While not endorsing serial marriage, divorce, and remarriage, Jesus clearly allows a biblical ground for divorce: infidelity (Matthew 19:9). Since that is a biblical ground for divorce, we would say it allows remarriage. Likewise, Paul says that a believer who is left [divorced] by a non-believer is “not under bondage” (1 Corinthians 7:15). From this we believe that the believer divorced by a non-believer is free to remarry, again, “only in the Lord” (v.39).
While these biblical grounds for divorce exist, they must not be seen as “loopholes” to get out of an unhappy marriage.
And let us add that people’s marital history before coming to faith in Christ must not be held over their heads to condemn them, since we are all made clean when we are saved.