Confessions of a Church: Unequally Yoked

 The Psalm writer wrote:  Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience, and live in light of the grace we have received. This is the word of God.  It is eternally true and applicable for all of life.  

Deuteronomy 7:1-11 When the Lord your God brings you into the land where you are entering to possess it, and clears away many nations before you, the Hittites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Canaanites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites, seven nations greater and stronger than you, and when the Lord your God delivers them before you and you defeat them, then you shall utterly destroy them. You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them. Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you. But thus you shall do to them: you shall tear down their altars, and smash their sacred pillars, and hew down their Asherim, and burn their graven images with fire. For you are a holy people to the Lord your God; the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for His own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. The Lord did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath which He swore to your forefathers, the Lord brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God, He is God, the faithful God, who keeps His covenant and His lovingkindness to a thousandth generation with those who love Him and keep His commandments;  but repays those who hate Him to their faces, to destroy them; He will not delay with him who hates Him, He will repay him to his face. Therefore, you shall keep the commandment and the statutes and the judgments which I am commanding you today, to do them.

This is the word of the Lord.

Our passage today once again warns us of the dangers of idolatry and one of the root causes why God's people are often tempted to stumble into this sin. When entering the promised land, Israel is repeatedly commanded to show no quarter to the enemies of God which stand in their way. Yet time and again throughout Scripture, Israel stumbles at this point, oftentimes by not killing all the enemy, by keeping things devoted to destruction, and, as our passage warns us today, by intermarrying with pagan nations and slipping into idolatry.

You shall make no covenant with them and show no favor to them. Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the Lord will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you.

 The presupposition undergirding the idolatry which follows from the sons and daughters intermarrying with pagans, is the fact that the sons and daughters of the nation were getting married.

Yet it wasn't the marrying which was the problem that led to the idolatry, it was the "to whom".

Israel was prone to wander, and one of the ways they frequently did this was through intermarrying with pagans, which in turn introduced idolatry into the camp.

So this morning I want to make a few quick factual statements, two points of application, and then will call us all to repentance.

Factual statement number one:

Christian men must marry Christian women. There is no biblical justification for a Christian man or Christian woman to marry an unbeliever. What fellowship does light have with darkness (2 Corinthians 6:14)?

Factual statement number two:

The vast majority of young Christian men and young Christian women are called to get married. The polls which speak to the prevalence of porn use among Christians of all ages proves this point: it is better to marry than to burn (1 Corinthians 7:9).

The first application is: do not allow your career aspirations, educational goals, the standards of the "Jones'" next door, or bad experiences lead you to delaying marriage. If God brings a godly young man or godly young woman across your path who is interested in you, who has a faith which aligns with yours, who loves the Lord, who loves the church, and whose personality, aspirations, and goals generally line up with yours, why would you let that opportunity pass without at least getting to know the young man or young woman? What could it hurt? At worst, you decide you aren't a good fit for one another and you move on, able to remain friends because of Christ. Better still, you may find this young man or young woman to be someone who will push you towards godliness, who will strengthen your walk with the Lord, and be a comfort to you as you age together.

Secondly, and maybe I will get pushback about this, so bring it on: while appearances are important, don't get so hung up on outward appearance that an otherwise godly young man or young woman gets passed by for consideration, and you miss out on an opportunity to grow old with someone who loves the Lord. The Pharisees were masters of cleaning the outside of the cup, while inside the cup was totally defiled. Don't be a Pharisee. Don't hold Christan brothers or sisters to standards that God does not. God does not judge by outward appearances as we do, but rather by the heart. Of course, young men and young women ought to be attracted to one another, but not all that glitters is gold. For sure, the marriage relationship is a sexual one, but if you are allowing first impressions to cut off godly young Christian men or women from consideration, where else are you going to look? As a Christian, you don't have the option of looking outside the Church, so in a way, your prospects are narrow.

I hear all the time "young Christian men are so immature". I agree. I also hear all the time "many young Christian women are so focused on work and education they don't have time for marriage". I see that, even in our church. This trend could be reversed if young Christian men and women focused on living godly, Holy lives, seeking to be obedient to His calling on their lives, rather than trying to conform to the ungodly standards set by the idolators of the world.

Young men, repent of your laziness, your cowardice, and pursue godly young women.

Young ladies, thousands of perfect ten's aren't pouring through the doors of this Church house. Rather than seeking the perfect specimen of a husband, live lives of holiness unto the Lord, and respond in obedience to your calling when godly men come knocking.

At this time, if you are able, please kneel as we confess our sins to God.

Heavenly Father,

We thank you for Your Son, Husband to His bride, the Church.

We are broken, busted, and defiled worms apart from Your grace, yet nothing can separate us from Your love.

Father, be with our sons and daughters, and give them a heart for their brothers and sisters in Christ. We pray for them, Father, that they would find a godly spouse, and raise a godly seed set apart for Your Kingdom.

Be with the fathers and mothers, and encourage them to be faithful to teach their sons and daughters a biblical view of marriage which seeks to glorify You.

In Jesus's Name we pray,

Amen.

Please stand and listen to the comforting assurance of the grace of God, promised in the gospel to his church: 

Ephesians 1:3-8 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace  which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight

 To all those who thus repent and seek Jesus Christ for their salvation, your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lift up your hearts!

(From the 02/20/2022 liturgy of Sovereign King Church written by Aaron Sabie.)